microsoft word 75-manuscript-941-1-11-20210121.docx conner et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 1, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. nathan w. conner, associate professor, university of nebraska-lincoln, 236 filley hall, lincoln, ne 68583-0947, nconner2@unl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0063-4110 2. bryan reiling, associate professor, university of nebraska-lincoln, ansc c204a, lincoln, ne 68583-0947, breiling2@unl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5913-0614 3. christopher t. stripling, associate professor, the university of tennessee, 320 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 379964511, cstripli@utl.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5045-3492 4. matt kreifels, associate professor of practice, university of nebraska-lincoln, 233 filley hall, lincoln, ne 68583-0947, matt.kreifels@unl.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6519-8711 5. angie monheim, graduate student, university of nebraska-lincoln, 143 filley hall, lincoln, ne 68583-0947, amonheim@ieee.org, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8596-9448 14 examining inquiry-based learning stages of concern for high school agriscience teachers n. conner1, b. reiling2, c. stripling3, m. kreifels4, a. monheim5 abstract there is documented need for improvement of science comprehension amongst high school students in the united states, and inquiry-based learning (ibl) is a recommended teaching strategy to improve science comprehension. several researchers have focused on examination of learning outcomes for students, but few have researched the concerns of teachers who may wish to adopt ibl methodology. this study used the stages of concern questionnaire to profile ten midwest high school agriscience teachers’ concerns regarding implementation of ibl, before and after participation in a year-long professional development program where ibl lessons were developed and used in the participants’ high school classrooms. results indicated that while some participants showed a positive progression in their stage of concern, most professional development program participants did not progress in their concern stage, and some developed increased resistance to ibl as a teaching strategy. this suggests that teachers may need more robust and tailored support when adopting ibl for their classrooms. keywords scientific investigation, secondary teachers, professional development conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.75 15 introduction and problem statement high school science student proficiency in the united states lags compared to other highly developed countries (desilver, 2017; organisation for economic co-operation and development, 2016; the nation’s report card, 2015). research comparing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) jobs versus unemployed stem workers showed a national average of 13 stem jobs posted online for everyone unemployed stem worker, and that four midwest states had more than 45 posted stem jobs per unemployed stem worker (new american economy, 2017). these statistics indicate that an inadequate number of students are gaining necessary proficiency in high school science to facilitate successful transition to stem based jobs in the work force. one means of addressing this deficit is to provide high school science and agriculture teachers with targeted professional development programs focused on science teaching strategies. one program in a midwest state used grant funding to provide a rigorous year-long professional development program designed to help high school science and agriculture teachers learn how to use and implement inquiry-based learning (ibl) to teach specific science subjects. inquiry-based learning is a teaching strategy shown to provide significant benefits for development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills in students (savery, 2006), but the literature is sparse on how teachers feel about adopting this teaching strategy. the purpose of this study was to determine the stages of concern experienced by high school teachers before and after adopting ibl as a classroom teaching strategy for science subjects. theoretical and conceptual framework the theoretical framework for this study was the concerns based adoption model (cbam) which is a framework designed to help implement and assess innovations or changes being implemented in an organization (american institute for research, 2019). this model has a robust history (southwest educational development laboratory, 2015), and has been critically examined and reviewed by scholars (anderson, 1997; cheung et al., 2001; saunders, 2012. the framework has three parts, innovation configurations, stages of concern questionnaire (socq), and levels of use (southwest educational development laboratory, 2015). this study focused on the socq to determine how high school teachers feel about adopting ibl as a teaching strategy. the socq is an assessment instrument to help understand how teachers experience the adoption of new teaching strategies (bailey & palsha, 1992; gabby et al., 2017; shotsberger & crawford, 1999) using seven categories which indicate increasing levels of concern: unconcerned, informational, personal, management, consequence, collaboration, and refocusing (george et al., 2013). more specifically, it has a history of being used to assess the concerns of agricultural educators as innovations are introduced into their teaching pedagogies (bellah & dyer, 2009; shoulders & myers, 2011; warner & myers, 2011). conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.75 16 inquiry-based learning inquiry-based learning is a guided active learning strategy that encourages students to develop questioning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills (savery, 2006), and has been shown to provide measurable gains in student conceptual understanding of science lessons (geier et al., 2008; gormally et al., 2009; luckie et al., 2004; sundberg & moncada, 1994; udovic et al., 2002). however, this appears only to be true when students receive enough guided instruction, as kirschner et al. (2006) showed ibl with minimal guidance resulted in no improvement or, in some cases, learning less and testing worse, than with traditional instruction. while the educational impact of ibl on students is widely studied, often ignored are the potential struggles of high school teachers who attempt to adopt ibl as a teaching strategy. keys and bryan (2001) argue that more research is needed on teacher beliefs about, practices, and knowledge base for implementing ibl. although 90% of pre-service teachers who participated in an inquiry-based science methods course want to create an educational environment that promotes questions and exploration (plevyak, 2007), they were simultaneously overwhelmed with how to accomplish that goal. two separate studies (dibiase & mcdonald 2015; ramnarain, 2014) found factors such as lack of resources or administrative support, class size, and curricular requirements contributed to teacher resistance to using ibl. roehrig and luft (2004) followed 14 beginning secondary science teachers for one year; common impediments to implementation of ibl included their understanding of scientific inquiry, content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and teaching beliefs. hayward et al. (2015) suggests that presenting ibl as a broad set of related practices rather than as a rigid prescriptive practice, may encourage new instructors to incorporate ibl into their own sense of teaching identity. purpose the purpose of this study was to determine the stages of concern (soc) experienced by high school teachers before and after participation in a professional development program for using ibl as a classroom teaching strategy for science subjects. in order to achieve this purpose, the following objectives were investigated: 1. determine participants’ soc for ibl at the beginning of the professional development program. 2. determine participants’ soc for ibl at the end of the professional development program. 3. assess change(s) that occurred in participants’ soc for ibl as a result of the professional development program. methods this study was conducted as part of a grant-funded, year-long (july 2017 thru july 2018) professional development (pd) workshop for high school agriculture and science educators using ibl to teach science topics. the instrument used for this study was the socq (george, et conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.75 17 al., 2013) which measures teacher concerns as they adopt a change. in this study, the change under study was the adoption of ibl into their teaching techniques. according to george et al. (2013) the socq has went through rigorous validation efforts through the use of correlation matrices, factor analysis, and interviews. participants began the workshop by taking the socq to establish their stage of concern before the pd. during the year-long pd, participants had the opportunity to 1) experience ibl from the student perspective, 2) teach a pre-developed ibl lesson for a specific science topic with other participants at the workshop, 3) return to their home schools and use ibl lessons as part of the curriculum in their actual classrooms with scheduled monthly online support meetings with workshop facilitators to answer questions about ibl, and 4) attend a follow-up in-person workshop session to teach an ibl lesson of their own design to the workshop participants for feedback. at the end of the pd, participants again took the socq to determine if the pd had any effect on their stage of concern for adopting ibl. the results from the two socq surveys are the data used for this study. twenty-seven participants began the workshop, but only 10 completed the entire professional development program, including the preand postsocq. attrition of participants was attributed to various reasons including physical and career moves, time constraints, and priority selection. due to the low sample size, use caution when interpreting the data. to evaluate how stages of concern changed for participants, it was necessary for participants to have completed both the preand post-socq instruments. data from participants who did not complete the post professional development program socq instrument were discarded. the analysis was conducted according to the socq manual (george et al., 2013), and focused on profile scoring which provides the richest understanding of participants’ concerns about the innovation. analysis by demographic was not conducted due to the small sample size. results from individual profiles were not confirmed with participants because scoring and analysis of the socq were performed a few months after conclusion of the professional development program so participants were no longer available for discussion. when interpreting profile scores, the socq manual (hall et al., 1979) provides specific characteristics to look for among the highs and lows, which indicate a possible underlying psychology. for ibl in the classroom, these characteristics are as follows: • high stage 0 percentile score is an indication that the participants place a low priority on ibl in relation to other teaching tasks and strategies. • positive 1-2 splits indicate participants are open to using ibl. • negative 1-2 splits indicate participants may be resistive to using ibl. • stage 6 trailing up indicates participants may be resistive to using ibl. • stage 6 trailing down indicates that participants may be open to using ibl. • high stage 0 with high stage 6 indicates the participant has ideas about other teaching methods considered more relevant than ibl. conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.75 18 • when two stages have a percentile score within one or two points of each other, both stages can be considered the highest or second highest stage. the above characteristics were used to interpret the group and individual profiles for this study. findings objective 1 was to determine participants’ soc before the professional development program, objective 2 was to determine participants’ soc after the professional development program, and objective 3 was to analyze the change in soc attributed to the professional development program. this was performed for the group, then performed for each individual participant. group analysis figure 1 shows the group profile before (solid black line) and after (dashed grey line) the professional development program. at the beginning of the professional development program, the group generally placed a low priority on ibl, as indicated by the relatively high stage 0 score. the before profile also showed both a positive 1-2 split and stage 6 trailing down, indicating that the group was generally open to ibl. after the professional development program, the stage 0 score remained relatively high, indicating the group generally still placed a low priority on ibl. the positive 1-2 split remained, indicating openness to ibl, but stage 6 was trailing up indicating resistance to ibl. the overall change in the profile indicates that as a group, participants did not progress positively in their stage of concern and may have added some resistance to using ibl as a teaching strategy as a result of participating in the professional development program. conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.75 19 figure 1 before and after socq profiles for the group the solid line shows the profile percentages for each stage of concern for the group at the beginning of the professional development program. the dashed line shows the profile percentages for each stage of concern for the group after completing the professional development program. individual profile score an analysis of the individual profile scores provided more insight into how the professional development program affected individual participants. participants fell into three categories: no change, positive soc progression, or no stage change with a change in profile characteristics. one participant showed no change. three participants showed a positive soc progression. six participants showed no stage change with a change in profile characteristics. these profile changes included the emergence or receding of management concerns about ibl, and the emergence of resistance to ibl. table 1 shows a summary of the before profile, after profile, and change in profile for each of the ten participants. 87 84 76 73 38 72 52 87 72 63 69 54 68 73 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 stage 0 stage 1 stage 2 stage 3 stage 4 stage 5 stage 6 re la tiv e in te ns ity in p er ce nt ile s conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.75 20 table 1 summary of before and after socq profile interpretations and profile changes for individual professional development program participants id before profile interpretation after profile interpretation change in profile p1 ibl is low priority but likely open to ibl ibl is low priority with management concerns, likely open to ibl remained stage 0, concerns about management emerged p2 ibl is low priority but likely open to ibl focused on learning more about ibl and collaborating with others soc progressed from 0 to 1 p3 ibl is low priority but likely open to ibl ibl is low priority and likely resistant to ibl remained stage 0 and added resistance to ibl p4 ibl is low priority but likely open to ibl focused on learning more about ibl and management of ibl soc progressed from 0 to 1/3 p5 ibl is low priority with management concerns, likely open to ibl ibl is low priority but likely resistant to ibl remained stage 0 and added resistance to ibl p6 ibl is low priority and likely resistant to ibl ibl is low priority with management concerns, likely resistant to ibl remained stage 0, concerns about management emerged p7 ibl is low priority but likely open to ibl ibl is low priority but likely open to ibl no discernable change p8 focused on collaborating with others and learning more about ibl focused on gaining more benefits by modifying or replacing ibl, and collaborating with others soc progressed from 5 to 6 p9 ibl is low priority with management concerns, likely resistant to ibl ibl is low priority but likely resistant to ibl remained stage 0, management concerns receded p10 ibl is low priority but likely open to ibl ibl is low priority but likely resistant to ibl remained stage 0 but added resistance to ibl conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.75 21 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations high school teachers adopting ibl initially appeared to be open to the new teaching strategy as evidenced both by their willingness to participate in a year-long pd program and their pre-pd program responses to a socq. however, after participating in the pd program, results were mixed. 30% of participants had their concerns stage progressed by one stage after completing the pd program. however, 70% of the participants remained at stage zero, and three of those seven showed increased resistance to adoption of ibl in their socq profiles after completing the pd program. while the pd program structure may have helped some participant’s progress positively in their concerns stages towards ibl, many of the participants may have increased resistance to ibl. warner and myers (2011) described hall and hord’s concerns-based adoption model, of which the socq is an integral part, as applied to implementing change in agriscience teaching. they describe that positive concerns progression can be achieved and resistance to change can be reduced with appropriate interventions, such as appropriate support from leaders and effective facilitation. however, they also explain that lack of progression or even regression can occur when these conditions do not exist. an examination of this pd program revealed several factors which may have caused participants to not fully embrace ibl as a teaching strategy. experience levels of pd program participants varied greatly, with some participants at the beginning of their teaching careers and some participants possessing many years of teaching experience. professional development program facilitators noted that newer teachers seemed to like ibl better than more seasoned teachers, potentially indicating that newer teachers were less resistive than teachers with more experience. shoulders and myers (2011) found that more experienced teachers have less variation in their concerns for ibl. this could explain some of the 70% of profiles that did not progress positively. another factor that may have contributed was familiarity with the specific science subjects. pd program facilitators observed that some participants were more well versed in the science subject area content than others. fritz and miller (2003) found that over 50% of the concerns expressed by both male and female preservice teachers were related to self-adequacy, of which one component is subject matter adequacy. it may be helpful to ensure teachers have experience teaching specific content areas prior to attempting the subject areas with ibl. online collaboration meetings, conducted via zoom, were designed to provide an opportunity for participants to share their experiences and discuss any ibl teaching issues with facilitators and other participants. however, teachers chose to incorporate the specific content areas and associated pre-developed ibl lessons at different points in their course curriculums, resulting in disjointed zoom meetings. future pd programs should consider using a more detailed schedule and due dates for participants to have taught each subject area in their classrooms to ensure zoom collaborations have a common theme on which to focus discussion. conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.75 22 these findings suggest some recommendations for future studies aimed at effectively improving future pds for introducing ibl to high school teachers. teacher stages of concern need to be researched over a longer period of time and in conjunction with the specific environments and contexts individual teachers must navigate at their specific schools. additionally, socq results should be examined to determine if environmental and context factors show any correlation with specific socq profiles. results from these types of studies could provide insight into how schools can better support teachers as they adopt ibl. acknowledgements we would like to acknowledge and thank 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(2002). workshop biology: demonstrating the effectiveness of active learning in an introductory biology course. bioscience, 52(3), 272–281. https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0272:wbdteo]2.0.co;2 warner, a., & myers, b. (2011). agriscience teachers’ concern profiles for content area reading strategies. journal of agricultural education, 52(4), 109–122. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2011.04109 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 109-manuscript-1307-1-11-20210519.docx barry & easterly advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 2, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. debra m. barry, assistant professor, university of florida, 1200 n park rd, plant city, fl, 33563, dmbarry@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9579-3872 2. r. g. (tre) easterly iii, assistant professor, university of florida, 305 rolfs hall po box 110540, gainesville fl 32611, tre.easterly@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2807-512x 15 comparing the self-efficacy of florida school-based agricultural education teachers delivering online and inperson instruction d. m. barry1, r. g. easterly2 abstract the purpose of this study was to examine the self-efficacy of florida sbae teachers for in-person and online instruction. the methodology included a descriptive survey approach to determine the selfefficacy of florida sbae teachers. a census of sbae teachers was conducted in the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021. the population included a total of 500 sbae teachers in the florida. major findings included a significantly different self-efficacy score for in-person instructors (m =4.22, sd = 0.48) when compared to instructors who taught online (m = 2.98, sd = 0.67). navigating online platforms for teaching, coupled with the conditions in which teachers had to move to online instruction during covid-19 could have reduced the self-efficacy of teachers. recommendations include training for teachers on how to navigate online platforms, as well as professional development to enhance skillsets of teachers in pedagogical practices for engaging online learners. teachers should look for support from their peers who are proficient in online teaching. preservice teacher education programs should consider integrating online delivery instructional practices into existing coursework and moving back to in-person instruction when it is safe to do so. keywords agriculture teachers, online teaching, covid-19, united states barry & easterly. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.109 16 introduction and problem statement in early 2020, the coronavirus began to make impacts in the united states, with the world health organization (who) declaring covid-19 a pandemic by march 2020 (world health organization, 2021). the pandemic caused a major shift in the modality of teaching in a matter of days (cardullo et al., 2021). teachers were faced with the challenge of moving their instruction from in-person to teaching in an online setting almost overnight (easterly et al., 2020). despite the motivation or familiarity with remote instruction, teachers were required to deliver their instruction in a remote setting (lindner et al., 2020). the impacts of covid-19 continued to affect education through 2020 and into 2021, leaving many educators with the challenge of teaching a mix of in-person and online in the 2020-2021 school year. the diversity of subject matter in school-based agricultural education (sbae) and the responsibilities of managing the ffa organization and supervised agricultural experiences (sae) add additional complexities to the role of teaching agriculture (talbert et al., 2014), while recent shifts in teaching modalities in education likely compounded this challenge. while teachers had to make swift changes in their content delivery, they also had to adapt their pedagogical approaches to help support the ability to teach online (cardullo et al., 2021). according to cardullo et al. (2021), many teachers were trying to learn how to navigate online platforms while also adapting to the pedagogical shift in online instruction. this study sought to determine the self-efficacy of florida sbae teachers for in-person and online instruction, as well as compare the self-efficacy of those teaching each modality. theoretical and conceptual framework self-efficacy was the theoretical framework for this study (bandura, 1977a). self-efficacy determines whether coping behaviors will be initiated, as well as the effort put forth when facing challenging experiences (bandura, 1977a). self-efficacy has developed as an important predictor of success for a wide range of tasks, including those of teachers (bandura, 1995). teachers reporting higher self-efficacy were found to be more likely to stay committed to teaching as a profession, with lower burnout rates and exhaustion (klassen & chiu, 2011; zee & koomen, 2016). further research grew from the work of bandura (1977a); thus, teacher efficacy was acknowledged as a type of self-efficacy (tschannen-moran et al., 1998). self-efficacy and teacher self-efficacy are developed through mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and physiological and emotional states (bandura 1977a, 1986). a teacher with low self-efficacy has a belief that there is modest influence on the motivation of students, with the teacher’s influence being limited by their environment. teachers with higher self-efficacy would be more likely to create learning experiences that engage students, with the belief that their extra efforts will successfully influence the learning environment and their students (bandura, 1997). it is more likely that a teacher with high self-efficacy would implement a new strategy or approach to teaching (guskey, 1998). barry & easterly. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.109 17 within the framework of k-12 education, teaching self-efficacy has been studied, with the common theme that teachers with high self-efficacy showed positive correlations with the desired outcomes that benefit student learning (bandura et al., 1996; goddard et al., 2000; humphries et al., 2012; swan et al., 2011; wolf, 2011). recent changes in technology illuminate opportunities that seek to understand teacher self-efficacy through the lens of in-person and online instruction, as well as how these modalities affect teacher self-efficacy. although previous research has explored self-efficacy in school-based agricultural education (mckim & velez, 2016), little is known about agriculture teacher self-efficacy in a covid-19 influenced teaching environment. the computer and online self-efficacy of learners was explored by wei and chou (2020), finding that the perceptions of self-efficacy affected learning readiness. while research has explored the self-efficacy of teachers (easterly & simpson, 2020; mckim & velez, 2016; thornton et al., 2020;), as well as teachers’ remote teaching self-efficacy (e.g., easterly et al., 2020), at the time of this study there had not yet been a study that compared teacher self-efficacy of in-person and online instruction. purpose the purpose of this study was to examine the self-efficacy of florida sbae teachers for inperson and online instruction. the research was guided by the following objectives: 1. determine the self-efficacy of florida sbae teachers for in-person instruction 2. determine the self-efficacy of florida sbae teachers for online instruction 3. compare the self-efficacy of florida sbae teachers for delivering instruction online and inperson. methods this study used a descriptive survey approach to determine the self-efficacy of florida sbae teachers. a census of sbae teachers in the state of florida was conducted in the fall of 2020 with final data collection in the spring of 2021. these data were collected as part of a larger study. the population frame was developed by agricultural education faculty in the department of agricultural education and communication at the university of florida in collaboration with the state agricultural education supervisor and the florida ffa association office. a total of 515 teachers were contacted. fifteen teachers were removed from the population because they no longer taught at that school yielding a corrected population frame of n = 500. the tailored design method described by dillman et al. (2014) was used. a pre-notice letter with a $1 cash incentive was mailed to the participants. the initial contact email with the links to a qualtrics instrument was sent out when the pre-notice letter was expected to arrive. additional reminder emails were used to encourage responses. four teachers opted out of the study. usable data was provided from 248 respondents yielding a response rate of 49.6%. an archival analysis technique was used to test for non-response bias (johnson & shoulders, 2019; rogelberg & stanton, 2007). chi-square tests were conducted with known variables of the non-respondents. barry & easterly. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.109 18 no significant difference was found for gender (x2 (1, n = 500) = 1.18, p < .05) and ffa district (x2 (5, n = 500) = 1.52, p < .05). the data was considered to be representative of the population in the study. the 12-item short form of the teacher sense of efficacy scale (tses) was used (tschannenmoran & woolfolk hoy, 2001). the individual items are available on table 1. it has been determined to be a valid measure of self-efficacy when used in the short form (tschannenmoran & woolfolk hoy, 2001). according to tschannen-moran and woolfolk hoy (2001), the short form of the instrument was a reliable measure with a cronbach’s alpha of α = .90 when tested with inservice teachers sbae teachers were engaged in in-person and online instruction when the instrument was completed. we asked the teachers to rate their efficacy on the scale as it related to their teaching in-person and teaching at a distance (online) using side-by-side matrixes. the scale asked participants to rate their influence on various teaching practices. the anchors of the scale were (1) nothing, (2) very little, (3) some influence, (4) quite a bit, (5) a great deal. real limits were established for scale interpretation. the real limits were 1.0–1.49 = nothing, 1.5–2.49 = very little, 2.5–3.49 = some influence, 3.5–4.49 = quite a bit, 4.5–5.0 = a great deal. the post-hoc reliability was found to be α = .90 for the in-person scale and α = .89 for the online scale. if multiple items were incomplete from the scale, or the entire scale was missing, the data were omitted from analysis. data were analyzed using spss version 27. means and standard deviations were calculated for objectives one and two. a paired samples t-test was conducted for objective three. the data were analyzed as a sample data and inferential statistics were calculated to compare the means to reduce the likelihood that differences were due to stochastic error as a complete response rate was not achieved. findings a total of 248 respondents participated in the study. of the respondents, 30.2% (n = 75) were male, and 69.8% (n = 173) were female. 89.9% (n = 213) indicated there were white, nonhispanic, 4.2% (n = 10) were hispanic/latinx, 2.8% (n = 7) were black/non-hispanic, and 2.8% (n = 7) indicated they were another race or bi/multi-racial. the respondents had an average of 12.8 (sd = 10.3) years of teaching experience. of the respondents, 2.1% (n = 5) reported teaching completely online, 19.0% (n = 45) completely face-to-face, and 78.9% (n = 187) reported teaching a mix of face-to-face and online students. objective 1: determine the self-efficacy of florida sbae teachers for in-person instruction the teachers were asked to respond to questions on the tses scale for their in-person instruction. there were valid responses from 246 teachers. the mean reported self-efficacy for the overall scale was 4.22 (sd = 0.48) which corresponds to quite a bit of influence on the scale. the values ranged from 3.00 to 5.00. barry & easterly. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.109 19 objective 2: determine the self-efficacy of florida sbae teachers for online instruction the teachers were also to respond to questions on the tses scale for teaching online. the mean reported self-efficacy for teaching online was 2.98 (sd = 0.67) which is aligned with some influence on the scale. the values ranged from 1.00 to 5.00. objective 3: compare the self-efficacy of florida sbae teachers for delivering instruction at a distance and in-person. the individual items used to determine the self-efficacy scale are displayed in table 1. the items were treated as scale data, therefore comparisons between individual items were not calculated. the self-efficacy of teachers for in-person and online instruction were compared using a paired samples t-test. there was a significant difference (t (234) = 24.5 p < .01) between the tses for teaching in-person (m = 4.22, sd = 0.48) and teaching online (m = 2.98, sd = 0.67). there was a large effect size (cohen’s d = 0.79). barry & easterly. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.109 20 table 1 teacher sense of self-efficacy scale for in-person and online teaching in person online n m sd n m sd overall self-efficacy 246 4.22 0.48 237 2.98 0.67 how much can you control disruptive behavior? 246 4.24 0.75 240 2.90 1.14 how much can you do to motivate students who show low interest in schoolwork? 246 3.88 0.78 239 2.27 0.74 how much can you do to get students to believe they can do well in schoolwork? 246 4.18 0.68 239 2.79 0.88 how much can you do to help your students value learning? 246 4.02 0.78 237 2.79 0.89 to what extent can you craft good questions for your students? 246 4.28 0.68 237 3.74 0.94 how much can you do to get students to follow classroom rules? 246 4.35 0.68 238 2.93 1.00 how much can you do to calm a student who is disruptive of noisy? 246 4.24 0.72 237 3.03 1.24 how well can you establish a classroom management system with each group of students? 246 4.38 0.63 237 3.08 1.13 how much can you a variety of assessment strategies? 246 4.39 0.68 237 2.88 1.10 to what extent can you provide an alternative explanation or example when students are confused? 246 4.48 0.58 237 3.48 1.04 how much can you assist families in helping their children do well in school? 246 3.93 0.78 237 3.07 0.93 how well can you implement alternative strategies in your classroom? 246 4.28 0.69 237 2.86 0.98 note. real limits for the scale are 1.0–1.49 = nothing, 1.5–2.49 = very little, 2.5–3.49 = some influence, 3.5–4.49 = quite a bit, 4.5–5.0 = a great deal conclusions, discussion, and recommendations our first conclusion is that teachers who taught in person courses had a relatively high selfefficacy (m = 4.22, sd = 0.48) with values that ranged from 3.00 to 5.00. our second conclusion barry & easterly. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.109 21 is that teachers who engaged in online instruction had a significantly lower reported selfefficacy rating than their in-person peers (m = 2.98, sd = 0.67), with values that ranged from 1.00 to 5.00. our third conclusion is that when comparing self-efficacy scores for delivering instruction in-person versus online, the self-efficacy rating was an average of 1.24 points higher (scale of 1.00-5.00). this difference is supported by bandura’s (1977b, 1986, 1997, 2001) social cognitive theory and the interactions of personal, behavioral, and social/environmental factors. self-efficacy shapes how individuals respond to their environment, as well as the belief that one is capable to execute a course of action when faced with challenges (bandura, 1977a). as teachers addressed challenges due to the covid-19 pandemic in both their personal and professional lives (who, 2021), the modality of instruction had strong impacts on self-efficacy (cohen’s d = 0.79). the results in this study align with previous research that identified challenges teachers faced at the onset of the pandemic, including changes in teaching approaches, educational experiences, and teacher well-being (easterly et al., 2021). cardullo et al. (2021) identified factors such as perceived usefulness and system quality as predictors for teacher self-efficacy, or the belief that teachers can successfully motivate students while teaching online. when looking at types of experiences that are critical in the development of self-efficacy, the areas of mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and physiological and emotional states should be examined (bandura 1977a, 1986). the most powerful of these experiences included mastery experiences, by which an individual finds success in attempting a given behavior, and in turn be more likely to attempt the behavior again, ultimately finding themselves successful (bandura, 1986). in the case of online learning, the frustrations shared by teachers presents a hurdle for mastery experience to occur (cardulla et al., 2021; easterly et al., 2021). additionally, vicarious experiences provide the opportunity for observation of others and their success in completing a given behavior. with common struggles among teachers in the online delivery modality, this reinforcing experience may not have been present for online teachers. the last two experiences presented by bandura (1986) include social persuasion and physiological and emotional states. although we do not know the exact social persuasion that was exerted on educators, we can connect the idea that internal feelings and emotions when completing a task can inherently influence self-efficacy (bandura, 1986; mckim & velez, 2016). although teachers are flexible by nature, the emotional distress of navigating online learning in an already altered environment may have further reduced teachers’ self-efficacy (cardullo et.al., 2021; easterly, 2021). in addition, teacher attitude and the facilitating conditions in which they teach can influence self-efficacy (cardullo et al., 2021). technology issues surfaced in recent research related to remote instruction during covid-19 (who, 2021), and remains a challenge for educators (easterly et al., 2021). on the contrary, the familiarity of teaching inperson was reflected in a higher reported self-efficacy score for in-person instructors, despite factors that may have provided challenges for this modality (i.e., masks, social distancing, limited teaching practices). we recommend schools move back into in-person format when it is safe to do so. if online instruction is necessary for a protracted period, or for groups of students in vulnerable barry & easterly. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.109 22 populations, increased support for online teachers, including training on how to navigate online platforms, and professional development on pedagogical practices for engaging online learners is needed. in addition, teachers should seek teachers who are proficient in online delivery and learn more about successful practices that can be implemented. practitioners should consider offering teachers training and support in both online pedagogical practices, as well as how to navigate the extra stressors during a global pandemic. preservice teacher preparation programs should consider including practices to deliver online instruction as part of their coursework. references bandura, a. 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(2021, march). r&d blueprint and covid-19. https://www.who.int/teams/blueprint/covid-19 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 29-manuscript-211-4-11-20200213 stedman and brown advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 1, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. nicole stedman, professor, university of florida po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611-0540 nstedman@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7970-1798 2. amy brown, graduate assistant, university of florida po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611-0540 amybrown@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6378-025x 14 critical thinking perspectives of undergraduate students: how they think about climate change impacts on global food security and hunger n. stedman1, a. brown2 abstract today’s learners need support in not only developing capacity for a global mindset, but also for thinking critically about the world. employers are seeking graduates who can enter the workforce prepared to work within agriculture with the ability to understand its complexities. higher education institutions have been called upon to provide this to students and faculty are often charged with this responsibility. however, faculty are often unprepared to provide this level of instruction and need support in order to foster this in the classroom. student participants in this study were exposed to scenarios, which are a tool used to provide multiple perspectives and outcomes to real-life scenarios. faculty used the scenarios to complement course instruction with respect to the impacts of climate change on food security and hunger. using facione’s (1990) framework for critical thinking skill, statements submitted by students both prior to the scenario and post were analyzed. it was found that while students demonstrated critical thinking in both the pre and post, the post statements were much richer, in-depth, and thoughtful in how critical thinking was demonstrated. this showed that faculty support, combined with innovative teaching methods, like scenarios, will encourage students’ building of capacity for critical thinking. keywords critical thinking, higher education, scenarios, faculty development, undergraduate education stedman and brown advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.29 15 introduction and problem statement the world is rapidly changing and “employers look to colleges and universities to produce employment-ready graduates” to solve tomorrow’s problems (national research council, 2009, p. 18). in order to solve complex problems of a global nature, students must be able to think critically about them. thinking is a natural process and can often be biased, distorted, partial, uninformed and potentially prejudiced; excellence in thought must be cultivated (duron, limbach, & waugh, 2006). in today’s university climate, it is becoming a necessity to provide the world with informed, productive, and internationally minded citizens. according to the american association of colleges and universities (aac&u, 2007), “it is clear that the united states-and individual americans-will be challenged to engage in unprecedented ways with the global community, collaboratively and competitively” (p. 2). internationalization of curriculum is becoming a priority for most universities. although this problem was noted a decade ago, the national association of state universities and land-grant colleges (nasulgc, 2004) concluded the internationalization of curriculum “helps [students] to develop the global critical thinking essential to contributing as citizens of the world and competing in the international marketplace” (p. viii). in 2004, higher education associations and leaders of institutional accrediting bodies decided critical thinking was one of the six major intellectual and practical skills with which students should leave their undergraduate time (aac&u, 2004). “if critical thinking skills are not welldeveloped through the educational system, there are ramifications to our ability to make meaning in the workforce. if our ability to make meaning is limited by deficient critical thinking, it will have an impact on our ability to lead” (flores, matkin, burbach, quinn, & harding, 2013, p. 213). reinforcing this idea, the national research council (2009) challenged faculty to realign their focus on ‘transferable competencies’ in order for graduates in fanh to stay competitive. specifically, the nrc recognizes the importance of critical thinking development in students (2009). recent college graduates have been unsuccessful in the workplace at jobs any higher than entry level. this has been attributed to the students’ inadequate and poorly developed critical thinking skills. colleges must meet the demand of the industry by finding a solution to developing better critical thinking skills in undergraduate student before entering the workforce (bascuas, 2013). stedman and adams (2012) found faculty are not generally knowledgeable about critical thinking. when asked to answer questions related to critical thinking basic concepts and understanding, faculty often answered these questions incorrectly indicating a lack of knowledge about the concepts of critical thinking. a gap exists in how they are able to teach for critical thinking when they are not knowledgeable about those basic concepts. teaching critical thinking skills explicitly is possibly the most effective way to foster critical thinking skills in students. multiple studies have supported students’ general problem solving, critical thinking stedman and brown advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.29 16 abilities, language comprehension, inventive thinking, and even iq have had significant improvements when students are provided explicit instruction (abrami, bernard, borokhovski, michael, surkes, tamim, & zhang, 2008; hernnstein, nickerson, de sánchez, & swets, 1986; zohar, weinberger, & tamir, 1994). context is a large component of one’s ability to think critically. for the purposes of this project, a global perspective will be emphasized. in our increasingly global society, there is a need to provide today’s students and future employees with global perspectives and competencies (ricketts & morgan, 2009). theoretical and conceptual framework for the purposes of this study, facione’s (1990) delphi study provided the framework for defining critical thinking and skills. facione (1990) defined critical thinking as, “purposeful, selfregulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations…” (pg. 2). the delphi panel of experts consensually agreed on descriptions of the following critical thinking cognitive skills: (1) interpretation, “to comprehend and express the meaning or significance of a wide variety of experiences, situations, data, events, judgments, conventions, beliefs, rules, procedures or criteria” (p. 6), (2) analysis,” to identify the intended and actual inferential relationships among statements, questions, concepts, descriptions or other forms of representation intended to express beliefs, judgments, experiences, reasons, information, or opinions” (p. 7), (3) evaluation, “to assess the credibility of statements or other representations which are accounts or descriptions of a person's perception, experience, situation, judgment, belief, or opinion; and to assess the logical strength of the actual or intend inferential relationships among statements, descriptions, questions or other forms of representation” (p. 8), (4) inference, “to identify and secure elements needed to draw reasonable conclusions; to form conjectures and hypotheses; to consider relevant information and to educe the consequences flowing from data, statements, principles, evidence, judgments, beliefs, opinions, concepts, descriptions, questions, or other forms of representation (p. 9), (5) explanation, “to state the results of one's reasoning; to justify that reasoning in terms of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological and contextual considerations upon which one's results were based; and to present one's reasoning in the form of cogent arguments” (p. 10), and (6) self-regulation, “self-consciously to monitor one's cognitive activities, the elements used in those activities, and the results educed, particularly by applying skills in analysis and evaluation to one's own inferential judgments with a view toward questioning, confirming, validating, or correcting either one's reasoning or one's results” (p. 10). stedman and brown advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.29 17 each of these skills are then broken down into subskills further refining their application. the manner in which skills are used has been applied to specific contexts, facione confirming that the context determines the successful application. however, "while ct skills themselves transcend specific subjects or disciplines, exercising them successfully in certain contexts demands domain-specific knowledge, some of which may concern specific methods and techniques used to make reasonable judgments in those specific contexts" (facione, 1990, p. 5). tomorrow’s graduates in fanh will face challenges on a global scale. preparing them to solve these problems must be a primary goal for colleges of agriculture. to do so, teaching faculty must be able to teach in a way that encourages and fosters critical thinking. as terenzini, springer, pascarella, and nora (1995) noted, critical thinking is an “enduring skill, that it is a central element in lifelong learning, and that it is an appropriate skill for colleges and universities to develop among students” (p. 24). in order to accomplish the transfer of critical thinking skill. instructors created scenarios, which are similar to case studies. this provides a much more fertile foundation for developing and using critical thinking skills. wilson and ralston (2006) developed a process for the creation of scenarios, which was adapted for the purposes of this project. each step in this process is a critical point of adding value and exposing mental models and assumptions during the scenario project. these 18 steps are also in four general phases of scenario planning, namely, (a) “getting started, (b) laying the environmental analysis foundation, (c) creating the scenarios, and (d) moving from scenarios to a decision” (wilson & ralston, 2006, p. 25). purpose the purpose of this study was to identify changes in undergraduate students’ use of critical thinking skills when thinking about the impacts of climate change on global food security and hunger. the study was guided by a single objective, to identify students use of critical thinking skills prior to instruction compared to post instruction. methods this qualitative study was designed to assess the impact of critical thinking instruction on undergraduates thinking about climate change and global food security and hunger. faculty instructors were recruited to participate in an academy on critical thinking in efforts to promote capacity building of critical thinking of undergraduate students in colleges of agriculture across the southeastern united states. faculty participated in a three-month online academy that included specific modules on critical thinking, critical thinking pedagogy, climate change, food security and hunger, scenario and scenario development, instructional design, and teaching contentious topics. thirteen faculty created scenarios which were used as instructional resources in their classrooms. the courses included non-profit leadership, family sciences, food sciences, contemporary agricultural issues, environmental health, and agricultural communication. this is important aspect, as according to facione (1990) the value of critical thinking in context contributes to the development of capacity. scenarios were used in the stedman and brown advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.29 18 classes from fall to spring 2018. faculty implemented the scenarios as part of existing course lesson. each scenario was 10-15 minutes in length and included: an introduction to belize, video content related to the topic, additional support resources, and specific elements of the scenario (objectives, knowledge/data/expert insight, future scenarios, and plan(s) of action. faculty invited students to participate in the study and as a result 142 pre-test and 243 post-test statements were collected via qualtrics. this qualitative portion was part of a larger mixmethods study, which included a cultural questionnaire developed during a previous research project, as well as a demographic portion. using a qualitative design, both pre and post-tests were analyzed using structural coding based on facione’s (1990) critical thinking skills. students were asked to respond to one question for both pre and post-test, “what is your current understanding of the impacts of climate change on global food security and hunger?” two researchers worked independently to code student statements for critical thinking. the two sets were then compared to codify the identified skills. findings participants of the study included students enrolled in courses across a range of disciplines. participants self-reported demographic data. of the participants responding their reported classifications included freshmen (n=3), sophomore (n=18), junior (n=41), and senior (n=57). ninety-two reported female as their gender with 27 reporting male. ethnicities included american indian or alaskan native (n=1), asian (n=4), black or african american (n=19), hispanic or latino (n=16), and white caucasian (n=79). to further understand the participants, they were asked if they had traveled to latin america, and if so where. of those who responded, 41 indicated that they had traveled to latin america with countries visited including costa rica, mexico, brazil, guatemala, colombia, dominican republic, puerto rico, el salvador, haiti, chili, honduras, and belize. the following provides examples collected from the students’ and post-tests. of the six skills, the following were most frequently demonstrated in the pre-test, explanation (16), interpretation (25), self-regulation (29), and inference (38). in the post-test statements, students demonstrated four of the six skills including explanation (12), interpretation (28), selfregulation (29), and inference (30). while the statements were not identified in a manner to compare individual student responses, findings were determined by aggregate, comparing the total pool of statements provided by students across all the courses included in the sample. for the pre-test, table 1illustrates statements, which demonstrated critical thinking skill. stedman and brown advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.29 19 table 1 examples of student statements illustrating critical thinking skill (n=119) critical thinking skill quote 1 pre quote 2 post interpretation “food security and climate change are the result of larger systemic issues in global society. i believe both are issues that stem from the current economic issues on the global market. the profit of using fossil fuels and other environmental hazards outweighs the future damages. and food security is a result of resources not being utilized properly or given generously because of the greater appeal of capital gain.” “this study has made me aware that many factors come into play when considering a "solution." by solution i mean this is a big problem that can't be fixed with a single solution but a set of solutions that highlight a part of the bigger problem.” “i currently believe that climate change is a prominent issue in the world today and it has a major effect on our environment. i believe that if we don't change the way we are using nonrenewable resources and other things that are polluting the air, we can damage earth in a permanent and irreversible. in terms of food security, it is definitely an important issue all across our country and around the globe. people have problems getting access to the proper food they need to survive.” “i knew that food insecurity was a wicked problem, but adding the unknown caused by climate change just adds a whole other wicked problem that would have to be addressed. i feel due to the environment that i have grown up, prior to this activity, i was unable to really think critically or understand a problem like this and how there is more than just food insecurity to address. definitely a complex problem that doesn't have just one, or even 5 answers.” inference “despite what many say, the climate is changing. global temperature is rising, our polar caps are melting, and from my understanding, we are headed down a dangerous path. food security is asterisk as well, however, genetic modification is “now, i understand the urgency behind climate change and how intrinsically it is linked to food security. for many countries, especially in the caribbean and south america, food security will stedman and brown advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.29 20 helping us create disease and pest resistant crops that allow us to advance crop production.” be drastically affected by climate change and rising sea levels. not only, do temperature changes affect the growth of different produce, but if sea levels were to rise drastically, it would decrease the land area many of nations require.” “i believe that the climate change and particularly the precipitation patterns are affecting the mississippi delta crops in regard to less rainfall in the summertime. less rainfall means pumping excess water from the ground. therefore, depleting the aquifers. as a result of this, food security could be a problem if one day we are not able to water our crops.” “i still believe that climate change is caused by global warming as i have observed. for food security, it is still a problem in contemporary times. in the us, there are food deserts still. there are also places that people do not have access to fresh foods and only have fast food restaurants. in that regard, its kind of increases the obesity rates.” explanation “my understanding is that they both are largely affected by increase in population. with an increase in population we are putting a strain on our environment, which then has adverse effects on our climate. food security is challenged when our climate becomes so volatile, which is not helped by increasing demand due to current population levels.” “my beliefs and understanding of climate change and food security are largely unchanged. i believe climate change is an issue humans have helped create due to negligence. i am concerned about the effects of climate change on the environment, quality of air and water, and availability of food. i think as climate change becomes worse, there will be many more who are food insecure due to potential increased prices of food. i think we will also need to be more creative in how food is grown, and what we stedman and brown advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.29 21 do with food waste after it has been consumed.” “climate change is a real issue that should be addressed and taken seriously by all global citizens. climate change is connected to food security as it produces unpredictable weather, natural disasters (such as droughts, tsunamis, and hurricanes), etc. that kill entire harvests and food supplies. therefore, people who are solely dependent on agriculture for their income and live in agricultural societies (like sub-saharan africa) face higher food insecurities and are heavily affected by climate change.” “following my participation in the scenario, i learned that climate change and food security go hand in hand. climate change includes things like hurricanes, droughts, and rain patterns which all affect the production of food. many third world countries are affected greatly because of this. they do not have the resources and technology to preserve their food and they have to find alternate ways to earn money to buy food or ways to grow food during these changing weather patterns.” self-regulation “i personally have not done much research into the matter and cannot give a solid opinion on whether it is happening or if it is not.” “i was unaware of the large correlation between climate change and food security, also my idea of what food security is has changed. i did not know it meant the ability to foresee where your food is coming from in the future.” “i know there is an underlying issue with the two topics, but i'm not exactly sure how to fix the problem of climate change and food security.” “my current beliefs are even more so in support of developing ways which can have a significant positive impact on countries which are threatened by climate change and food insecurity. it is especially necessary to analyze the evidence we already have to ensure that we are considering all potential impacts to a community, its people and stedman and brown advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.29 22 their families. evidencesupported legislation which can promote resilience in communities as well as increase the ability for residents to recovery quickly is important to determine because without it climate change and food insecurity could lead to serious trauma for millions of individuals.” conclusions, discussion, and recommendations it is clear that post instruction students were more likely to use a breadth of critical thinking skills, demonstrating a higher capacity for critical thinking. students were also able to more accurately describe the impacts, so while they may have used inference in the pre-test, how inference was used and depth of thought in demonstrating inference was greater after use of the scenario. this supports terenzini, springer, pascarella, and nora (1995) in that students need support on how to apply the skills. the transferability of critical thinking skill is evident and the clarity in which they are demonstrated by the student further impacts the ways in which students can transfer that skill set. it is important for faculty to continue to encourage students to not just thinking broadly, but deeply about climate change and its impacts on global food security and hunger. the application of context is supported by facione (1990) and showcases that teaching critical thinking in a context promotes its use and application. faculty need to be encouraged to promote critical thinking in their instructional activities, as showcased in the scenarios created and implemented in this study. stedman and adams (2012) recognized that faculty need support and resources in order to better facilitate the teaching of critical thinking skill. faculty who participated in this study were provided ample instruction on critical thinking, scenario development, and climate change/food security. with those instructional aids in place, faculty and students demonstrated higher levels of a capacity for teaching and learning. further, wilson and ralston (2006) model for developing scenario-based learning objects showed to be beneficial in its application to student learning, especially in the context of critical thinking. while the results of this study are not broadly transferable, it is clear that specific support for faculty related to critical thinking facilitates the building of capacity for students. further, explicit instruction, clarity in delivery and expectation were also provided to student participants. this enabled the learners to fully understand and appreciate that demonstrating critical thinking as an outcome of the lesson was important. the lessons were more than just stedman and brown advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.29 23 learning about the impacts of climate change on food security, it was being able to demonstrate critical thinking in that context. this study provided a baseline of data related to how students can build capacity for critical thinking. however, further information is needed with respect to understanding how discipline or context-specific teaching influences this. student participants represented a wide range of disciplines and pinpointing how and when critical thinking is taught and promoted across curriculum is another important consideration. overall this study sought to identify the impact that context-specific scenarios emphasizing critical thinking had on students’ ability to demonstrate critical thinking skill. in this study, students were able to demonstrate critical thinking prior to the implementation of the scenario; however, the manner and depth in which they applied the skills increased greatly after the scenario use. students learning of critical thinking must be context-specific, continuous, and supported across their curriculum. faculty also need to be supported in their instruction of critical thinking, whereby helping to teach students who not only have a global perspective but can truly think about what is happening in the world around them. references abrami, p. c., bernard, r. m., borokhovski, e., michael, a. w., surkes, m. a., tamim, r., & zhang, d. (2008). instructional interventions affecting critical thinking skills and dispositions: a stage 1 meta-analysis. review of educational research, 78, 1102–1134. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308326084 association of american colleges and universities. (2004). our students’ best work: a framework for accountability worthy of our mission. aac&u, washington, d.c. bascuas, k. (2013). most employees are only average at critical thinking. http://associationsnow.com/2013/02/study-most-employees-are-only-average-atcritical-thinking/, (accessed on june 2016). duron, r., limbach, b., & waugh, w. (2006). critical thinking framework for any discipline. international journal of teaching and learning in higher education, 17(2), p. 160-166. facione, p. (1990). critical thinking: a statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction. the california academic press: santa clara, ca. flores, k. l., matkin, g. s., burbach, m. e., quinn, c. e., & harding, h. (2012). deficient critical thinking skills among college graduates: implications for leadership. educational philosophy and theory, 44(2), 212-230. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.14695812.2010.00672.x stedman and brown advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.29 24 hernstein, r. j., nickerson, r. s., de sánchez, m., & swets, j. a. (1986). teaching thinking skills. american psychologist, 41(11), 1279-1289. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003066x.41.11.1279 nalsugc. (2004). a call to leadership: the presidential role in internationalizing the university. report of the nasulcg task force on international education, october 2004. ricketts, k. g., & morgan, c. (2009). internationalizing leadership development: important components within educational international leadership experiences. journal of international agricultural and extension education, 16(2), p. 21-34. https://doi.org/10.5191/jiaee.2009.16202 stedman, n. & adams, b. (2012). identifying faculty’s knowledge of critical thinking concepts and perceptions of critical thinking instruction in higher education. nacta journal, 56(2), p. 9-14. terenzini, p. t., springer, l., pascarella, e.t., & nora, a. (1995). influences affecting the development of students’ critical thinking skills. research in higher education, 36(1), 2339. the national research council. (2009). transforming agricultural education for a changing world. washington, d.c.: the national academic press. wilson, i., & ralston, w. (2006). scenario planning handbook: developing strategies in uncertain times. belmont, ca: south-western educational. zohar, a., weinberger, y., & tamir, p. (1994). the effect of the biology critical thinking project on the development of critical thinking. journal of research in science teaching 31(2), p. 183-196. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660310208 © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). trotman, mechelle grad school gilmer & fuhrman advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 2, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. lauryn gilmer, county extension agent – 4-h, university of georgia, p.o. box 510 jesup, ga 31598, lauryn.gilmer@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6603-8760 2. nick fuhrman, meigs professor of environmental education, university of georgia, department of agricultural leadership, education and communication, 135 four towers building, athens, ga 30602, fuhrman@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0969-0541 110 student perceptions after touching vs. holding educational animals l. gilmer1, n. fuhrman2 abstract educators often use small animals as ambassadors of agricultural and environmental messages during presentations. these animals may include rabbits, chickens, and reptiles such as turtles and snakes. although learners may be provided opportunities to touch or hold these animals, this presents a variety of safety and liability issues for the learner and animal. little is known about whether touching or holding an animal influences perceptions of the animal and related agricultural and environmental issues. this qualitative study investigated the perceptions of 16 fifth grade students who experienced a live, tactile encounter with a corn snake and eastern box turtle while participating in an educational class using four focus groups. regardless of whether students touched the snake or turtle, or fully held the animal, participants noted the uniqueness of the experience and their empathy for the animal and its habitat. students who fully held the animal thought that they learned more during the experience while students who touched the animal mentioned getting to know the animal better, regardless of whether the animal was a snake or turtle. when learners are unable to completely hold small animals, educators should consider the equally positive outcomes that can result from touching these animals. keywords agricultural education, animal ambassadors, environmental education, experiential learning, reptiles as teaching tools gilmer & fuhrman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.129 111 introduction and problem statement many children in rural and urban areas alike have had little to no experience with native wildlife in their communities. the combination of increased urbanization, dwindling natural spaces, and increased time indoors has sparked concerns regarding children’s diminishing direct contact with nature and agriculture (louv, 2006; strife & downey, 2009). agricultural and environmental educators often use small animals such as rabbits, chickens, and reptiles as ambassadors of educational messages to build agricultural and environmental literacy during presentations to children because of their ease of transport and handling (fuhrman & ladewig, 2008; siegel, 2004). exposure to live animals, including reptiles, in educational settings can reduce stress, provide hands-on learning experiences, and even enhance rapport between educators and learners (fuhrman & rubenstein, 2017; hummel & randler, 2012; von bergen, 2015). educators who provide safe animal encounters can create a more inclusive educational environment (siegel, 2004) and promote lifelong learning opportunities (newberry et al., 2017), one of the united nations’ sustainable development goals (united nations, n.d.). engaging youth with animals they are more likely to see locally can also provide benefits. some suggest that increasing knowledge in youth of the most common local organisms is crucial: in practice, most individuals have far greater opportunities to protect local biodiversity rather than to protect exotic species and learners are more likely to interact with native species on a daily basis (ballouard et al., 2011; kreger & mench, 1995). conclusions from trainin et al. (2005) posit that in the classroom with children, uniqueness of the animal visiting the students impacts their perceptions of it. although agricultural and environmental educators alike are encouraged to provide safe animal encounters to emphasize human-animal connections (pedersen, 2010), little is known about whether the intensity of a learner’s touching or holding encounter with an animal influences perceptions of it and the overall environment in which they are learning. animals can help educators move learners along the continuum from awareness to action and they can help accelerate the agricultural, environmental, and even health literacy of students (balis et al., 2019; hudson, 2001). while educators may not have direct access to captive wildlife such as reptiles, agricultural animals, including goats, have been used to promote physical and mental health during “goat yoga” (balis et al., 2019) while pet rabbits have helped reduce anxiety in youth in a classroom environment (daly & suggs, 2010; siegel, 2004). however, touching and holding educational animals presents a variety of safety and liability issues for the learner and animal alike. knowledge of whether animal interaction intensity influences perceptions of the animal is needed to justify the risks associated with touching or holding them. in recognizing that live, tactile animal encounters make a significant difference in a person’s perception of that animal (shiloh et al., 2003), it is likewise important to discern and understand what makes that encounter so worthwhile and beneficial for the participant. gilmer & fuhrman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.129 112 theoretical and conceptual framework live animals have been providing memorable and beneficial learning experiences for decades. studying the use of animals in educational settings is more novel. little is known qualitatively about how one’s physical interaction with animals in an educational setting may influence learner outcomes. sherwood et al. (1989) were some of the first to call for more research on the link between animal handling and positive affective outcomes, reporting that positive changes in student attitudes (short and long-term) were statistically greater when students handled live animals. others have reported emotional benefits of physically touching an animal when compared to simple observation (kidd & kidd, 1995), including the touching of nonvenomous snakes (ballouard et al., 2012; stanford, 2014). reptiles, such as snakes, have received more attention because of stereotypes often associated with such species. although klingenberg (2014) suggested the impact of touching rather than observing an animal impacts emotional encouragement and positively alters cognitive outcomes, does holding an animal produce different benefits? significant psychological benefits can result from touching an animal (hummel & randler, 2012; mallon, 1992; meadan & jegatheesan, 2010; siegel, 2004). giving young children a chance to interact with animals of any kind, especially those with negative preconceptions (snakes), can help to create positive formative experiences in addition to correcting existing negative behaviors. in fact, if students have an initial negative response to an animal that does not exclude them from being able to overcome that initial perception with the assistance of a new experience and possibly even develop an affinity for the animal throughout their life (bixler et al., 1994; shalev & ben-mordehai, 1996). shalev and ben-mordehai (1996) argued that when given the opportunity to form positive interactions with feared organisms such as snakes, the experience alters perceptions from negative to positive and can be perceived as satisfying. the experience can even be empowering (shiloh et al., 2003). this is important for educators engaging participants in hands-on learning experiences because it suggests that the extra effort needed to facilitate experiential-based activities can have lasting benefits on learners. however, more research on the psychological effects of animal encounters is needed as it is still unknown whether varying degrees of contact with the animal (e.g., touch versus complete handling) may produce even deeper psychological benefits (daly & suggs, 2010). purpose the purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the perceptions of fifth grade students who experienced a live, tactile animal encounter while participating in an educational reptile class. given existing research supporting the effectiveness of touching live animals on participants’ psychological and emotional outcomes, this study further explored the “why” of this impact and questioned if level of physical engagement with an animal can influence outcomes. specifically, we compared touching versus holding an eastern box turtle (terrapene carolina) and corn snake (pantherophis guttatus) on student outcomes. these species were selected because of their prevalence in environmental education animal encounters in the gilmer & fuhrman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.129 113 southeastern united states and overall disposition as an educational animal ambassador. these species are also often used as classroom pets by science teachers (rud & beck, 2003). the following research objectives guided data collection: 1. describe the perceptions that students have of turtles and snakes after touching them with only two fingers. 2. describe the perceptions that students have of turtles and snakes after handling them fully. 3. describe any differences in the perceptions that students have of turtles and snakes based on the intensity of their touching encounter. methods research context student selection for the purpose of this study, the student participants were fifth grade elementary school students from a private christian elementary and middle school in the southeastern united states. students attended the barrier island environmental education center reptile class where prior research investigating animal touching in an educational setting had been conducted with students and adults of various ages. a convenience sample of students from the participating school was obtained, and students experiencing either a presentation involving two-finger touching of the eastern box turtle and corn snake or full handling of the same two species were invited to participate in the study. students had not previously attended educational activities at the center and, when possible, were unaware which group experienced touching or full handling to prevent the introduction of bias educator selection for the purpose of this study, the lead author acted as the sole educator in an effort to maintain consistency in presentation style between the two-finger touching groups and full handling groups. this individual had been teaching environmental education using reptiles for more than five years. having the dual role of educator and researcher further employed the use of creswell’s (2012) persistent observation techniques, as the educator could directly observe and interact with the students as teaching occurred. data collection prior to the school’s visit to the education center, the researcher made a visit to the participating school in order to build trust with participants and learn the classroom culture. each of the three fifth grade classes which came to the center were visited, and students had the chance to meet the researcher/educator and ask questions about their potential involvement in the study and visit to the education center. once on site, students experiencing either the presentation with a two-finger touch encounter with the eastern box turtle and corn snake or a presentation with complete handling of the eastern box turtle and corn snake (if comfortable doing so) were invited to participate in a focus group with the educator/researcher. students were made to feel comfortable in sharing their responses by being given a set of group discussion guidelines by the researcher. these guidelines followed gilmer & fuhrman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.129 114 suggestions from gibson’s (2014) recommendations for interviews with children. in addition, responses to introductory demographic type questions were asked at the beginning of the discussion to extract rich data about prior experiences with reptiles and animals in general. questions about students’ pets and reptile familiarity allowed the researcher to interpret previous levels of contact that participating students had with animals. the researcher conducted four focus groups of three to five students each in a classroom on site with students who had submitted a parental permission form. the first focus group consisted only of students who two-finger touched the animals, while the second group consisted only of students who fully handled the animals. the third and fourth focus groups each contained a mixture of students who either two-finger touched or held an animal. the distinction between classes that received either the two-finger touch or full handling experience was based on the educator’s discretion in order to distribute equally the experiences among each of the six total presentations that were given to the school. each educational presentation consisted of 15 students from the school and lasted approximately one hour. each of the four focus group discussions lasted 25 to 40 minutes, were audio recorded, and transcribed verbatim. data analysis prolonged engagement and persistent observation in the field, which included a visit to the classroom of the participating school, helped develop initial trust and rapport with youth participants. once focus group data were transcribed, member-checking was used to reflect with youth back in their school to ensure accuracy of their accounts (lincoln & guba, 1985). the researcher also used methodological journals to ensure consistency in facilitating each focus group. themes were derived from focus group responses and domain analysis, a form of content analysis, was used to further summarize the raw data into categories (spradley, 1980). from the themes and constructs found in the focus groups, a cross tabulation was made of the perceptions of the students from the groups that either two-finger touched or fully held the turtle and snake. subjectivity of the researchers was considered during data collection and analysis. the lead author has worked in the field of environmental education for nearly 10 years and has experience using animals as teaching tools in formal and nonformal educational settings. the second author has worked in environmental education for 25 years and teaches courses in the use of live animals as message ambassadors. findings four recurring themes emerged from the raw data following focus groups with the fifth-grade students who touched or held the eastern box turtle and/or corn snake. according to these students, learning with live, tactile animal encounters involved: (a) novelty, (b) confidence, (c) discovery, and (d) empathy. these overarching themes were then further broken down into sub-themes to describe participant experiences with greater richness. gilmer & fuhrman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.129 115 five students from the touching groups participated and eleven students from the holding groups participated. there were eight females and eight males and most students had some prior animal interaction experience with a snake or turtle (see table 1). table 1 sample demographics and level of animal interaction (two-finger touch or hold) participant sex pets at home prior animal interactions in-class animal interactions (snake and turtle) focus group 1 p1t m fish, dog touched snake, turtle touched both p2t f undetermined touched turtle touched both p3t f none touched snake touched both focus group 2 p4h m hedgehog held snake held both p5h m 2 dogs, snakes (past) both held both p6h f 2 dogs, hamster touched snake, turtle held both p7h f dog and hermit crabs held snake, touched turtle held both focus group 3 p8t f dog, bearded dragon touched snake touched both p9h m dog touched snake, turtle held both p10h m 2 dogs and 1 cat touched snake, turtle held both p11h m cat touched snake, turtle held both focus group 4 p12h m none held snake held both p13h f 3 dogs touched snake held both p14h f dog touched snake held both p15t f none touched turtle touched turtle only p16h m dog touched snake, turtle held both note. p# = participant number, t = touching, h = holding, m = male, f = female. gilmer & fuhrman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.129 116 novelty animal novelty students from focus group 1, where they only two-finger touched the animals, in particular discussed the idea of novelty being a reason that a certain animal, either the box turtle or corn snake, was most memorable to them. according to p1t, i liked the turtle because, snakes, usually when i go places like this, we get to touch snakes and stuff. they always bring out corn snakes and types of snakes, and just…like i usually don't see turtles and box turtles, and i really like them. p2t also commented, “i thought about the snake because i never touched one before today, so it was kind of cool because it was different.” these students felt that having an experience with an animal that they had never interacted with before, or had only limited interactions with, made a significant impact on what they remembered from the live encounter. uniqueness of experience other students in all four focus groups expressed the idea that novelty of the experience itself, touching or holding a box turtle or corn snake, was most memorable. when asked which animal stuck out to them the most, p3t commented that, i think the snake [stuck out the most] because it's just so neat because normally i feel you wouldn't normally be able to touch them you just learned about them in class…i thought it was really cool because you could see all the different features of the snake and not just the picture… and i also thought it was going to feel really hard, like hard scaly, but it was a lot softer and a lot smoother. students in all four focus groups were asked to react to a scenario where only a video of a turtle and snake were shown without the live specimens. p3t reacted by saying, i would be a little upset because i honestly really still would kind of be afraid of snakes; and i really just kind of thought snakes were mostly super hard, but they're really not because i got to touch the turtle and the snake. it just makes you get to know them better and, like, and learn more than if we just watched a video. i probably wouldn’t pay attention to the video. it catches your attention when you’re learning and you actually get to touch them. these students reported that they were benefiting more from a live touching encounter over a video because it was an experience that they could not normally have in their typical classroom learning environment and they expected that type of experience at an educational center. element of fun (feeling animal movement) students in focus groups two, three, and four where holding the animals was emphasized (see table 1) felt that being able to observe and even feel an animal’s behavior and reaction to being touched and held by a human helped the students see a different side of the animal and enhance their learning experience. being in the moment was important to p5h because live action was more exciting, i think if you can't touch or hold the animal, you shouldn't show it. you should do a video, so to touch it you don’t feel bad. like an aquarium – it’s different because you see there’s something in action. gilmer & fuhrman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.129 117 this student felt that it was a disappointment to have only the chance to see, not hold, a live animal. p12h also commented that, “i would be pretty sad because that's pretty fun, actually getting to hold and that's kind of the point, really.” these students associated visiting an environmental education center with the expectation of getting to hold a live animal. confidence reduced fear focus groups one through four also shared similar comments on the topic of increased confidence after their animal encounter. several students expressed that they were worried or scared prior to the encounter, but felt better afterwards. after a touching encounter, p3t said, i also like the snake because i just think it's so neat to actually be able to touch it, and also normally i would think that i would be scared of snakes; but they can’t really harm you unless you harm it and get too close to it. they’re really not that scary. this initial discomfort or fear would have made it harder to learn about the animals, as reported by the students. increased confidence made it easier to connect with the animals. after a holding encounter, p7h responded, “when i first touched the snake, i was a little scared that it might bite me; but then i got comfortable with it. and now i'm just, like, it just felt much better and was cooler.” this student further stated that, “for snakes, if it bites you, you shouldn't just not try touching it again because then it's just like riding your bike when you fall off and you don't try again.” increased comfort when asked about how they would feel if they encountered a box turtle or corn snake (safe/healthy or one that needed aid) in the wild after meeting one in captivity, p3t commented, if i saw a snake in the wild i would probably just try to stay calm and slowly walk away. i don't want to be near that, but after today i think i would be a little more comfortable but still try to keep my distance from it. and for turtles…kind of the same answer as them like if one was stuck in the middle of the road or if you could tell it couldn't turn over like before, i would definitely help it or find someone to help it. in focus group two, p4h added, “yeah. before you took it [snake] out, i was like, ‘this is fine.’ but once you took it [snake] out i got a little bit more nervous, but once i actually started touching it, i got used to it.” interacting with the snake and seeing the instructor interact with the snake helped this student to become more comfortable with an animal that was previously unnerving. in focus group three, students also commented that they were slightly afraid of the turtle because it could bite or scratch, but when they had the chance to interact with it, they were able to see it in a different way that helped to increase their comfort levels. seeing the turtle move and reacting to interactions made the students laugh, which increased their comfort. p9h commented, “i don't really know how to say it about the turtle, but i know how to say it more about the snake. if it seems scary to you, make those scary things in your head look funnier and then you'll like it.” gilmer & fuhrman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.129 118 discovery another pervasive theme among all four focus groups was that of personal discovery. students in both the touching and holding groups reported that part of the uniqueness of the experience, increased comfort, and having more fun was because they were experiencing something themselves, firsthand. experiential encounters made a difference to these students in terms of what they were learning, getting to know the animal better, and relating to the animal. as p4h who held the corn snake recounted, well, i really learned more about it [snake] because, like, you get to feel it and discover things by yourself…you don't tell them something, like if you don't tell us that it's scaly and you feel it, you can see [feel] it's scaly. p5h who also held the corn snake added, “it's like just discovering something on your own first it's something different. and so at this age we think it's, like, cooler if we have something done differently than other people.” feeling the different animals really made an impact over just seeing the animals themselves. although observing was still beneficial, the students would not have made personal discoveries without the chance to explore with the additional sense of touch. rather than taking someone’s word for it, discovering something themselves helped students in this study build more connections. the experience of holding the animals made the animal more real to some students, as p4h said, “i just feel like it's more real…you learn more.” empathy desire to help overwhelmingly, multiple students in all four focus groups reported feelings of empathy in relation to the corn snake and eastern box turtle. while not all students felt the same about both animals, empathetic tendencies were reported for both from different students. touching an animal helped to create feelings of friendship for p3t in focus group one, “maybe you could actually kind of meet them. it's almost like you are friends with them sort of.” both focus group one and two where students touched (focus group 1) and held (focus group 2) the turtle and snake had students comment on putting themselves in the place of one of the animals in response to their habitat being lost or the animal being killed as a result of human activity. as p3t shared, before this class i probably would have been like, oh well, you know there are bunch of other corn snakes, but after, now that i realize how neat they are, i would be a little upset, you know. you didn't have to do that [kill a snake]. you could have just let it be, you know. they probably would have moved somewhere else eventually. p13h also responded, “so i would feel bad for the snake and the human because the snake was dead; but i think that for my friend and neighbor, because they didn't know…” this student commiserated not only the death of the animal mentioned in a scenario, but also the human choice because that person might have made a different decision had they known better, and they might be disappointed in themselves once they realized what they had done. students also reported actions they would take to help these animals, such as advocating for them, educating others about them, or calling someone to help them if they could not or did gilmer & fuhrman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.129 119 not feel comfortable to help the animal themselves. as p7h stated, “i would say, ‘what if you were the snake and someone killed you because you were living in your habitat?’” and p9h added, “kind of the same thing as p11h and p10h god put all the animals here for a reason; and if you're one of those animals, you would want help too.” being able to put themselves in the place of the animals showed that touching or holding helped students to connect more to the corn snake and eastern box turtle. as p8t shared, “i think that if you would get your own house taken away, then you would want someone to help you. you would want to do the same thing back to other people, but we could do it for animals too.” respect some students also reported that there was an appropriate time, setting, and place for touching animals such as turtles and snakes. when shown photographs that disallowed petting or touching of animals, most students agreed with the signs. students would understand not handling or touching wild animals that are not accustomed to human contact. as p6h and p7h responded, “you shouldn't just go touching and pushing and shoving because what if someone did that to you always and tried to pick you up and touch you all the time? it's just uncomfortable.” p1t also commented on the no touching signs with, “yeah. i can understand why. i can understand because the turtle’s just doing its own thing. he doesn't need someone to just come up and be like “ooh!” and start messing with him.” p2t added, “...like p1t said, that turtle isn't really used to being touched, and also i think some animals just don't really probably like being touched as much.” even though these students only interacted with a two-finger touch, there were empathetic attitudes demonstrated for the snake and turtle in relation to how the animals themselves would feel about interacting with humans. feelings of empathy toward animals have been found to influence positive environmental behaviors (batson, 1991; fuhrman, 2007). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations across all four focus groups, students discussed their reactions to touching and holding the corn snake more often than the eastern box turtle. the turtle may have been brought up less than the snake because, as shalev and ben-mordehai (1996) postulated, snakes produce more excitement, intrigue, fear, and other emotions compared to other animals. fuhrman and rubenstein (2017) reported that the novelty of handling a snake and excitement that such interaction can have on observers may be one reason why educators select snakes to use in teaching demonstrations. this suggests that agriscience teachers may consider live or model teaching tools which have a unique behavior or feature to use as an interest approach as they create an environment conducive for learning. however, novelty was especially prevalent where students only touched either the snake or turtle. out of the five students who two-finger touched either the turtle or snake, all reported positive feelings about the animals with which they interacted. however, these students also felt that it was not always appropriate to touch animals, even though it was a beneficial learning experience. all educators should emphasize gilmer & fuhrman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.129 120 the importance of a sense of caution when engaging with any animal. when unpredictable behaviors in animals occur, educators should highlight these “teachable moments” and use them during reflections with students. all five of the two-finger touch students also had prior experience touching reptiles (see table 1), and some even shared prior experiences helping or encountering similar animals in the wild or in their own yard. each student touched something in the classroom that they had touched previously, even if only minimally. these students still reported that novelty was what made the corn snake stand out over the eastern box turtle. touching also seemed to help students get to know the animals better, aligning with previous findings (ballouard et al., 2012; bixler et al., 1994; shalev & ben-mordehai, 1996; stanford, 2014). students who experienced holding the corn snake and eastern box turtle emphasized the uniqueness of the experience and feeling it move in their hands. while virtually all of the students in this group had previous experience touching snakes and turtles, few of them reported a significant holding experience. many of these students also had pet dogs or cats at home, which could have influenced their animal interaction confidence. as seen with the touch group, many of these students also had other prior experiences that may have contributed to their feelings about these animals. some of these students had encountered turtles or snakes in the wild, and had even taken some action to help or move some turtles or snakes away from danger or roadways. whether the animal ambassador is a turtle, snake, or other agriculturallyrelated animal, educators should consider relying on students with previous animal encounter experiences to help those students with less experience as a mentor. these students also displayed a high amount of empathy towards the animals, reporting feelings of sadness at the idea of box turtles or corn snakes being killed by human activity. compared to those who touched the corn snake or eastern box turtle, several students who held the snake or turtle mentioned how the experience helped them “learn more,” something for additional exploration compared to only touching (fuhrman & ladewig, 2008). overall, regardless of whether students touched the corn snake or eastern box turtle or fully held the animal, participants noted the uniqueness of the experience and their empathy for the animal and its habitat. through their touching and holding experiences, the students felt like they learned things about the animal that they otherwise would not have been able to know. students felt more engaged, had more fun, and paid more attention when they had a direct, experiential opportunity to interact with a snake or turtle. this is important for agricultural and environmental educators with opportunities for students to either touch or hold an animal. this study found that both touching and holding experiences were beneficial in their own ways and should be encouraged, when appropriate. given our findings, we recommend that educators seek out ways to create opportunities for students that allow for individual, direct, and novel experiences during an animal encounter. such an encounter would allow students to engage with animals in a manner that produces higher quality learning, a deeper sense of empathy for the animal, and helps with overcoming fears or misconceptions of these animals. this study found that when safety and liability issues gilmer & fuhrman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.129 121 prevent learners from completely holding a snake or turtle, educators should consider the equally positive outcomes that can result from touching a snake or turtle with two fingers and provide opportunities for such experiences. references balis, l. e., marshall, c., malcolm, a., & harden, s. m. 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(2015). emotional support animals, service animals, and pets on campus. administrative issues journal: connecting education, practice, and research, 5(1), 15– 34. https://doi.org/10.5929/2015.5.1.3 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 95-manuscript-1303-1-11-20210518.docx silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 2, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. colby j. silvert, doctoral student, university of florida, 408 rolfs hall po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, colby.silvert@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2055-7597 2. john diaz, assistant professor, university of florida, 408 rolfs hall po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, john.diaz@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-8759 3. laura a. warner, associate professor, university of florida, 408 rolfs hall po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, lsanagorski@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2784-6666 4. willis ochieng, doctoral student, university of florida, 408 rolfs hall po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, wochieng@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2456-480x 1 to work alone or with peers: examining smallholder coffee farmers' perceptions influencing collective actions c. silvert1, j. diaz2, l. warner3 , w. ochieng4 abstract this study examines how smallholder coffee farmers’ perceptions may influence their engagement in peer mobilization and collective action. forty smallholder coffee farmers were interviewed in the central highlands region of peru using a closed-ended instrument. the sample of smallholder farmers was achieved using purposive and snowball sampling methods. quantitative data on farmers’ attitudes and aspirations regarding working with peers, autonomy, and external support as well as knowledge, skills, and behaviors pertinent to collective actions were collected and analyzed using descriptive and correlational procedures. key findings indicate farmers perceive a need for external support, feel there are benefits of collective actions, and aspire to work with their peers. based on the findings, it is recommended that practitioners and farmer group leaders focus training efforts on building smallholders’ knowledge and skills in mobilization, encourage peer association/collective action as a source of external support, and target knowledgeable, skilled and confident farmers to lead collective actions. this study has implications to bolster support for farmer-to-farmer extension and technical assistance systems and inform the identification of leader farmers. keywords association, autonomy, farmer-to-farmer, leader famer, peru silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.95 2 introduction and problem statement smallholder agricultural development is an investment priority for donors and international development organizations; yet many smallholder households are still food insecure and below the poverty line (fanzo, 2017; international fund for agricultural development [ifad], 2016; united states agency for international development [usaid], 2019, world bank, 2013). several studies have indicated that smallholder farmers disproportionately face agricultural constraints impeding their emergence from poverty. for instance, smallholders often struggle to market produce and achieve commercialization due to unaffordable transaction costs and risks (e.g., transportation costs to sell small produce quantities) (arias et al., 2013; poulton et al., 2006). productivity is also often diminished because smallholders cannot access key inputs such as extension and finance (agribusiness commercial legal and institutional reform diagnostic [agclir], 2016; arias et al., 2013). talbot (1997) suggested smallholder farmers producing global commodity crops, such as the coffee producers in this study, confront an additional elevated risk of income loss caused by volatility of the international market. the majority of peru's coffee producers are smallholder farmers who cultivate land plots averaging three hectares (7.4 acres) in size (united states department of agriculture foreign agricultural service [usda], 2018). association and cooperative organization, in which farmers work together with their peers in a formal or semi-formal capacity, may position smallholder farmers to better compete and commercialize in the globalized food system. through the establishment of producer groups or cooperatives, smallholders commonly achieve improved negotiating power and economic benefits including higher prices (lowitt et al., 2015; usda, 2018). in peru, the most established coffee farmer groups have linked farmers with finance and direct-to-consumer markets (usda, 2018). unfortunately, lack of trust and social cohesion commonly discourages cooperation among smallholders (lowitt et al., 2015). thus, many smallholder farmers may opt to pursue most of their farm and commercialization work alone or as a household. furthermore, while nongovernmental organizations (ngos) often provide important external support to help smallholders establish groups (markelova et al., 2009), ngo support may also lead to overdependence inhibiting the sustainability of collective efforts (bebbington et al., 1996; markelova et al., 2009). given the nuances and documented advantages of collective actions (i.e., peer cooperation and mobilization), there is a need to better understand the potential barriers which may influence smallholders' sustainable engagement in collective actions. theoretical and conceptual framework the conceptual framework guiding this study was structured using modified elements of the bennett's hierarchy evaluation model (bennett, 1975). the component of bennett (1975) measuring changes in knowledge, attitudes, skills, and aspirations (kasa) has been adapted for this study to frame the examination of farmers' perceptions related to working with peers and silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.95 3 collective actions. the authors concentrated on these areas because researchers have more commonly studied assets, technical capacities, and market conditions affecting smallholders' mobilization and cooperation behaviors (barham & chitemi, 2009; fischer & qaim, 2012). few studies, however, were found which directly measured personality and intrinsic factors that may influence farmer group mobilization and collective actions. fischer and quaim (2014) explored determinants of member participation in farmer groups by comparing economic and asset-based costs and benefits, as well as evaluating individual-level trust and attitudes toward collective actions. they did not, however, measure these intrinsic variables (trust and attitudes) based on farmers' reported perceptions. rather, trust and attitudes were inferred based on farmers' involvement in outside social groups. the researchers claimed, while these variables are important, a limitation in their study was the difficulty in measuring trust and attitudes using a structured study (fischer & quaim, 2014). barham and chitemi (2009), on the other hand, directly surveyed farmers on perceived trust of their farmer group members (using a likert-type agreement scale) related to money, help in times of need, and trust more generally. their study also explored the farmers' sense of altruism. the researchers did not discover significant relationships between trust and altruism and commercialization behaviors and outcomes (barham & chitemi, 2009). these studies and the lack of additional inquiries emphasize the need for more depth and diversity in scholarly methods investigating smallholders' intrinsic factors related to engagement in collective actions, which the present study aims to address. this study also examines how farmers' perceptions about external assistance may influence issues of over-dependence on outside support. moreover, the authors of this study could not locate previous research exploring how collective actions relate with farmers' attitudes and aspirations regarding autonomy in their production and commercialization in contrast with receiving external support. it is important to consider that "external support" may commonly be conceptualized as outside technical assistance (ta) or finance providers but could also constitute farmers working together (i.e., forming a farmer association) who contribute to enhanced collective capacity (silvert, 2020). furthermore, while reliance on ngos and other external facilitators may lead to over-dependence and discourage sustainable advancement (bebbington et al., 1996; markelova et al., 2009), collective actions and farmer-to-farmer mobilization could be local sources of capacity and self-reliance (sesonga, 2018; simpson et al., 2015). hence, learning about potential linkages between farmers' perceptions and attitudes on outside support and working together with peers could shed new light on barriers to sustainable collective actions and commercialization. as described by the research gaps above, this study applied variables aiming to capture farmers' attitudes and aspirations on working with peers, autonomy, and external support. these variables were examined within a framework comprised by the kasa constructs by bennett (1975) (see figure 1). therefore, an additional variable measured farmers' selfreported knowledge and skills related to mobilization to appropriately align with bennett (1975) (see figure 1). finally, two behavioral variables (farmer-reported frequency of silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.95 4 engagement in learning or extension activities and pooling of production) were also included to examine linkages between farmers' aspirations and attitudes and related outcomes. figure 1 conceptual illustration of factors explored for influencing farmers' collective actions note. this figure visualizes the intrinsic factors and knowledge and skills examined in this study for impacts on smallholder coffee farmers' engagement in collective actions. knowledge, skills, attitudes, and aspirations modified from bennett (1975). purpose the purpose of this study was to explore smallholder coffee farmers' perceptions that may influence their engagement in mobilization and collective action. to achieve this purpose, two specific objectives guided this study: 1. describe farmers' engagement with external support including extension, farmer association(s) and the private sector. 2. explore how farmers' perceptions of autonomy compared to receiving outside assistance relate to their perceptions about mobilization and working with peers. methods data collection we partnered with the universidad peruana de ciencias aplicadas and the shared-x company, both located in peru, to accomplish data collection. shared-x is known as an agricultural impact company, involved in coffee production and marketing, based in lima, peru (shared-x, n.d.). peruvian agribusiness students were trained then administered the questionnaires via interviews in spanish following best practices for cultural sensitivity (suvedi & kaplowitz, 2016). data collection efforts were not complicated by the 2020 coronavirus disease (covid-19) silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.95 5 pandemic as international travel restrictions were not yet implemented at the time of fieldwork. adult (18+) smallholder coffee farmers in peru comprised the target population for this study. we achieved a sample of 40 smallholder coffee farmer participants (n = 40), residing in three central highland communities in the peruvian junín and pasco regions. we employed multistage purposive sampling by working with shared-x to identify and recruit volunteer coffee farmers. snowball sampling was also used in the field by asking coffee farmers to identify additional potential participants to survey. a portion of the farmers in the study had sold or had present agreements to sell coffee to shared-x, while others produced and marketed independent of the company. working together with shared-x, we aimed to achieve a representative, heterogeneous sample, which resulted in 57.5 % men and 42.5 % women farmers ranging in age from 20 to over 60 (see table 1). fruit or tamales were given afterwards to volunteer farmers as tokens of gratitude for their participation. instrumentation we developed the instrument to measure the variables of interest using primarily closed-ended questions and likert-type scales modeled from previously-introduced knowledge and skills, attitudes, and aspirations (kasa) constructs by bennett (1975). this study's variables were extracted (based on their relevance to collective actions and perceptions of autonomy and external support) from the questionnaire by (silvert, 2020) and were treated as individual likert-type items (clason & dormody, 1994). we also included two variables measuring farmers' frequency of extension and learning, and frequency of pooling production. additionally, farmers reported their demographics, educational level, and recent external and technical support (sources within the past one year). participants were asked to evaluate their level of agreement with affirmative statements related to attitudes, aspirations, and knowledge and skills on collective actions, autonomy, and external support using a five-point scale: 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = neutral; 4 = agree; and 5 = strongly agree. we also requested farmers self-report about their extension and pooling production behaviors using a five-point response scale measuring their frequency performing the behaviors: 1 = never; 2 = rarely; 3 = sometimes; 4 = often; 5 = always. all data in this study were derived from farmers' self-reported interview responses. before collecting data in peru, a seven-member panel of experts reviewed the survey instrument for content and face validity. the panel included university of florida and peruvian extension professionals, survey design specialists, and international development researchers. furthermore, the instrument was translated from english to spanish and reviewed for cultural appropriateness by a team of native spanish speakers, peruvian extension professionals, and shared-x employees. while all variables are treated as individual items in this study, the majority of the questionnaire's original 21 kasa items comprised an index that was deemed reliable using cronbach's alpha coefficient (α = .721), which is a widely-accepted indicator of internal consistency for index-based survey design (ary et al., 2019). silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.95 6 data analysis we calculated frequencies for data on farmers' demographics and previous external support. then we applied central tendency descriptive procedures (mean and standard deviation) followed by correlational analysis, using spearman's correlation coefficient (rs), to all of the individual likert-type items (kasa and behavior variables) to examine direction and strength of association between pairs. spearman's coefficient is calculated based on ranking the two variables (schober et al., 2018). findings objective 1: describe farmers' engagement with external support including extension, farmer association(s) and the private sector. we documented farmers' formal education and the agriculture-related educational, extension and technical assistance sources from which they received outside support in the previous year. only 10% of farmers reported university/tertiary-level schooling while the majority (85%) were formally educated until the primary or secondary level (see table 1). technical assistance (ta) pluralism was lacking for most farmers (ta) in the previous year (see table 2): 80% of farmers reported receiving ta from the private sector, 12.5% of farmers from government sources, and 12.5% via a farmer association or cooperative. ngos, donor agencies, and research institutions were the least reported external support providers. table 1 overview of farmers' demographics demographic no. (n) % sex male 23 57.5% female 17 42.5% age aged 20 to 30 7 17.5% aged 31 to 45 14 35.0% aged 46 to 60 13 32.5% aged 61 and up 6 15.0% education level primary 11 27.5% secondary 23 57.5% tertiary/university 4 10.0% vocational 1 2.5% none 1 2.5% note. n = 40 silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.95 7 table 2 farmers' recent experience with technical assistance and extension external support no. (n) % technical support in previous 1 year yes 34 85.0% no 6 15.0% provider/sources of support in previous 1 year ngo or donor 2 5.0% government 5 12.5% private sector or input dealer 32 80.0% farmer association 5 12.5% research institute 1 2.5% note. n = 40 objective 2: explore how farmers' perceptions of autonomy compared to receiving outside assistance relate to their perceptions about mobilization and working with peers. mean and standard deviation were the measures of central tendency applied to describe each the variables related to farmers' perceptions of collective actions, autonomy, external assistance, and self-reported knowledge and skills and behavioral frequency. descriptive data could range from 1.00 to 5.00 based on the five-point response scale. farmers' aspiration to learn from other successful farmers was the greatest mean (4.95) among the variables (see table 3). farmers' knowledge and skills in mobilization of a group of farmers produced a mean of 4.25. farmers' perception that they do not need external support to develop their agricultural business resulted in a lower mean (m = 2.20). similarly, a mean of 2.40 was reported for farmers' ability to commercialize using their own resources. the majority of variables' standard deviations (sd) ranged from 1.00 to 1.50. however, the two aspiration variables (learn from other successful farmers and grow trust with other farmers) had smaller standard deviations (.22 and .81, respectively). for the two self-reported farmer behaviors, producers reported a higher frequency of engaging in learning and extension activities (m = 3.95) than they reported for engaging in pooling of production (m = 2.81) (see table 4). silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.95 8 table 3 farmers' perceptions and knowledge and skills central tendency measures n m sd knowledge and skills: mobilize a group of farmers 40 4.25 1.15 working together with other farmers will help me earn more 40 3.70 1.24 i can commercialize using own resources 40 2.40 1.39 i can increase productivity using own resources 40 2.75 1.41 i don't need external support to develop ag. business 40 2.20 1.20 i have the power to negotiate for better prices 40 3.38 1.43 i can earn more money than most other coffee producers 40 3.83 1.15 i aspire to learn from other successful farmers 40 4.95 .22 i aspire to work to grow trust with other farmers 40 4.58 .81 note. variables were analyzed as individual likert-type items using a five-point agreement response scale. table 4 farmers' collective and extension behaviors central tendency measures n m sd behavioral frequency: learning or extension activities 40 3.95 1.20 behavioral frequency: pooling production 36 2.81 1.69 note. variables were analyzed as individual likert-type items using a five-point behavioral frequency response scale. we applied correlational analysis using spearman's correlations to examine strength and direction of associations between pairs of the knowledge and skills, perceptions, and behavioral frequency variables in tables 3 and 4. the correlations resulting from this analysis (see table 5) ranged from small (< .01) to large (> .50) (cohen, 1988). power to negotiate better prices was significantly correlated with knowledge and skills to mobilize (rs = .37) and had inverse associations with two variables: ability to commercialize using own resources (rs = -.31) and do not need external support to develop the agricultural business (rs = -.36). do not need external support to develop the farming business had its strongest inverse correlation with farmers' perception that working with other farmers will help them earn more (rs = -.51). farmers' belief that they could earn more money than most other local producers showed positive correlations with two other variables: knowledge and skills to mobilize (rs = .38) and power to negotiate better prices (rs = .40). on the other hand, the earn more money than most other producers variable had an inverse association with perceived ability to increase productivity using own resources (rs = -.44). finally, there were two significant correlations, both negative, with the two behavior variables. farmers' frequency of engagement in learning and extension associated inversely with do not need external support to develop the agricultural business (rs = -.38). frequency of farmersilvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.95 9 reported pooling of production showed an inverse correlation with perceived ability to commercialize using own resources (rs = -.40). table 5 correlation matrix of farmers' perceptions of collective actions and external assistance and farmers' collective and extension behaviors 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 knowledge and skills: mobilize a group of farmers working together with other farmers will help me earn more .25 i can commercialize using own resources -.30 -.22 i can increase productivity using own resources -.28 -.14 .46** i don't need external support to develop ag. business -.09 -.51** .34* .39* i have the power to negotiate for better prices .37* .30 -.31* -.21 -.36* i can earn more money than most other coffee producers .38* .17 -0.22 -.44** -.18 .40* i aspire to learn from other successful farmers .12 .01 .01 .06 -.03 -.18 -.13 i aspire to work to grow trust with other farmers .33* .29 .20 -.34* -.33* .18 .46** .08 behav. frequency: learning or extension activities .23 .09 -.21 -.16 -.38* .13 .30 .06 .19 behav. frequency: pooling production .05 .26 -.40* -.10 -.02 .07 -.12 -.13 -.14 -.17 note. n = 36-40. correlation coefficients are spearman’s correlations. * significant at p ≤ .05. ** significant at p ≤ .001. silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.95 10 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations smallholder farmers can achieve numerous economic benefits through collective actions and the mobilization of peers (arias et al., 2013; campos et al., 2005; usda, 2018). three key conclusions emerge from this study to understand the intrinsic factors that may influence smallholders' collective actions. first, findings suggest smallholder farmers perceive important benefits from boosting their knowledge and skills in mobilization. second, results imply smallholders consider collection action with peers an important source of external support, which should be distinguished from other types of external support. finally, the data indicate farmers with knowledge and skills and confidence in their abilities aspire to work to build trust with their peer farmers. the correlations between farmers' knowledge and skills to mobilize and their perceived negotiating and earning powers suggest farmers believe their positioning to market could be enhanced via capacities related to collective actions. improved marketing opportunities could benefit smallholders through increased incomes. although knowledge and skills may not always correspond with behaviors, this conclusion is corroborated by previous research which suggests ability to mobilize and pursue collective actions contributes to greater negotiating power and returns (lowitt et al., 2015; usda, 2018). it should be noted that structural and collective considerations, not assessed in this study, may also influence marketing power. for instance, the number of peers and their commitment toward mobilization could determine produce quantities and impact leverage over marketing opportunities (campos et al., 2005). inverse associations between farmers' aspiration to grow trust with peers and their perceptions toward autonomy in their agricultural activities imply farmers' perceived need for external support could potentially be fulfilled through collective action. additionally, analysis of the behavioral variables indicates farmers who engage in pooling produce feel they need commercialization assistance. these findings are important because research indicates assistance from external organizations and actors may negatively decrease self-reliance and cause over-dependence (bebbington et al., 1996; markelova et al., 2009; silvert, 2020). however, if forms of external assistance are distinguished (e.g., temporary donor projects versus a local farmer association), farmers' perceived need for outside support could be channeled toward potentially more sustainable, local sources of capacity. the final conclusion infers the characteristics of smallholder farmers who may lead among peers in the pursuit of collective actions. correlational results suggest farmers who are knowledgeable and skilled in mobilization aspire to grow trust with peers. the positive association between perceived earning ability and aspiration to build trust also indicates farmers' confidence and self-efficacy may be perquisites to collective action. these findings could inform the identification of leader farmers to champion mobilization and collective actions. furthermore, this suggests capacity building around collective actions may be an important starting point to increase farmers' motivation to pursue working with their peers. silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.95 11 leader farmer approaches are commonly employed in developing contexts to facilitate peer-topeer mobilization and learning (sesonga, 2018; simpson et al., 2015). this study provided new insights to understand smallholders' perceptions related to collective actions. refinements and expansion of the variables and instrumentation, to potentially develop multi-variable constructs, are recommended for future inquiries. this study was limited by its relatively small sample size. for future explorations, the power of analyses should be increased using a larger sample (israel, 2009). based on this study's findings, we recommend practitioners and farmer group leaders focus training efforts on building smallholders' knowledge and skills in mobilization, encourage peer association/collective action as a source of external support, and target knowledgeable, skilled and confident farmers to lead collective actions. when possible, opportunities should be explored for farmers' perceived need for outside assistance to be fulfilled by peer, communitybased groups rather than external organizations' (e.g., ngos and donor programs). practitioners and farmer leaders can learn from examples of peer-to-peer agricultural extension systems, both formal and informal, which have become common in development contexts (simpson et al., 2015). experiential exchange visits and farmer-led field days are useful techniques to demonstrate the operations and benefits of collective actions for interested farmers, and research suggests farmers often learn more from fellow farmers than external practitioners (suvedi & kaplowitz, 2016; van den ban & hawkins, 2002). finally, training and targeting more innovative farmers, such as those with technical knowledge and skills and greater self-efficacy, may play a crucial role in farmer-to-farmer systems to set trends for other farmers and contribute to disseminating improved behaviors (rogers, 2003; simpson et al., 2015). acknowledgements support to conduct fieldwork for this study was provided by partners in peru from the universidad peruana de ciencias aplicadas and the shared-x company and especially these individuals: ivan loyola, dr. raul injoque, joel barboza, rosalina cuchca, and jimy lovato. the authors are also thankful to vanessa campoverde and francisco rivera for their review and translation of the survey instrument. references agribusiness commercial legal and institutional reform diagnostic. 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(2013). agriculture action plan 2013-2015. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/331761468152719470/pdf/779110wp0ag0ac0th an0the0board0paper.pdf © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 43-manuscript-393-1-11-20200526 harriman et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 2, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. hallie c. harriman, agriculture and natural resources county extension agent, university of georgia 8724 john marshall hwy., star tannery, va 22654 hallieharriman99@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1279-3231 2. nicholas e. fuhrman, josiah meigs distinguished teaching professor, university of georgia 135 four towers | athens, ga 30602 fuhrman@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0969-0541 3. kathleen k. kelsey, professor and director, impact evaluation unit, university of georgia 203 lumpkin house, 145 cedar st., athens, ga 30602 kaykelseyuga@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9683-6993 4. kyle m. woosnam, associate professor, university of georgia 180 e. green st., athens, ga 30602 woosnam@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6674-7578 24 forest management and empowerment: a phenomenological inquiry into the experiences of women forestland managers in the state of georgia, usa. h. harriman1, n. fuhrman2, k. kelsey3, k. woosnam4 abstract women are increasingly becoming the primary decision-makers of forested properties throughout the united states. the purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of women forestland owners in georgia. a qualitative phenomenological research design was used to interview nine female forestland owners. three themes emerged from the semi-structured interviews. participants stated that land management involved: (a) initial feelings of inadequacy (an imposter syndrome), (b) personal and professional resources, and (c) genuine relationships. the theory of empowerment provided a basis for interpreting the findings and aided in the development of recommendations for future practice and research. we found that women experienced a temporary imposter stage early in land management that gave way to feeling empowered as their experiences with managing land increased. access to trustworthy information, as well as genuine relationships with forestry professionals and other landowners, played key roles in such advancement. we recommend strategies for natural resource professionals to consider, including encouraging formal and informal networking opportunities when working with female audiences, including at educational outreach events like those hosted by extension. keywords empowerment theory, forestry, natural resource management, underrepresented audiences, women landowners harriman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.43 25 introduction and problem statement a growing phenomenon occurring throughout the united states is that women are increasingly becoming the primary decision-makers of forested properties. in a field historically dominated by men, this has resulted in gender-based differences in perceptions of land ownership and services rendered. for instance, management philosophies and objectives differ as men are more likely than women to own their land for privacy, hunting, recreation, or timber purposes (butler et al., 2018). women are less likely to participate in active management than men, including harvesting timber for sale, and participating in landowner assistance programs (butler et al., 2018). furthermore, studies regarding adult learning indicated that women preferred different learning mediums and strategies than men (grover & miller, 2014; fegel et al., 2018; redmore & tynon, 2010). these variances can result in ineffective outreach and extension programming for female audiences, which translates to poor adoption rates of best management practices among women timberland managers. the research reported here qualitatively explored the experiences of women timberland managers in georgia, u.s. and how empowerment theory can facilitate greater understanding of women’s educational preferences and professional relationships (perkins, 2010). women are visible in nearly all natural resource occupations, whether in the field or office (redmore et al., 2011; wagner, 2015). research conducted over the past twenty years indicated that perceived gender differences exist and have preserved a culture of gender and racial exclusivity within forestry that advantages white men above other groups (pinchot institute for conservation, 2006). for instance, white men overwhelmingly comprise the majority of workers in the u.s. forest industry. recent figures show that 71.3% of conservation scientists and foresters are male, while 26.9% are female (datausa, 2017). private landowner demographics are similar on the national scale (butler et al., 2016) as 78% of primary landowners were male and 22% were female (usda, 2016). however, as of 2016, the gender makeup of forested property owners in the u.s. shifted, whereby secondary landowners [generally spouses and/or children] accounted for 83% of respondents (usda, 2016). the growth in female ownership is attributed to an increase in land inheritance from parents, an increase in property purchases by women, and a tendency of women to outlive their male spouses (butler et al., 2018; effland et al., 1993; warren, 2003). with this trend comes a need to better understand the educational preferences and professional relationships of women when engaged in land management. landowner education is a primary concern for many natural resource organizations, particularly those promoting active land management objectives in tandem with conservation-based philosophies. cooperative extension plays a critical role in disseminating research information to the public. kuhns et al. (2004) reported that men and women think differently about forestry, particularly from a management perspective. other studies have also reached similar conclusions in that women were more likely than men to manage their property for wildlife and aesthetic purposes, whereas men sought consumptive or utilitarian purposes for their property harriman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.43 26 (crim et al., 2003; lidestav & ekström, 2000; redmore, 2009). women were also more likely than men to see value in networking, outreach and workshops, and mentors (pinchot institute for conservation, 2006). these fundamental differences in management philosophies and learning preferences are essential to consider when planning cooperative extension activities and prompted the need for the current study. theoretical and conceptual framework the theory of empowerment allowed the researchers to identify key variables that may have influenced participants’ experiences. the term empowerment is utilized by many disciplines and has varied meanings (page & czuba, 1999). a general, yet popular definition of empowerment describes it as the process of gaining mastery over one’s life (rappaport, 1984). for the purpose of this research, empowerment was defined as: an intentional ongoing process centered in the local community, involving mutual respect, critical reflection, caring, and group participation, through which people lacking an equal share of valued resources gain greater access to and control over those resources; or a process by which people gain control over their lives, democratic participation in the life of their community, and a critical understanding of their environment (perkins, 2010, p. 207). further exploration into empowerment recognizes the existence of psychological and personal empowerment (pe). pe is generally described from a psychological perspective, and it is comprised of two constructs, locus of control and self-efficacy (sadan, 1997). kieffer (1984) viewed pe as a long-term process of adult learning and development. based on those beliefs, an empowerment framework was created with four stages that are particularly relevant for those in cooperative extension, they are entry, advancement, incorporation, and commitment. entry is motivated by an individual’s experience of some life-changing or threatening event to oneself or family (kieffer, 1984). as individuals advance, they experience a mentoring relationship, supportive peer relationships with a collective organization, and an understanding of social and political relationships (kieffer, 1984). as individuals enter the incorporation stage, they perceive a growing recognition of organizational standing (kieffer, 1984). finally, commitment occurs when individuals apply their new participatory competence to their lives (kieffer, 1984). the theory of empowerment directly relates to a female land manager’s ability to make informed, confident decisions. cooperative extension professionals are likely to play a key role in influencing pe and feelings of self-efficacy among female land managers through educational interventions. however, the types of intangible and tangible empowerment outcomes are not currently known, nor understood, among georgia female landowners, which prompted the need for this study. harriman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.43 27 purpose the purpose of this study was to discover the essence of how women experienced timberland management in georgia. two research questions were used to guide data collection and analysis: (a) what do women experience as forest land managers in georgia? and (b) how do women experience forest management in georgia? insights gained from this research were used to create guidelines to better serve female landowners regarding active land management. methods phenomenology was deemed appropriate for this study due to the need for an in-depth understanding of the emic or lived experiences of women in land management positions (creswell, 1998; van manen, 2014). this approach allowed female timberland managers the opportunity to share obstacles, successes, revelations, and other pertinent experiences in a safe space. location and sample population georgia was deemed ideal as a study location due to its status as one of the top forestry states in the u.s. (georgia forestry commission, 2017). for instance, georgia is #1 in commercially available, private timberland, #1 in annual timber harvest volume, and the #1 exporter of pulp, paper, paperboard mill products, wood fuel, and wood pellets (georgia forestry association, 2017). women who own land in georgia are likely to be engaged in active management practices, which made for an appropriate study audience. the population for this study stemmed from two georgia forestry organizations, ladies for their land and greene-morgan forest landowner’s association. all participants met the following selection criteria: identified as female; owned, co-owned, or planned on inheriting the property being managed; had the authority to make land-use decisions; and the managed property was a minimum of 10 acres. nine participants completed the study. interviews data were collected through in-depth, face-to-face interviews with nine participants. interviews followed a semi-structured protocol with probing questions to further explore the phenomenon in question. the guide consisted of ten main questions and fifteen sub-questions. pseudonyms were assigned to participants to protect their privacy. after interviews were completed, we conducted a member check by sending each participant a verbatim transcript of their respective interview, as well as conversation highlights to verify accuracy of the data (janesick, 1994; lincoln & guba, 1985). all participants responded to the member check. harriman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.43 28 subjectivity statement the lead author conducted all interviews and provided leadership for the analysis of all data. she grew up on 12 acres of forestland in virginia’s shenandoah valley and spent much time outdoors. she holds a bachelor’s degree in natural resource conservation, with a minor in forestry, a master’s degree in agricultural and environmental education and has worked for a department of forestry where she was afforded the opportunity to interact with private landowners. she believes that gender equality within forestry is essential and that strength lies in bringing diverse perspectives to bare on solving complex problems. limitations the data presented here are limited to nine female landowners in georgia and cannot be generalized beyond the participants. in phenomenological research, the researchers are considered the data collection instruments (creswell, 2007). this introduces bias due to the researcher’s experiences and perspectives. along with the aforementioned subjectivity statement, an interview guide and journaling exercise were created from a comprehensive literature review to minimize data collection bias and ground the study in the literature. by purposefully sampling female participants, we inherently created a space where gender entered the academic conversation. consequently, all participants mentioned something gender related. it is possible that in a blended female/male study, participants would have been less likely to acknowledge and share gendered experiences. data analysis reflexive thematic analysis (rta) was used to identify patterns and synthesize meaning across a dataset (braun & clarke, 2008; maguire & delahunt, 2017). we employed the following rta recommendations for analysis: (a) familiarization with the data, (b) coding, (c) generation of initial themes, (d) cross examination and review of themes, and (e) finalization of themes (braun & clarke, 2008). in order to establish trustworthiness and quality throughout the study, we adhered to lincoln and guba’s (1985) approaches for increasing credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability (table 1). table 1 approaches to ensure trustworthiness and quality approach description strategies employed credibility establishes truth value, which corresponds to overall confidence in study findings persistent observations, documented reflections, peer debriefing, and member checks transferability contributes to the rigor of a study by demonstrating the applicability of the research purposive sampling and thick description dependability establishes consistency all changes made throughout the study were noted to provide absolute transparency confirmability demonstrates objectivity practiced reflexivity harriman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.43 29 findings demographic profile of participants participants were asked to provide demographic information at the time of the interviews. two-thirds of participants co-owned the property they managed, while one-third solely owned and managed their respective properties. the amount of acreage owned varied greatly from 100-3,500 acres. participant age ranged from 45 to 84 years (average = 68 years). more than half of the participants were widowed, and all identified as white. what and how participants experienced as forestland managers three themes emerged from the semi-structured interviews. participants stated that land management involved: (a) initial feelings of inadequacy (an imposter syndrome), (b) personal and professional resources, and (c) genuine relationships. imposter syndrome women forestland managers experienced an imposter syndrome period when they initially took on management roles. five participants reported feeling out of place, overwhelmed, inexperienced, and/or not qualified to make decisions on their own due to a lack of familiarity with forest management. these experiences occurred early in their land management roles but faded as time went on. alice alluded to this by sharing her largest obstacle when she first began managing her land. she said, “not knowing enough. just not knowing enough.” other participants mirrored this sentiment by sharing similar accounts about their initial dive into land management. for example, becky said, “i would call myself emerging [she began solely managing her property in 2018-2019] … i’m just so overwhelmed with all that there is to learn … now we depend on our forest manager.” seven participants inherited property. these women initially found it more difficult to assume a land manager identity because their husbands or fathers were the primary caretakers of the land. hollie shared in her interview that she “fell into it [land management].” ingrid expanded upon her personal situation by communicating her feeling of displacement after her husband passed away by stating, so, when my husband retired … he started buying up some pieces of land that had been in his family and i didn’t really know what he was doing. i was busy with my little things … so, i have not really known about being a forester or forestry or anything like that until after he died. and i found myself the owner of a lot of pine trees and a lot land where i had to figure out what to do with it. the imposter syndrome was a transitional stage for participants. they eventually achieved confidence in their roles as land managers. catherine shared she was “… much more knowledgeable. more confident. more relaxed” after learning the ropes in forest management. all of the participants had similar experiences of personal growth and development and continue to gain confidence in their ability to manage. harriman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.43 30 personal and professional resources all participants were thoughtful listeners and tended to make calculated decisions based on personal knowledge and advice from a trusted forestry professional. six participants reported consistently wondering about and hoping that they were making the correct land management decisions. faith said, “i am always wondering if i’m doing the right thing for the environment.” all participants also stated that it was important to take an active, rather than passive, role in managing their properties and viewed continuing education as necessary for their success. becky shared the importance of using guidance from a variety of forestry professionals, as well as her desire to make more independent decisions in the future. becky said, i think a repeated, but consistent experience … is getting the job under control and feeling that i know all the tasks i need to do to manage our timberland well. as i learn, i rely on the advice of professionals. i get help and guidance from our forestry consultant, attorneys, and our accountant. we have access to wonderful help from capable, wise, ethical men. at the same time, i know that the decisions are mine. i have to take the information given by these experts … and make the best decision possible. at first, i relied totally on their advice and have not made bad decisions but realize that our family has choices and we are the people responsible for the decisions made about our timberland. all participants discussed the importance of having access to reliable, trustworthy sources of forestry information. hollie noted the landowner forestry organization she belonged to (greene-morgan forest landowner’s association) had increased her interest in management techniques and approaches. she expressed her reliance on her consulting forester and briefly described their relationship. hollie said, “and having a good manager, you know. i don’t know anything about what i should be doing or anything … and so, my manager is a valuable asset.” alice also shared an in-depth response detailing her advice to other land managers. she was particularly adamant about the need to reach out to all kinds of resources. alice said, there is so much learning to be done about how to manage your farm or forest. you could spend from now until forever researching, reading, and practicing new skills and tactics for healthy land management. one of the best ways to do this is by joining organizations, associations, and various groups that share in your interests … information and technical assistance can be gathered through many resources like the usda, cooperative extension, universities, the society of american foresters, local registered foresters, and neighboring landowners. these conduits can provide meaningful material and act as inspiration for your own land practices. the preference of information conduits varied amongst participants. the top three resources mentioned included landowner organizations, forestry professionals, and federal or state sponsored forestry organizations, which included cooperative extension. resources are further described in table 2. frequency refers to the number of participants who cited using this resource. harriman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.43 31 table 2 educational resources used or mentioned by participants via interviews landowner organizations f other landowners 9 greene-morgan forest landowner’s association 8 ladies for their land 3 georgia forestry association 2 forestry professionals f registered foresters / consultants 9 timber buyer / logger 4 attorney / accountant 2 federal or state sponsored f georgia forestry commission 6 natural resources conservation service 4 cooperative extension 3 non-profit f american tree farm system 1 longleaf alliance 1 society of american foresters 1 other land management resources f various online and in-text publications 2 all participants valued continuing education courses but noted they can be improved upon. participants cited a need for more small landowner workshops. catherine said, i think people that are coming out of forestry school are trying to manage large, large tracts of land. work for corporation. manage it that way rather than for a small landowner … and small landowners … it may not be economical for them to do things the way … somebody that owns several hundred thousand acres would do. donna, a small landowner with 106 acres, said, “the small landowner is at a disadvantage … because an awful lot of the loggers don’t want to fool with you.” alice expanded upon small landowner woes by adding forestry programs are geared towards “industry” or larger landholdings. there was veritable participant interest in inviting forestry professionals to land events, such as procurement representatives, buyers, loggers, mill operators, and college faculty / staff. catherine was especially interested in more workshops that focused on the timber market and harriman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.43 32 associated taxes. catherine also noted there is a lot of overlap between forestry education workshops and events. she said, “eventually they’re all the same. you’ve been to enough of them that … there’s not much new.” donna expressed the same sentiment and said, “there is some stuff lacking for people like me [advanced landowners].” providing a workshop series based on skill level and interest was proffered by donna and supported by two other participants. the cost of attending forestry programs was also mentioned as an obstacle by two participants. genuine relationships the participants believed in creating genuine relationships with forestry professionals and other landowners, and a strong sense of community was present. when asked about her experiences with the current culture of forestry, becky viewed the “good ole boy system” in an optimistic light. she stated, “good ole boy almost sounds crooked. there’s also the good ole boys where the boys are good. and they just … treat everybody right.” faith echoed this statement and described her positive relationships with local forestry organizations and personnel. she reported it is because of the “small town living” often found in rural communities. she found the qualities in rural areas, such as helping your neighbor, “carries over in those agencies [gfc] because they’re all local guys.” gemma fixedly stated for other female land managers to not be afraid and to, “go out there and find yourself someone who’s been there, done that, and they can point you in a good direction. having trusted, sage advice is invaluable.” she strongly believed that most forestry professionals and organizations were looking out for the landowner’s best interest. all participants noted genuine relationships revolved around mutual respect and a feeling of being valued. both the landowner and the forestry professional must hold themselves to high personal standards when working with one another. eleanor said, if someone speaks to me with respect for me and my need and desire to know more – i’m far more comfortable whatever their recommendations are because i don’t feel like there’s some hidden agenda or that they’re pushing me through. all participants were asked what ingredients made for a healthy, professional relationship with forestry professionals. they overwhelmingly responded with three qualities: respect, honesty, and knowledge. becky shared an additional quality: clout in the industry. she reported it was helpful for a forestry professional to have regional knowledge, as well as influence. becky also found it extremely helpful, at the beginning of her managing career, to have a consultant who was welcoming. she felt welcomed by receiving emails and reminders about upcoming management events, as well as the occasional phone call to let her know about a beetle outbreak or some other happening that might affect her forestland. faith reported that establishing credibility is vital in the landowner-forestry professional relationship. she shared, in her experience, facilitating “cooperation and eagerness” was key to strong partnerships and successful management projects. eleanor offered some sage advice related to genuine relationships with forestry professionals. she shared, “i would recommend that any new land harriman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.43 33 manager look for a forestry consultant with the heart of a teacher and an interest in long-term, sustainable solutions for your land as well as a long, healthy working relationship with you.” genuine relationships imply mutual respect between landowners and forestry professionals. throughout the study, participants were asked what made them feel accepted as landowners in their local forestry communities. hollie expressed involvement as a key factor in feeling accepted. she reported that honest, consistent communication helped her feel accepted because she felt valued and appreciated. gemma, who was both a landowner and forestry consultant, shared her views on acceptance as a forestry professional by stating, “i’ve been entrusted with peoples’ livelihood, peoples’ inheritances, peoples’ way of life. you know they trust us – me – to make these big decisions …that shows me that i’m trusted, and i’m accepted. your reputation [your word] is everything.” alice saw forestry as a vibrant, robust, and positive network of landowners, forestry professionals, and organizations. she fittingly said, “the people in forestry are some of the best people you’ll ever meet. they’re real people, who have real values and are interested in helping each other.” conclusions, discussion, and recommendations in summary, more than half of the participants in this study reported initially feeling out of place, overwhelmed, inexperienced, or not qualified to make decisions on their own due to a lack of familiarity with forest management upon acquiring their land. this experience was categorized as a type of imposter syndrome, which refers to a state where individuals find it hard to believe they deserve credit for what they have achieved, and remain internally convinced they do not belong (sakulku & alexander, 2011). the imposter syndrome relates most closely to the empowerment theory (kieffer, 1984; lord & hutchison, 1993). regarding participant experiences, the described phases were not experienced in a specific order. some participants experienced all the phases, while others experienced only a few. participants built confidence in management decisions after experiencing entry, advancement, incorporation, and commitment (kieffer, 1984). based on study findings, participants in the entry stage acquired land via inheritance or purchase. in the advancement stage, participants sought out information to learn independently, often by contacting a trusted, public organization. they also established a mentoring relationship with a trusted forestry professional and other landowners. in the incorporation stage, landowners became active within local forestry organizations. finally, participants demonstrated commitment by implementing active land management practices with confidence. forestry organizations and professionals that provide land management education also played a pivotal role in facilitating participants’ empowerment via learning and networking. in the context of cooperative extension, this psychological process directly relates to agriculture and natural resources (anr) agents who served as information conduits and networking tools. harriman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.43 34 participants mentioned a variety of supportive resources that aided them with their land management decisions, with the top three being landowner organizations, forestry professionals, and federal or state sponsored forestry organizations, respectively. previous research suggested that individual involvement in such community organizations helps to decrease feelings of inability and isolation (berger & neuhaus, 1977; zimmerman, 2000). natural resource professionals, particularly those in cooperative extension and forestry education roles, are advised when working with predominantly female audiences to allow ample time for networking, such as through an opening coffee hour during meetings. this would encourage the development of genuine relationships with others. it is also advised that educators create a formal mentorship program between experienced and novel female managers to promote fellowship, information exchange, and a culture of inclusiveness. finally, natural resource educators are recommended to facilitate a new landowner event where forestry organizations (public and private) showcase their available educational and technical resources. this would enable landowners the opportunity to view local resources, as well as develop relationships with professionals in the field. future research should focus on how the characteristics of an educator can potentially influence empowerment as a learner. ample research touts the benefits of female-oriented programs, but none have examined the effect of female speakers or facilitators on audience adoption of best practices. a final research suggestion is to examine silent or marginalized female landowners. these are women who do not actively participate in management practices or continuing education. how might these landowners be recruited and 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(2000). empowerment theory: psychological, organizational, and community levels of analysis. in j. rappaport & e. seidman (eds.), handbook of community psychology (43-63). kluwer academic / plenum publishers. © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 55-manuscript-735-2-11-20200917.docx council and sowcik advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 3, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. austin council, instructor, virginia tech, 175 west campus dr., mc 0343 blacksburg, va 24061, adc@vt.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1160-6991 2. matthew sowcik, assistant professor, university of florida, 217 rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611, sowcik@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5630-2281 55 exploring the development of humble leaders in the context of agriculture a. council1, m. sowcik2 abstract the complexity of the world today requires leadership that is interconnected rather than selfserving. this is particularly important within the context of agriculture, a field at the forefront of the complex problems associated with the impact of climate change. in recent years, the role virtues play in effective leadership has gained a significant amount of attention. one particular virtue that has seen increased attention in the leadership research is humility. humility has been identified as a way to counteract the negative outcomes of self-serving leadership, namely, unethical practices and leader narcissism. over the past several decades, researchers and scholars have begun to shed light on the many benefits this elusive virtue brings to leadership, however, many questions remain, notably, “how do humble leaders develop their leadership?” the present qualitative study found that humble agriculture leaders develop their leadership style through (a) the development of strong personal values, (b) investments in human and social capital, and (c) supportive feedback. the findings from this research provide recommendations for agricultural leadership educators to consider when building leadership programs that have the goal of developing humble leaders ready to address complex problems in the context of agriculture and natural resources. keywords leadership development, agricultural leadership, humility development council and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.55 56 introduction and problem statement we live in a volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous (vuca) world, burdened with complex, adaptive, problems that hold no easy solutions (kinsinger & walch, 2012; satterwhite et al., 2015; heifetz & linsky, 2002). this is especially true for those taking on leadership roles in the context of agriculture and natural resources. whether it is currently addressing the issues of a global pandemic or feeding a population of 9.6 billion people by the year 2050, these are some of the most pressing adaptive challenges our world faces (stedman & andenoro, 2015; roberts et al., 2016). due to these present and future complex challenges, effective leadership is critically important. however, leader centric models are still prevalent in the leadership landscape, which may be one reason for increased leader narcissism, unethical behaviors and ineffective leadership practices addressing these complex challenges (morris et al., 2005). as a result, the role of virtues as an important element of effective leadership has gained traction over the past two decades in the leadership research (pearce et al., 2006). with calls for more comprehensive and interconnected virtue driven leadership models (prime & salib, 2014), humility has been brought to the forefront of leadership discourse as a way to counteract leader narcissism and promote more other-centered adaptive leadership practices (owens & hekman, 2012; peterson & seligman, 2004; morris et al., 2005). as the oftenrepeated quotation attributed to st. augustine goes, “humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance” (quoted in lavelock, et al., 2017). yet even though humility in agricultural leadership is so critical to address complex problems, little is known about how humble agricultural leaders develop their leadership practices. the current study explores this gap found in the leadership literature associated with the development of humble leaders in the context of agriculture and natural resources. theoretical and conceptual framework historically, the virtue of humility has been viewed in a negative light (tangney, 2000). often, those addressing the virtue describe a humble person as frail and subservient, lacking selfconfidence, and self-admiration (peterson & seligman, 2004). due to these negative perceptions of humility, it has largely been absent from the early literature on leadership. however, over the past two decades the research on this trait has emphasized its importance on numerous prosocial behaviors and positioned humility as an accuracy of the self (tangney, 2000), an increased focus towards others (van tongeren & myers, 2017), and an increase in one’s connection to the larger environment (bollinger & hill, 2012). this notion of accuracy influenced sowcik et al. (2017) definition of humility, which was used in the current study, as “a proper perspective of oneself, one’s relationship with others, and one’s place within the larger environment” (p. 170). the connection between the virtue of humility and leadership effectiveness can also be seen in the leadership literature over the past twenty years. collins (2001), in the book good to great: council and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.55 57 why some companies make the leap and others don’t, identified leaders in the most enduring and successful companies and found that each of these leaders demonstrated a blend of personal resolve and humility. collins was not the only researcher to identify benefits between humility and leadership in the context of organizations. johnson et al. (2011) discovered humility was a significant predictor of job performance. vera and rodriguez-lopez (2004) discussed the connections between humility and a leader’s ability to differentiate between traits like confidence, self-image, and self-appraisal from brashness, narcissism, and inflexibility. additionally, humility appears to have a positive effect on teams (rego et al., 2017; chiu et al., 2016) and prosocial characteristics such as a better ability to receive from others (exline, 2012), fostering helpfulness (labouff et al., 2012), and forgiveness (powers et al., 2007), all of which are important in effective leadership. while there has been evolving influx of research on the relationship between humility and leadership, there is still scarce research on the development of humble leaders. although limited research exists concerning the development of the virtue of humility, there are some guiding beliefs that help to inform the overall development of virtues. according to li (2016), virtues can be learned, developed, and cultivated. li’s (2016) argument for the cultivation of humility was contingent upon what cultural values (eastern vs. western) were in place to foster growth. others writing on the topic of virtue have argued that humility can develop from a secure relationship with others, which in turn influences secure attachment and lays the foundation for the virtue’s development (dwiwardani et al., 2014; peterson & seligman, 2004; bowlby, 1973). finally, “awe-inspiring experiences” have also been linked to the development of humility (stellar et al., 2018). stellar et al. (2018) hypothesized that individuals who confront an experience that challenges their worldview, first experience awe, then foster a feeling of self-diminishment, and finally develop a sense of humility. while each of these perspective offer insight into the development of humility, more research is needed to identify the key components associated with the development of humility in effective leaders. purpose the purpose of the present study was to explore themes that address the development of humble leaders in the context of agriculture and natural resources. specifically, we sought to answer the question: “how do identified humble leaders in the agriculture and natural resources industry perceive their humble leadership development?” methods we utilized a basic qualitative design due to the exploratory nature of real-life leadership development experiences among identified humble leaders in the context of the agriculture and natural resources industry. for this study, we sought to understand how identified humble agricultural leaders made sense of their lives and experiences in relationship to their humble leadership development. the research sample consisted of five (n = 5) leaders in the agriculture and natural resources industry. participants for the study were identified by a key informant, council and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.55 58 who was the director of a cohort-based agricultural leadership program housed in a large landgrant university in the southeastern united states. this agricultural leadership development program “...develops and refines the leadership capabilities of leaders in agriculture and natural resources” (“program overview,” 2020). according to marshall (1996), “a key informant is an expert source of information” (p. 92) because the informant has achieved status in their community and holds a “position of responsibility and influence” (marshall, 1996, p. 92). in collaboration with the key informant, we established the following criteria to select the study’s participants: (a) the individual must have held a high level leadership position in the agriculture and natural resources industry, (b) the individual must have had a positive reputation within his/her organization and throughout the industry, and (c) the individual was seen as someone who practices humility, based on the definition of humility used in this study. based on the established criteria for the study, we were given a list of 20 potential participants by the key informant, which was comprised of six women and fourteen men. after reaching out to all candidates, five individuals were interviewed based on their availability within the timeframe of the study. the participants selected based on their availability included five men, three who identified as being of hispanic, latino, or spanish origin, and two who identified as white. the researchers traveled to each participant’s physical location, which included a combination of work sites, offices, and places of business. each interview lasted between 45 and 90 minutes. the participants, during the time of the study, were all in a senior leadership position and represented a different context in the agriculture and natural resources industry. for example, participant one, gilbert (48 years old, white male, of hispanic, latino, or spanish origin) worked as the executive director in an agriculture insurance and advocacy company. the second participant, john (46 years old, white male), was a senior manager in the landscaping and nursery industry. roy (47 years old, white male), participant three, is a vice president in the forestry industry. participant four, david (52 years old, white male, of hispanic, latino, or spanish origin), owned and led an agrochemical company. lastly, cole (41 years old, white male, of hispanic, latino, or spanish origin), participant five, worked as a senior manager in the agricultural finance and lending industry. semi-structured interview questions addressed the participants’ development into a humble leader. for example, one of the first questions asked was, “what kinds of life experiences have impacted your development as a leader?” another critical question was, “what kinds of relationships with others have contributed to your leadership development?” during each interview, the primary investigator took extensive, hand-written field notes, which were compiled into a secure digital database. all interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed using an external organization, nonotes.com. member checking of both the transcripts and emergent categories occurred to determine accuracy and increase the reliability of the study. the data analysis process was inductive, using the constant comparative method and was completed by hand by the primary researcher. first, the process of in-vivo coding was used based on the language used by the participants to develop initial categories (creswell, 2013). this was repeated several times until the data became saturated, and no new codes emerged council and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.55 59 (fusch & ness, 2017). once the codes emerged, inter-coder reliability was established by having another researcher familiar with humility, leadership development, and qualitative methods, serve as a “rigorous examiner and auditor” who concurred with all categorization of the data (saldaña, 2015, p. 37). lastly, it is important to recognize the relationship we had with the study, being stakeholders in the context of agriculture and educators developing the next generation of leaders at a large land grant higher education institution in the southeast united states. findings the central inquiry explored in this paper was the development process of identified humble leaders in the context of agriculture and natural resources. as such, data that emerged from this inquiry captured the different developmental experiences throughout the course of the humble leaders’ lives. this question aligns with the notion of leader development as suggested by avolio and hannah (2008), “the factors that contribute to making a leader are in part a subset of all the formative experiences an individual has accumulated throughout the individual’s life course that may position the individual to more effectively assume leadership roles.” (p. 333-334). three key themes emerged from the humble leaders’ perception of their leadership development. the first theme found in the coding of the interviews was the leader’s anchoring personal values, which strongly promoted their humble leadership. three subthemes also surfaced out of the first major theme that addressed how the leader’s anchoring personal values were established including (a) value development influenced by family, (b) value development influenced by personal relationships with significant people, and (c) value development from significant life changes and experiential learning. additionally, two more main themes were identified when exploring humble leader’s development including investment in human/social capital and the supportive feedback received by the leaders. developed anchoring personal values the first theme that emerged from the identified humble leaders’ overall perceptions of their development came from the anchoring personal values they gained throughout their lives. the humble leaders’ identified three different sources from which these values were established in their lives including: (a) values influenced by family, (b) values from personal relationships with significant people, and (c) values from significant life changes and experiential learning. family values a majority of the humble leaders expressed values learned from relationships with their parents, siblings, and/or other close relatives. for example, gilbert described that his father taught him values such as being honest and truthful: “with my dad, always be honest. it’s easy to be honest and truthful than to try to backtrack or cover up your lies...” similarly, david mentioned how he learned fairness from his dad: “one of the things my dad impressed upon me was fairness.” these perspectives provide insight into the role family played on humble leaders’ perceptions of their personal values. council and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.55 60 values from significant people a second source of value development, from the perspective of the humble leaders, surfaced from the personal relationships they had with significant people in their lives. in each case, the significant person in the humble leader’s life directly taught them values or modeled a particular value, which was observed by the humble leader. many of the humble leaders discussed specific relationships they had over their life with identified mentors, friends and/or peers, teachers, and role models. for example, john learned the value of gratitude from a mentor: “he [mr. h] also taught me thank you notes and the importance of sending a simple note to someone.” additionally, cole observed his teachers and their kindness, as well as their ability to go “above and beyond” in their roles. for example, his second-grade teacher would “always take family trips and always send postcards” and he remembered how that made him feel. furthermore, this humble leader felt like his teachers “went above and beyond” and this was not something that all teachers would have done. he described them as “instrumental” in his development. values from significant life changes and experiential learning all five of the humble leaders described life experiences and/or significant life changes that influenced their value development. one of the humble leaders developed gratitude through his experiences traveling to india, where he saw the effects of poverty and the class system. gilbert said, “the end of the story is, when you get back, you appreciate so much more what you have here. it’s nice to see what you see on national geographic or discovery channel but it’s not the same when you’re walking there and you’re smelling it.” all of the accounts saw the humble leaders go through a change and/or learning experience, which facilitated development of specific values. investment in human and social capital the second theme that emerged from the perspective of the identified humble leaders addressing their leadership development was an investment each made in their human and social capital. four out of the five leaders described going through a formal agricultural leadership development program as an important developmental opportunity where they became more accurately aware of themselves, their relationship with others, and how they fit into a larger agricultural context. for example, during his time in this agricultural leadership development program, one of the humble leaders, roy, suggested that the program showed him the key components of humility, accuracy of self, others, and the larger environment. he suggested, what [the leadership program] did for me as a leader is it, first of all, taught me about myself. it helped me understand my personality, how i process information, and what makes me the way i am. then what it did was it taught me about my local community, others, and what my local community dynamics are. we then explored the national scene and where we are as a country, for example policy on the national level. then the last thing that the program does is it helps us look internationally. what does agriculture look like on the international landscape. council and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.55 61 john’s experiences with a leadership program also helped him develop as a leader through focusing on himself, others, and the bigger picture. for example, john developed relationships that influenced his leadership in terms of personal openness and team building: i always felt i was fairly open but again [the program] shined a light on that…i think [the program] reminds you of certain things and so, being open to others, team building, and what side of the table or where your bread plate is. additionally, john experienced the power of participating in something bigger than himself, stating: ...but above all i guess is a sense of doing something more than just for you. i have told several people considering going into the program that, yes, it’s a two-year program but is a lifelong commitment. again, i wouldn’t have had that if not for the [program]. finally, the importance of humility development through the participation in a leadership program was simply and concisely stated by gilbert who said, “i think [the program] has helped me learn more about myself and about everything that’s happening around us.” this insight into the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and the larger environment laid a foundation for the humble leaders’ development. supportive feedback in all five cases, the humble leaders discussed the third emergent theme in the study, how they were influenced by supportive feedback given in their personal and professional lives. humble leaders were shown encouraging feedback from a variety of support sources including friends, peers, identified mentors, or teachers. for example, roy mentioned friends in his life who continue to be a source of supportive feedback to him by revealing blind spots in his leadership and encouraging him to think differently. roy knows how “there’s blind spots in every man’s life” and what he tries to do is surround himself with “one or two good men” that care about him and love him, who he allows to “speak truth” to him and promises to them that he will listen to it, even if it’s “uncomfortable.” furthermore, roy explained what the process of feedback looks like through his friends: what happens when we put those blinders on is we get in a comfort zone and we don't want to break out of it. we want people to react the way we want them to react. we want them to respond the way we want them to respond. but because you have blinders on you can't see. you can't see the character flaws that you've got. those guys can actually help me see that. roy’s friends helped him see the blind spots in his leadership and continue to provide a level of humility in the way he observes himself, others, and his environment. another humble leader, david suggest that his friends and peers have been a source of support and feedback for his development by instilling confidence in him and affirming his leadership. for example, during his time in college david and his friends were putting together a “slate of officers” to run for student body positions and david’s friends told him they wanted him “to be at the top”, which was “a real compliment” to david and “instilled a different kind of confidence” in him. this newly instilled confidence allowed david to more accurately see himself and the leadership role he could play within the institution. later in life, when he was council and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.55 62 considering running for a position within the certified crop advisors (cca) organization, david remembered his peers looking “around the room” and said ‘you are the guy that can lead us forward.’ from his perspective, david described this experience as “humbling” because it was a “challenge to rise to the occasion” and to not let others down. anytime you are recognized, i think it's always humbling because you get to reflect on the question, 'do i really deserve this?’ when you get awards, when you get recognition, when you get any win for an election. finally, john described a mentor he had in college who believed in him, trusted him, and recognized his ability to be an advocate for the agriculture industry saying, “...to have dr. c have belief or trust that i can advocate for the university of florida to me was a big thing. dr. c was always someone i always looked up to...” david also described a particular experience where confidence was instilled in him from his peers in high school suggesting, ...in high school i was treasurer of our sleight of officers, in college i was the president and that was a really good experience when we were trying to put a slate together for my class and my peers, my friends said, ‘we want you to be at the top.’ me? why? ‘we think you're the guy.’ that was a real compliment and instilled confidence. these recollections shed light into the role supportive feedback played in the humble leaders’ pathways to leadership development. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the agriculture and natural resources industry is in need of leaders who can address complex problems at the local, state, national and global levels. the findings of this study begin to shed light on how humble agricultural and natural resource leaders view their leadership development. the first of these factors includes the development of an individual’s personal values and the role they play in developing humble leaders. tangney (2002) wrote that “...parents, teachers, teachers, heroes and community leaders all play a role in modeling (or not modeling) a sense of humility for the subsequent generation” (p. 417). life experiences also emerged as a theme that influenced the development of personal values that contributed to a humble leader’s development. all five identified humble leaders mentioned a pertinent life experience or change that contributed to their personal and professional values. in each case, researchers point to these experiences as opportunities for individuals to go through a deep reflection or altered sense of identity, all of which have been argued to facilitate the cultivation of humility. based on these findings, leadership development programs should help participants identify which specific values guide their behavior, how to express those values in their relationships with others, and how these values connect to the larger community. in addition to intentionally drawing out individual values that leaders already prioritize, leadership programs can provide experiences shaping the values of their participants. agricultural and natural resource leadership development programs that provide participants with these critical experiences, council and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.55 63 such as community engagement opportunities or international leadership experiences, may have a greater likelihood of developing humble leaders. the second factor critical for developing humble agricultural and natural resource leaders, based on the study’s findings, was the influence placed on human and social capital. a majority of the humble leaders discussed the critical role a particular leadership program played in their development. these findings highlight the critical importance leadership programs have when it comes to providing time for individuals to understand one’s self (human capital) and how one relates to others and the larger environment (social capital). this is in line with the research on humility, which asserts that humility is “an accurate assessment of one’s abilities and achievements” (tangney, 2002, p. 413) and “is also about an orientation toward others” (van tongeren & myers, 2017, p. 155). in this way, the leadership program provided the time and resources for these leaders to focus on themselves, others, and the larger environment, allowing for increased accuracy of their perspective within these areas. agriculture and natural resource leadership development programs should look to emphasize both teaching for personal leadership development, as much as it emphasizes educating participants about different leadership theories and practices. this time spent developing one’s intrapersonal and interpersonal knowledge/skills can be a useful starting point to develop humble leadership. additionally, time to reflect on content and experiences that allow participants to explore themselves, others and the larger environment is critical to humility development. the time and resources allotted to these experiences are unlikely to happen outside of the leadership development program but are crucial in the development of humble leaders. a third factor found in the research was the role of supportive feedback in developing humble leaders. the type of supporting relationships described by the humble leaders provided a secure attachment, which research has shown virtues such as humility develop (dwiwardani et al., 2014). out of these secure attachments both positive and constructive feedback was presented to the humble leader allowing them to have a more accurate picture of their competencies, relationships with others, and perspective in a particular context. the findings from this study suggest that agricultural leadership development programs should promote supportive feedback opportunities for their participants as a way to cultivate humility in participants. one example, mentoring, can set up a structure that would give participants in the leadership program a chance to learn more about themselves by receiving continuous feedback from a more experienced individual. recommendations for future research in effort to increase the validity and reliability of the current study, with more time and resources, a researcher should utilize a delphi method to select the humble leaders. additionally, increasing the diversity of participants related to gender, demographics, and location would provide additional insights into humble leader development. future research should also explore the relationship between personal values and humility. while this research does identify the important role personal values play in the development of humble leaders, council and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.55 64 future research should explore whether humble leaders are more inclined to possess particular personal values. if particular values do emerge, it would be important to explore how the introduction of these values takes place in an agricultural leadership program. additionally, future research should explore what types of leadership development programs provide opportunities for increased focus on human and social capital. while this study does identify leadership programs as important in the development of humble leaders, there are numerous types of agricultural and natural resources leadership program models. further exploration is need into the impact different programs’ length, content, focus, and delivery have on humble leader development. references andenoro, a. c., allen, s. j., haber-curran, p., jenkins, d. m., sowcik, m., dugan, j. p., & osteen, l. 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(2017). a social psychological perspective on humility. in e. l. worthington, jr., d. e. davis, & j. n. hook (eds.), handbook of humility (pp. 150–164). routledge. vera, d., & rodriguez-lopez, a. (2004). strategic virtues: humility as a source of competitive advantage. organizational dynamics, 33(4), 393-408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2004.09.006 © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 215-final.docx caillouet et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 3, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. olivia caillouet, doctoral student, university of florida, 11901 pleasant ridge rd. #913, little rock, ar 72223, ocaillouet@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2401-2682 2. amy harder, professor, university of florida, 117b bryant hall, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611, amharder@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-2028 3. grady roberts, professor, university of florida, 200 rolfs hall, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611, groberts@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-7850 4. j.c. bunch, assistant professor, university of florida, 307a rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 5. heidi radunovich, associate professor, university of florida, 3008-b mccarty d, gainesville, fl 32611, hliss@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4973-1480 63 transactional factors influencing the implementation of intercollegiate extension programs at united states landgrant universities o. caillouet 1, a. harder2, g. roberts3, j. c. bunch4, h. radunovich5 abstract university engagement within communities is becoming more important, and public land-grant universities (lgus) are uniquely situated to create knowledge that benefits society. intercollegiate extension programs could be a novel approach to improving university engagement by using the extension mission as a catalyst for socially relevant programs. however, a gap remains in the literature regarding specific guidelines to overcome barriers toward intercollegiate extension programs. the purpose of this study was to explore how transactional factors influenced the implementation of intercollegiate extension programs at lgus. a qualitative descriptive phenomenological research design was used. the organizational change model guided the interview protocol creation. all eight participants were employed by lgus. template analysis was applied to the data combined with the constant comparative method. four themes and six sub-themes emerged from the interviews. the transactional themes were: (a) promotion and tenure, (b) utilizing lgus’ organizational structures to support intercollegiate extension programs, (c) task and individual skills required for successful intercollegiate programs, and (d) professional recognition. utilizing lgus’ organizational structures to support intercollegiate extension programs was most relevant to the success of intercollegiate programs. intercollegiate extension programs should use existing assets like the county-based infrastructure to assist in disseminating university knowledge relevant for addressing public needs. keywords collaboration, interdisciplinary, organizational change model, complex problems caillouet et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.215 64 introduction and problem statement university engagement within communities is becoming more important for society and research (engagement scholarship consortium [esc], n.d.). public land-grant universities (lgus) are uniquely situated to create knowledge that benefits society and prepares students to become active citizens (fitzgerald et al., 2012). the kellogg commission report (1998) called for lgus to go beyond service to what was termed engagement wherein institutions “redesign their teaching, research, and extension and service functions to become more involved with their communities” (p. 9). three important aspects to university engagement are better quality research, socially relevant science, and universities providing valued degrees (mcdowell, 2001). the community engagement carnegie classification is a prestigious accreditation metric that ranks universities based on community engagement efforts (new england higher education, n.d.). intercollegiate extension programs have been a novel approach to improving university engagement by using the extension mission as a catalyst for socially relevant programs; however, a gap exists in the literature regarding guidelines for managing these collaborations. intercollegiate extension programs were operationally defined as extension programs involving personnel from at least two colleges within an lgu. the esc (n.d.) reported 17 lgu member institutions but the exact number of intercollegiate extension programs was unknown. previous research has documented some interdisciplinary university engagement efforts designed to address complex challenges of the 21st century such as drug addiction (caillouet & harder, 2021), rural economic revitalization (caillouet & harder, 2021), technology accessibility (king, 2018; warner et al., 2017), and healthcare concerns such as recycling medical equipment, diabetes, and food safety (buys & koukel, 2018; condo & martin, 2002; walsh et al., 2018). although, previous literature documented many types of intercollegiate extension programs and their importance (culp, 2009; garrett & belle, 2022; holland et al., 2019), a vagueness exists about how these collaborations function within lgus. theoretical and conceptual framework the organizational change model (burke & litwin, 1992) was developed to explain the sources of organizational change. the model illustrates the interrelated nature of external and internal forces at work within organizations. burke and litwin (1992) suggested the model be used “as a guide for what to look for and as a predictor for what and how to manage large-scale organizational change” (p. 541). the organizational change model helped frame the investigation of organizational factors impacting the implementation of intercollegiate extension programs and provided insight into how these collaborations work within lgus. the organizational change model (burke & litwin, 1992) can be explained in terms of transformational and transactional factors. five of the external and internal forces in the model are classified as transformational factors: (a) external environment, (b) mission and strategy, (c) leadership, (d) culture, and (e) individual and organizational performance. transformational caillouet et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.215 65 factors are likely caused by environmental influences, which require entirely new behaviors from individual members (burke & litwin, 1992). in contrast, transactional factors are the short-term, mutually beneficial exchanges that occur between members of an organization (burke & litwin, 1992). transactional factors create change via short-term exchanges among people through a mentality of “you do this for me, and i’ll do that for you” (burke & litwin, 1992, p. 530). transactional factors within the organizational change model are: (a) management practices, (b) structure, (c) systems (policies and procedures), (d) work unit climate, (e) task and individual skills, (f) motivation, and (g) individual needs and values (burke & litwin, 1992). transactional factors affect a greater number of organizational change variables than transformational variables (caillouet et al., 2022); however, all factors are equally important to explore (burke & litwin, 1992). therefore, this research focuses on transactional factors that influence adoption of intercollegiate extension programs. leahey and barringer (2020) found universities that made a formal commitment to interdisciplinary research efforts typically underwent a reorganization of university units (e.g., academic departments and centers). this type of organizational restructuring has led to increased research and awarded grants, but universities likely need to move beyond structural commitment to produce higher impact research (leahey & barringer, 2020). specifically, lyons and mann (2018) suggested lgus “move beyond agriculture to encourage innovation in a diversity of industries” (p. 43), and that lgus should utilize extension to strengthen universitycommunity linkages. the organizational change model is well suited for examining organizational changes because many of the model factors are relevant to intercollegiate extension programs. for example, rubens et al. (2017) provided recommendations for improving extension outreach at institutions of higher education including: (a) restructuring faculty assessment procedures (e.g., promotion and tenure) and incentivizing faculty for their efforts, (b) developing partnerships within and external to the university, and (c) investing in support structures which encourage entrepreneurial activities (e.g., sufficient human resources, administrative support, etc.) which were similar factors as those included in the organizational change model. lgus are complex organizations and change can be challenging; however, organizational restructuring, revisions to promotion and tenure processes, and employee skill development can be used to increase interdisciplinary extension efforts aimed at solving realworld challenges faced by communities (kellogg commission, 1998). purpose the purpose of this study was to explore which transactional factors influenced the implementation of intercollegiate extension programs at lgus in the united states, and then better understand how they did so. caillouet et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.215 66 methods this study was part of a larger-scale study (caillouet, 2022) examining the implementation of intercollegiate extension programs at lgus in the united states. a qualitative descriptive phenomenological research design was used (thompson et al., 1989). the phenomena under investigation were the lived experiences of individuals working within intercollegiate extension programs at lgus and the organizational factors influencing the implementation of those programs. criterion sampling determined participants’ eligibility (cohen et al., 2018; creswell & poth, 2018). potential participants had to fit the criteria of being employed by a university-based extension system and working with and having some leadership responsibility for an intercollegiate extension program. the engagement scholarship consortium (n.d.) was used to identify lgus conducting intercollegiate programs. then, after additional internet searches documenting program details, 10 potential participants were identified. two individuals were later excluded because they were not employed by extension. the eight selected participants were employees at lgus with r1 research status (carnegie classification of institutions, 2018) and held a variety of positions employed full-time by extension including: (a) lgu administrators, (b) extension specialists, (c) center directors, and (d) program coordinators. they worked within intercollegiate programs covering topics related to community-driven challenges like business development, rural revitalization, sustainable tourism, and healthcare access. for example, respondents were connected with the following colleges but not necessarily employed by them: (a) college of liberal arts, (b) college of business and economics, (c) college of landscape architecture, (d) college of communication, (e) college of human ecology, (f) school of nursing, (g) college of design, (h) colleges of health, and (i) college of education and human development. during the member-checking process, participants were asked to provide a pseudonym (allen & wiles, 2015). one participant opted to create a pseudonym, while the remaining participants requested that a pseudonym be assigned to them by the researcher. the organizational change model (burke & litwin, 1992) influenced the semi-structured interview guide creation. the semi-structured interview guide was comprised of 15 main questions and six probing questions. questions used in the interview guide included asking about the individual’s background and current lgu extension structure and were based off the organizational change model (burke & litwin, 1992) such as “what has the change meant for extension policies and procedures?”. prior to data collection, the instrument was reviewed by a content expert whose knowledge about the functioning of lgus came from 20 years of employment in various extension roles at three lgus. then, interviews were conducted by phone or zoom by the lead researcher from july 20, 2021 to august 18, 2021. interviews ranged from 51 minutes to 63 minutes and were audio recorded using zoom or otter.ai. the interview protocol documented information such as: (a) pseudonyms; (b) meeting date, time, and length of meeting; (c) meeting type (e.g., phone or zoom); and (d) specific questions asked. individual caillouet et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.215 67 expertise and applicability of questions were taken into consideration when selecting which questions to prioritize within the agreed-upon time limit of an hour for the interview. data was analyzed using template analysis (brooks et al., 2015) influenced by the burke and litwin (1992) organizational change model and the constant comparative method (saldaña, 2015). member-checking was performed after transcriptions were complete (creswell & creswell, 2018). a methodological decision was made which required themes and sub-themes to be statements provided from three or more interview participants which helped increase the credibility of the results (lincoln & guba, 1985). a review of the data procedures was conducted by the primary researcher to determine accuracy of transcription and possible research conclusions (lincoln & guba, 1985). detailed audit trail records were kept (creswell & creswell, 2018). two peer debriefings with an extension faculty member knowledgeable in the subject area, but not associated with the research as recommended by lincoln and guba (1985), led the primary researcher to reorganize two themes into more well-defined themes and sub-themes. in total, there were 24 template iterations. recognizing possible sources of researcher bias is important when establishing trustworthiness (lincoln & guba, 1985). the research team had life experiences as students and employees of lgus; all received at least one degree from a lgu and were employed by the same lgu at the time of this study. the team’s extension experience included roles as an intern, an agent, and administration. two researchers were relative outsiders to extension with no formal experience in the field but who had expertise in formal education. in addition, the research team provided input regarding the research design, data analysis, and individual subject matter expertise. findings four themes and six sub-themes emerged. the transactional themes were: (a) promotion and tenure, (b) utilizing lgus’ organizational structure to support intercollegiate extension programs, (c) task and individual skills required for successful intercollegiate programs, and (d) professional recognition. each theme will be presented in detail in the following text with the associated transactional factor provided in paratheses. promotion and tenure (management practices) promotion and tenure are important considerations for university system employees and can have varying effects on intercollegiate extension programs. faculty are more likely to engage in intercollegiate extension programs when they see how that work helps their pursuit of promotion and tenure. leah, who led a research and extension outreach unit, explained that faculty were motivated by “publications, and however much funding they get to have on a particular project or a grant [that] gets added to their funding on their vita.” levi said, “it can't just be ‘hey, bring a class in and help us do this work’.” levi explained that successful intercollegiate extension programs may have “some limited success” regarding positive community impacts by having students in a class complete a project; however, true faculty caillouet et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.215 68 engagement comes “if there's also funding and publication opportunities then that's really helping them [faculty] in their tenure process as well.” anna raised some concerns about administrators creating positions for intercollegiate extension programs without taking into consideration how faculty in those positions will successfully navigate promotion and tenure. anna explained how the intercollegiate extension positions have been “creatively designed … which is great, and administration has been forward thinking.” however, anna elaborated, “i think for university administrators who dream up these great positions they sort of don't remember what it was like to be working on tenure and they haven’t thought about it.” to support intercollegiate extension programs, charlie said his lgu recently added a way to evaluate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the promotion and tenure process. charlie shared that they “have a lot of faculty that are doing great work in that area and a lot of scholarship in that area” but there were no mechanisms in place for recognizing the value. ultimately, intercollegiate programs were more likely to be successful engaging faculty when there were clear linkages between the programs and faculty pursuits towards promotion and tenure. utilizing lgus’ organizational structure to support intercollegiate extension programs (structure) participants shared four sub-themes related to how the organizational structure of their lgus impacted their intercollegiate extension programs: (a) leveraging the county-based infrastructure improves intercollegiate extension programs, (b) autonomy from agricultural colleges creates a more intercollegiate environment, (c) thoughtful position creation can increase success of intercollegiate extension programs, and (d) sufficient human resources help to carry out intercollegiate extension programs. leveraging the county-based infrastructure improves intercollegiate extension programs a unique aspect of lgus are the county-based offices located around each state to assist with extension and outreach efforts. benefits emerged regarding leveraging the county-based infrastructure of lgus as a means to promote intercollegiate extension programs, advance scientific discovery, and address real-community needs. anna explained, “so, there are [many] offices spread across the state. so, we have the opportunity because we're associated with extension to talk, to have information flow out across the whole state about our programs both extension things and academic.” similarly, charlie elaborated on the power of leveraging lgus’ county-based infrastructure by using the county offices across the state to provide more streamlined and efficient continuing education opportunities. when asked if he foresaw any challenges or opportunities with the rest of the lgus utilizing the county-based infrastructure, charlie elaborated by sharing: i see opportunity for growth. i see opportunity for more cohesiveness between us [extension] and the academic departments across campus and i see a great opportunity, and this is starting to come to fruition, a great opportunity for all the academic affair departments to utilize extension to do outreach across the state. caillouet et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.215 69 county extension offices provide an invaluable resource for lgu intercollegiate extension programs to establish trusted relationships within and between communities across the state. autonomy from agricultural colleges creates a more intercollegiate environment the term autonomy was used to describe lgus where extension functions as a separate unit from the agricultural colleges. historically, lgus have been closely tied to colleges of agriculture. however, charlie explained, “there are also a lot of other faculty [outside of agricultural colleges] who are doing engagement type work that – that’s not showing up in extension reports.” anna shared, her lgu “is a little bit atypical” because extension was not associated with the college of agriculture but rather its own entity. additionally, charlie felt extension gained autonomy because there was a visionary who advocated it be placed outside of the college of agriculture and within a more centrally positioned office within the lgu. at lgus with the separation between extension and the agricultural college, extension’s autonomy fostered the growth and development of intercollegiate programs. levi explained the benefits that comes with extension’s autonomy such as the ability to develop partnerships with numerous colleges or centers across the lgu. leah explained how her extension unit directly benefited from the flexibility of not being tightly bound to a college. her unit is “funded partly through extension, and partly through the college of arts and sciences and … by the projects that we bring in. we’re what the university calls an entrepreneurial unit.” leah described the benefits of leading an entrepreneurial extension unit which included greater access to funding sources, expanded programmatic opportunities, and partnerships with faculty university-wide. charlie also explained a negative outcome of extension being embedded within agricultural colleges is that other colleges may perceive this resource as “hands off.” according to charlie, extension offices that are accessible to faculty university-wide can attract “faculty who are in other colleges that really want to do engagement scholarship across their state.” participants explained that faculty felt more willing to collaborate on intercollegiate extension programs when extension was organizationally separated from agricultural colleges. thoughtful position creation can increase success of intercollegiate extension programs employee roles and responsibilities are also components of an organization’s structure. some lgus were not strategic or intentional when adding new positions to support intercollegiate extension programs. anna recalled her “position was created for the program kind of in a happenstance manner.” jessica explained her lgu did not start with a strategic approach when developing leadership positions for intercollegiate extension programs. jessica said her position came only after several other “fragmented attempts” to hire someone failed. jessica’s position was ultimately successful because it strategically intertwined the need for marketing, innovative programming, personnel development, and navigating grant/contract partnerships. participants reflected on the time and resources that could have been saved if their intercollegiate extension programs had begun with the creation of strategic positions. caillouet et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.215 70 conversely, one lgu successfully demonstrated thoughtful planning when adding human capacity. charlie provided an anecdote about his lgu extension system purchasing faculty time in disciplines which had not historically been closely linked with extension. for example, charlie said: we bought 40% of one of the associate dean’s in the college of medicine. you've got a high-ranking administrator in the college of medicine that has an extension appointment. and so, that marries these two together – the college of medicine and extension through a person. and what that has led to is … looking at developing a network of new extension professionals that can be dispersed across the state to help for clinical trials. resources can be saved and employees are more likely to be successful if thoughtful consideration is taken when developing intercollegiate extension job positions. need for sufficient human resources to carry out intercollegiate extension programs another sub-theme which emerged was the need for sufficient human resources to successfully conduct intercollegiate extension programs. participants explained that extension, in general, has experienced a decline in financial support for human resources. levi explained, “when i was hired, i think we had three full time extension appointments in community development. now, we're down to two statewide specialists, just myself, and we also have a rural economist.” leah also commented about extension’s lack of sufficient employee capacity due to budget constraints and said, “we don't, we don't really have the capacity to do that so much at this point,” especially regarding disseminating intercollegiate extension program impacts with stakeholders and marketing programs to clientele. several participants highlighted how extension has been financially stretched to provide the human support needed for traditional programming which has made innovative programs, like intercollegiate extension programs, challenging to implement. anna felt it was important to have personnel dedicated to leading an intercollegiate extension program, explaining “you got to have somebody to run a program like this and you have to have somebody who's not jammed packed full of other things.” clint felt intercollegiate extension programs should embrace a model with recurring funding to ensure sufficient human resources are available to manage and support the programs. task and individual skills required for successful intercollegiate programs (task and individual skills) this theme was comprised of two sub-themes: (a) viewing the larger picture beyond siloed disciplines and (b) diversity, equity, and inclusivity (dei) skills. viewing the larger picture beyond siloed disciplines intercollegiate extension programs require faculty to fight their “impulse to silo” within their departments, according to jackie. anna’s experience led her to believe a necessary skill needed when working with intercollegiate extension programs is the “knowledge of how systems work.” additionally, charlie said employees should be able to think holistically, understand how caillouet et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.215 71 individual parts of programs fit together to achieve the end goals, and collaborate with faculty across lgus to maximize program impacts. jessica explained how her interdisciplinary extension work feels like “two different worlds” and observed how the “university doesn't really understand the urban context of scale, diversity, complexity… so, it's kind of like being able to navigate in both of those environments in a way that brings greater understanding.” jessica explained that individuals who work with intercollegiate extension programs should be able to see how the university is an integral part of the community and should work to meet community needs as well as university needs. anna also noted how working beyond siloed disciplines has been critical for her interdisciplinary extension programming because she must know “what kinds of things are taught generally in each of the departments.” having knowledge of the different departments allowed anna to select appropriate priorities and opportunities for her intercollegiate extension programs. diversity, equity, and inclusivity skills intercollegiate extension program faculty need to understand and be able to navigate collaborations with diverse individuals by using effective dei skills. jessica explained that successful partnerships require “making it easier [community members] to reach not just one of us, but more than one of us [university departments and faculty experts].” richard also agreed about the importance of dei for successful intercollegiate extension programs and how across the state is a “somewhat different culture” coupled with “a lot of racial diversity as well”. richard elaborated, working with diverse audiences was particularly important for intercollegiate extension programs which had a nutrition or community economic development component because they were delivered to a wide range of stakeholders across the state. specifically, dei skills were necessary for intercollegiate extension programs that engaged university-faculty who had limited experience interacting with the public through extension outreach and education. clint expanded on the benefits of diverse collaborations and explained, “the more diversity we have, you know, in our learning, the more we have to share and the more we benefit from that and the more viewpoints we gain” and that “increasing partnership and collaboration and diversifying our partners helps us be more effective educators.” clint also said that his lgu intercollegiate extension programs have had “a cultural awareness and cultural proficiency committee” to ensure cultural awareness was built into extension programs. clint and charlie emphasized the importance of having adequate resources to create intercollegiate extension program materials in multiple languages for specific topics such as food safety trainings. regardless of the intercollegiate extension program, participants supported the need for lgu employees to be skilled interpersonal communicators and feel comfortable working with diverse people in all aspects of their profession. professional recognition (motivation) professional recognition was the only theme that emerged regarding employee motivation, a burke and litwin (1992) transactional factor. for example, anna described her colleague’s work caillouet et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.215 72 with gardens at a women's prison. the project that started as a skill development opportunity for offenders to turn barren land into vegetable gardens has continued for over five years and led to improved visitor experiences and healthier parent-child relationships. according to anna, her colleague’s work “got lots of press… [and] attention at the upper levels of the administration because she was willing to do this [community-driven, innovative] work.” it was clear that charlie took pride in the intercollegiate programs he was involved with and praised his lgu for acting “with intentionality” to create programs which served the public. charlie also advocated for others to be recognized for their work as well. specifically, charlie explained how he took action steps, along with support from the provost office committee, to implement “mechanisms” that reward faculty for innovative programming. levi reflected that working with intercollegiate extension programs “gives us a lot more opportunities and it gives us a higher, kind of, level of recognition with that, at the upper levels of leadership, the president, the provost, they recognize the work that we're doing.” professional recognition is a powerful tool that can be used to incentivize faculty to engage with intercollegiate extension programs and can be a way of communicating the importance of these types of programs to stakeholders. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations transactional factors are important for organizational change because they focus more on the subtle areas of improvement (burke & litwin, 1992). half of the participants agreed that restructuring extension to have no academic allegiances but rather administrators who work university-wide could fosterer greater community engagement (mcdowell, 2001). similarly, structure can be used to impact individual skills such as leveraging county extension offices to allow faculty opportunities beyond academic silos (burke & litwin, 1992). importantly, not all states have county offices; therefore, states should examine if the same benefits apply to their organization. extension autonomy from agricultural colleges was described as creating a more intercollegiate environment (mcdowell, 2001). however, changing the extension structure could also change promotion and tenure policies, which are a driving factor for how faculty make decisions (fitzgerald et al., 2012). more information is needed to understand possible unintended consequences from extension’s separation from agricultural colleges such as changes in stakeholder support. intercollegiate extension programs were described as more successful when strategic planning was used to develop employee positions. successful intercollegiate extension programs must also have enough resources for adequate program support staff without being reliant on traditional extension programming resources which have been strained (harder et al., 2009). faculty involved with intercollegiate extension programs should be able to look beyond disciplinary silos and understand that complex societal issues require collaborative solutions (kellogg foundation, 1998). moreover, successful intercollegiate extension program employees caillouet et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.215 73 possessed the skills necessary to implement dei practices into their work. last, participants expressed a need for professional recognition regarding their work with intercollegiate extension programs because it helped them feel like valued members of the organization (fitzgerald et al., 2012). although, promotion and tenure as well as professional recognition were both forms of extrinsic motivation, promotion and tenure has been a job requirement while professional recognition is not. these two factors are related because all the organizational change model factors are interconnected but separate transactional factors. intercollegiate extension programs should take into consideration faculty requirements for promotion and tenure and provide opportunities for teaching, research, and publications to encourage participation in these programs (rubens et al., 2017). clear guidelines developed by departments beyond agricultural colleges may be useful in the tenure and promotion evaluation process for faculty engaged in extension efforts. furthermore, the structure of lgus may be used to support intercollegiate extension programs by utilizing the county-based offices (lyons & mann, 2018), and clear operating procedures may need to be implemented so that university faculty understand how extension offices can and cannot be utilized. we agree there is a lack of contemporary references specifically focused on intercollegiate programs. further, there is not a singular model for intercollegiate extension. we have added an additional recommendation to focus on the specific models of intercollegiate extension programs. future research could focus on determining the relative importance of the transactional factors participants identified as important for the success of intercollegiate extension programs. also, future research may consider using various theoretical lenses, such as social exchange theory, to provide additional insight into the success of intercollegiate extension programs. case studies may prove useful to better understand the intended and unintended consequences of extension separating from agricultural colleges and creating a more welcoming extension environment to faculty university-wide. the majority of participants, six, found the county offices to be great assets for intercollegiate extension programs. but future research may consider identifying the views of county agents which may be an important factor too. future research may examine funding strategies for intercollegiate extension programs and the willingness of various current and potential new partners to contribute financial support. this study examined intercollegiate extension programs at very high research activity lgus; however, additional research should determine if recommendations vary for different university designations such as high or moderate research activity universities. last, our study examined intercollegiate programs from the perspective of those employed directly by extension; future research should seek to determine the perspectives of other university employees engaged in intercollegiate extension programs. acknowledgements there were no conflicts of interest in this study. furthermore, this research was based upon work supported by the national science foundation graduate research fellowship program. any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are caillouet et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.215 74 those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the national science foundation. o. caillouet – conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, methodology, validation, writing (original draft, review, and editing); a. harder – conceptualization, formal analysis, methodology, validation, supervision, writing (review and editing); g. roberts – conceptualization, methodology, validation, writing (review and editing); j. bunch – conceptualization, methodology, validation, writing (review and editing); h. radunovich – conceptualization, validation, writing (review and editing). references allen, r. e. s., & wiles, j. l. 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(2017). a strategic plan for introducing, implementing, managing, and monitoring an urban extension platform. journal of extension, 55(3), article 22. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol55/iss3/22/ © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 91-manuscript-1445-1-11-20210712.docx street et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 2, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. ashton street, agriculture teacher, harmony high school, 3601 arthur j gallagher blvd., harmony, fl 34771, ashton.street@osceolaschools.net, https://orcid.org/0000--0002-4900-0824 2. christopher t. stripling, associate professor & interim department head, university of tennessee, 320 morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 379966, cstripli@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000--0002-5045-3492 3. john c. ricketts, professor, tennessee state university, 3500 john a. merritt boulevard, nashville, tn 37209, jricket1@tnstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000--0002-0559-5803 4. nathan w. conner, associate professor, university of nebraska-lincoln, 236 filley hall, lincoln, ne 68583, nconner2@unl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000--0003-0063-4110 5. christopher boyer, associate professor, university of tennessee, 320 morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996, cboyer3@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000--0002-1393-8589 86 identifying tennessee school-based agricultural education student growth and program accountability metrics a. street1, c. stripling2, j. ricketts3, n. conner4, c. boyer5 abstract over the years, accountability in education has transformed from the primary focus being the school as a whole to the individual teacher. the purpose of this study was to determine the metrics tennessee school-based agricultural education teachers perceive as indicators of excellent total programs (classroom instruction, ffa, sae), and a modified delphi study was used to seek a consensus. the following nine metrics were retained: (a) pesticide certification, (b) program of activities, (c) number of students participating in cdes, (d) chapter community service hours, (e) total number of ffa activities, (f) number of cdes coached, (g) at least one proficiency at regional level, (h) one american degree every 3 years, and (i) percentage of students with sae. overall, the metrics agreed upon are narrow in focus and all but one is a record of activity and not direct measures of students’ knowledge or skills. as a result, the measures do not include student growth or valueadded scores or authentic assessments of 21st century skills. additional research is needed to further investigate the metrics that should be used to measure a school-based agricultural education program’s success in tennessee and across the nation. keywords delphi method, total program, performance evaluation, sbae street et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.91 87 introduction and problem statement accountability in education transformed from the primary focus being the whole school to the individual teacher (lavigne, 2014). a focus on teachers being accountable for student success has altered education in the united states (buchanan, 2014). according to the reform support network (2013), value-added measures “convey how much individual teachers contribute to student learning in a particular subject in a particular year” ( p. 2). however, researchers and policymakers found value-added measures alone are not an adequate replacement for traditional teacher evaluation (harris et al., 2014). tennessee has been a frontrunner for value-added assessment and was one of the first states to apply a statewide evaluation system (lavigne, 2014). in the 2011-2012 school year, the tennessee educator acceleration model (team) was implemented statewide (lavigne, 2014). team outlines that 50% of a teacher’s evaluation is comprised of student achievement data and within that percentage, 35% is calculated from student growth using students’ value-added scores, and the other 15% is made up of other student achievement measures as decided by the state board of education and agreed upon by the teacher and the evaluator (lavigne, 2014). the other 50% is comprised of personal conferences, observation data, and a review of prior teaching evaluations (lavigne, 2014). glover et al. (2016) recommended using multiple types of formative assessment techniques for teacher and student evaluation. school-based agricultural education (sbae) is one of the disciplines included in career and technical education (cte). cte programs are heavily influenced by the carl d. perkins legislation, which was designed to enhance the academic and technical skill development of secondary cte students (johnson & mitchell, 2014). the core indicators for secondary cte programs focus on academics, technical skills, graduation, post-high school education, and career trajectory (johnson & mitchell, 2014). due to the emphasis on value-added measures in tennessee and the need to consider core indicators of cte programs, this study seeks to capture the voice of tennessee sbae teachers regarding the metrics they perceive the tennessee department of education (tde) should use to measure student growth and total sbae program success. theoretical and conceptual framework sbae programs are designed for students to study and investigate solutions for real problems in the agriculture industry; therefore, the content being studied is flexible and changing (phipps et al., 2008). for this study, sbae’s three-component model served as the conceptual framework. the model includes three main instructional components: (a) classroom/laboratory instruction, (b) student leadership development through the national ffa organization, and (c) supervised agricultural experience (sae) programs (national ffa organization, 2019). classroom/laboratory instruction provides students with the opportunity to discuss and study current and future challenges that pertain to particular areas of the agriculture industry, and street et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.91 88 “as a result, students gain knowledge and discover principles that allow them to arrive at potential solutions to agricultural problems” (phipps et al., 2008, p. 5.) through participation in the national ffa organization, “students develop excellent skills in leading and working with people of all ages” (phipps et al., 2008, p. 7). the ffa is an intra-curricular program that offers students challenging activities and programs for both the individual student and the whole school chapter (phipps et al., 2008). the final component, sae, provides students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they learn within school to real-world situations through their own sae program outside of the classroom (phipps et al., 2008). students will work on this program throughout their high school career and gain experiences in a real-life setting within an agriculture industry (phipps et al., 2008). example sae’s include livestock production and working in an agricultural business (phipps et al., 2008). each component of the three-component model was used to develop an open-ended question that would be used in round one of this study. purpose the purpose of this study was to determine the metrics tennessee sbae teachers perceived as indicators of excellent total programs. additionally, the following research question guided this study: what metrics should tde use to measure sbae student growth and the total program? methods a modified delphi study was used to seek a consensus on metrics sbae teachers perceived as indicators of excellent total programs. the modified delphi method has been frequently used by researchers in agricultural education (lundry et al., 2015; terry & osborne, 2015). three rounds of data collection were used to solicit the opinions of an expert panel of sbae teachers. the criteria for membership on the panel were twofold: (a) currently working as a teacher in sbae in tennessee and (b) nominated by members of tennessee team agricultural education. team agricultural education is an advisory committee for tde consisting of teacher educators, sbae teachers, a community college agriculture instructor, a national ffa staff member, and representatives of the tennessee association of agricultural educators. twenty-two teachers were nominated, and 21 teachers were invited to participate in this study. we decided to invite seven teachers from each of the three regions of tennessee and eliminate the teacher with the fewest years of experience. an email was sent to the 21 teachers informing them of the study, their selection, and the study procedures. the data collection process consisted of three rounds. qualtrics was used to distribute a survey for each round in order to reach a general consensus. round one consisted of the following open-ended prompts that were developed based on the three-component model of agricultural education: (a) please list all of the possible agriculture classroom measures (i.e., team scores, end of course test, certifications) that you think ought to be used to provide student achievement/program data to tde; (b) please list all of the street et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.91 89 possible ffa measures (i.e., % ffa membership, cde participation) that you think ought to be used to provide student achievement/program data to tde; and (c) please list all of the possible sae measures (i.e., percentage with an sae, dollars earned or hours worked) that you think ought to be used to provide student achievement/program data to tde. after the initial survey was distributed and two reminders were sent, we obtained responses from 17 of the 21 teachers (81.0%) in round one. a five-point rating scale (1= strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly agree) was used in round two and allowed the teachers to rate their level of agreement or disagreement for each of the 59 items. we established a priori a 66.7% or 2/3 level of agreement for an item to be retained for round three based on prior works (shinn et al., 2008; touchstone, 2015). in addition to the 59 items identified in round one, we included the following open-ended prompt in round two: please list additional measures you believe should be included that were not included in round 2. the additional open-ended prompt was asked to give participants the opportunity to share any additional measures that came to mind during round two as a result of seeing the measures identified in round one. we used an openended prompt in round two based on prior research (conner et al., 2017; warner et al., 2016). after three reminders to complete round two, 18 of the 21 teachers (85.7%) responded. therefore, the third and final round was comprised of 19 items that were rated by the teachers using the five-point rating scale. as in round two, a 66.7% or 2/3 level of agreement was used to retain an item as a possible metric for measuring a component of the total sbae program. in round three, responses were obtained from 19 of the 21 teachers (90.5%). findings the following categories are used to group together the findings: classroom, ffa, and sae. round 1 generated 59 unique responses from the expert panel of teachers (see table 1). fourteen items met the predetermined 66.7% level of agreement. street et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.91 90 table 1 metrics identified as indicators of excellent agricultural education total programs metrics agree/strongly agree % 1. classroom 2. master livestock certification (beef, meat, goat, advanced, etc.) 72.3 a 3. pesticide certification 66.7 a 4. beef quality assurance certification 66.7 a 5. hunter education certification 66.7 a 6. welding certification 66.7 a 7. number of students who enroll in post-secondary studies 66.7 a 8. master gardner certification 55.6 9. number of students who enroll in postsecondary agricultural studies 55.6 10. skill attainment rubrics 55.6 11. tractor safety certification 55.5 12. dual credit 50.0 13. dual enrollment 50.0 14. end of course exam 44.5 15. boater education certification 38.9 16. tennessee educator acceleration model (team) scores 22.2 ffa 17. program of activities 94.5 a 18. number of students participating in cdes 77.7 a 19. chapter community service hours 72.2 a 20. average number of volunteer hours per student 66.7 a 21. number of cdes coached 66.7 a 22. number of team cdes coached 55.6 23. number of individual cdes coached 55.6 24. number of students attending state ffa convention 55.5 25. regional officers elected 52.9 26. ffa membership percentage of agricultural education enrollment 50.0 27. state officers nominated 50.0 28. plow awards program 50.0 29. regional officers nominated 50.0 30. state officers elected 44.4 31. number of students 38.9 32. average number of students attending local meetings 38.9 33. number of students receiving ffa scholarships 38.9 34. number of students attending 212/360 conference 27.8 35. national officer candidate 22.2 36. national officer elected 17.6 street et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.91 91 metrics agree/strongly agree % 37. number of students receiving ffa grants 11.1 38. number of ffa chapter grants awarded 11.1 sae 39. percentage of students with sae 77.2 a 40. one american degree every 3 years 76.5 a 41. at least one proficiency at regional level 72.2 a 42. number of students with an sae record book 55.5 43. number of state ffa degree recipients each year 55.5 44. average dollars earned per student 44.5 45. number of american degree recipients each year 44.5 46. average hours worked or dollars earned per student 38.9 47. number of proficiency applications 38.9 48. number of students exhibiting livestock 38.9 49. average dollars expended per student 38.9 50. average hours worked per student 35.3 51. number of regional star candidates 33.3 52. number of regional star recipients 27.8 53. number of tn star candidates 27.8 54. number of tn star recipients 27.8 55. number of national ffa star candidates 22.2 56. number of regional proficiencies in first place 22.0 57. number of regional proficiencies in second place 22.0 58. number of regional proficiencies in third place 22.0 59. number of proficiencies not in top 3 16.7 60. number of national ffa star recipients 16.7 a retained for round 3. five additional metrics were obtained from round 2. therefore, the remaining 19 items were retained for round 3 (see table 2). the metrics added were: (a) teacher is case certified, (b) case online student assessments, (c) case authentic assessment rubrics, (d) pork quality assurance certification, and (e) total number of ffa activities. street et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.91 92 table 2 metrics suggested in round 2 as indicators of excellent agricultural education programs metrics agree/strongly agree % classroom 1. pesticide certification 68.4 a 2. welding certification 63.2 3. beef quality assurance certification 63.1 4. pork quality assurance certification 57.9 5. hunter education certification 52.6 6. number of students who enroll in postsecondary education 52.6 7. master livestock certification 52.6 8. teacher is case certified 36.8 9. case online student assessments 36.8 10. case authentic assessment rubrics 36.9 ffa 11. program of activities 94.7 a 12. number of students participating in cdes 84.2 a 13. chapter community service hours 78.9 a 14. total number of ffa activities 78.9 a 15. number of cdes coached 68.4 a 16. average number of volunteer hours per student 36.8 sae 17. at least one proficiency at regional level 84.2 a 18. one american degree every 3 years 78.9 a 19. percentage of students with sae 77.7 a a retained as indicators of excellent agricultural education total programs the third and final round began with 19 metrics and resulted in the removal of 10 metrics due to lack of consensus: (a) beef quality assurance certification, (b) master livestock certification, (c) hunter education certification, (d) welding certification, (e) number of students who enroll in postsecondary education, (f) teacher is case certified, (g) case online student assessments, (h) case authentic assessment rubrics, (i) pork quality assurance certification, and (j) average number of volunteer hours per student. the reduction of metrics left a general consensus that nine metrics (see table 3) generated from previous rounds should be used in measuring sbae total program success. street et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.91 93 table 3 metrics retained as indicators of excellent agricultural education total programs metrics classroom 1. pesticide certification ffa 2. program of activities 3. number of students participating in cdes 4. chapter community service hours 5. total number of ffa activities 6. number of cdes coached sae 7. at least one proficiency at regional level 8. one american degree every 3 years 9. percentage of students with sae conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the sbae teachers ultimately agreed upon nine metrics, one metric for classroom instruction, five metrics for ffa, and three metrics for sae as measures of total program success. overall, the metrics agreed upon are narrow in focus, and all but one is a record of activity and not direct measures of students’ knowledge or skills. as a result, the measures do not include student growth or value-added scores (lavigne, 2014) or authentic assessments of 21st-century skills (i.e., leadership, communication, critical thinking, and teamwork). the focus on measuring success based on activity within ffa and sae may be due to a culture that promotes competition rather than academic learning. therefore, we recommend research be conducted to investigate tennessee agriculture education teachers’ perceptions of the role of the classroom instructional component of the sbae model related to the total sbae program. these insights may shed light on the narrow focus of the metrics identified and the lack of consensus regarding classroom instruction metrics. the one metric the panel agreed upon for classroom instruction was pesticide certification. the core indicators for secondary education included technical skill attainment, including achievement on technical assessments aligned with industry-recognized standards (johnson & mitchell, 2014). based on johnson and mitchell (2014), pesticide certification aligns with the current requirements of perkins iv but may not be practical in nature due to the fact an individual must be 18 years old to receive certification. furthermore, this metric of student learning is not applicable to all sbae programs of study in tennessee. additional certifications were recognized but did not pass the consensus to be retained. this may be due to the various programs of study and courses offered within tennessee. street et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.91 94 due to the lack of agreement on numerous metrics in the classroom setting, tde should pursue further consensus among sbae educators on other classroom metrics before implementing statewide classroom accountability metrics. to that end, future research is needed to determine and, if needed, develop appropriate classroom metrics. tde should look to other state departments of education, cte and agricultural education consultants, national cte and agricultural education leaders, industry partners, and sbae teachers to further explore classroom metrics. we recommend metrics such as team evaluations, meaningful industry certifications, and cognitive skills be considered. according to lavigne (2014), the team evaluations will take into consideration multiple data points, including student achievement data, personal conferences, observation data, and the review of the teacher’s prior evaluations (lavigne, 2014). the collection and evaluation of teacher data will help administrators provide constructive feedback to educators (firestone, 2014). the use of student achievement data both from an academic perspective and from industry certifications will help cte programs meet the requirements set forth by the perkins act (johnson & mitchell, 2014). in addition, student skill assessments appropriate for each sbae program of study should be considered. in regards to ffa, metrics were agreed upon, which support the perkins iv core indicator of having a career and technical student organization as a support for the instructional program (johnson & mitchell, 2014). the five metrics can be used as a starting point for accountability and should be reviewed by tde for appropriateness. in addition, the department should review the purpose and goals of ffa as these metrics may not provide data on tde’s goals for ffa. the panel identified three metrics focused on sae measures. percentage of students with an sae supports the state’s criteria that a majority of the students enrolled in sbae courses have in place an approved supervised agricultural experience program. at least one proficiency at the regional level is like the state’s current criteria of submitting one or more proficiency awards for state consideration. however, the state’s criteria stipulated the proficiency is submitted at the state level, which is a higher level as compared to the measure agreed upon by the sbae teachers. the final sae metric agreed upon, one american degree every three years, is similar to the criteria of directing and submitting one or more state ffa degree applicants based on the student’s sae program for state consideration. unlike the previous metric, this agreed upon metric is a higher degree than the indicator used by tde. the three metrics can be used as a starting point for accountability and should be reviewed by tde for appropriateness. furthermore, if assessing student skills is not appropriate or cost efficient in the classroom instructional component, the sae component may be able to be used for this evaluation. teachers, employers, and/or placement coordinators may be able to verify students are able to perform desired skills in a more cost-effective manner. future research should explore the use of teachers, employers, and/or placement coordinators in conducting skill assessments. street et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.91 95 references buchanan, r. 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(2016). identification of the competencies needed to apply social marketing to extension programing: results of a delphi study. journal of agricultural education, 57(2), 14–32. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2016.02014 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 21-manuscript-197-4-11-20200213 mckim and mckendree advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 1, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. aaron j. mckim, assistant professor, michigan state university natural resources building, 480 wilson road, room 131, east lansing, mi 48824 amckim@msu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0600-3611 2. robert “buddy” mckendree, assistant professor, michigan state university natural resources building, 480 wilson road, room 131, east lansing, mi 48824 rbm@msu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0351-777x 38 metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving ability in school-based agriculture, food, and natural resources education aaron j. mckim1, r. bud mckendree2 abstract problems within agriculture, food, and natural resource (afnr) systems are increasingly complex, expanding the need for students to develop problem-solving abilities alongside an understanding of their own thinking. in this effort, we explored the problem-solving abilities, metacognition, and systems thinking of current afnr secondary school students. a descriptive correlational study design was employed. data were collected via an online, qualtrics survey. student responses on the metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving ability survey items suggested opportunities for increased focus on these areas throughout their educational experience. in addition, statistically significant relationships between metacognition and systems thinking and systems thinking and problem-solving ability reinforced the importance of these topics within afnr education. recommendations emerging from this work include additional emphasis on metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills within secondary school afnr classrooms; utilization of specific strategies to increase systems thinking; operationalizing specific strategies to increase metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive regulation; along with a cross-cutting recommendation for teachers to make their thinking more explicit during instruction to increase metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills among learners. keywords path analysis; transformational classrooms; self-society framework; complex problems; interdisciplinary thinking mckim and mckendree advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.21 39 introduction and problem statement the students of today need to be prepared to solve the problems of tomorrow. in agriculture, food, and natural resources (afnr), the problems of tomorrow (e.g., impacts of climate change, water quality, soil degradation) are increasingly complex due to the vast network of changing systems which impact, and are impacted by, afnr (fischer, shah, tubiello, & van velhuizen, 2005). therefore, educational systems in afnr must provide students with opportunities to develop their own problem-solving abilities (national academies of science, engineering, & medicine, 2018). research on the development of problem-solving skills suggests the need for transformed learning spaces, which encourage student understanding of their own thinking processes alongside understanding the dynamic systems inherent within authentic and complex problems (augustine, 2006). given the abundant opportunities, and necessity, for problem solving within afnr systems, afnr education must expand current knowledge related to problem solving ability (national academies of science, engineering, & medicine, 2018; sterling, 2001). in this effort, the current study explores the problem-solving abilities of current afnr secondary school students alongside two elements of transformed learning environments, metacognition (i.e., thinking about thinking) and systems thinking (i.e., understanding the dynamic and complex nature of problems and/or phenomena). a more robust understanding of metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving abilities among afnr students is expected to empower afnr education by identifying variables which potentially contribute to the problem-solving abilities of learners. theoretical and conceptual framework the framework for this study brings together literature from three conceptual underpinnings of the current study: (a) metacognition, (b) systems thinking, and (c) problem-solving ability. through a description of each concept, potential relationships are uncovered and a conceptual model of identified relationships is developed. metacognition metacognition is defined as recognizing and regulating your own thinking (hughes, 2017). metacognition is comprised of two distinct elements: (a) metacognitive knowledge: knowing the optimal ways you process information (jacobs & paris, 1987; schraw, 1998) and (b) metacognitive regulation: actively regulating your thinking (brown, bransford, ferrara, & campione, 1983). the major challenge associated with metacognition is the “hidden” nature of thinking (national research council, 2000). while covert, metacognition has been found to increase learning among students (gourgey, 1998; pate & miller, 2011; wang, haertel, & mckim and mckendree advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.21 40 walberg, 1990). similarly, metacognition has been linked to scientific processes like hypothesis generation and problem solving (blackburn & robinson, 2016; pate & miller, 2011). systems thinking systems thinking refers to the “awareness of and consideration for the interaction, synchronization, and integration of people, processes, and technology among dynamic and fluctuating systems” (stalter et al., 2016, p. 326). systems thinkers view problems and/or phenomena from a complex, nonlinear perspective and seek to identify patterns and relationships among interdependent components of a system (leischow & milstein, 2006). for example, when presented with the problem of soil erosion, a systems thinker might consider the historical, political, cultural, environmental, social, and economic elements of the problem and potential solutions. systems thinking has been linked to metacognition through the selfsociety framework. in essence, this framework argues awareness of thinking is required for individuals to position themselves to think about complex systems (cabrera, cabrera, & powers, 2015; gregory, 2000). problem solving ability problem solving is defined as “efforts toward achieving a situational goal for which there is no direct solution” (pate & miller, 2011, p. 73). both metacognition and systems thinking have been linked to problem solving ability. due to overlap in executive control processes, higher metacognitive skill usage has been linked to improved problem solving (magno, 2010). specifically, problem solving requires the ability to sift through information, distinguishing between accurate and inaccurate information, and identify relevant and irrelevant facts, actions enhanced by metacognitive processing. in addition, research suggests systems thinking is a critical skill for problem solving. highlighting individuals able to understand the interdependency of subsystems as well as unforeseen and long-term consequences of solutions, both checkland (1999) and senge (2014) laud systems thinking as a critical skill in complex problem solving. the emergent relationships found between metacognition, systems thinking, and problemsolving ability comprise the conceptual model utilized within the study (see figure 1). in this model, problem-solving ability is predicted by the combination of metacognition and systems thinking. additionally, the model posits metacognition as a determinant of systems thinking. problem-solving ability systems thinking metacognition mckim and mckendree advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.21 41 figure 1. conceptual model of relationships between metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving ability. purpose the purpose of this exploratory research was to analyze a conceptual model of the relationships between metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving ability among school-based agricultural education students. to accomplish this purpose, the following research objectives were identified: 1. determine the metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving abilities perceived by secondary school afnr education students. 2. analyze a conceptual model of the relationships between metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving ability. methods a descriptive correlational study design was employed to achieve the purpose and accomplish the stated research objectives. data presented are part of a larger study exploring levels of student engagement in school-based afnr education, metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving abilities. target population & sampling the target population for this study included all secondary school students taking courses from school-based afnr teachers in michigan during the fall semester of the 2019-2020 school year. a stratified sample of students taught by twelve school-based agriculture teachers was purposively selected. selected teachers were identified by engagement in a graduate level course offered by michigan state university as well as teachers hosting micro-teaching experiences for preservice teachers at michigan state university. students from four of the recruited schools provided responses to the survey, yielding a 33.00% response rate among recruited teachers. in total, 56 secondary school student responses were received (n = 56). all respondents had a consent form signed by parent or guardian on file with the research team prior to completing the survey. due to the sampling procedures, the data presented are not representative of the population. instrumentation & data collection data were collected via an online, qualtrics survey distributed in september and october of 2019. the survey included three constructs of interest, metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving ability. an existing construct, the junior metacognitive awareness inventory (jrmai), was used to measure metacognition (sperling, howard, miller, & murphy, 2001), including both metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive regulation. the jrmai is 18 questions long (e.g., “i use different learning strategies depending on the task.”). an existing construct, the systems thinking scale (sts), was used to measure systems thinking (moore, mckim and mckendree advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.21 42 dolansky, singh, palmieri, & alemi, 2010). the sts includes 20 questions (e.g., “i consider how multiple changes affect each other.”). similarly, an existing construct, problem-solving ability scale (psas) from the national longitudinal study of adolescent to adult health, was used to measure problem-solving ability (harris & udry, 2018). the psas included four questions (e.g., “when i am attempting to find a solution to a problem, i usually try to think of as many different ways to approach the problem as possible.”). for consistency, each item within the three constructs was measured from 1 (never) to 5 (always). validity and reliability each of the three constructs have been validated within existing literature; readers are encouraged to review the citations corresponding with each construct for more information about the validation process. to ensure the constructs were reliable among respondents, a post-hoc reliability analysis was completed. each of the constructs fell within the acceptable range for reliability using cronbach’s alpha (i.e., metacognition = .83; systems thinking = .93; problem-solving ability = .72; fraenkel & wallen, 2000; nunnally & bernstein, 1994). limitations two major limitations are considered in the current study. first, the data are limited by the honesty and truthfulness of the 56 respondents who provided data to the current study. second, the data collection methods did not include more robust measures of metacognition (e.g., participant observations), systems thinking (e.g., mental modeling), or problem-solving ability (e.g., case problem analysis) due to feasibility, costs, and time constraints. data analysis data collected for research objective one were analyzed by condensing items within the three constructs into three average construct scores, identifying the minimum and maximum response for each construct across participants, averaging each construct score across responses, and reporting the standard deviation among respondents. for objective two, a path analysis was completed in concert with the conceptual model. to complete the path analysis, two linear regressions were completed. the first regression included metacognition as the exogenous variable with systems thinking as the endogenous. the second regression included both metacognition and systems thinking as exogenous variables and problem-solving ability as the endogenous variable. path analysis was selected as it provided a holistic evaluation of the conceptual model without requiring the sample size of more robust statistical analyses (e.g., structural equation modeling). findings a brief description of respondents is provided in an effort to contextualize the data presented. respondents included a larger number of females (62.75%) than males (37.25%). the largest proportion of respondents were sophomores (44.20%) followed by seniors (30.80%) and juniors (25.00%). with regard to ffa participation, the majority were non-officer members (71.20%) followed by ffa officers (19.20%) and students who were not involved in ffa at the time of mckim and mckendree advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.21 43 data collection (9.60%). in addition, the majority of respondents reported having a supervised agricultural experience (76.90%) and being interested in a career in agriculture, food, and natural resources (70.60%). in research objective one, the metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving abilities perceived by students were examined (see table 1). students rated their problem-solving abilities (m = 3.57; sd = 0.80) slightly higher than metacognition (m = 3.55; sd = 0.64) or systems thinking (m = 3.46; sd = 0.65). a large range of responses, however, was identified for each of the three constructs. table 1 metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving ability variables minimum maximum m sd metacognition 1.06 4.78 3.55 0.64 systems thinking 1.85 5.00 3.46 0.65 problem-solving ability 1.00 5.00 3.57 0.80 note. items measured from 1 (never) to 5 (always). in research objective two, the relationships between metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving ability were analyzed in accordance with the conceptual model (see figure 2). the first path analyzed was the relationship between metacognition, the exogenous variable, and systems thinking, the endogenous variable. the model was statistically significant (f-value = 94.04; p-value < .001). further, metacognition was a statistically significant predictor of systems thinking (b = 0.81, seb = 0.08; β = .80; p-value < .001) and predicted 64% of the variance in systems thinking (r = .80, r2 = .64). problem-solving ability systems thinking metacognition r2 = .64 r2 = .64 .65 .17 .80 mckim and mckendree advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.21 44 figure 2. output diagram of relationships between metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving ability. the second path analyzed included both metacognition and systems thinking as exogenous variables with problem solving ability serving as the endogenous variable. the second model was statistically significant (f-value = 43.53; p-value < .001). in total, the combination of metacognition and systems thinking predicted 64% of the variance in problem-solving ability (r = .80, r2 = .64). systems thinking was identified as a statistically significant predictor of problemsolving ability (b = 0.79, seb = 0.17; β = .65; p-value < .001); however, metacognition was not a statistically significant predictor of problem-solving ability within the model (b = 0.21, seb = 0.18; β = .17; p-value = .237). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the need for educational systems to develop learners able to solve problems compelled our analysis of problem-solving ability, metacognition, and systems thinking among school-based afnr education students. findings from the study help to refine the conceptual model presented in figure 1. the lack of a statistically significant relationship between metacognition and problem-solving ability, when accounting for systems thinking, suggests a slightly modified model (see figure 3) in which metacognition directly influences systems thinking with systems thinking directly relating to problem solving ability. each of the relationships proposed in the reconceptualized model were supported by the findings. figure 3. reconceptualized model of metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving ability. in addition to a new perspective of the relationships between metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving ability, the current study illuminated additional points of discussion. first, the average scores for metacognition (i.e., 3.55 out of a possible 5.00), systems thinking (i.e., 3.46 out of a possible 5.00), and problem-solving ability (i.e., 3.57 out of a possible 5.00) indicate opportunities for growth among responding students. additional support for interventions to increase metacognition and systems thinking emerged from the path analysis of the relationships between constructs. starting from the right side of the model, evidence suggests systems thinking is an important predictor of problem-solving ability. this finding is supported by existing research (checkland, 1999; senge, 2014). the identified importance of systems thinking suggests a greater emphasis on systems thinking within school-based afnr classrooms could benefit the problem-solving abilities of learners. methods for increasing systems thinking within classrooms include the use of case study analyses highlighting interdependence among systems, interdisciplinary connections being made explicit during problem-solving ability systems thinking metacognition mckim and mckendree advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.21 45 learning experiences, and encouraging student use of mental modeling to illustrate their thinking. continuing to work left on the model, findings support a relationship between metacognition and systems thinking. the positive relationship between metacognition and systems thinking is supported by the self-society framework (cabrera, cabrera, & powers, 2015; gregory, 2000); specifically, that an individual more apt to internally consider their own thinking is positioned to think more broadly and systematically about external factors. given the identified importance of systems thinking to problem-solving ability alongside the self-society framework, it is recommended that school-based afnr educators explore strategies for enhancing the metacognition of learners. strategies for increasing metacognition include having students evaluate multiple learning strategies for their efficacy and asking metacognitive reflection questions to learners (e.g., “what about this problem is challenging,” “how are you learning this”) to build metacognitive knowledge. in addition, using a metacognitive regulatory checklist and asking metacognitive action questions of leaners (e.g., “in what other contexts could you use this learning strategy,” “what have you used successfully in the past to solve a problem like this”) are recommended strategies for building metacognitive regulation. importantly, a simple recommendation which attends to both the need to develop systems thinking and metacognition among learners is for educators to make their thinking explicit during classroom instruction. for example, an educator who highlights why a particular answer may be more favorable when considering the interdependent systems while also articulating their thinking as they process to that conclusion has the potential to foster both systems thinking and metacognition among learners. in addition to practical recommendations for increasing metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving ability among secondary school learners, authors recommend more rigorous analyses of the reconceptualized model. as a roadmap, evaluating metacognition using regulatory checklists and participant observations, systems thinking using mental models, and problem-solving abilities using case studies will provide a more in-depth understanding of the relationships supported by this exploratory research. further, obtaining a large enough sample to evaluate the model using structure equation modeling, in which systems thinking simultaneously acts as an endogenous and exogenous variable, will address the error variance unaccounted for within the path analysis approach. future research can build upon the foundation provided by the exploratory study to uncover additional insights into the relationships between these important educational outcomes. with the opportunity to more effectively prepare the learners of today to be problem-solving leaders of tomorrow, analyses and interventions to understand and increase metacognition, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills within afnr education are essential to addressing the increasingly complex challenges facing the world. mckim and mckendree advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.21 46 references augustine, n. 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(1990). what influences learning? a content analysis of review literature. the journal of educational research, 84(1), 30-43. © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). roberts_proposal diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 3, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. john m. diaz, assistant professor and extension specialist, university of florida, 1200 n. park rd., plant city, fl 33563, john.diaz@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000--0002-2787-8759 2. colby silvert, graduate assistant, university of florida, 305 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, colby.silvert@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000--0003-2055-7597 3. cody gusto, graduate assistant, university of florida, 305 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, cgusto@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000--0003-0008-0533 4. k.s.u. jayaratne, professor, north carolina state university, 200 ricks hall, raleigh, nc 27695, ksjayara@ncsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000--0002-9242-3961 5. lendel narine, extension assistant professor, utah state university, 4931 old main hill, agrs 128, logan, ut 84322, lendel.narine@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000--0001-6962-2770 83 toward intercultural competence: using expert consensus to identify essential personality traits and attitudes to develop an inclusive extension education workforce j. diaz1, c. silvert2, c. gusto3, k. jayaratne3, l. narine4 abstract the rapid diversification of workforces and client stakeholder groups has prompted a growing emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion as a critical component of professional development across industry sectors. while the proliferation of intercultural competence training models has increased awareness among employers and workforces, the competencies advocated in these models may not always be relevant to an organization or institution’s operational context. this study addresses the need for contextually grounded intercultural competency models targeted to extension education contexts. using a three-phased delphi approach, data were gathered from a panel of 36 intercultural competency experts. the panel identified nine personal traits thought to be critical for the recruitment and development of culturally competent extension educators. the authors explain how these results may be used to recruit extension educators with traits conducive to engagement with a broad audience of stakeholders using culturally sensitive and responsive techniques. given the distinct processes by which different components of intercultural competence are developed, we recommend specific measures and techniques administrators can utilize to recruit and develop extension educators who possess the agreed-upon intercultural personality traits. keywords competency training, diversity training, intercultural communication, nonformal education, professional development diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.135 84 introduction and problem statement today’s world is becoming more diverse and interconnected, creating a growing emphasis across extension organizations on developing strategies to better meet the unique needs of their diverse client communities (deen et al., 2014; mckee & bruce, 2019). recognizing an increasingly globalized society, agricultural industries and extension services are adopting intercultural competence (icc) frameworks to inform hiring protocols, professional development training curricula, goal setting exercises, and performance evaluations (deen et al., 2014; wille et al., 2019). broadly defined as “the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations based on one’s intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes,” (deardorff, 2009 pp. 247–248) icc has been conceptualized and operationalized in numerous ways across contexts, with more than 20 distinct definitions and frameworks having been identified over the years (spitzberg & changnon, 2009). despite its growing appeal as a model to guide the culturally responsive development of extension professionals, icc remains a broad and highly malleable concept that necessitates the identification of discrete, measurable, and context-specific outcome objectives (deardorff, 2009). two core issues therefore exist when attempting to apply icc assessments to the extension context. first, the frequent use of commercial instruments to assess icc and related skills means that the indicators applied may not best reflect the knowledge, skills, and traits needed in extension work. second, while a growing focus exists on developing agents’ intercultural competence, less emphasis is seemingly being placed on the identification of the personal traits required to be a successful extension educator, which may limit the value of using icc related assessments to inform recruitment and hiring practices (atiles, 2019). this is a critical gap that should be addressed as competency models such as dostilio’s cooperative extension professional (cep) model (2017) identify certain personality traits, such as integrity, honesty, transparency, and inclusiveness, that extension professionals need to exhibit in order to successfully engage diverse communities. theoretical and conceptual framework despite researchers’ and practitioners’ increased interests in icc, a lack of understanding remains regarding the concept, and no widely agreed upon conceptualization pervades (bartelradic & giannelloni, 2017; leung et al., 2014; van de vijver & leung, 2009). adding to this conceptual confusion, often terms such as cross-cultural competence, icc, global mindset, and cultural intelligence are used interchangeably or linkages between constructs are not made explicit (bartel-radic & giannelloni, 2017). one specific area of complexity is how to identify and incorporate personality traits and attitudes within icc constructs and frameworks (bartelradic & giannelloni, 2017; li, 2020). moreover, many scales have placed personality traits together in the same category with abilities while other scales simplify icc to constitute only a few personality traits without including additional skill or knowledge components (ang et al., 2007). thus, in advancing an icc framework specialized for extension educators, a need persists to explore how to best account for personality traits. diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.135 85 the literature reveals a lack of consensus in determining the components of icc and how such components are related (van de vijver & leung, 2009). according to deardorff (2006), icc experts assert that personal attributes (i.e., personality traits) are a common component of icc and necessary to build the requisite knowledge, skills, and behaviors to work across cultural differences. however, a 2017 study by bartel-radic and giannelloni challenged notions that personality traits predict cross-cultural knowledge, which in turn shapes skills and behaviors, even though research exists that is grounded in this assumption. although bartel-radic and giannelloni (2017) came to this conclusion, they referred to the existing body of empirical research that contradicts their findings (e.g., johnson et al., 2006; schmitt et al., 2007; van de vijver & leung, 2009), and asserted that their own research brought forth more questions than answers and called for continued inquiry. five personality traits are typically discussed in the context of cross-cultural communication or cultural intelligence: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (schmitt et al., 2007). however, caligiuiri (2000) and ang et al. (2007) concluded that these five traits do not determine effectiveness in cross-cultural communication or exercising cultural intelligence. beyond these five, the following personality traits and attitudes have been among the most frequently cited in the literature as integral to icc and interchangeable terms: open-mindedness, empathy, sociability/extraversion, absence of ethnocentrism, self-confidence, tolerance of uncertainty, attributional complexity, and emotional stability (e.g., black, 1990; johnson et al., 2006; li, 2020; yeke & semerciöz, 2016). even though researchers and practitioners have invested efforts toward identifying and analyzing such personality traits, ambiguity still exists, including a lack of consensus, and the need to identify traits for icc within extension education contexts. with respect to developing icc, the literature suggests that personality traits can be changeable not unlike capacities, knowledge, and skills (deardoff, 2006; rings & allehyani, 2020; spitzberg & changnon, 2009; xiaochi, 2012; yeke & semerciöz, 2016). unfortunately, it is also thought that personality traits are frequently less malleable than attitudes, knowledge, and skills, making it important to identify the core traits most crucial on which to focus assessment and development (ajzen, 2005; deardorff, 2006; yeke & semerciöz, 2016). although some personality traits may be more fixed than others, some researchers have contended that professional development trainings hold the potential toward changing personality traits and potentially improving icc (deardoff, 2006; rings & allehyani, 2020; spitzberg & changnon, 2009; xiaochi, 2012; yeke & semerciöz, 2016). as such, a nuanced understanding of relevant personality traits may help extension specialists develop effective professional development targeting icc. diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.135 86 purpose this study aimed to describe the personality traits most critical for extension educators’ intercultural competence. using a consensus-building delphi approach, the investigation aimed to accomplish three objectives: 1. determine if extension icc experts agreed upon personality traits and attitudes necessary for extension educators to work across cultural differences. 2. identify the personality traits and attitudes agreed to have the greatest influence on extension educators’ intercultural competence. 3. align the personality traits and attitudes with an extension educator’s years of service by which such competencies should have been developed. methods we used a three-round delphi process, modified in accordance with panelists’ input on the design, (hasson & keeney, 2011; linstone & turoff, 1975; okoli & pawlowski, 2004) to leverage the expertise of 35 purposively selected professionals, including diversity, equity, and inclusivity (dei) specialists, managers of education and outreach programs for underserved and underrepresented audiences, community development leaders, and contributors to extension educational intercultural curriculum (e.g., navigating differences, coming together for racial understanding). we used qualtrics online survey questionnaires to facilitate anonymous discourse among the panel to arrive at consensus. we employed a multi-stage process, during the summer of 2020, to select and formalize the panel of experts. to start, the principal investigator (pi) researched and solicited recommendations from international and national organizations (e.g., association of international agricultural and extension education, american evaluation association, epsilon sigma phi, national association of extension program and staff development professionals) to create the preliminary list of potential panelists. we then reviewed the list, provided feedback, and finalized the initial sampling frame of 51 individuals to contact about their potential interest in the study. introductory, informational telephone calls were conducted between the lead author and the 39 panelists who agreed to the call to learn more about the study. some snowball sampling (johnson, 2014) occurred due to these contacts recommending four additional experts to potentially participate in the study. these four individuals were also contacted by telephone, increasing the sampling frame to 43 panelists. however, only 35 individuals ultimately agreed to participate in the first round of the delphi. we used a modified three-round delphi format in this study. within this format, panelists were asked to identify and agree on a range of personality traits and attitudes. in the first delphi round, panelists were asked to identify personal traits and attitudes they perceived necessary for a culturally competent extension educator. the questionnaire did not explicitly differentiate between domestic or international contexts to account for the work of extension educators in both u.s. and international settings. twenty-five personal traits and attitudes were identified in diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.135 87 the first round, and we achieved a response rate of 100% (n = 35). for analysis, we differentiated between personality traits and attitudes using the definitions found in ajzen’s (2005), which explains that attitudes are more evaluative in nature, expressing a favorable, unfavorable, or mixed evaluation. in contrast, personality traits describe an individual’s response tendencies in a given domain (e.g., conscientious, self-confident, and respectful) (ajzen, 2005). the study’s second round was used for reaching consensus by the panelists and to refine the list of personality traits and attitudes identified in the first round by indicating the level of importance for building each personal trait and attitude to ensure successful programs among diverse audiences. experts indicated their agreement on the importance of each personality trait and attitude, using a 7-point likert agreement scale (strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), somewhat disagree (3), neither agree nor disagree (4), somewhat agree (5), agree (6), or strongly agree (7)). we defined consensus a priori as two-thirds of the panelists selecting or 6 (agree) or 7 (strongly agree). a response rate of 97% was achieved for the second round (n = 34). the panel achieved consensus on 23 items. in the study’s third round, we asked panelists to indicate the career stage during which extension educators should develop the personality traits and attitudes consented to in the second round. this modification was implemented in response to panelists’ involvement, together with the authors, in the study design. our objective was to tailor the third round of the study to prioritize attitudes and personality traits based on career stage. this modification aligns with justifications and examples provided by hasson and keeney (2011), linton and turhoff (1975), and okoli and pawlowski (2005) that outline opportunities to tailor the delphi to the problem-solving needs and intended outcomes of the process. panelists were also asked to indicate, using a 5-point ordinal scale, the level of importance (not important at all (1), slightly important (2), important (3), fairly important (4), or very important (5)) of developing each personality trait and attitude in the respective career stage. we changed the 7-point agreement scale from the second round to a 5-point ordinal scale of importance for the third round to help the panel prioritize the items in the different career stages based on perceived importance. career stages were (a) year 1; (b) 1 to 3 years; (c) 4 to 7 years; (d) 8 to 10 years; and (e) 11 or more years. we created the specific career categories to help delineate some distinct stages in extension professionals’ career, including onboarding (i.e., within the first year, initial performance assessments (1 to 3 years), initial promotion assessments (4 to 7 years), and post-initial promotion assessment and late career (8 to 10 years; 11 or more years)). we applied the a priori level of consensus as two-thirds agreement to analyze the career stage data, with only very important responses included in the third and final round. we achieved a 94% response rate for the final round (n = 33). at the end of the three stages, panelists arrived at consensus about nine personality traits and attitudes deemed most important for extension educators. diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.135 88 findings first round table 1 lists the personality traits and attitudes that the panel provided during the first round of the delphi study. the list includes four attitudinal attributes and 21 personality traits. table 1 list of personality traits and attitudes produced by the panel during round 1 personality traits and attitudes approachability commitment a compassion conscientiousness consistency curiosity desire to be a lifelong learner around issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion a empathy energetic nature enthusiasm genuine and authentic having a positive attitude a honesty humility inclusivity open-minded patience resiliency respect sensitivity transparency trustworthiness willing to take risks to reach across cultural barriers a willingness to challenge one’s own attitudes, preexisting beliefs, and cultural assumptions a willingness to gain experiences with cultures different from their own a note. a indicates attitude item. second round table 2 lists the personality traits and attitudes from the first round with the panel’s rating in the second round of their level of agreement on the importance of each item for an extension educator’s intercultural competence. using the a priori level of consensus, two items were removed from consideration; these were enthusiasm and energetic nature. diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.135 89 table 2 personality traits and attitudes rated for agreement by the delphi panel based on level of importance for icc personality traits and attitudes % strongly agree/agree empathy 100.0 genuine and authentic 100.0 open-minded 100.0 willingness to challenge one’s own attitudes, preexisting beliefs, and cultural assumptions a 100.0 willingness to gain experiences with cultures different than their own a 100.0 commitment 97.0 compassion 97.0 desire to be a lifelong learner around issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion a 97.0 honesty 97.0 humility 97.0 inclusivity 97.0 respect 97.0 sensitivity 97.0 trustworthiness 97.0 willing to take risks to reach across cultural barriers a 97.0 patience 93.9 approachability 90.9 conscientiousness 90.9 resiliency 90.9 transparency 87.9 having a positive attitude a 81.8 consistency 81.8 curiosity 75.8 enthusiasm * 60.6 energetic nature * 42.4 note. a indicates attitude item. * indicates item did not meet consensus threshold and did not advance to the next round. final round we identified nine items comprising a mix of attitudes and personality traits most important for extension educators to develop icc. the delphi panel rated six personality traits as very important for building icc of extension educators during the first year of their professional career (see table 3). these six traits included: open-mindedness, respect, humility, empathy, trustworthiness, and honesty. the delphi panel also agreed that three attitudes were very important to icc for development during years 1, 2, and 3 of an extension educator’s career. these were: the willingness to challenge one’s own attitudes, preexisting beliefs, and cultural diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.135 90 assumptions, inclusivity, and desire to be a lifelong learner around issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. table 3 personality traits and attitudes rated as very important by career stage note. a indicates attitude item. no items resulted for 4-7 years and 8-10 years. the remaining 16 items that the panel rated were viewed as fairly important for icc but not prioritized as very important to be developed during the designated career year(s)/stages. table 4 provides the breakdown of the responses for these items. the panel did not rate any items to be very important to develop in the associated career years, as designated. % of respondents who rated the item as very important according to career stage personality traits and attitudes in the first year 1-3 years empathy 79.0 honesty 85.0 humility 73.0 open-mindedness 64.0 respect 82.0 trustworthiness 67.0 desire to be lifelong learning around issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion a 94.0 inclusivity a 70.0 willingness to challenge one’s own attitudes, preexisting beliefs, and cultural assumptions a 85.0 diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.135 91 table 4 personality traits and attitudes rated as fairly important by career stage note. a indicates attitude item. no items resulted for 4-7 years and 8-10 years. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations personality traits and attitudes may impact extension educators’ ability to work effectively with diverse clientele. the delphi panel agreed on six personality traits and three attitudes that they perceived were most important to icc in an extension educational setting. the panel reinforced the importance of these traits by agreeing that they should be developed in the early years of an extension educator’s career. findings from our delphi study were consistent with the literature, which emphasized the need to consider personality traits and attitudes in professional development programs regarding icc (bartel-radic & giannelloni, 2017; deen et al., 2014; deardorf, 2006; dostilio, 2017; li, 2020; mckee & bruce, 2019). even though an additional 16 attitudes and personality traits were revealed that the panel agreed were important for icc after the second round of this study, we strongly believe it is important to focus on the items in round 3 rated very important for extension educators to develop early in personality traits and attitudes % of respondents who rated the item as fairly important % of respondents who identified the career stage during which the knowledge area should be developed in the first year 1-3 years approachability 76.0 85.0 commitment 70.0 91.0 compassion 79.0 70.0 confidence 64.0 82.0 conscientiousness 70.0 88.0 consistency 70.0 82.0 curiosity 82.0 82.0 genuine and authentic 79.0 73.0 having a positive attitude a 64.0 64.0 patience 70.0 85.0 professionalism 73.0 94.0 resiliency 70.0 70.0 sensitivity 73.0 64.0 transparency 82.0 91.0 willing to take risks to reach across cultural barriers a 82.0 73.0 willingness to gain experiences with cultures different from their own a 76.0 82.0 diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.135 92 their careers. this is corroborated by literature (ajzen, 2005, bartel-radic & giannelloni, 2017; deardorff, 2006; deen et al., 2014; schmitt et al., 2007) indicating that personal development in these areas is typically more arduous, given an individual’s personality traits and attitudes are not as malleable as knowledge and skill acquisition (ajzen, 2005; deardorff, 2006; yeke & semerciöz, 2016). applying the results of this study has implications for hiring, onboarding, and training of new extension professionals. first, it is important to develop the identified six core personality traits during the first year. extension educators and evaluators should consider targeting the development of these traits through preservice extension education curricula created by academic extension education faculty. the challenge is that preservice education differs across extension education institutions. so, efforts would need to be made to develop cross-cutting certificates, minors, or simply, broadly available course offerings to ensure linkages can be made to other programs to increase student accessibility and learning. in addition, extension administrators should consider using the traits to inform new extension educator interview screening questions and checklists. although research has demonstrated that personality traits are changeable similar to capacities, knowledge, and skills (deardoff, 2006; rings & allehyani, 2020; spitzberg & changnon, 2009; xiaochi, 2012; yeke & semerciöz, 2016), it may not be feasible to build a completely new set of personality traits in an individual, and, therefore, it may be more realistic to target individuals with threshold levels of existing core traits to enter the extension service. once a new extension educator is hired, they are typically engaged in an onboarding program to help familiarize them with the organizational culture, their job responsibilities, organizational resources, and so forth. it is important that these efforts begin to integrate strategies for the development process of these core traits and foundational attitudes needed for icc. these initial efforts should be considered only as a step towards preparing new extension educators to gain icc and must be built on thereafter. to strengthen both onboarding and in-service training activities, extension specialists should consider leveraging theories and methodological approaches that connect personality, developmental, social, clinical, and educational psychology to the evolutionary and sociocultural dynamics of the extension educators’ training pathways (mroczek & little, 2014). strategically integrating the developmental activities into already existing structures may help manage extension educators’ development loads while also connecting the enhancement of these foundational traits to their job roles and responsibilities. finally, assessment options exist that can be integrated into recruitment and professional development activities with the potential to advance development of the six personality traits and three attitudes that reached final consensus. the simplest approach is the single item, direct assessment where respondents are asked to directly self-report their own attitudes and personality traits (ajzen, 2005; boyle, 2014). indirect approaches also may be used that assess personality traits and attitudes based on an individual’s self-assessment and responses to a given scenario or context (ajzen, 2005; boyle, 2014). the indirect approach helps to mitigate diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.135 93 the issues related to self-presentation bias which may occur from the direct, single item approaches. although numerous existing assessments are available (e.g., offered from the united states office of personnel management (opm)) such offerings are frequently direct item constructs. therefore, the need exists for research, development, and validation of specialized, indirect assessments for icc in extension. according to deardoff (2009), assessment tools should be tied to the intercultural context. the results of this study may aid in strategically adapting existing measures to the extension education context. references ajzen, i. 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(2016). relationships between personality traits, cultural intelligence and intercultural communication competence. procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 235, 313–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.11.036 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 175 evaluating+impacts+from+natural+weather-related+disasters+on+farmers+mental+health+worldwide.docx palmer and strong advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 1, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. karissa palmer, graduate research fellow, texas a&m university, 600 john kimbrough blvd. suite 233a college station, tx. 77843-2116, karissa.palmer@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3595-5213 2. robert strong, associate professor, texas a&m university, 600 john kimbrough blvd. suite 267, college station, tx. 778432116, robert.strongjr@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5279-4808 43 evaluating impacts from natural weather-related disasters on farmers mental health worldwide k. palmer 1, r. strong 2 abstract this study sought to assess the mental health impacts on farmers from across the globe post-natural weather-related disasters. there were two objectives that guided the study: (a) determine themes among the literature discussing post-disaster impacts on farmers’ mental health, (b) identify personal characteristics that influence farmers’ mental health post-disaster. a systematic review revealed 29 (n = 29) publications relevant to the research objectives. through conducting an extensive systematic review six themes were identified: suicide, preparedness, culture, adaption, sentiment, and financial hardship. there were two personal characteristics presented in the literature: gender and age. it was indicated that farmers' perceptions of climate change affected their response to lessen emotional and physical impacts. the severity of the natural disaster played a role in the action farmers took to restore and prepare damages not only for the land but also regarding their mental health. implications of this study uncovered an opportunity for extension personnel to create educational resources to combat mental health impacts from natural disasters. recommendations include further research be conducted to investigate the effect of new or existing mental health resources on a sample of farmers from across the globe. keywords climate change, agricultural extension systems, resiliency, food security palmer and strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.175 44 introduction and problem statement with the impending food crisis to consider, farmers’ resiliency to climate change needs to be a key attribute of sustainable agricultural systems (rosin et al., 2013). climate change is predicted to negatively impact the agricultural industry by affecting growth rates, crop productivity, photosynthesis, transpiration rates, and moisture (mahato, 2014). natural disasters are events with major consequences including heatwaves, landslides, droughts, forest fires, floods, tsunamis, and tropical cyclones (sivakumar et al., 2005). global occurrences of natural disasters began dramatically increasing in 2010 necessitating future study (laframboise & loko, 2012). mental health problems following natural disaster occurrences include depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (ptsd), substance use, and anxiety (simpson et al., 2011). the two most cited sources regarding the mental health of farmers are financial hardships and inconsistent climate change (yazd et al., 2019). farmer mental health will worsen as droughts become more severe due to climate change (howard et al., 2020). stakeholders experience difficulty with reaction to climate change due to the complexities and knowledge gaps in understanding the effects of climate-related disasters (kiem & austin, 2013). societal issues and current demands underscore the necessity for extension systems agility to meet individual and community needs as a trusted source of information (harder et al., 2013). extension agents who are prepared and possess professional competencies have the potential to make positive impacts on food security (ganpat et al., 2016; strong & harder, 2011b). extension agents need to develop the following competencies: communication skills, interpersonal skills, self-management, technical/subject matter expertise, program development process, and teaching abilities (benge et al., 2011; harder et al., 2009). farmers are struggling with mental illness around the world and lack mental health care resources to improve their mental state (ringgenberg et al., 2018). theoretical and conceptual framework there were two theories used to frame this study the social cognitive theory (sct) and resiliency theory. the sct suggests the degree individuals attain and regulate their behavior through control and strengthening (bandura, 1986). it is assumed through the sct that environmental changes affect individuals. the sct is concentrated on genetic and hormonal tendencies of learning that affect behavior. according to sct, there are six things that affect behavior: reciprocal determinism, behavioral capability, observational learning, reinforcements, expectations, and self-efficacy (bandura, 1986). a person’s behavior that influences and is influenced through social and external environments is reciprocal determinism (bumguardner et al., 2014). behavioral capability is a person’s actual ability to execute a behavior through acquired knowledge (bandura, 1986). the replication of behavior that was witnessed or observed by an individual is known as observational learning. reinforcements are the internal or external responses to a person’s palmer and strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.175 45 behavior that influence the probability of continuing or discontinuing a behavior. expectations are the anticipated outcomes of a person’s behavior. lastly, self-efficacy refers to an individual’s confidence in their ability to perform a behavior (bandura, 1986). the resiliency theory concentrates on the positive contextual, social, and individual variables that interrupt the development of problem behaviors, poor mental and physical health, after experiencing trauma (yeager & dweck, 2012). opposing to risk factors there are encouragement factors which include positive social, contextual, and individual variables that help individuals overcome trauma. assets are positive variables like self-efficacy and selfesteem that dwell within individuals. resources are external variables including familial support, educational programs, and mentors that allow individuals to obtain information and apply the learned knowledge to their everyday lives. contextual and organizational variables are offered through assets and resources, necessary for healthy improvement within individuals (zimmerman, 2013). purpose this international study sought to assess farmers’ mental health post-natural weather-related disasters using sct and resiliency theory. identifying impacts from across the globe can help extension personnel better understand the detrimental effects of natural weather-related disasters on farmers’ mental health, and thereby, offering agricultural extension programming opportunities to address farmer needs in preparation for future disasters. this study was guided by two objectives: (a) determine themes among the literature discussing post-disaster impacts on farmers’ mental health, (b) identify personal characteristics that influence farmers’ mental health post-disaster. methods the mental health of farmers was assessed from 2010–2021 through the execution of a systematic review. laframboise and loko (2012) recommended the 2010 and beyond analysis due to the dramatic increase in the number of weather-related incidents in 2010 and 2011. researchers are able to expand our existing knowledge by conducting an extensive literature review (wright et al., 2007). a systematic review is a comprehensive review of existing literature to synthesize findings regarding the research question by following specific guidelines (lee et al., 2021; vindrola-padros et al., 2021). the five steps to successfully complete a systematic review are: frame the question, identify relevant publications, assess study quality, summarize the evidence, and interpret findings (khan et al., 2003). the question that guided the literature review was “how do natural weather-related disasters impact farmers’ mental health?” the researchers developed a list of keywords, step one, based on the literature and objectives of the study (khan et al., 2003). the keywords were farmers and natural disasters, rural mental health, farmers and mental health, climate change and rural mental health, cooperative palmer and strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.175 46 extension and climate change, cooperative extension and natural disasters, and farmer attitude and natural disaster. researchers aimed to find relevant literature, step two, that focused on farmers’ mental health after a natural disaster due to the changing climate using google scholar to search for journals with titles that included the respective keywords, and a web of science reported impact factor of 1 or higher. a list of literature was established that contained keywords in the title and body of the literature. the list was then sorted through to determine which articles were appropriate regarding the research question and current society. a total of 29 (n = 29) pieces of literature was discovered pertaining to the research objectives. there was a total of 27 (n = 27) journal articles analyzed from the systematic review parameters. the journal publications were from the following: american journal of public health, proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america, journal of african economies, journal of disaster risk reduction, economics of disasters and climate change, climatic change, australasian journal on ageing, economics and management australian journal of rural health, journal of neurosciences in rural practice, australian and new zealand journal of public health, journal of traumatic stress, sociologia rurali, international journal of disaster risk reduction social science and medicine, canadian journal of counselling, international journal of environmental research and public health, american journal of agricultural economics, agriculture, indian journal of occupational and environmental medicine, journal of research in commerce, and journal of rural studies. a total of two books (n = 2) were reviewed: natural disaster system in china, and rural mental health: issues, policies, and best practices. step three (khan et al., 2003), once an article was found, researchers determined if the article included keywords and included or excluded the publication from data analysis based upon: (a) the publication was peer reviewed; (b) keywords appeared in the title and throughout the article; and (c) the article must have been published between 2010 and 2021. as identified by khan et al.’s (2013) step four, the publications that included the keywords were then summarized into findings. for khan et al.’s (2013) step five, the researchers identified six themes for objective one and two for themes for objective two based on the systematic review. themes for both objectives were identified using the sct and resiliency theory through analyzing farmers’ behavior after natural weather-related disasters, by keeping in mind the variables that affect human behavior as mentioned previously. the summarized findings were organized depending on which theme they were a part of. objective one themes were suicide, preparedness, culture, adaptation, sentiment, and financial hardship. age and gender were the resulting themes of objective two. researchers addressed trustworthiness of the data due to the frequency and number of themes produced from data analysis (lincoln & guba, 1985) of the systematic review parameters. researchers collected data from studies around the world to assess commonalities between farmers (wynn et al., 2013) from a variety of regions that experienced the effects from natural weather-related disasters and to ensure data transferability to similar contexts and populations (khan et al., 2013; lincoln & guba, 1985). there were seven countries that had literature discussing the mental health impacts on farmers post-disaster: australia, canada, china, greece, india, nigeria, and the united states. limitations to this study are that the data does palmer and strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.175 47 not allow for generalizability and only allows for conclusions to be drawn from the sample studied in each journal article. researchers analyzed the data to determine whether the articles included relevant information. texas a&m university researchers determined the study was valid by assessing the criterion validity of the systematic review’s procedures. findings researchers identified 29 (n = 29) scholarly publications that discussed farmers' mental health post-natural disasters and thus, aligned with the research objectives. the findings are organized by objective. objective one guided research to find recurring themes within the literature mentioning mental health affects post-natural weather-related disasters. six (n = 6) themes identified from the literature: suicide, preparedness, culture, adaption, sentiment, and financial hardship. the themes are arranged below by starting with the topic that recurred the most. suicide areas with high levels of rural poverty tend to have more farmer suicides due to the occurrence of droughts and floods (parida et al., 2018). in india, agriculture is reliant on the precipitation from monsoons, and a lack of monsoons leads to a series of droughts which increase farmer suicides (singh., 2013). suicide and depression have been linked with farmers being more worried about climate change (ellis & albrecht, 2017). in australia male farmers between 30 and 59 years, represent around 95% of rural suicides (guiney, 2012). an effort to increase suicide literacy is a development known as scarf (suspect, connect, ask, refer, follow-up) which is designed to improve the mental well-being of farmers (perceval et al., 2020). economic support and debt abolition were found to decrease farmer suicides as a result of climate change impacts (padhy et al., 2015). preparedness in a study assessing rural communities’ preparedness levels, it was found that they demonstrate significantly lower preparedness in comparison to urban communities (chai et al., 2021). farmers are more likely to adopt earthquake disaster preparedness behaviors if they are trained in disaster prevention and mitigation (lian et al., 2021). a study from wenchuan and lushan, two areas that have experienced severe earthquakes, found positive impacts on farmers’ happiness, life satisfaction, and general health when they were prepared for the disaster (qing et al., 2021). according to the results of a study after the 2013 floods in china, farmers from flooded villages are more likely to purchase index insurance (liu et al., 2019). farmers check the forecast 15–20 times a day during dry seasons due to their worries about the weather (ellis & albrecht, 2017). farmers are able to receive mental health care from their homes in greece through a development known as mobile health units (peritogiannis et al., 2017). palmer and strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.175 48 culture due to china being the most populous country in the world, they are more likely to experience more frequent hazard impacts (shi et al., 2016). farmers’ cultural characteristics are known to prevent them from seeking help and ignore their mental health (vayro et al., 2020). in greece, rural communities lack facilities and socioeconomic status which prevents them from being able to access mental health care (peritogiannis et al., 2017). farmers make up approximately 20% of the population in the united states who have limited access to mental health resources (smalley et al., 2012). due to the culturally inappropriate ways mental health services are provided, farmers resist the services because they do not want to be perceived as insane (polain et al., 2011). adaption in the united states pacific northwest, a study found no association between precipitation distributions and temperature change and a person's plan to adapt (maas et al., 2020). opposed to those who believe climate change is not a pressing issue, concerned farmers in iowa were more enthusiastic about mitigative and adaptive strategies (arbuckle et al., 2013). weather-related disasters are strongly affecting farmers in developing countries and when it comes to farm management measures there is a strong relationship between farmer characteristics and crop input (huang et al., 2015). sentiment interconnections have been found between mental health and climate change including the connection farmers have with their farm and land, the personal significance of farms being like home, and climate change conditions affecting farmers’ place-related mental health (ellis & albrecht, 2017). in australia, 5 years after a bushfire, it appeared that significant anger issues were found in farmers (cowlishaw et al., 2021). within 3 months of hurricane irma depression, anxiety, and physical pain were present in farmers from the united states (grattan et al., 2020). financial hardship in china, land expropriation has negative impacts on the health of farmers who lost their land due to effects on income and protection for the long term (wang et al., 2019). a study conducted on two rural counties in california indicated that mental health impacts were caused by finances and property (barreau et al., 2017). droughts and floods affect economic conditions along with agriculture production by damaging houses, crops, properties, and mental health (parida et al., 2018). the second objective determined the personal characteristics of farmers that impacted their mental health. age and gender were the two personal characteristics produced from the systematic review. age young farmers or farmers with higher incomes are more likely to buy disaster insurance due to previous disaster experiences, feelings about disasters, or where they reside (bao et al., 2021). a study indicated how younger farmers experiencing financial hardship and residing in remote palmer and strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.175 49 areas are more likely to experience drought-related stress (austin et al., 2018). in nigeria, a study indicated that rainfall shocks impact child health significantly in the short run for weight and height, and height and age (rabassa et al., 2014). factors affecting the health of aging australian farmers include respiratory disease, heat stress, solastalgia, financial hardship, mosquito-borne diseases, social networks, coastal regions, and remote communities (horton et al., 2010). due to long seasons of drought older farmers feel an immense sense of loss of success physical well-being, profit, community status, and relationships (polain et al., 2011). gender women from 45–61 years are more able to cope with the impacts of drought without showing mental health effects in comparison to men (powers et al., 2015). a major preventative for manitoban male farmers is to have family support (sturgeon & morrissette, 2010). individuals who are unemployed, women, or younger in rural communities have higher aggression rates post-disaster (cowlishaw et al., 2021). male farmers and their families in australia are more likely to be affected by droughts causing an increase in suicide (hanigan et al., 2012). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations extension personnel should consider prioritizing suicide, culture, and preparedness as major topics to discuss due to the literature expressing their impacts frequently. vulnerable populations who are more likely to experience mental illness found in the study include aging farmers, women, young farmers, and geographically worse rural communities. mental health resources are available to farmers; however, they are less likely to want help, or they do not have access (chai et al., 2021). in each country, there are different strategies implemented to prepare for disaster impacts. the literature presents an abundance of research regarding farmers' mental health in australia, meaning mental health may be more of a concern there rather than in other countries. natural disasters may occur more frequently in australia and researchers may notice the mental health concern regarding farmers after a disaster in that country. farmers are more likely to seek help from their support system which relates to the reciprocal determinism concept (bandura, 1986). behavioral capability was presented through farmers' attitudes toward mitigating negative impacts and the potential for future climate changerelated disasters. the way farmers perceive climate change influences their response to mitigate future emotional and physical impacts (bandura, 1986; coppedge & strong, 2013). it can be inferred that the cultural characteristics of farmers would be more efficacious (bandura, 1986; wynn et al. 2013) in response, preparation, and recovery after a natural disaster. geographical locations that struggle with rural poverty experience more suicides meaning fewer programs focused on farmer resiliency post-disaster (zimmerman, 2013). global extension systems must play an active role in mitigating natural weather-related disaster impacts while keeping in mind the impending food crisis. without the communication and strategic planning by extension systems, consumers would be unaware of the food security palmer and strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.175 50 issue facing our world. the capacity of farmers and extension personnel needs to be enhanced to combat natural weather-related disaster impacts. more specifically, extension agents should undergo training to increase their competencies (harder et al., 2013) about the mental health of farmers post-disaster. when farmers are experiencing good mental health food security is more likely to be achieved through resilient and sustainable agriculture. there is an abundance of existing literature that discusses the mental health of farmers; however, extension systems should continue researching to discover ways to improve rural mental health and mental health services available to farmers. research in the future should consist of an experimental design that investigates the effectiveness of a mental health program among a sample of farmers from around the world. in conducting an experiment, the results may reveal opportunities (strong & harder, 2011a) for extension personnel to understand how to better prevent farmers from experiencing the stressors expressed in this study. farmers’ mental health is a global issue and a detriment to agricultural development. health professionals and agricultural extension professionals from around the globe should collaborate and determine the best strategies for combating mental illness among farmers. farmers’ perceptions about climate change affect the likelihood of implementing successful adaptive strategies (yeager & dweck, 2012). disseminating accurate and accessible information is necessary for farmers to become motivated to adopt preventive strategies (bandura, 1986) to combat mental illness. the sct and resiliency theory were useful in determining farmers’ behavior regarding natural weather-related disasters and mental illness prevention. the findings indicated that farmers’ behavior was influenced through their external environment, such as areas with higher levels of poverty (parida et al., 2018), level of preparedness (chai et al., 2021), lack of facilities and socioeconomic status (peritogiannis et al., 2017), or prior disaster experience (liu et al., 2019). it was also indicated that farmers’ self-efficacy toward mental health care was low due to the abundance of suicide occurrences mentioned in the literature. farmers are more resilient when trained in disaster prevention and mitigation (lian et al., 2021) or when they were more concerned with the negative impacts from climate change (arbuckle et al., 2013). acknowledgements this study was supported by the usda national institute of food and agriculture’s hatch project #tex09890 “the adoption impact of food and agricultural sciences curricula on public health.” this respective hatch project and the research contained in this article aligns with the usda critical issue “connecting agriculture and health (1862).” the authors wish to express their gratitude to the usda nifa for supporting their research. palmer and strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.175 51 references arbuckle, j. g., morton, l. w., & hobbs, j. 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(2013). resiliency theory: a strengths-based approach to research and practice for adolescent health. health education and behavior, 40(4), 381–383. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198113493782 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 41-manuscript-497-1-11-20200612 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 2, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. lauri m. baker, associate professor, university of florida po box 112060 gainesville, fl 32611 lauri.m.baker@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-6077 2. ashely n. mcleod-morin, communications coordinator, uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources, university of florida 1408 sabal palm drive, 2nd floor, po box 110320, gainesville, fl 32611 ashleynmcleod@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-9783 3. mariah bausch, graduate student, kansas state university 1612 claflin road 301 umberger hall, manhattan, ks 66506-3402 mebausch5@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7896-7586 4. angela b. lindsey, assistant professor, university of florida 3014c mccarty d university of florida, gainesville, fl 32611 ablindsey@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9859-7962 39 zoonotic disease communication networks of livestock producers, veterinarians, human health, professionals, and emergency managers l. baker1, a. mcleod-morin2, m. bausch3 , a. lindsey4 abstract zoonotic disease epidemics are on the rise with emerging diseases being identified that affect humans and animals alike like the 2019/2020 covid-19 pandemic. an understanding about communication networks of those involved in managing a zoonotic disease outbreak is necessary to develop a strong communication response in the event of a zoonotic disease outbreak. the purpose of this study was to explore the communication networks of livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers related to zoonotic disease. in-depth interviews were conducted with 41 people within key areas of one state in an effort to understand how communication networks may be activated during a crisis. this study revealed a wide range of information sources that livestock producers, medical professionals, veterinarians, and emergency managers seek information from. the results from this study also highlight the communication gaps, such as veterinarians not communicating with livestock producers, emergency managers not communicating with medical professionals and livestock producers, and a lack of communication between medical professionals and livestock producers. it is recommended that professionals who play a key role in zoonotic disease outbreaks, such as livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers, cultivate and maintain relationships outside their usual professional group beyond times of disease outbreaks. keywords network map, in-depth interviews, qualitative social network analysis baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.41 40 introduction and problem statement zoonotic diseases pose a major threat to society as these are not commonly seen by producers or veterinarians (moennig, 2000), which makes diagnoses and control of an outbreak difficult. the most effective way of controlling zoonotic diseases is through communication and education (ashlock et al., 2009; zinsstag et al., 2007), but gaps exist in what is known about communication networks and the information shared through these networks. even when information is available, like on the united states department of agriculture (usda) and the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) websites, getting to the information can be difficult (baker et al., 2020). more research is needed related to zoonotic risk and communication (decker et al., 2010) to better understand how communication would occur during a zoonotic disease outbreak. zoonotic diseases make up about 60% of infectious diseases seen in humans (centers for disease control and prevention one health, n.d.); there are 196 emerging diseases that infect humans, livestock, and wildlife. of these diseases, there are 15 deadly zoonotic diseases affecting humans (gebreyes et al., 2014). in addition to health impacts, zoonotic diseases also pose a significant threat to the economy. the economic impact has several components that should be considered: the potential spread of a zoonotic diseases, the cost to livelihoods, risk management costs, and risk reduction (narrod et al., 2012). according to narrod et al. (2012), zoonotic diseases have an estimated cost of $20 billion to the global economy within the past decade affecting both industrialized and developing countries. given the widespread impacts of zoonotic diseases, it is important to understand the avenues in which people seek information about zoonotic diseases to develop more effective communication strategies. theoretical and conceptual framework the conceptual framework of crisis communication and social networks guided this study. crises happen in all industries and require a level of preparedness that allows for successful communication to help minimize the impact. communication is the most important factor in crisis management (coombs & holladay, 2012). even the most effective crisis response cannot be effective if communication with the public is poor (sell, 2017); but, communication alone will not be sufficient if trust is not in place prior to and during the crisis (quinn et al., 2013). timeliness and transparency help build audience trust (irlbeck et al., 2013; reynolds & quinn, 2008), and trust and credibility should be established with audience groups before a crisis occurs (kolich, 2014). the concept of trust is often built through social networks. social networks are the arrangements in which humans communicate, the messages sent and received, and with whom they are communicating. the information and resources people gather are influenced by their social network (hawe & ghali, 2008). these networks also have an impact on both crisis baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.41 41 communication and education (moolenaar & daly, 2012). according to moolenaar and daly (2012), social networks can impact the ability to obtain quality information and take action during times of crisis. research in health has revealed social networks inform people about disease control, affect people’s decision to seek mental health services (mahajan & meyer, 2019), and affect cultural understanding of health issues within communities (chaklader, 2018). an understanding of social networks is necessary to determine the implementation of innovation practices and how best to reach audience groups. some previous work has looked at social networks of heath care professionals, veterinarians, and agricultural producers. previous work from the university of wisconsin identified the specific challenge of little communication between physicians and veterinarians. physicians believed veterinarians should play a larger role in controlling, preventing, and providing information about zoonotic diseases (grant & olsen, 1999). but patients did not view veterinarians as a reference for zoonoticdisease information. recommendations from the study suggest greater communication is needed between physicians and veterinarians, physicians contacting state health departments for information, and more training and education for the two groups about risks and prevention (grant & olsen, 1999). other studies have also identified the need for increased collaborations between veterinarians, physicians, public health professionals, and government organizations (cripps 2000; kahn, 2006; lederberg, 2002). the lack of communication between key organizations has been identified as a hindrance in managing a disease outbreak (kahn, 2006). another study conducted in oklahoma identified social networks of beef producers. producers in this study sought information from their veterinarians and viewed them as the most trusted source for animal disease information (ashlock et al., 2009). these producers also preferred information to be distributed by the county extension departments followed by the internet. the internet was seen as a secondary source of information, but not seen as a highly trusted source compared with in-person communication (ashlock et al., 2009). people use multiple social networks as information sources (israel & wilson, 2006). some forms of information sources for agricultural audiences include publications, extension agents, online media, and peers (breiner et al., 2007; riley et al., 2012). livestock producers in previous works identify their primary source of information comes from their veterinarians (breiner et al., 2007; israel & wilson, 2006; riley et al., 2012). purpose given the impact and importance of communication within social networks, especially during times of a crisis, the purpose of this study was to explore the communication networks of livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers related to zoonotic disease in an effort to understand how to best communicate with and prepare these audience groups for a potential zoonotic disease outbreak. the following research questions guided this study: what are audiences’ communication networks and baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.41 42 related information sources for zoonotic disease?; and how are audiences’ communication networks connected? methods qualitative methodology was selected to answer the research questions because of its ability to learn about the participants’ experiences and understand patterns and explanations from the data (creswell & poth, 2018). this case study approach allowed researchers to develop a complete picture of communication networks within the state. initial participants were recruited through purposive sampling through extension agents; purposive sampling is used when a study seeks to understand the experiences of one specific group (creswell & poth, 2018). in the case of this study, researchers wanted to identify individuals within livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers. snowball sampling was used after initial interviews to find participants with specific insight to the county or processes that came up during the interview. participants were asked, “is there anyone else we should speak to regarding a zoonotic-disease outbreak?” for the social network analysis, questions were asked about who they sought information and advice from during a crisis and who they were connected to. a total of 40 interviews were conducted during the course of study. interviews began during march of 2017 and went through july of 2018. interviews were recorded and field notes were collected, creating an audit trail. interviews were conducted and transcribed by a team of seven trained researchers. the method of using a team of interviewers has been seen in multiple studies (britten, 1995; jamshed, 2014; mcnulty et al., 2017). validity was established through member-checks, comparing interviewer and assistant interviewer notes, and transcriptions. validity creates credibility and trustworthiness within a study (creswell, 2014). participants were asked a series of questions regarding information sources and social networks such as: who are your most trusted sources of information about contagious animal diseases? what other organizations or publications are your most trusted sources? who do you share information with? how do you share information with the public about zoonotic-disease outbreaks? researchers followed up with probes to dig deeper into participants responses related to their communication networks and sources. all identifying information was removed and pseudonyms were assigned based on audience group. those from the livestock producer category were given names that started with l, veterinarians were assigned v names, medical professionals assumed names beginning with m, and emergency management personnel had e names. transcripts were imported into nvivo software and analyzed for major and minor themes according to glaser’s constant comparative method (1965). one primary coder analyzed all of the data looking for major themes and constantly comparing with previous themes to identify new themes as these arose in the data. major themes were noted when all four audience groups were seen within a response theme and minor themes included three audience groups. dissent was noted when participants were baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.41 43 different in their thought processes than the overall themes identified in the study. for rq2, a communication network map was developed through analyzing all 41 transcripts and making note of who people indicated they were communicating with, entities where they sought information from, and all other sources they relied on for this issue whether in-person or virtually. then, notes were made on the direction of this communication. a communication map of these notes was created to represent all interactions people would have before or during a zoonotic disease outbreak, which is representative of the communication theory developed from this research. the first map included all of the networks described by participants as a true representation of all voices in the study. the researchers collapsed the data from the first map by consolidating groups of networks and sources together for the simplified communication map. results were reviewed by note takers and secondary researchers to confirm the analysis and triangulate the data. findings the findings are reported in this section by research questions and accompanied by visual representations of the data. through the case study approach, the 40 in-depth interviews in this study were used to build a theory around how livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers are connected through social networks during a zoonotic-disease outbreak. findings are described around major themes. audiences’ social networks and related information sources for zoonotic disease major themes emerged of veterinarians and kansas state university as sources of information and communication for all audiences. minor themes included government agencies and state veterinarians playing a role in communicating and educating others about zoonotic-disease outbreaks. veterinarians veterinarians served as the main source of information, communication, and education regarding zoonotic-disease outbreaks for all audience groups in the study. larson, a livestock producer, said, “generally, talk with the local vets on that source. have a couple of other people that i talk to about different things, but i would say, generally local vets.” vale, a veterinarian said he would turn to the usda trainings, the university, and his peers, “one of the probably most trusted sources i have is the usda. we do...accreditation modules...to keep our status current as veterinarians...then the university and colleagues would come after that for me”. mark, a medical professional would lean on his counterpart veterinarians, “yeah, obviously would talk more to my veterinary med colleagues i would think of or animal science.” kansas state university another major theme was the kansas state university veterinary school as a source of information for all audience groups. veterinarian, vincent, relied on university research, “i think the university information is, should be non-biased and backed up by good studies and good people.” emmitt, an emergency manager described the different sources he would use baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.41 44 depending on the type of disease outbreak, “if it’s a traditional communicable disease, our sources of information would be the health department or hospital. if it’s something zoonotic, it would be kansas state university vet med.” macy, a medical professional also distinguished a difference in sources of information related to the type of disease, “i don’t know if the cdc has anything that still would be a go to. and i would go to the vet school…i know they have infectious disease veterinarians.” government agencies the center for disease control and prevention served as a minor theme. veterinarians, medical professionals, and emergency managers all access the cdc for information about zoonotic diseases. vance, a veterinarian used several government agencies including the cdc, “the most trusted resource that we refer to is the usda information. whether that’s through the cdc or the future nbaf [national bio and agro-defense facility].” medical professional, megan, turned to the cdc as her trusted source of information, “well, cdc would be the most trusted one because they’re supposed to have all the pertinent information and they’re mandated to get that out to healthcare providers.” evan, an emergency manager, relied on several government agencies to provide information including the cdc: well, kansas department of health and environment is an awesome resource that i use a lot both from the emergency management and public health side, and then center for disease control, and you know kansas division of emergency management sometimes shares that information so we can always look at what they have but primarily kansas department of health, center for disease control as far as animal health i look at the kansas division of animal health website. i’ve looked some at the world health organization’s website for issues when i’m doing presentations or gathering information those are probably the ones i use most often. state veterinarians state veterinarians were a minor theme with livestock producers, emergency managers, and veterinarians turning to the state veterinarian for information about disease outbreaks. livestock producer, larry, utilizes the publications produced by the state veterinarian, “for information, would be the pamphlets and things that would come from the state vet here in kansas. you know, livestock commissioners and the state vet.” eric an emergency manager discussed resources that would be used during an outbreak, “resource wise, we’d be calling, use our available resources and then be calling in the state resources. your state veterinarian, i’m sure would already be involved.” veterinarian, vance, prioritized his communication network based on types of outbreaks: i think the reasons for prioritizing it depends on what we’re dealing with. you know, if we’re dealing with something with, such as foreign animal disease, we’re calling our state veterinarian and getting the state involved and turning control over to them. if it’s over zoonotic potential, we’re coordinating with government regulations, but then we’re also coordinating very heavily with the feed yard managers. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.41 45 audiences’ communication networks and connections researchers were interested in more than identifying major communication networks and sources, but also wanted to see how these networks connected. a complete communication network map was developed through the process of analyzing the data to see where the audiences in-person and virtual networks connected and the direction of these networks. a complete picture of the communication network map is in figure 1. audience group communication with other audience groups are designated with larger, colored arrows. arrows going to and from audience groups display the two-way communication that occurs between groups. solid lines going in one direction indicated multiple members from that audience group use that sources. dashed lines indicate only one participant from the audience group uses that source. lastly, the arrow looping around indicates a participant citing other colleagues within the same audience group as a source. themes identified in the communication network map (figure 1) show veterinarians and kansas state university served as the two major sources of information and communication for all audience groups. other frequently used sources by veterinarians, medical professionals, and emergency managers were the cdc and state veterinarians. communication gaps between audience groups are: 1) veterinarians not communicating with livestock producers, 2) emergency managers not communicating with medical professionals or livestock producers, and 3) no communication between medical professionals and livestock producers. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.41 46 figure 1 model of the social network map of livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers the communication networks identified in this data allowed researchers to analyze data in real time to continuously build the model that emerged from this data. while figure 1 represents a map of all communication networks during this time, figure 2 represents the simplified model that emerged from the data to explain how groups would communicate with each other during a zoonotic disease outbreak. the colored circles represent the groups we collected data from in baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.41 47 this study, livestock producers, veterinarians, medical professionals, and emergency managers. the arrows from these groups to other groups we studied indicate direction of information shared. the gray circles are groups that those we spoke to indicated they would share information with as a part of their response strategy to communicate with their stakeholders and members of the public. the rectangles are groups identified by study participants as groups they would seek information from or collaborate with during a zoonotic disease outbreak (figure 2). figure 2 simplified model of communication networks during zoonotic disease outbreak note. colored circles indicate the groups interviewed. grey circles indicate groups the colored circles would share information within an effort to disseminate information in a crisis. dashed line indicates a hypothesized two-way relationship because previous literature indicates this, even though data in this study only showed a one-way relationship. rectangles are groups the colored circles would consult with for more information during a crisis. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations an understanding of audiences’ social networks and where they obtain information adds a greater understanding of communication during a zoonotic disease outbreak. through asking baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.41 48 livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers where they seek information and who they communicate with, a social network map was developed for future communication dissemination before, during, and after a crisis. the communication network map (figure 2) emerged through the qualitative approach and is a framework that could be tested to see if this communication network exists in other states and across the united states for zoonotic disease communication. all audience groups turned to veterinarians and kansas state university for information and communication related to zoonotic-disease communication. the cdc and state veterinarians served as other sources and emerged as minor themes. medical professionals, veterinarians, and emergency managers turned to the cdc for a total of nine participants. eight participants within the livestock producer, emergency manager, and veterinarian audience groups communicated and gather information from the state veterinarian. audience groups regularly rely on veterinarians for information regarding zoonotic-disease outbreaks. this aligns with several previous studies (ashlock et al., 2009; israel & wilson, 2006; riley et al., 2012). ashlock et al. (2009). identified veterinarians as livestock producers’ primary source of information about diseases. kahn (2006), discussed the emphasis medical professionals place on veterinarians in communicating and educating about diseases (2006). the current study indicated a total of 20 (50%) participants from all audience groups seek information from or communicate with veterinarians. the vast social network may indicate the audience groups do not know where to gather information about zoonotic-disease outbreaks. moolenaar and daly (2012) indicated that social networks impact the quantity and quality of information that is obtained; but, a more streamlined approach to seeking information related to zoonotic-disease outbreaks may help improve the quality of information that is shared. however, the large information networks identified in the present study confirms work by israel and wilson (2006) that multiple networks are used by people to complete their understanding of complex topics. this study also highlights communication gaps. the first major gap in communication occurred when veterinarians did not communicate with other audience groups. throughout the study, veterinarians identified sharing information with medical professionals and emergency managers, but not livestock producers, despite veterinarians being livestock producer’s top source of information in previous research (breiner et al., 2007; israel & wilson, 2006; riley et al., 2012). this highlights a gap in two-way communication in this particular study. other gaps in communication include veterinarians not communicating with livestock producers, emergency managers not communicating with medical professionals or livestock producers, and no communication between medical professionals and livestock producers. it is assumed veterinarians are communicating and educating livestock producers since livestock producers turned to veterinarians for information; however, in this study, veterinarians did not specifically identify communicating with livestock producers. there was only one-way communication identified with emergency managers and medical professionals and livestock producers. emergency managers were not seen communicating with these two groups. lastly, there was baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.41 49 no communication between medical professionals and livestock producers. prior studies have indicated the need for greater communication among key players, especially between medical professionals and veterinarians (chomel & marano, 2009; cripps, 2000; kahn, 2006; meyerholz, 1974; narrod et al., 2012; sellnow et al., 2017; zinsstag et al., 2007). the current study provides continued support for this. extension services were a part of the social networks of livestock producers and veterinarians and mentioned specifically as a trusted source. trust is essential for crisis management and communication (coombs, 2019) and can increase the strength of social networks. more work should be done to increase the visibility and trust of extension in other audience groups. government agencies, such as the cdc and usda, were also identified as a trusted source by participants in three audience groups: veterinarians, medical professionals, and emergency managers. because this trust is already established, online communication from government agencies could serve as linkages between local and state groups during a zoonotic outbreak, however, previous work has identified that finding the large number of resources on the usda and cdc websites can be difficult (baker et al., 2020). recommendations for future research include determining what education and communication tools help foster relationships between the various audience groups. it is also recommended that relationship indicators are examined to determine how these relationships might influence behavior change when identifying or treating zoonotic diseases. professionals who play a key role in zoonotic disease outbreaks, such as livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers, should cultivate and maintain relationships outside their usual professional group beyond times of disease outbreaks. it is recommended that task forces be established prior to a zoonotic disease outbreak so these groups can have established networks in place and form relationships and trust prior to a crisis. by doing so, they are building trust and credibility that can be applied once an outbreak does occur. additionally, agricultural communication professionals can help foster these relationships by linking audience groups when applicable and by citing multiple sources when communicating about zoonotic disease outbreaks. acknowledgements this work was supported by the state of kansas, national bio and agrodefense facility (nbaf) transition fund through the national agricultural biosecurity center (nabc) at k-state university and the center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources (pie center), https://piecenter.com. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.41 50 references ashlock, m. a., cartmell, d. d., & leising, j. g. 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(2017). when the next disease strikes: how to communicate (and how not to). health security, 15(1), 28-30. https://doi.org/10.1089/hs.2016.0100 zinsstag, j., schelling, e., roth, f., bonfoh, b., de savigny, d., & tanner, m. (2007). human benefits of animal interventions for zoonosis control. emerging infectious diseases, 13(4), 527-531. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1304.060381. © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 19-manuscript-175-6-11-20200213 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 1, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. lauri m. baker, associate professor, university of florida po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611-2060 lauri.m.baker@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-6077 2. ashley n. mcleod-morin, ph.d. student, university of florida po 110540, gainesville, fl 32611-0540 ashleynmcleod@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-9783 3. kevin w. kent, ph.d. graduate assistant, university of florida po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611-0540 kevin.kent@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0239-6817 4. angela b. lindsey, assistant professor, university of florida po box 110310, gainesville, fl 32611-0310 ablindsey@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9859-7962 25 no online information outbreak: a quantitative content analysis of the cdc and usda websites for available information on zoonotic disease l. m. baker1, a. n. mcleod-morin2, k. w. kent3, a. b. lindsey4 abstract zoonotic diseases are a significant threat to human and animal health with the effects of a widespread epidemic impacting agricultural producers and consumers alike. online information sources have the opportunity to widely distribute information, but, with a topic as complex as zoonotic disease, information sharing should be managed carefully. risk communication and prepared responses for zoonotic disease can help communicate messages effectively. this study looked at how two federal websites, cdc and usda, were communicating about zoonotic disease. the quantitative content analysis methodology was guided by the research objectives of 1) determine availability of information related to zoonotic disease, 2) describe the zoonotic diseases, impacts, and messages 3) determine the use of prepared responses in articles related to zoonotic disease, and 4) determine connectivity with other online resources on zoonotic disease. results indicate information is difficult to find on both websites, and there is a lack of connectivity with other online resources. prepared responses were used to varying degrees. implications and recommendations from this work are that agricultural communicators and those with influence over federal communication on zoonotic disease should actively integrate prepared responses in communication and seek opportunities to connect to a larger network of those working in zoonotic disease. keywords online communication, risk communication, prepared responses, government websites baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.19 26 introduction and problem statement it is estimated that three-fourths of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, meaning the disease can spread between humans and animals, such as west nile virus and lyme disease (taylor, latham, & woolhouse, 2001). zoonotic diseases pose a significant threat to public health, making it especially important for wildlife and health officials to communicate with the public about health and safety information and promote good decision-making (clarke, 2009; decker et al., 2009). in the event of a zoonotic disease outbreak, good communication is essential (tabbaa, 2010). as wildlife and health officials learn more about how the public searches for information about zoonotic diseases and how that information influences people’s decisions and behaviors, officials can develop more effective communication campaigns and messages (clarke, 2009; griffin, dunwoody, & neuwirth, 1999). online communication and new media have impacted the way people receive and seek information about issues, particularly during times of crisis, offering the public more power to engage with diverse information (westerman, spence, & van der heide, 2014) and government agencies in new ways (mergel, 2016). the public will seek further information about particular issues once they have been exposed to a risk message, such as a message that communicates about a zoonotic disease outbreak (so, kuang, & cho, 2019). a variety of factors can determine if an individual will seek information about the risk message, such as fear, anxiety, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility (so et al., 2019). as individuals seek information about messages, their perceptions of related issues are influenced and could potentially change over time (so et al., 2019). when individuals are processing information related to risk, they will also consider the values and perceptions of trust in the entity that is communicating (clarke, 2009). often, the entity communicating about zoonotic disease outbreaks will be agencies associated with state and federal government, such as public health agencies or wildlife management agencies. individuals want these agencies to reflect their own values related to personal health and the protection of other individuals and the animal(s) associated with the disease (clarke, 2009). while the public will typically react to an outbreak based on their perception of the risk, the government and related institutions will make decisions based on the actual risk; meaning the way the government communicates information about a zoonotic disease outbreak is fundamental to how the larger public will react (smith, 2006). government organizations that are communicating about zoonotic disease outbreaks have the potential to lead the public’s knowledge and understanding of the disease outbreak and give recommendations to people on what actions to take to protect themselves (van der meer, 2018). because of the hierarchical structure of government organizations, those communicating directly with the public are often employees in district or local offices (blau, 1968; mergel, 2016; palttala, boana, lund, & vos, 2012; rogers, burnside-lawry, dragisic, & mills, 2016). the local and district offices rely on the national organization’s websites and articles to communicate with the public about matters related to public health, like a disease outbreak (goel, belardo, iwan, 2004; mergel, 2016; institute of medicine, 2003). research on understanding how federal agencies such as the cdc, center for disease control, and usda, united states department of agriculture, are baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.19 27 communicating online about zoonotic disease would clarify the regional agency, and ultimately the public, response to and level of preparation for a zoonotic disease outbreak. theoretical and conceptual framework the world health organization (2017) suggests that entities communicating about potential disease outbreaks follow basic principles of risk communication, including developing trust from the public, remaining transparent, and using proactive communication. quality risk communication plays an integral role in response to and management of zoonotic diseases. when communication is good, it can “rally support, calm a nervous public, provide muchneeded information, encourage cooperative behaviors, and help save lives; bad communication can fan emotions, disrupt economies and undermine confidence” (tabbaa, 2010, p. s81). the model of risk information seeking and processing (griffin et al., 1999) describes the many factors that impact how individuals seek and process information related to risk, including how perceived hazard characteristics lead to an effective response which then leads to information sufficiency that is impacted by subjective norms. clarke (2009) contends that this model could be further extended when communicating about zoonotic disease risk to include values, value orientation, and opinion leadership. public relations models of communication for engaging with the public in health communication efforts have categorized communication as one-way, two-way, or multidimensional (avidar, ariel, malka, & levy, 2015; taylor & kent, 2014). the opportunity for online, organizational communication with the public has opened doors for increased engagement and two-way communication. however, federal organizations have struggled to make this model work effectively. for example, in 2015 the cdc tried to use an online twitter chat to respond in real-time to public health questions about an ebola outbreak. while the cdc gained 80,000,000 twitter impressions during the chat, it only responded to 15% of the tweets, which left many members of the public who were not able to engage with the organization during this time of public health crisis (young, tully, & dalrymple, 2018). however, other chats like one about zika were only attended by those involved in public health and not members of the public (young et al., 2018), making online engagement complicated to understand. federal agencies tend to prefer more traditional one-way communication channels (avidar et al, 2015; young et al., 2018), but scholars continue to recommend that entities work to communicate, engage, and provide agency for the public in a way that meets the public’s needs (reynolds & seeger, 2005; taylor & kent, 2014), taking advantage of multiple platforms (siwak, 2018; taylor & kent, 2014), and a variety of communication channels (boehm, 2012) to increase opportunities for two-way communication (avidar et al., 2015) about issues related to human and animal health. while the top-tier of government agencies are institutionalized and have more regulations on communication efforts, some of the associated agencies are able to take information from the centralized organization and share and engage with the public in a new way (mergel, 2016), like a local usda office sharing an article about zoonotic disease from the usda website with followers on social media. a society’s response to risk is based on the quantity and quality of media coverage, the actions of risk management agencies, and the perception by the public of these agencies’ ability to baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.19 28 manage risk and education efforts of government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and/or other actors (decker et al., 2009). response to a zoonotic disease outbreak can be broken down into 7 types of prepared responses (levings, 2011). the present study investigated all seven: 1) situational awareness (knowledge of the threats to appropriately prepare and the capabilities and priorities of other entities; awareness of the tools others are using and planning for their use), 2) research (needed to be done for effective response, from identification of a pathogen and its antigens, elicited immune response or ecology to field application and commercialization (or management) of technologies), 3) tool acquisition (selecting, ordering, and receiving of tools designed to aid in preparedness for the disease, 4) modeling (a systematic description of an object or phenomenon that shares important characteristics with the object or phenomenon), 5) training and exercises (prepares personnel for specific roles in responses and assures the organization and its partners of personnel skill levels and readiness), 6) animal movement traceability (ability to follow an item or a group of items, like an animal from one point in the supply chain to another, either backwards or forwards), and 7) policy development (guidelines and positions that influence the decisions made) (levings, 2011). coordination and integration among all agencies involved in the response to a zoonotic disease outbreak could improve if these recommended responses are applied. past research has evaluated the online content of government agencies that are communicating about environmental risks and have determined that different agencies employ a range of communication approaches. eschenfelder (2007) determined that state wildlife agencies in four states were communicating about chronic wasting disease, a possible zoonotic disease that impacts deer, through a private citizen approach, which assumes citizens involvement in policy decisions are very limited. boehm (2012) concluded that federal agencies communicating about colony collapse disorder were using outdated information, avoided controversial topics, and lacked variety in the content they were sharing. it was further determined that the information federal agencies were sharing online related to colony collapse disorder was not relevant to individuals who were seeking information about the issue and that this could lead to a decline in public engagement of the issue (boehm, 2007). purpose the purpose of this study was to understand how two major government websites, cdc and usda, made information available related to zoonotic disease. the broader purpose was to make strategic recommendations for federal agencies communicating zoonotic disease information in online environments. the specific objectives guiding the study were: ro1: determine availability of information related to zoonotic disease. ro2: describe the zoonotic diseases, impacts, and messages mentioned. ro3: determine the use of prepared responses in articles related to zoonotic disease. ro4: determine connectivity with other online resources on zoonotic disease. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.19 29 methods a quantitative, content analysis was used to address the research objectives. this allows for objective and systematic quantitative description of content (berelson, 1952; krippendorff, 2013), often in an online environment. the codebook for this study was based on recommendations by riffe et al. (2005) and krippendorff (2013) and reviewed by a panel of experts for face content and validity. the codebook was comprised of 13 variables including clicks to get to an article about zoonotic disease from the homepage, names of diseases mentioned and major characteristics, prepared response strategy, additional resource, type of response, location, prevention, location of article. four independent coders were used in the study. coders were trained and determined initial reliability of the codebook using the epa website so as not to invalidate the study sample. in this pilot, a cohen’s kappa of .70 or higher on all independent variables was established with a total cohen’s kappa of .85 for all variables combined. next, the four coders moved to the true area of interest for this study, the cdc and usda websites. when beginning the process, it was immediately clear that the first question on the initial codebook “how many clicks does it take to get to information on zoonotic disease from the homepage” would not work with the cdc and usda websites. it was impossible to get to information on zoonotic disease through clicks alone. coders had to search within the cdc and usda websites to get information on zoonotic disease. thus, this variable was removed in the code book for the true sample of the study and a new sampling frame was established. the sampling frame was generated from an initial search on the usda and cdc websites using the term “zoonotic disease” which resulted in ~ 36,000 and 48,737 articles, respectively. researchers investigated the top 30 articles from each site, which was approximately the first three pages of search results for a more detailed analysis. this sample was determined based on data collected by google about how much people interact with the pages within its search engine in 2019. on the first page of google searches, 67% of the people who search for a topic click on searches that appear on the first page, while results from the next two pages account for 4% of the clicks, and the numbers for four and beyond represent less than 1%, as the other people typically do not click on any search results (law, 2019). similar patterns are seen in amazon shoppers with 45% of shoppers reporting they do not scroll past the first page of results and two-thirds of product clicks coming from the first page of search results (marketingcharts.com, 2019). no data was available specifically on how many pages people would scroll through looking for health-related information or disease-related information. thus, the researchers in this study concluded that the first three pages of results included the majority of what people would be willing to scroll through and/or read, and these articles were pulled for more in-depth analysis in the present study. coders begin with coding the same 20% of the sample to again establish inter-rater reliability on the study sample using cohen’s kappa (riffe et al., 2005; krippendorff, 2013). data were collected within 24 hours of one another in spring 2018 in order to reduce the chance of changes to the websites. inter-rater reliability was achieved on each of the remaining 12 variables with a kappa of .70 or higher as recommended by riffe et al. (2005) and krippendorff (2013). inter-rater reliability for all variables combined was .92. after inter-rater reliability was baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.19 30 achieved on the first 20%, the researchers divided the remaining articles and coded independently as recommended by riffe et al. (2005) and krippendorff (2013). data were analyzed for descriptive statistics using ibm spss statistics 20 (ibm corp., armonk, ny). findings ro1: determine availability of information related to zoonotic disease. availability of information on the cdc and usda websites was difficult to find. in the codebook for the study, researchers explored how much information was available on the homepages and how many clicks it took to get to a page that mentioned zoonotic disease. zero references to zoonotic diseases were on the home pages or any of the main pages from the navigation of the cdc and usda sites. researchers had to use the search feature within both sites to find resources related to zoonotic disease. through searches on the usda and cdc websites using the term “zoonotic disease” approximately 36,000 were found on the usda website and 48,737 articles were found on the cdc website. ro2: describe the zoonotic diseases, impacts, and messages mentioned. in order to determine how the zoonotic diseases were described on the cdc and usda websites, coders recorded information related to the origin of the zoonotic disease and if no mention was made of the origin of the disease. the greatest origins mentioned on the cdc website was for a vector origin with 40% (n = 12) and the usda website mentioned animal vectors the greatest number of times at 46.7% (n = 14). eight of the articles on the cdc website didn’t mention the disease origin at all, while all of the usda articles mentioned an origin (table 1). table 1 origin of zoonotic disease referenced in articles on cdc and usda websites cdc usda origin f % f % vector 12 40 11 36.7 vector and animal 8 26.7 5 16.7 none mentioned 8 26.7 animal 2 6.7 14 46.7 fifteen (50%) of the cdc articles mentioned environmental impacts and 16 (53.3%) of usda articles did. three (10%) of the cdc articles mentioned economic impacts, while 10 (33.3%) usda articles did. nine (30%) of the cdc articles analyzed mentioned proper handling procedures while 22 (73.3%) of the usda articles did (table 2). baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.19 31 table 2 presence of messages related to economic impacts, environmental impacts, and general handling procedures in articles on cdc and usda websites cdc usda f % f % environmental impacts 15 50 16 53.3 handling procedures 9 30 22 73.3 economic impacts 3 10 10 33.3 the level of impact monitoring was also recorded. the largest number of impact monitoring mentioned for the cdc was national impact monitoring with three (10%) of the articles mentioning it. no other levels of impact monitoring were mentioned in any of the articles coded in this study. the usda website had the largest numbered recorded for impact monitoring at the global level with four (13.3%) of the articles mentioning it followed by three (10%) articles each for national and regional impact monitoring (table 3). table 3 levels of impact monitoring on cdc and usda websites cdc usda f % f % national 3 10 3 10 global 4 13.3 regional 3 10 ro3: determine the use of prepared responses in articles related to zoonotic disease. the highest number of prepared responses for both websites was the situational awareness response with 14 (46.7%) of the cdc articles including this response and 23 (76.7%) of the usda articles including this response. the next highest response for the cdc website was research with 9 (30%) of the articles mentioning it, while the next highest for the usda was modeling with 19 (63.3%) of the articles mentioning it (table 4). baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.19 32 table 4 presence of preparedness responses in articles. cdc usda f % f % situational awareness 14 46.7 23 76.7 research 9 30 17 56.7 tool acquisition 4 13.3 13 43.3 modeling 4 13.3 19 63.3 training and exercises 4 13.3 16 53.3 animal movement traceability 6 20 15 50 policy development 4 13.3 4 13.3 note: articles could contain multiple prepared responses ro4: determine connectivity with other online resources on zoonotic disease. to determine the connectivity of the cdc and usda websites with other resources online, coders investigated which other references were linked to the articles available on these sites. twenty-two (73.3%) cdc articles linked to other resources and 17 (56.7%) usda articles did. the largest numbers of articles on both sites linked to resources available within their own website with 21 (70%) of the cdc articles linking to sources within their organization and 16 (53.3%) of the usda articles linking to sources within its own website. one article from the cdc linked to the world health organization (3.3%) and one (3.3%) article linked to the health resources and services administration. the usda had one (3.3%) article link to the world organization for animal health. there were no links in 7 (23.3) cdc articles and 13 (43.3%) usda articles (table 5). table 5 other resources linked to from articles on cdc and usda websites cdc usda f % f % source within organizational (cdc or usda) website 21 70 16 53.3 no links 7 23.3 13 43.3 world health organization 1 3.3 world organization for animal health 1 3.3 health resources & services administration 1 3.3 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.19 33 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations while an outbreak of a zoonotic disease can spread quickly to infect thousands of people and animals, no similar outbreak of online information was seen on the cdc and usda websites. while there were a large number of articles available on both websites (cdc ~ 36,000; usda = 48,737) about zoonotic disease, the information was difficult to find. with no references to zoonotic disease on the homepages or main navigation, an employee of a local or district office or a member of the public may think zoonotic disease is not a major concern for either the cdc or the usda. utilizing the basic principles in the model of risk information seeking and processing (griffin et al., 1999), providing information in a more prominent location on the homepage regarding zoonotic diseases may increase awareness within individuals and assist with understanding and processing. an understanding of the perceived risk could better prepare individuals if/when an outbreak occurs (so et al., 2019). however, this data was collected during a time without a widespread epidemic of zoonotic disease; one could assume that during an outbreak this information would be more prominent on both the cdc and usda websites. agricultural communicators should be aware of the lack of information available to the public without a direct search of the term zoonotic disease. since this term is not one used in everyday life for many consumers, more communication focused on the awareness and preparedness for a zoonotic disease is needed. future research should explore the public’s knowledge of, perceptions of, and preparedness for zoonotic disease. in addition, message testing on messages surrounding zoonotic disease to better understand what messages publics understand and which specifically resonate with them. the cdc and usda websites did not take advantage of the interactive nature of online communication. while keeping traffic inside the organizational website is understandable, there is an opportunity to connect to a variety of different information from credible sources including other government agencies and world health organizations. this lack of interactive information available and a lack of variety in the information provided aligns with previous work by boehm (2012). all of the information found on the cdc and usda websites was in the form of articles and very few links were provided to content outside of the entities’ own websites (cdc = 2, 6.3% and usda = 1, 3.3%). the opportunity for the internet to transform the way people engage with and learn about health information is stifled when the interactive nature of the web is not utilized. while a website is limited in its ability to directly engage with the public in the two-way communication model recommended by scholars (reynolds & seeger, 2005; taylor & kent, 2014), there are ways federal agencies could integrate more interactive elements into websites and available articles within the sites. links are one simple way to increase interconnectivity, but improving search features, allowing comments or feedback, and linking to social media platforms or other new technology may be a way for federal agencies to engage more with stakeholders at all levels. the use of preparedness responses evident in articles within this study varied, which was similar to previous work on government communication online (boehm, 2007; eschenfelder, 2007). the highest use was of situational awareness with 14 (46.7%) cdc articles and 23 (76.7%) of usda articles. the usda articles used more total preparedness responses than the baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.19 34 cdc did. the low number of articles with tool acquisition and training may indicate a gap in the available tools and training for zoonotic disease, which is concerning as these are the responses in which people can actively engage in handling a zoonotic disease outbreak or preparing in advance of an outbreak (levings, 2011), and may be the most useful tools for local and district government offices. it is recommended that federal agencies, and agricultural communicators in general, adopt and embrace the preparedness responses to better inform the public about zoonotic disease and how to prepare for, avoid, and respond to an outbreak. communication efforts can include multiple responses to better prepare other government offices and the public. the public can be scared when hearing messages related to risk, but the inclusion of preparedness responses can empower people to know how to act, which can lessen the associated fear. with 50% of articles on both the cdc and usda websites having a message related to environmental impacts, this may connect with the values of some members of the public, as recommended by clark (2009). the usda website had more messages related to economic impacts (n = 10, 33.3%) than the cdc (n = 3, 10%), which may be a function of the value agricultural producers place on zoonotic disease, as this will affect their business bottom-line. however, the impact of zoonotic disease can be economically stressful for people who contract diseases too. messages related to handling procedures were high on the usda website (73.3%), which is a message stakeholders likely care about when seeking information related to zoonotic disease. however, information on handling procedures on the cdc website were at 30%, which aligns with boehm (2007) that some federal agencies may lack important and valuable information for the general public on what action to take based on information provided. this would also be advantageous for government employees at local and district offices seeking to inform stakeholders in their region on how to take action once a person or animal is infected. future research should investigate how individuals, including government employees, respond to these types of messages in an effort to understand the value people place on these specific messages. the limited information available on the cdc and usda websites about the origin of zoonotic disease was also a concern, as this is vital for individuals to know so they can avoid infection for themselves and/or their animals (clarke, 2009). as people interact with information about zoonotic disease, their opinions and decisions could be positively influenced (so et al., 2019), and a prominent presence of this type of information could solidify opinions and decision making of the public and smaller agencies prior to a major or isolated zoonotic disease outbreak. moreover, during times of zoonotic disease there is a wealth of inaccurate information available about disease spread, so federal agencies and local branches of offices need information readily available for people to fact-check other sources. additionally, federal agencies will be pulled in multiple directions once an outbreak occurs, thus it is to their benefit to already have a solid presence in place that visitors to their site are familiar with and able to navigate with ease. additionally, if a minor outbreak occurs, federal agencies may not launch a full-blown response, but local and regional offices will need readily available materials to distribute to local publics. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.19 35 it is a limitation of this study that it is only a snapshot of what was happening at one particular time on the cdc and usda websites. when data were collected, there was not a large outbreak of zoonotic disease or huge national news coverage of a specific or general zoonotic disease. future research should compare available information on these sites at a later date and during a time of a large-scale u.s. outbreak of a specific zoonotic disease to see if available information and placement of this information on the sites changes. another limitation in this study is the use of “zoonotic disease” as the search term to generate the articles in the sample. this was selected to cast a wide net for all articles in this category, and it is the common term used by the industry. however, the general public may not think to search for this particular term. future research should explore the available articles related to specific zoonotic diseases, as this may be what the public would search for on these websites. acknowledgements the authors would like to thank undergraduate researchers at kansas state university, topanga mcbride, sam albers, mary marsh, and kaitlyn vickers, and graduate student mariah bausch who helped with the design and data collection in this study. this work was supported by the state of kansas, national bio and agrodefense facility (nbaf) transition fund through the national agricultural biosecurity center (nabc) at k-state university and a collaborating project for the center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources (pie). references avidar, r., ariel, y., malka, v., & levy, e. c. 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(2018). #engagement: use of twitter chats to construct nominal participatory spaces during health crises. information, communication & society, 21(4), 499–515. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118x.2017.1301518 © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 39-manuscript-567-1-11-20200713 lindner et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 2, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. james r. lindner, alumni professor of agriscience education, auburn university, 5058 haley center, auburn university, al 36849, jrl0039@auburn.edu; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-3846 2. christopher a. clemons, assistant professor of agriscience education, , auburn university, 5070 haley center, auburn university, al 36849, cac0132@auburn.edu; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9879-0888 3. andrew thoron, associate professor in the department of agricultural education, abraham baldwin agricultural college, abac 8, 2802 moore hwy tifton, ga 31793, andrew.thoron@abac.edu; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9905-3692 4. nicholas j. lindner, graduate student in the school of veterinary medicine and biomedical sciences, texas a&m university, 416 pronghorn loop, college station, tx 77845, lindnenj@email.tamu.edu; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7140-6820 53 remote instruction and distance education: a response to covid-19 j. lindner1, c. clemons2, a. thoron3 , n. lindner4 abstract the purpose of the qualitative study was to explore how middle and secondary school agriscience teachers define remote instruction and distance education. this research was conducted as a response to the covid-19 pandemic. data for the study were collected during the time schools were closed and/or offering remote instruction. a purposive sample of seventeen agriscience education teachers in the states of alabama and georgia were selected for this qualitative study. data were collected using a structured interview questionnaire and analyzed using constant comparisons. the conceptual framework of this study was developed using transactional distance theory and bound by strategic analysis. findings showed that secondary agriscience education teachers did not collectively define remote instruction and distance education in the same manner. some defined them similarly, and some noted specific differences in how the terms are defined and used. these teachers identified strengths and opportunities that should be exploited and weaknesses and threats that should be mitigated. recommendations for training in appropriate use of distance education delivery strategies are provided. recommendations for additional research into the impact on student learning are provided. keywords teaching remotely, strategic analysis, delivery methods, delivery strategies, distance education lindner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.39 54 introduction and problem statement during january of 2020, the coronavirus (covid-19) emerged in the united states (centers for disease control and prevention, cdc, n.d.). by march of 2020, the world health organization (who) declared covid-19 a pandemic (who, 2020). during this time, middle and secondary schools either shut down or moved to remote instruction until the end of the semester. the words or term remote instruction was being used ubiquitously by alabama and georgia schools in response to the covid-19 pandemic. remote instruction can be defined two ways. let us consider the following example announcement of a fictitious school. rydell high school is moving immediately to remote instruction for the remainder of the semester. in this example remote is an adjective and instruction is a noun. instruction, therefore, would be provided remotely. remote is defined (merriam-webster, 2020a) as “acting, acted on, or controlled indirectly from a distance” (para. 1). using this example, we could consider remote instruction a term (merriam-webster, 2020b) defined as “a word or expression that has an exact meaning in some uses or is limited to a subject or field” (para.1). as a term, remote instruction, is not welldefined in the literature. in the context of this study we are operationally defining remote instruction as the physical separation of instructors and students during the teaching and learning process. the central attribute of remote instruction is the separation by space during instruction. distance education is generally regarded as a pedagogical concept (moore, 1997) that is not necessarily bound by space constraints. moore (1997) noted distance education “is a concept describing the universe of teacher-learner relationships that exist when learners and instructors are separated by space and/or by time” (p. 22). dooley et al. (2005) wrote, “distance education is the application of delivery strategies using a variety of delivery methods with learning who are constrained by time/space/lifestyle” (p. 80). these authors noted, “… that delivery methods do not matter, delivery strategies do” (p. 80). because the terms defined remote instruction and distance education are defined differently a problem may exist when the terms are used synonymously. the synonymous use of the terms may create confusion by academicians transitioning to remote instruction and researchers studying the phenomena. theoretical and conceptual framework the conceptual framework of this study was developed using an expanded model of moore’s (1989) transactional distance theory. this study was also bound by the strategic planning process of identifying strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats (swot) (cojocariu et al., 2013; dooley & murphrey, 2001; goodstein et al., 1993) of remote instruction and distance education to better understand the internal and external environments in which decisions are made. engaging students in the educational environment is critical for student learning. smith and rayfield (2016) noted project-based learning through supervised agricultural experiences was a critical component of agriscience programs. merrow (2003) wrote that engagement was the key to student learning while moore (1989) noted that interaction between students, instructors, and content is vital for engagement. hillman et al. (1994) expanded the model to lindner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.39 55 include interactions with technology. dooley et al. (2005) postulated that maximized learning, quality instruction, and learning satisfaction occurs at the intersection of these interactions. according to moore (1989) and hillman et al. (1994), transactional distance, as a threat to student learning, could be overcome by maximizing interactions: learner to content, learner to instructor, learner to learner, and learner to technology. dooley et al. (2005) postulated that the easiest of interactions to mitigate is learner to content follow by learner to technology. it is the social interaction between and among learners and instructors that presents the greatest challenge. an individual’s personal competence and motivation to learn at a distance are also critical but often overlooked aspect of distance education. in the case of covid-19, k-12 students were forced into remoted instruction with no regard for their competence or motivation to be taught or learn remotely. fletcher et al. (2007) highlighted that advanced distribution learning systems can facilitate learning for students studying remotely and physically separated from the instructor. wei and chou (2020) found that a learners’ perceptions of self-efficacy in online learning environments effected their learning readiness. learners with a high level of self-efficacy toward online learning performed better than those with low levels of self-efficacy. schoor and bannert (2011) noted that online learners might not be as motivated to complete a learning activity as face-to-face learners. the use of the term remote instruction is not well-documented in the literature. according to research and instruction librarian t. shipman (personal communication march 25, 2020) “the term [remote instruction] has been close to impossible to find in the current context.” one example (maly, et al., 1998) refered to remote instruction as a tool for delivering instruction to learners enrolled in courses located in different places. geyer and effelsberg (1998) describe remote instruction as requiring synchronous interactions. the notion of distance education as a delivery strategy was not addressed in either of these articles. hodges et al. (2020) articulated that understanding the difference between remote teaching and distance education was necessary to appropriate plan and delivery online learning experiences. swot analysis related to remote instruction and distance education may help decision makers plan better beyond the immediate impact of remote instruction during covid-19. identifying and exploring internal strengths and weakness and external opportunities and threats of remote instruction and/or distance education may be key to addressing critical issues such administrative support, training, and incentives (dooley & murphrey, 2001). the educational reality of covid-19 was middle and secondary school agriscience teachers went from preparing instructional lessons, supervising agricultural experiences, and preparing for spring events in a strictly face-to-face setting, to coping with mandates of school closings and calls for remote instruction with no face-to-face interaction allowed. regardless of teacher competence or means to provide remote instruction or understanding of remote instruction, the shift was sudden and required. emerging research suggests that cooperative extension was capable of responding to the need to transform rapidly to online education (narine & meier, 2020). understanding how lindner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.39 56 agriscience education teachers respond to immediate transition to remote instruction may better prepare schools for future disruptions to face-to-face learning. purpose the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how middle and secondary school agriscience teachers define remote instruction and distance education. the study sought further to explore swot of remote instruction and distance education in the context of the covid-19 pandemic. the researchers were particularly interested to find if teachers differentiated between the term remote instruction and distance education. two research questions guided this study: (a) how did middle and secondary school agriscience teachers operationalize the term remote instruction and distance education, and (b)what were middle and secondary school agriscience teachers’ perceptions of remote instruction and distance education’s swot? methods this research was conducted as a rapid response to covid-19 and offers a glimpse into the reality teachers were making during the pandemic. data collection began on march 26, 2020 and ended on april 21, 2020. data for this research study were collected using an open-ended structured interview questionnaire described below (merriam & tisdell, 2015). strategies proposed by ladonna, et al. (2018) to enhance rigor when using open-ended questionnaires for data collection were followed: (a) the sole focus was the open-ended questions; (b) questions were sharply focused on the phenomena of study; (c) data analysis focused on rigorous insights of participant responses. participants were asked to provide narrative responses via qualtrics to questions and were provided unlimited space to do so. this facilitated timeliness of data collection and reduced subjectivity bias of researchers. researcher subjectivity (peshkin, 1988) was a concern in this study as the researchers were faculty members teaching courses using distance education and remote instruction and a graduate student participating in remoted instruction. participants were able to review their responses to ensure accuracy and completeness. data were analyzed using constant comparisons to identify themes and subthemes that emerged from the data (corbin & strauss, 2015; dooley, 2007). data were reviewed by and reflected on by two of the researchers to develop themes and subthemes that emerged from the study. this reflective analysis process was iterative in nature to ensure congruence of themes and subthemes and contributes to the trustworthiness criteria. the questionnaire consisting of conditional questions based on whether participants defined remote instruction and distance education differently. for those that did not discern a difference they were asked to define remote instruction/distance education as a single inclusive term. they were then asked to describe the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats associated with teaching middle and/or secondary agricultural education using remote lindner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.39 57 instruction/distance education. for those that defined the terms differently, participants were asked to define each term. they were then asked to describe the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats associated with teaching secondary agricultural education using remote instruction and distance education. both groups of participants were then asked several personal characteristic questions described above. during this time, most schools were closed and/or offering remote instruction. a purposive sample of seventeen agriscience teachers was selected for this qualitative study. teachers were purposively selected based on their divergent personal characteristics. participants were selected based on geographic location, years of teaching experience, level of instruction (middle or secondary), and number of students in program. participants were from alabama and georgia and were located geographically from the northern regions, central regions, and southern regions. participants years of experience were characterized as those with less than one year of experience; 1-5 years of experience; 6-10 years of experience; 11-15 years of experience; and 16-20 years of experience. participants taught at the middle school level, the secondary level, or both middle and secondary levels. participants indicated that the number of students in their program were characterized as: 0-100; 101-200; 201-300; or 301-400. no attempts were made to characterize findings based on the divergent characteristics or to generalize findings beyond study participants. findings three teachers (t14, t02, t03) were not currently teaching middle or secondary school agriscience curricula using remote instruction or distance education. these teachers also did not discern the difference between remote instruction and distance education. nine teachers (t10, t04, t06, t16, t11, t12, t09, t17, and t18) were currently teaching middle or secondary school agriscience curricula using remote instruction or distance education. these teachers also did not discern the difference between remote instruction and distance education. an additional five teachers (t05, t07, t08, t13, and t15) were currently teaching middle or secondary school agriscience curricula using remote instruction or distance education. these teachers discerned the difference between remote instruction and distance education. several themes emerged from the data: perceptions of remote instruction and distance education; internal factors; and external factors. perceptions of remote instruction and distance education teachers, overall, did not agree on whether remote instruction and distance education were synonymous. teachers who did not discern a difference between the two were more likely to associate remote instruction and distance education using the term online. in an attempt to provide clarity of findings, themes that emerged from teachers who defined remote instruction and distance education the same are referred to as remote instruction/distance education respondents (ride); whereas themes that emerged from teachers who discerned a difference between the two modes of instruction are referred to as remote instruction respondent (ri) or distance education respondent (de), respectively. lindner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.39 58 examples of how these teachers defined remote instruction and distance education included: “continuing to educate from an alternative location than usual, and primarily online” [t04]; “online learning opportunities, assignments, and assessments” [t16]; “using online resources to instruct students” [t09]; and “continuing educating students as normal as possible, without face-to-face instruction, using online resources and tools” [t18]. teachers who discerned a difference between the two noted that remote instruction tended to be defined primarily as the physical separation of instructor and student. examples of how these teachers defined remote instruction included: “when your [sic] trying to conduct an in person class remotely” [t13]; “remote instruction would be live zoom lectures” [t05]; and “distance education is learning for a student who may not always be present in the classroom setting” [t07]. teachers defined distance education to include both physical separation of teacher and students as well as separation in time. examples of how teachers defined distance education included: “when a lecturer has provided prerecorded lectures and materials for the individual to teach themselves” [t05]; and “virtual learning” [t07]. internal factors strengths and weaknesses were internal factors that schools and teachers had direct control over to exploit or minimize. some trends emerged with respect to teachers’ perceptions of internal strengths and weaknesses with respect to how they defined remote instruction and distance education. teachers who did not discern a difference between the two tended to focus simply on continuation of instruction. ride strength strengths included students’ ability to practice and guide their own instruction. “many students already have an sae [supervised agricultural experience] project to work on at home, and they can practice the skills they have already learned in the [aged] program” [t16]. “students have the ability to work at their own pace or own clock” [t06]. teachers generally reported that remote instruction or distance education was better than nothing. some teachers; however, indicated that there were no strengths associated with this type of education. “none that i can see at this point” [t09]. ride weakness critical internal weaknesses that emerged included technological limitations, and a lack of hands-on learning activities. internet access was partially restrictive, as lack of internet access was a genuine concern. “many of my students do not have internet, and neither did i at first. this style of teaching has also taken away from the face-to-face explanations and stories that paper just can't portray” [t04]. “students will miss out on the hands-on learning opportunities in the shop/lab setting…these are very hard to replicate remotely” [t16]. “no hands-on learning…lack of internet access or slow speed” [t09]. lindner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.39 59 ri strength teachers provided different views of internal strengths and weakness when they defined remote instruction and distance education differently. these teachers noted that strengths of remote instruction centered on live instruction and provided teachers greater opportunities to use online resources to support instruction. “remote [instruction] is done in place of regular instruction” [t15]. strengths of remote instruction included: “access to more visual resources” [t07]; “the use of a video to demonstrate the inside workings of a piece of equipment” [t08]; and “provid[ing] students the opportunity to learn…different topics of agriculture” [t05]. ri weakness weaknesses focused on lack of face-to-face interaction between teachers and students. “this transition is very stressful on everyone and i do not feel that taking their time to have them sit through lecture will be beneficial. the students are missing the opportunity to learn hands on skills” [t05]. “lack of immediacy as compared to a face-to-face classroom environment” [t07] was a weakness. “trying to ensure the students truly comprehend the material when you cannot give a traditional grade” [t13] was another weakness. de strength strengths of distance education were concentrated around the ability of students to self-pace instruction and tailor learning to their educational needs. “[d]istance education provides students with the ability to work at their own pace when it is convenient for them. preprovided materials allowed students that may not have internet at home to go to a hot spot, download what they needed and returned home to complete their work” [t05]. “[distance education allows] for virtual learning through video classrooms where more immediacy is prevalent than remote education through virtual interactions” [t07]. de weakness weakness of distance education tended to focus on students’ ability to manage their time wisely and work independently. “distance education requires that the students work on their own and submit work in a timely manner” [t05]. weaknesses of distance education included: “time constraints, scheduling, [and] technology access” [t07]; and “face to face interaction is lacking” [t13]. external factors opportunities and threats pressure schools and teachers to respond to a given situation. some trends emerged with respect to teachers’ perceptions of opportunities and threats with respect to how they defined remote instruction and distance education. teachers who did not discern a difference between the two tended to focus on opportunities for engagement with content meaningful to the individual student. they also focused on the threat of being able to authenticate learning. ride opportunities participants reported that opportunities that could be exploited included engaging students in meaningful learning opportunities. “i think we have had the opportunity to give our students lindner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.39 60 assignments we normally would not have time for; “things [sic] that let them explore and create their own projects, tests their skills and limits” [t04]. “this possibly offers the opportunities for students to feel more comfortable as they are able to learn in their home setting” [t06]. “[s]tudents still have the opportunity to do to learn [sic] or practice the skills they have learned in the program” [t16]. according to some teachers [t18 & t17], however, opportunities for meaningful learning were minimal without direct face-to-face interactions with students. ride threats participants reported that threats that should be mitigated included student safety and security, teacher relationships, and authentication of learning. “a main concern about a 'threat' for my students, and all students really, is lack of a positive environment at home” [t04]. “student safety must be considered” [t16]. “cheating is a huge threat and most high school level test questions and answers can be located by a simple google search this greatly threatens the likelihood that students will be learning any material at all” [t06]. “the relationships between the students and teachers along with parent and industry support” [t09]. ri opportunities participants reported that opportunities to support time management skills of students should be exploited. “students are given the opportunity to learn how to be independent and manage their time own their own” [t05]. “[ri provides a] chance to expand on material through more open discussions” [t07]. ri threats participants reported that threats focused on reaching student-to-instructor engagement and student-to-technology engagement. a major concern was students with ieps or are ells that need additional help. “also, many students face poverty and do not have internet access at home” [t05]. “i feel there isn’t enough monitoring done or available for testing” [t08]. authentication was also a concern here as described in previous sections. de opportunities participants reported that opportunities to support individual progress/self-direction should be exploited. distance education may be a great opportunity for those students that feel other classmates cause the class to fall behind. “distance education provides those students that want to excel the ability to do so in a timely manner” [t05]. “[de provides for ability to] work at one’s own pace” [t07]. de threats threats focused primarily on the lack of skill development through experimental learning opportunities. distance education does not provide opportunities for follow-through by students. lindner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.39 61 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the findings presented a nuanced snapshot of how teachers operationalize the terms remote instruction and distance education. it was interesting to note alabama and georgia schools ubiquitous use of the term remote instruction (a term rarely used in the literature before covid-19 [t. shipmam, personal communication, march 25, 2020]) instead of the term distance education (a term well established in the literature [moore, 1997]). this implies that those calling for remote instruction discerned the distinction between remote instruction as simply the separation of teachers and students by space for the purpose of continued instruction without regard to appropriate use of delivery strategies. findings showed that some teachers differentiated in their definitions of distance education and remoted instruction and some teachers did not (ride). ride teachers who did not define the terms differently tended to support the notion that remote instruction and distance education was merely a delivery method. teachers who did define the terms differently tended to support the notion that distance education was a delivery strategy and that remote instruction was primarily the physical separation of instructor and student. this implies that while teachers can provide instruction remotely, lack of teacher competence in distance education as a delivery strategy may negatively impact student learning, quality of instruction, and learner satisfaction. this was consistent with what dooley et al. (2005) postulated. the mechanics (or at least the optics) of providing instruction remotely are much easier and visible than ensuring teachers are properly trained to provide quality distance education. for example, recording a lecture for remote synchronous or asynchronous viewing and delivering the lecture via an internet-connected video conferencing service like zoom, skype, canvas, etc., may constitute remote instruction, but it does not necessarily address relationships (as described by moore, 1989) and delivery strategies associated with distance education. while the use of video instruction can certainly be a part of distance education, methods for insuring interaction and engagement among students, instructors, content, and technology are what ensures distance education maximizes learning, quality, and satisfaction. recommendation for practice includes expanded training of teachers in appropriate delivery strategies for remote instruction. recommendations for research include studying: how teachers attempted to use appropriate distance education delivery strategies during the covid-19 pandemic; and student learning, quality of instruction, and learner satisfaction during the covid-19 pandemic. agriscience teachers’ perceptions of swots associated with remote instruction and distance education differed based on how they defined those terms. teachers noted that, given the hands-on nature of agriscience education, neither remote instruction nor distance education was ideal. teachers’ positive perceptions of strengths of distance education and/or remote instruction should be exploited to ensure continued instruction during covid-19. these strengths included: guided instruction; individualized instruction; self-pace learning; skill lindner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.39 62 practice; and availability online resources. teachers’ negative perceptions of the weaknesses of distance education and/or remote instruction should be mitigated. these weaknesses included: lack of internet access; lack of hands-on activities; lack of face-to-face interactions; time management; and lack of tools to insure comprehension. teachers were optimistic that that distance education and/or remote instruction could engage students in meaningful learning opportunities. these opportunities may allow students the time and space to explore agriscience education content that might not normally be presented in a traditional face-to-face course. opportunities also focused on allowing accelerated learning for advanced students. teachers were concerned how to mitigate threats associated with: cheating; skill development; student safety and securing; and lack of student-to-instructor and technology engagement. the challenges wrought by the events of the spring 2020 semester were unprecedented and generally teachers were ill-prepared to transition to online education. it appears that few were prepared to use distance education delivery strategies for providing instruction remotely. the initial hurdle teachers had to address was a physical separation between themselves and students. the next hurdle of training teachers to use appropriate delivery strategies lie ahead. our findings are inconsistent with hodges et al. (2020) whom articulated a difference between remote instruction and distance education. more participants did not indicate a difference between remote instruction and distance education than indicated a difference. additional research and evaluation are needed to understand better the impacts of remote instruction on student learning. an understanding of swots associated with remote instruction, coupled with additional training, has potential to help agriscience education teachers better plan and delivery instruction while meeting student learning needs if future events arise that require remote instruction. references cojocariu, v. m., lazar, i., nedeff, v., & lazar, g. (2014). swot analysis of e-learning educational services from the perspective of their beneficiaries. procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 116(0), 1999-2003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.510 centers for disease control and prevention. 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(2020). responding in a time of crisis: assessing extension efforts during covid-19. advancements in agricultural development, 1(2), 12-23. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 peshkin, a. (1988). in search of subjectivity—one’s own. educational researcher, 17(7), 17–21. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x017007017 schoor, c., & bannert, m. (2011). motivation in a computer-supported collaborative learning scenario and its impact on learning activities and knowledge acquisition. learning and instruction, 21(4), 560-573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2010.11.002 smith, k. l., & rayfield, j. (2016). an early historical examination of the educational intent of supervised agricultural experiences (saes) and project-based learning in agricultural education. journal of agricultural education, 57(2), 146-160. https://doi:10.5032/jae.2016.02146 wei, h-c. & chou, c. (2020). online learning performance and satisfaction: do perceptions and readiness matter? distance education, 41, 1, 48-69. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2020.1724768 © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 113-manuscript-1431-1-11-20210624.docx gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 2, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. raphael mwiti gikunda, lecturer, chuka university, box 109-60400, chuka, kenya, rgikunda@chuka.ac.ke, https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 2. dennis mongáre ooga, doctoral student, chuka university, box 109-60400, chuka, kenya, dennisooga2013@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9204-143x 3. irene nyanchoka okiamba, masters student, chuka university, box 109-60400, chuka, kenya, ironyanchoka@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1755-4870 4. samantha anyuor, graduate assistant, chuka university, box 109-60400, chuka, kenya, anyuorsamantha@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9289-5977 73 cultural barriers toward women and youth entry to apiculture production in maara sub-county, kenya r. gikunda1, d. ooga2, i. okiamba3, s. anyuor4 abstract the study adds to extension education knowledge by revealing cultural barriers inhibiting the uptake of apiculture enterprises among women and youths. data were gathered through a structured interview schedule from 23 smallholder farmers selected through purposive sampling based on gender and age. the study revealed that women and youths’ participation in apiculture was hindered by cultural restrictions such as taboos, inheritance, traditions, and attitudes. the taboos inhibiting women from engaging in apicultural production were forbidding them from climbing trees, sitting beehives in apiaries, and honey harvesting. traditions such as the belief that apiculture is meant for elderly men discouraged youths and women entrance to the industry. only interested and older sons from the farm families could inherit apiaries. a majority of female and young farmers did not participate in apiculture due to the negative attitude they had toward the enterprise. apprenticeship was the main channel of equipping farmers with apicultural knowledge, and skills. a few farmers also acquired knowledge through formal schooling, personal experiences, and social gathering. cultural restrictions need to be eased to attract women and young farmers to apiculture production. extension education could enhance the adoption of the enterprise. keywords apprenticeship, culture, extension education, indigenous knowledge gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.113 74 introduction and problem statement the apicultural subsector is rapidly growing as a result of the rising beehive nutraceutical products in local, regional, and international markets (zoccali et al., 2017). apiculture production involves the management of domesticated and wild honeybees for the production of honey, wax, propolis, royal jelly, and venom (chemwok et al., 2019). global honey production is estimated to be more than 1.4 million tonnes annually (karpati et al., 2009). the european union (eu) produces about 22% of the world’s production of honey; and is the second-largest producer after china (european commission, 2020). ethiopia is the leading producer of honey and beeswax in africa (frikru, 2015). other african countries that produce substantial amounts of honey include south africa, zambia, egypt, and guinea (african union [au], 2019). apiculture is a male-dominated industry in kenya largely because of cultural norms, the nature of management, and attitudes toward bees (heckle et al., 2018; mburu, 2015). as noted by caroll and kinsella (2013), although most parts of kenya are suitable for apiculture production, the potential has not been fully tapped. this is due to numerous impediments, including bee ill health; inadequate supportive policies, technical advice, and marketing structures (au, 2019); recurrent drought, deforestation (wambua et al., 2016), and stress arising from wind, livestock, wildlife, and vandals among other challenges (honey bee health coalition, 2019). culture has also been cited as the main hindrance to women and youth engagement in apicultural activities (mwakatobe, ntalwila, kohi, kipemba, & mrisha, 2016). however, little empirical data exists on cultural barriers that prevents women and young farmers from participating in the industry, particularly in high potential areas such as maara sub-county. theoretical and conceptual framework we theorized that culture is an essential element in the adoption of apicultural practices. culture is the way of life of the people (sibani, 2018); a component of the society that embraces a range of elements, including language, economy, religion, customs, traditions, values, attitudes, education, and manners, among others (trompenaars & hampden-turner, 1997). customs, taboos, traditions, and inheritance are cultural elements that have been thought to be a deterrent to women and youth entry to apiculture production, as illustrated in figure 1. although a majority of beekeepers are young people in countries such as india (verma et al., 2018), kenyan cultural norms make it difficult for the youth to venture into the industry. the existence of customary inheritance practices in most communities in kenya that favours males over females prevents women from participating in agricultural activities such as bee farming (mwakatobe et al., 2016). in most cases, indigenous apicultural knowledge and hives are passed on to adult sons by the fathers at old age. in many cultures, women have been viewed as not suitable for physically demanding roles such as harvesting and placing log hives in tall trees. climbing trees and handling bees are regarded as taboos in most kenyan sub-cultures (anoliefo et al., 2015). gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.113 75 figure 1 conceptual framework purpose the study was undertaken to generate information that would broaden the understanding of the factors that dissuaded women and young farmers from participating in apiculture production in maara sub-county of kenya. two research objectives guided the study: 1. identify cultural barriers preventing women and youth from participating in apiculture production; 2. describe ways by which farmers acquired knowledge and skills regarding apiculture methods the research was conducted in may 2020 at maara sub-county to document the cultural impediments to youth and women's entrance to apicultural production. maara sub-county is known for traditional apiculture production, although immense opportunities exist for the growth of the industry following the planned construction of a honey refinery. the area is endowed with a variety of rangelands and vegetation cover that favors apicultural activities (tharaka nithi county government, 2018). the study sample was comprised of 23 smallholder farmers, where five were youths, 17 were men, and six were women. the sample was considered adequate as recommended by creswell (2012), although glaser and strauss (1967) observed that the appropriateness of qualitative sample sizes is dependent on data saturation. the selection of the study site and participants was made purposively based on their gender and age. the selection was made with the help of a graduate assistant at chuka university who had previously undertaken his masters’ degree project in the target area. it is essential to disclose the researchers’ roles, experiences, and biases in a qualitative study (minus et al., 2021). therefore, the research was undertaken by a graduate assistant at chuka university with close supervision by the principal researcher (faculty). the other researchers were a faculty and a graduate assistant at the university. young farmers women farmers cultural barriers • customs • traditions • taboo • inheritance hindering apiculture industry • bee farming entry gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.113 76 data collection and analysis primary data were collected from the respondents through the use of an interview schedule and observation. mobile telephones were utilized to record data. the interviews were guided by a schedule that was comprised of five key questions. the questions addressed cultural factors hindering youth and women entrance to apiculture production. the study involved traditional and modern beekeepers as well as males and females to maximize the diversity of information and improve transferability of the study’s results. data were triangulated by corroborating information from the three categories of respondents’ namely household heads, youth, and women. a comprehensive description of the data collection, analysis procedures, and context within which the study was conducted ensured dependability and confirmability of the study. in addition, member checking was undertaken to double check the accuracy of the collected data. the one-to-one interviews took place at participants’ farms to allow for observation of apicultural practices (ryan, coughlan, & cronin, 2009). the instrument for data collection was comprised of five open-ended questions addressing cultural barriers to women and youth participation, and the acquisition of apicultural indigenous knowledge (idk). audio recordings were transcribed and then data were subjected to open coding to identify the themes (creswell, 2012). prior to interpretation, patterns and relationships between themes were identified. findings on data analysis, four themes emerged; cultural barriers (cb), acquisition of knowledge (ak), enterprise inheritance (ei), and apicultural production systems (aps). cultural barriers impeding youth and women entrance in apiculture production the study’s first objective sought to describe the cultural barriers hindering youth and women from participating in apiculture production. the results indicated that taboos, inheritance practices, traditions, and attitudes denied women and youths a chance to participate in apiculture production. taboos it was difficult for women to participate in apicultural activities due to the taboos associated with the practices. a majority of the respondents stated that it was taboo for a woman to climb a tree and an abominable act to handle bees. a claim was put forth by one of the senior male beekeepers who stated: “according to ameru culture, women are not allowed to climb on trees, and so they cannot place hives on trees.” a majority of farmers in the area practiced traditional bee farming involving log-hives that are placed on tall trees, out of reach of women apiarist. this makes it difficult for women to perform such activities as sitting beehives on trees and honey harvesting. a study conducted by mburu et al. (2015) in kitui, kenya also indicated that women’s participation in apiary activities faced cultural constraints such as taboos. however, the execution of apicultural activities is becoming easier with the introduction of box hives that gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.113 77 are not necessary placed in tall trees in addition to other modern technologies (heckle et al., 2018). the results further indicated that youths and women were not allowed to handle bees due to their engagement in sexual activities. it was unacceptable to even the senior beekeepers to sleep with their wives while undertaking apiculture management practices such as honey harvesting and placement of hives in an apiary. this was reported by a respondent who stated that the “ameru customs stipulated that a beekeeper would not ‘sleep’ with his wife prior to sitting a beehive in an apiary and since youths could not wait for months without making love with their wives, they would not practice beekeeping.” traditional apiculture production was a male domain as it involved the rearing of african bees (apis millifera), which are known to be very aggressive, and thus, could not be managed by women. certain apiculture practices were meant for men as dictated by the customs, time, and circumstance of execution. this emerged from a respondent who pointed out that “some apicultural activities such as honey harvesting were undertaken at night by men in their birthday suit [nude].” this is a clear indication that traditional apiary was a no-go-zone for women and even young people hence discouraging them from participating. the findings corroborated those of the previous studies (chemwok et al., 2019; ogaba & akongo, 2001). traditions one of the senior beekeepers reported that “old men do not allow women and sons to own beehives because they believe that beehives belong to men only.” “moreover, women are considered as being incapable of beekeeping.” this claim emerged from a majority of the respondents, with one of the male beekeepers stating that “women cannot climb trees” and others indicating that “women do not know how to attract bees so as to get them into a beehive.” even though research has shown that beekeeping is a less land-demanding enterprise (king, 2013), a majority of the youths and women do not own land due to cultural restrictions (fao, 2017). as such, they would not engage in deciding the kind of agricultural activities to be practiced in their households. our results showed that “women and youth lack space for the location of an apiary.” the area's customs restrict women's land inheritance and would only allow male children to acquire land as soon as they become adults. the lack of access to basic production resources among women and youths threatened their entrance to apiculture. owing to the fact that most farmers in the area reared an aggressive species of bees, it was only reasonable for them to harvest honey at night, among other apicultural practices, so as to manage bee stings. it is for this reason that one of the respondents noted that bees and honey handling were done at night by senior men. “traditionally, it was only men who were allowed to do beekeeping, and most apiary activities were conducted at night, and men would go out in ‘birthday suit.’ women and children were not allowed to participate.” this has been a tradition in many communities in kenya and is practiced even today (chemwok et al., 2019). the community, similar to many other african communities, has well-defined gender roles (davis & negash, 2007). women are culturally expected to perform household chores and leave hard farm roles to their husbands. apiculture production is one of those enterprises designated gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.113 78 for men, as reported by one of the respondents. “according to ameru culture, women were not allowed to participate in beekeeping. they were required to perform such duties as cooking food, porridge, tilling land, and taking care of homes. apiary management practices were regarded as men’s activities.” the perception is corroborated by a finding by miriti et al. (2019) that bee farming enterprises have been dominated by elderly men over decades. however, with the changes being witnessed worldwide geared toward women’s empowerment, women are gradually participating in modern apiculture, which has eased beekeeping management due to the associated technologies (mburu et al., 2015). attitudes a majority of the respondents stated that bee phobia is a major setback to women’s participation in bee farming, as pointed out by one of the women farmers that “women fear bee sting.” it also emerged from one respondent that “women believed that apicultural enterprise is meant for men” because “women cannot climb on trees to harvest honey.” women’s and youths’ participation was also challenged by the declining security in the area. one of the respondents noted that “some people steal honey from beehives especially if the apiary is sited far away from the farmer’s residence hence, a disincentive to beekeeping.” many of the senior men in the community were able to secure beehives as opposed to women and youth. to many women, apiculture production was a challenging enterprise due to the associated practices such as the construction of beehives. “beekeeping involves hard work, especially when sculpturing traditional hives,” as pointed out by a young farmer. another farmer cited a lack of interest among women and young farmers, stating that “women and youths were not interested in beekeeping.” this contradicts an observation made by mburu et al. (2015), who found that women were interested in the production and sale of apicultural products,a situation that may have been due to the adoption of modern apicultural practices and cultural dilution. the two factors have resulted in a gradual rise in female participation in apiary activities as aided by the modernization of the industry, according to mburu et al. (2015). a majority of the youths do not value apiculture similar to other agricultural enterprises, as reported by a senior beekeeper who stated that “youths view beekeeping as a trivial job.” a claim substantiated by mungai and ogot (2012), who observed that the youths’ social backgrounds, which is influenced their cultural practices and beliefs, drove their attitudes toward the enterprise. most of the senior farmers in the area kept bees for cultural uses and not as a business enterprise. honey harvested out of the traditional apiculture was mainly used for paying dowry during marriages and brewing traditional beer. this dilutes the value of the enterprise and drives the youths away from the industry. the result is in line with the finding of gangwar and kameswari (2016) that a positive attitude towards agricultural enterprises is key to participation. a respondent revealed that “youths do not participate in beekeeping because it is tiresome in sculpturing hives, and they prefer white-collar jobs. they prefer new technology which has held them up like ‘prisoners. therefore, they lack knowledge on beekeeping.” before the introduction of the box hives (modern hives), nearly every beekeeper was using the log hives, which not so many young farmers knew how to construct. hence, a deterrence to many young men and women who may have wanted to engage in bee farming. gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.113 79 inheritance practices the results indicated that most hives had been inherited by men who showed interest in apiculture and whose commitment had impressed elderly males in their community. this was explained by a young respondent that most beekeepers particularly, men do not consider women to be beekeepers or to own any beehive, and a good man will identify his son as the one who will inherit beehives; send him to harvest honey on father’s behalf when the father is no longer active in beekeeping activities. old men do not allow women or younger sons to own any beehive because they believe that beehives belonged to old men only. the argument was emphasized by another respondent who stated that “over generations, women and youth were not allowed to participate in beekeeping. it was mainly undertaken by old men.” it is clear from the results that women and youths could not inherit apiaries in most households hence preventing them from engaging in apicultural activities. this may have accounted for the negative attitude the groups had toward the enterprise. prior to the apiary inheritance, the inheritee would be equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge needed for bee management. it also emerged that young people were not allowed to handle honey as described by a respondent who indicated that “youths were not allowed to take honey that was prepared through traditional methods, they could start fights because it was believed that the honey is dangerous especially to youths.” the fact that young people were not permitted to handle honey likely discouraged them from venturing into apiculture production. in many communities in kenya, beekeeping is an enterprise that is mainly passed on to sons by their fathers at old age (caroll & kinsella, 2013). acquisition of knowledge and skills for apicultural production objective two sought to describe ways through which beekeepers acquired knowledge and skills for beekeeping. it was reported that apicultural knowledge and skills were mainly acquired through modes of informal and formal learning. informal learning the informal modes of knowledge acquisition included apprenticeship, social gatherings, and the internet. among the informal modes learning by practice and observation was the most commonly utilized mode of learning. apprenticeship. the results indicated that a majority of the beekeepers in the area acquired apicultural skills and knowledge through observations. the inheritees could accompany the senior men during visits to the apiaries and observe the apicultural practices before succeeding them (adams, 2018). many of the beekeepers acquired the skill from their fathers while others inherited apicultural knowledge from their grandparents, as explained by two respondents: “i learnt beekeeping skills through accompanying father in apiculture production, had taste of honey which is sweet and encouraged me to start beekeeping.” “i learnt beekeeping skills from our grandfather, accompanied grandfather in setting hives on trees and harvesting of honey.” to many farmers in the maara community, apiculture production is an enterprise that is passed on from generation to generation by the male family members. gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.113 80 further, the acquisition of apicultural knowledge was entirely a family affair involving either members of the nuclear or extended families. among the skills and knowledge acquired through apprenticeship were siting an apiary, attracting bees to the beehives, feeding bees, honey harvesting, and constructing hives. this implied that many of the beekeepers were utilizing indigenous knowledge to sustain the traditionally managed apiaries. this suggests the need for extension education to promote the uptake of modern technologies that could boost the productivity of the apiaries. the findings corroborate what was observed by heckle et al. (2018), who found that apprenticeship is the main pathway for the transmission of traditional apicultural knowledge and skills. social gathering and the internet. apicultural knowledge and skills were also acquired through other informal modes, including personal experiences, the internet, and social interactions. among the informal modes was interaction within informal social groups, as suggested by a respondent who stated: “i acquired beekeeping knowledge from a certain social group. the knowledge covered attracting bees to hives, harvesting of honey, and the importance of nectar in apiculture production.” a social group can provide a platform for interactive learning among individuals, as observed by franz et al. (2010). the results also indicated that some farmers gained apicultural knowledge through personal initiatives involving the use of the internet, as claimed by one respondent who confirmed acquiring knowledge from social media. “i learnt apiculture production on social media.” it has been demonstrated through research that the internet has revolutionized the way some farmers access relevant information (chisita, 2010). however, this mode of knowledge transmission is not common in the community owing to the fact that not so many farmers, particularly the elderly group that constitutes the majority, are well versed with using the internet. when asked to indicate how they planned to share apicultural knowledge with other farmers, one of the respondents explained that “i will print out handouts on apiculture production and put them up at strategic locations like cyber cafes where farmers who have interest can access them and learn about apiculture.” this is a clear demonstration of the level of willingness of some farmers to share apicultural knowledge with others to increase bee products including honey production in the area. yang (2015) and šūmane et al. (2018) indicated that informal channels such as social gatherings, including social media platforms among other forums are valuable avenues that can be tapped to share knowledge. as such, they could be used to boost the dissemination of apicultural practices as supported by our results. formal learning other than informal modes of acquiring knowledge, a few beekeepers acknowledged gaining apicultural knowledge through formal processes. a formal learning environment is characterized by learning taking place in schools or colleges (masara, 2010). the young beekeepers who may not have had a chance to culturally inherit apiaries, acquired apicultural skills formally. one member of that group indicated: “i learnt apiculture production at high school under the agriculture subject.” and another one said: “i learnt about beekeeping during my primary, secondary, and university education.” this implied that much of the knowledge and skills learned through formal schooling can be applied not only in traditional agriculture but also gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.113 81 in other areas such as apiculture . however, formal education may not apply to a majority of the beekeepers in the area studied due to their levels and opportunities for education. most of the beekeepers were old men who do not have formal schooling. this perhaps, explains why traditional apiculture is predominant among farmers in maara sub-county. most of beekeepers who applied formal schooling knowledge were young men and women especially those engaged in modern apiculture. this confirms the assertion that education is positively correlated with adoption of modern apicultural technologies (bunde & kibet, 2016). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations apiculture production in the maara community is mainly based on traditional practices founded on cultural principles. a majority of beekeepers were senior men employing inherited indigenous knowledge. however, modern beekeeping was also practiced particularly by women and young people. traditional apiculture is primarily practiced for production of bee products and honey utilized for cultural reasons such as health, brewing traditional beer, and payment of dowries. because plans are underway for the construction of a honey refinery, it is imperative that the community expands its production to meet the projected demand. therefore, more women and young farmers should be encouraged to engage in the apiculture industry. a shift from traditional to modern apiculture would also help to address the expected demand. this could be achieved through a spirited effort towards the dissemination of apicultural technologies involving extension agents, farmers, and other stakeholders. even though there is a need exists for more farmers to participate in apiculture production, women and young farmers entrance is faces numerous cultural restrictions. the cultural barriers include taboos, traditions, attitudes, and inheritance practices regarding apiaries. some taboos such as forbidding women to climb trees, sitting beehives in apiaries, and honey harvesting deter female farmers from participating in apiculture. only senior farmers were allowed to inherit apiaries; young farmers, similar to women, were forbidden. engagement in sexual activities common with young people and women is a taboo that also bars the groups’ entries to beekeeping. the community’s traditions dictate that only senior men can participate in apiculture. this is mainly due to the associated taboos and access to resources including land. moreover, in traditional apiculture, most of the practices such as honey harvesting are undertaken at night making the activities out of reach for women and young people due to the fact that apiaries are often located away from the homesteads. owing to the fact that traditional apiculture largely involves a very aggressive bee species, women and young farmers were afraid of bee stings thus discouraging them from engaging in the enterprise. because modern apiaries do not need to be sited far away from the homes and in tall trees as in traditional apiculture, women and young people should be encouraged to participate in modern bee farming. modern apiculture involves easy-to-perform practices like the use of box hives that can be easily be managed by women. there is need for adjusting cultural norms and beliefs to attract women and young people in the industry. gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.113 82 based on findings, it is evident that indigenous knowledge acquired informally through apprenticeship is the main driver of apiculture production in the maara sub-county of kenya. in addition to, apprenticeship, other informal modes of learning involved the transmission of apicultural knowledge and skills were social gatherings and internet primarily benefiting young men and women beekeepers. only a few beekeepers had gained apicultural knowledge through formal schooling at primary, secondary, and/or tertiary levels. this clearly indicate the need of enhanced extension service provision especially to beekeepers. because extension is now a devolved function in kenya, the county extensionists should organize training programs to equip farmers in the community with relevant information that can spur the growth of the industry. youth empowerment in the area of modern beehives construction and access to resources would also likely enhance the expansion of the enterprise in maara. references adams, e. c. 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(2017). a novel gis-based approach to assess beekeeping suitability of mediterranean lands. saudi journal of biological science, 24 (5),1045–1050. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2017.01.062 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 105-manuscript-1407-1-11-20210614.docx windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 2, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. suzanna windon, assistant professor on youth and adult leadership, department of agricultural economics, sociology, and education, the pennsylvania state university, 209 b ferguson bldg., university park, pa 16802, sxk75@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9103-5123 2. daniel robotham, m.s. student, department of agricultural economics, sociology, and education, the pennsylvania state university, 112 ferguson bldg., university park, pa 16802, djr6131@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8038-7855 50 the relationship between farmers' quality of life and their leadership competencies s. windon1 , d. robotham2 abstract this quantitative study sought to explore pennsylvania farmers’ perceptions of their quality of life during their busiest farm season and its relationship with farmers’ self-leadership and ability to lead others’ competencies. the convenience, unrestricted, self-selecting, and chain-referral sampling approaches were used to collect online data. the final data set included responses from 59 farmers. the overall mean score for self-leadership competencies was 3.93 (sd = .48), ability to lead others’ competencies was 3.96 (sd = .50), and farmers’ quality of life was 3.49 (sd = .69). a significant positive association found between farmers’ quality of life and self-leadership competencies (r = .64 p = .001), and ability to lead others’ competencies (r = .24 p = .013). approximately 43 % of the variance in overall farmers’ quality of life was explained by farmers’ self-leadership and ability to lead others’ competencies. extension practitioners should develop a leadership program for farmers that will address the following areas: farmers’ work-life balance during busy season and difficult conversations with farm employees. keywords farmers’ quality of life, farmers’ self-leadership competencies, farmers’ ability to lead others competencies windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 51 introduction and problem statement nitsch (1987) described farmers' lifestyles as autonomy, closeness to nature, tradition, and continuity. however, despite the idyllic lifestyle associated with farming, the landscape of farming is changing, with the number of farms in pennsylvania consistently declining since 2007 (united states department of agriculture national agricultural statistics service information [usda nass], 2017). the consolidation of agriculture in the united states over the past 40 years has resulted in fewer, larger farms and has fundamentally changed the responsibilities of farmers (macdonald, 2020). farmers today must have the ability to manage large groups of employees, navigate complex production and distribution markets, and deal with constant pressure to innovate and adapt to new technology (ulvenblad & björklund, 2018). according to leadership literature, leadership is the ability to share a vision with others and identify goals to which others also aspire, thus increasing productivity, efficiency, and impact (hughes, 2007). the increased responsibility and pressure in the agricultural sector have had significant consequences for farmers' quality of life. farmers' work environmental characteristics are associated with a relationship between farmers' quality of life and quality of work (clark, 2010). kong et al. (2019) mentioned that farmers' optimization of their organizational management and improvement of their interpersonal relationships that influence their quality of life might also be important factors toward their motivation to work. hughes (2007) emphasized that leadership functions at different levels and in different capacities within an organization. in the literature, leadership term is conflated with management and administration. however, in the practical world, the three often function together. according to the literature, leadership is associated with strategic decision-making, whereas management assures the organizational capacity to reach goals and the human and physical resources are sufficient. administration ensures effective day-to-day operations are efficient. moreover, administration includes the responsibility for the working environment, financial records, personnel issues, and activities necessary to keep an organization running efficiently (fullan, 2001; nanus, 1992). hughes (2007) indicated that organizational leaders should be able to distance themselves from the daily managerial and administrative routine and devote their time to their leadership role. there were limited studies found that discuss the relationships between farmers' quality of life and farmers' self-leadership and ability to lead others' competencies. hence, this exploratory study investigates pennsylvania farmers' perceptions of their quality of life and analyzes its relationships with farmers' self-leadership and ability to lead others' competencies. theoretical and conceptual framework the study on which this research is based utilized the american quality of life framework, which focuses on subjective quality of life or well-being of individuals (campbell et al. 1976) and the leader and leadership development theoretical framework (day, 2000). quality of life is a broad windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 52 term referring to a person's view of their current life standing. this is influenced by several factors, including physical health, self-esteem, expectations, and values (world health organization, 1997). there are generally two global frameworks used in quality-of-life research: american and scandinavian. the american quality of life approach largely focuses on the subjective quality of life or well-being of individuals (campbell et al., 1976). scandinavian studies focus on the objective living conditions of individuals or societal quality of life (noll, 2002). in this study, we utilized the american framework that described subjective well-being as individuals' perceptions of their life and work (coughenour & swanson, 1988). providing reliable and valid quality of life indicators is a solid approach for policymakers who plan factbased courses of action (young, 2008). the subjective well-being approach is based on human needs, expectations, phenomenological viewpoints, preference satisfaction, hedonism, and life satisfaction (karimi & brazier, 2016). examples of definitions of quality of life are: "a conscious cognitive judgment of satisfaction with one's life" (rejeski & mihalko, 2001, p. 23) and "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns" (whoqol group, 1995, p. 1405). bogue and phelan (2005) stated that farms are complex. molnar (1985) emphasized quality of life as a global construct based on an individual's expectations and life experience (windon et al., 2016). satisfaction with farm work influences satisfaction with farm life (coughenour & swanson, 1988). the interpretation of farm family quality of life can be a challenge for researchers as farm families measure the quality of life on many levels. because of farmers' ever-changing life, work conditions, and current life experience, quality of life studies are typically exploratory (windon et al., 2016). in this study, we utilized day's (2000) leader and leadership development theoretical framework, which distinguishes leader development and leadership development based on intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies. harder and narine (2019) defined competencies as a set of "knowledge, skills, and abilities commonly associated with professions" (p. 224). mcclelland (1973) emphasized the importance of using competencies in professional development because it determines employee success (harder & narine, 2019). day (2000) described leader development as developing intrapersonal or self-leadership skills that are characterized through competencies such as self-awareness (self-confidence, emotional awareness, accurate self-image), self-regulation (personal responsibility, trustworthiness, selfcontrol), and self-motivation (initiative, commitment, optimism). day (2000) characterized leadership development as the development of interpersonal skills through key competencies related to social awareness, including empathy and service orientation, and social skills, including bond building and conflict management. individuals with strong intrapersonal (selfleadership) skills are more innovative and creative (betta et al., 2010; diliello & houghton, 2006). the need for both intrapersonal (self-leadership) and interpersonal (the ability to lead others) competency is evident in organizational and professional settings (day, 2000). harder & narine (2019) indicated that there is a need to include interpersonal leadership competencies in professional development programs. often, the enhancement of leader interpersonal competencies is incorporated in a leadership development program. for example, in the windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 53 leadership development program emanating from transformational leadership theory, emphasis is placed on developing interpersonal competencies such as effective listening and building trusting relationships (avolio, 1999; avolio et al., 2005). leaders must receive sufficient training to improve intrapersonal (self-leadership) and interpersonal leadership (ability to lead others) competencies. in 2006, hollenback et al. indicated that the leadership competency model could be used to develop leadership training for intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies development that can help to foster effective leader behavior. in describing the characteristics of effective leaders, van velsor et al. (2010) highlights the need for an individual to lead themselves and lead others, emphasizing the connection between selfleadership competencies and ability to lead others' competencies. the concept of selfleadership originated as a substitute for formal leadership (manz & sims, 1980). neck and manz (2010) defined it as "the process of influencing oneself" (p. 4). diliello and houghton (2006) described self-leadership as "a self-influence process that helps individuals develop the selfdirection and self-motivation necessary to perform effectively in the workplace" (p. 326) through the utilization of the following types of strategies: 1. behavioral-focused strategies are designed to help individuals improve self-awareness, selfgoal setting, self-reward, self-observation, self-punishment, and self-cueing. 2. natural reward strategies are designed to enhance an individual's competence that helps energize performance-enhancing task behavior (neck & houghton, 2006) and enhance intrinsic motivation (deci & ryan, 1985). 3. constructive thought pattern strategies are designed to help in creative and positive thinking about oneself and the task that might lead to better performance. self-leadership in the workplace can be developed by training employees in self-management, allowing supervisors to focus on other issues and minimize detailed oversight and control. studies related to the role of interpersonal competencies were conducted in the early to mid1900s and showed that communication and social skills were important predictors of leadership and effectiveness (bass, 1990; stogdill, 1974). the theoretical foundation for interpersonal competency development is grounded in the well-known distinction between task-oriented leader behaviors and relationship-oriented behaviors (likert, 1961; stogdill & coons, 1957). in 1953, fleishman emphasized the importance of enhancing relationship-oriented aspects of leader behavior, and this approach was adopted and led to programs aimed at developing interpersonal leadership skills. mumford et al. (2007) defined four categories of leadership competencies among employees: cognitive, interpersonal, business, and strategic skills. mumford et al. (2007) wrote that interpersonal skills were the most important at all organizational levels. more recent leadership theories also recognize the importance of interpersonal competency development in effective leadership, particularly the leader-member exchange (lmx)(graen & uhl-bien, 1995; uhl-bien, 2003) and the transformational leadership theory (bass, 1985; bass & riggio, 2006). lmx plays an important role in defining leadership as being more than leader windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 54 behavior. lmx focuses on the relationship between the leader and follower dyad (graen & uhlbien, 1995). this dyadic interaction explains a higher (trustful and respectful) or lower quality of relationship with the followers (gerstner & day, 1997). lmx theory is limited regarding the exploration of the social context in self-leadership and views it as the relationship between leader and follower. ineffective leaders do not achieve desired outcomes (kellerman, 2004; kelloway et al., 2005). bass (1990) presented four characteristics of transformational leaders: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. bass's transformational leadership model explains that the leader's style positively affects employee motivation, morale, and performance through the following leadership strategies: (1) connecting the follower's sense of identity to the collective identity of the organization; (2) being a role model and inspiring the followers; (3) challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work performance, and understanding followers' strengths and weaknesses to align employees with tasks that enhance their performance. transformational leaders have been shown to positively affect individual and organizational outcomes, employee satisfaction with leadership, and concern about employees' well-being (kelloway et al., 2006). evans et al. (2015) explained that leadership is a dynamic process, and effective leadership is defined partly by the views of followers (evans et al., 2015). therefore, the assessment of interpersonal competencies is one of the most significant factors in managing successful organizations (gaur, 2019). the authors emphasized that from an organizational and anthropological point of view, "people have a basic instinct to socialize and interact, and they have a need to share their social self with others, in various surroundings such as work, family, or society in general . . . healthy and non-healthy surroundings in the workplace based on interpersonal relationships, can affect the perception of the workplace itself" (p. 2021). hayes (2002) defined interpersonal competency as an individual ability to understand and manage the dynamic of social interaction. the hierarchical model of interpersonal competency offers the following micro-skills that incorporate the ability of an individual to accept, follow, be an empathetic listener, reflect, communicate, help, give feedback, and negotiate. fullan (2001) wrote that the quality of leadership is sometimes judged by the leadership produced in others. a true leader should be able to step back from his leadership role and delegate, help a group to achieve its' goals, and assist others in satisfying their needs while also mediating, initiating organizational actions, and maintaining group functionality (gibson et al., 2002). the leader represents and personifies the values, motives, and aspirations of the group. hughes (2007) argued that there are several important factors that make for effective leadership across contexts. among those factors are the following: good communication, ethical behavior, and strategic thinking. the authors noted that the leaders' communication skills are essential because the leader must be able to receive and transmit information clearly, concisely, and effectively and provide constructive feedback. prior to 1990, farm leadership and labor management research in the agriculture sector was limited (howard and mcewan, 1989). previous research shows that farm managers play an important role in influencing agricultural safety-related attitudes and actions in the workplace. for example, mugera and bitsch (2005) studied labor management practices of dairy farmers windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 55 and determined that human resource development is the source of sustained competitive advantage for dairy farms. there is limited research on the integration and interaction of farmers' intrapersonal (selfleadership) competencies and interpersonal (ability to lead others) competencies and farmers' quality of life. however, the relationships between specific personality traits (ex. optimism, selfesteem, and self-efficacy) and self-leadership are well studied (chemers et al., 2000; khoshhal & guraya, 2016; matzler et al., 2015). similarly, the relationships between specific personality traits, including those referenced above, and health-related quality of life are examined and described in a systematic review conducted by huang et al. (2017). as a correlate of overall quality of life (karimi & brazier, 2016), health-related quality of life and its relationship with personality traits provides insight into the relationship between leadership and overall quality of life. several studies (friedman et al., 2006; ong et al., 2006; sears et al., 2004) found a positive correlation between an individual's perceived level of optimism and quality of life. individuals who perceived themselves to have greater self-efficacy and higher self-esteem reported higher perceived quality of life (arnold et al., 2006; bartoces et al., 2009; han et al., 2003; middleton et al., 2007). a study conducted by yun et al. (2014) integrated personality traits into self-leadership competencies. the relationship between the ability to lead others' competencies and quality of life is examined in a workplace context in the form of quality of work-life among employees. studies have shown that specific interpersonal leadership competencies/behaviors (ex. inspiration, considerate, strong values) are associated with higher perceived quality of work-life among employees and subordinates within an organization (corrigan et al., 2000; suratno et al., 2018). lee et al. (2011) mentioned that contacts with family, participation in social groups, have been found to improve people's level of social support, fulfillment of their own relationships, making sense of life, self-esteem, commitment to communities, and psychological and physical wellbeing or quality of life. shye (2010) wrote: the individual is regarded in these subsystems as an integral part of a community, and his or her functioning there depends on interpersonal and value interactions and commitments. for example, effective functioning in the social-integrative mode implies interpersonal symmetry; and effective functioning in the social-conservative mode presumes a system of shared norms. thus, sqol acknowledges, somewhat in the spirit of sokolowski's (1996) microsocial model, that one's self-interest—one's quality of life by virtue of one's being enmeshed in a social and cultural network, is intrinsically bound with that of others. (p. 199) kleih and kubler (2014) reported a positive effect of communication competency on an individual's quality of life. they posit that the feeling of autonomy together with the fulfillment of the need for competence might have further positive effects on an individual’s quality of life, although the latter relation awaits confirmation. based on the outlined theoretical and conceptual framework, we developed our conceptual model, which focused on examining the relationship between farmers' self-leadership windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 56 competencies, ability to lead others' competencies, and farmers' perceived quality of life. in this study, farmers' self-leadership is defined as an individual's intrapersonal leadership competencies development, and farmers' ability to lead others is defined as an individual's interpersonal competencies development, farmers' perceived quality of life is defined as the farmer's conscious cognitive judgment of satisfaction with farm work, family life, and overall health. purpose the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between farmers' quality of life, farmers' self-leadership, and the ability to lead others' competencies. two research objectives guided this study: 1. describe farmers' self-leadership and ability to lead others' competencies and farmers' quality of life. 2. explain the relationship between farmers' quality of life and farmers' self-leadership and ability to lead others' competencies. methods this research used a survey method in a descriptive correlational study. the study was approved by the university's behavioral and social sciences review board. the target for this study was self-identified farmers in pennsylvania. we utilized the open web page questionnaire method to collect data from pennsylvania farmers and explore their perceptions of their quality of life and their self-leadership and ability to lead others' competencies. we utilized the unrestricted, self-selected surveys approach (fricker, 2008), which is a form of convenience sampling. as such, the results cannot be generalized to a larger population (state farmers, n). "unrestricted self-selected surveys are surveys that are open to the public for anyone to participate in. they may simply be posted on a website so that anyone browsing through voluntarily may choose to take the survey, or they may be promoted via website banners . . . regardless of how they are promoted (or not), the key characteristics of these types of surveys are that there are no restrictions on who can participate, and it is up to the individual to choose to participate (opt-in)." (fricker, 2008 p. 205). also, we used the chain-referral sampling approach. according to penrod et al. (2003), "chain-referral sampling is defined quite similarly to snowball sampling, it relies on a series of participant referrals to others who have experienced the phenomenon of interest" p.102). we asked other agriculture-related organizations in the state to provide referrals to recruit farmers required for this study. our survey link was available on multiple agriculture-related organizations' websites. respondents were recruited through the pennsylvania extension website, a one-page press release was posted in a state-level online daily farming newspaper, and webpages of counties farm bureau, and facebook pages. we collected data from september 13 to november 17, 2019. after removing responses with missing data, the final data set included responses from 59 farmers (n = 59). we developed the farmer's self-leadership competencies scale and farmer's ability to lead others' competencies scale using existing literature related to intrapersonal and interpersonal windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 57 leadership competencies (benge et al., 2011; bruce & anderson, 2012; conklin et al., 2002; cooper & graham, 2001; day, 2000; day & dragoni, 2015; goleman, 2004; haynes, 2000; stedman & rudd, 2006). farmers' self-leadership competencies and farmers' ability to lead others' competencies scales of the instrument were measured using a five-point likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (neither agree nor disagree), 4 (agree), and 5 (strongly agree). examples of items of the farmers' self-leadership competencies scale are: "i easily prioritize tasks during my busy season in the farm," i would say i am self-confident, "i have a clear set of values that i apply in my farm business." examples of items of the farmers' ability to lead others' competencies scale are: "i have effective oral communication skills," "i easily work with my farm employees to solve problems," "i delegate tasks effectively to my farm employees." we used windon et al. (2016) the farmers' quality of life scale to measure farmers' perceptions about their quality of life. the scale was measured using a five-point likert scale ranging from 1 (very dissatisfied), 2 (somewhat dissatisfied), 3 (neither satisfied nor dissatisfied), 4 (somewhat satisfied), and 5 (very satisfied). examples of items of the farmers' quality of life scale are: "how satisfied are you with your overall health "?" "how satisfied are you with managing both farm work and family life." a panel of seven extension educators, extension administrators, academic faculty members with expertise in survey methodology, farmers, and a graduate student in extension education reviewed the instrument for face and content validity. the panel of experts determined that the instrument is sufficiently valid. a pilot test was conducted to determine the reliability of the created instrument. the pilot study was conducted in august 2019 during a three-day event, where 40 farmers participated in a paper-pencil survey, with 40 participants filling out the pilot survey. the cronbach's alpha for the farmers' self-leadership competencies scale was .74, farmers' ability to lead others' competencies scale was .85, and farmers' quality of life scale was .87, which indicated acceptable internal consistency (cronbach, 1951). early and late responses were compared to evaluate non-response errors (miller & smith, 1983). the first twenty-five respondents were assigned as an early phase respondent group, and the last twenty-five respondents were identified as a late phase respondent group. the early and late phases of responders were determined based on the day and time their questionnaire was submitted. t-test results indicated that there was no non-response bias (lindner et al., 2001; miller & smith, 1983), and it revealed that data collected from farmers were representative of the entire study population (see table 1.) caution is advised in interpreting the study findings since the participants of the study are not a random sample. the findings of this study will only apply to those who participated, and as such, cannot be generalized to the entire population of pennsylvania farmers. windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 58 table 1 independent samples t-test for equality of means on scale scores of construct between early and late respondents scale respondents early (n = 25) late (n = 25) m sd m sd t p farmers’ self-leadership competencies 3.89 .43 3.95 .54 .46 .65 farmers’ ability to lead others’ competencies 3.97 .41 4.02 .50 .42 .68 farmers’ quality of life 3.39 .62 3.54 .74 .74 .46 note. p < .05 we used spss® version 25 to conduct data analysis for our study. independent variables and the dependent variables were treated as interval data. a descriptive statistic was utilized to describe the first research objective. a multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to answer the second research objective determine the relationship between overall farmers’ quality of life (dependent variable) and independent variables, such as farmers’ self-leadership and ability to lead others’ competencies. we used davis (1971) conventions to describe the magnitude of the relationships between independent and dependent variables. findings the first research objective was to describe farmers’ perceptions of their self-leadership competencies, ability to lead others’ competencies, and farmers’ quality of life. the overall mean score for farmers’ self-leadership competencies was 3.93 (sd = .48, n = 59). results are shown in table 2. lower scores indicate greater needs of self-leadership competencies content areas, and higher scores indicate greater proficiency in the area. farmers indicated greater needs in the following self-leadership competencies: balancing personal and professional life during the busy season on the farm, handle stress, quickly make decisions, and easily prioritize tasks during my busy season on the farm. farmers were proficient in applying set values in the workplace, working independently on the farm, they felt self-confident and could achieve farm business goals. windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 59 table 2 farmers’ self-leadership competencies items n m sd i balance my personal and professional life during the busy season on the farm 58 3.19 1.02 i handle farm stress effectively 57 3.39 .88 i quickly make decisions 57 3.72 .98 i easily prioritize tasks during my busy season on the farm 57 3.82 .83 i achieve my farm business goals. 57 4.02 .64 i would say i am self-confident. 58 4.17 .88 i have a clear set of values that i apply in my farm business 58 4.60 .59 i easily work independently on the farm. 57 4.60 .62 overall farmers’ self-leadership competencies 59 3.93 .482 the overall mean score for the farmers’ ability to lead others’ competency was 3.96 (sd = .50, n = 59). results are shown in table 3. lower scores indicate greater needs in terms of ability to lead others’ competencies content areas, and higher scores indicate greater proficiency in the area. farmers indicated greater needs related to effective engagement in difficult conversations with farm employees and effective delegation of tasks to farm employees, managing people at the farm, delegate tasks effectively to farm employees, and effective oral communication skills. farmers were comfortable networking with others within the farmers’ community and solving complex problems on the farm. table 3 farmers’ ability to lead others’ competencies items n m sd i effectively engage in difficult conversations with my farm employees 57 3.70 .80 i am good at managing people at my farm. 57 3.75 .89 i delegate tasks effectively to my farm employees 55 3.78 .90 i am effective at motivating my farm employees. 46 3.83 .71 i have effective oral communication skills 57 3.96 .94 i am a mentor to my farm employees. 46 4.00 .79 i am an effective listener 57 4.05 .79 i have effective written communication skills. 57 4.07 .90 i easily work with my farm employees to solve problems. 49 4.08 .73 i solve complex problems on the farm. 58 4.16 .64 i am comfortable networking with others from my farmers’ community 58 4.17 .75 overall farmers’ ability to lead others’ competencies 58 3.96 .50 windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 60 the overall mean score for the ’farmers' quality of life was 3.49 (sd = .69, n = 59). results are shown in table 4. during the busiest season of the year, farmers reported that they were satisfied with their farm work and overall health. however, farmers were less satisfied with their hours of sleep, vacation time, and managing farm work and family life, social activities, emotional support from others, and work hours during their busy season. table 4 farmers’ quality of life items n m sd how satisfied are you with your hours of sleep? 56 3.16 1.01 how satisfied are you with your received time for vacation or years off? 55 3.18 1.22 how satisfied are you with managing both farm work and family life? 54 3.19 1.07 how satisfied are you with your social activities? 58 3.22 1.01 how satisfied are you with your emotional support from others? 57 3.39 1.08 how satisfied are you with your work hours? 54 3.61 .78 how satisfied are you with your overall health? 58 3.79 .91 how satisfied are you with your farm work? 54 3.81 .70 overall quality of life 58 3.49 .69 note. questions were asked in relation to the busiest farm season for the year studied. the second research objective was to explain the relationship between farmers’ perceptions of their quality of life and self-leadership competencies and ability to lead others’ competencies. application of the pearson correlation coefficient showed a significant positive association between self-leadership competencies and ability to lead others’ competencies (r = .55, p = .001), farmers’ self-leadership competencies and quality of life (r = .63, p = .001), and ability to lead others’ competencies and quality of life (r = .24, p = .013). a multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between overall farmers’ quality of life (dependent variable) and independent variables such as farmers’ self-leadership competencies and ability to lead others’ competencies. the results indicated that a significant proportion of the total variance in overall farmers’ quality of life was predicted by farmers’ self-leadership competencies and ability to lead others’ competencies f (2, 54) = 20.60, p < .001. multiple r2 indicated that approximately 43% of the variation in overall farmers’ quality of life could be explained by farmers’ self-leadership competencies and ability to lead others’ competencies (see table 5). windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 61 table 5 multiple regression analysis between farmers’ quality of life, farmer’s self-leadership and ability to lead others’ competencies domains model fit change statistics r r2 adj. r s.e. r2 f df1 df2 p 1 .66 .43 .41 .53 .43 20.60 2 54 .000 note. p < .05 analysis of variance in overall farmers’ quality of life is presented in table 6. table 6 analysis of variance in support for farmers’ quality of life model sum of squared df mean square f p regression 11.65 2 5.82 20.60 .000 residual 15.27 54 .28 total 26.91 56 note. p < .05 within the final model, both factors were significant predictors of farmers quality of life namely, farmers’ self-leadership competencies (β = .70; p-value ˂ .001) and ability to lead others’ competencies (β = .34; p-value = .047). multiple relations' coefficients are presented in table 7. table 7 multiple relations coefficients model b ser β p-value constant -.62 .65 .347 farmers’ self-leadership competencies .70 .18 .49 .000 ability to lead others’ competencies .34 .17 .25 .047 note. p < .05 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study makes a unique contribution to the research in the field of individual’s quality of life in relationship with intrapersonal and interpersonal leadership competencies. the results of this study indicated that farmers generally have a high perception of their self-leadership and ability to lead others’ competencies. among those farmers’ competencies was working independently, solving complex problems, achieving their planned goals, and effectively windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 62 managing employees. previous studies showed that certain self-leadership competencies moderate the effects of work stressors, and those with high self-leadership competencies were more effective in managing their stress (thompson & gomez, 2014). while farmer selfleadership and ability to lead others’ competencies were high, the study results indicated specific areas of greater need related to personal work-life balance. this need for improved work-life balance is consistent with previous studies that reported an individual’s ability to balance work and personal family life is a significant factor related to their perceived quality of life (greenhaus et al., 2003). another reported area of need among farmers was the ability to have difficult conversations with farm employees. the result of this study supports previous research that emphasizes the leaders’ challenge in having difficult or awkward conversations with their employees (angelo, 2019; bradley & campbell, 2016; overton & lowry, 2013). we found a significant relationship between the perceived quality of life and farmers’ selfleadership competencies and the ability to lead others’ competencies. the study results suggest that greater leadership skills (self-leadership and ability to lead others’ competencies) correspond to greater perceived quality of life. the results of this study are consistent with previous studies (herrera et al., 2018; kong et al., 2019) that reported the farmers’ organizational management, interpersonal competencies, self-leadership competencies relate to farmers’ quality of life. the findings of this study also identify potential areas of need in farmers’ self-leadership and ability to lead others’ competencies development that relates to perceived quality of life. the study results suggest targeted leadership programming is necessary to address identified areas of need among farmers. currently, the pennsylvania extension service provides a general leadership education, where interpersonal interactions and conflict resolution are minor components of the curriculum, with the work-life balance not explicitly addressed. this, however, is not sufficient to address the observed farmer leadership needs in the study; thus, consideration should be given to developing specific farmer leadership development programs in the following two areas. first, human resource and extension practitioners should develop an education program for farmers that will address work-life balance and work stress. it is known that work-life imbalance, especially excessive time dedicated to work, negatively impacts the quality of life (greenhaus et al., 2003). work stress is considered a major factor that negatively impacts work-life balance. as mentioned earlier, farming is a high-stress occupation, with many stressors, including a high workload, large time commitment, high levels of uncertainty, and business and financial challenges (parry et al., 2005). extension programming should seek to address the common causes of farmer stress and provide specific strategies to improve farmers’ ability to manage workload and time with family. also, extension programming for farmers should focus on the issue of having difficult conversations with farm employees. as mentioned earlier, this is a challenge for many leaders in organizational settings. programming should provide strategies for approaching the situation, having the conversation, and moving forward afterward. a potential program could use the strategies outlined in bradley and campbell (2016), who provide a framework for managing the process of having difficult conversations in a work environment. it is important that this theoretical component is paired windon & robotham advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 63 with a practical component that would allow participants to apply learned strategies and develop their communication skills in a controlled setting. it is important to note that based on the nature of the study, it is difficult to assess the applicability of the results outside of farmers in pennsylvania or the specific programmatic needs of different state extension services. however, the study results provide important insight to extension and human resources practitioners by providing guidance toward identifying specific farmer needs and developing relevant extension programs for farmers in their state. the results of this study build a greater understanding of the relationship between quality of life and self-leadership and the ability to lead others’ competencies by expanding the scope of research to a non-traditional, unique context. finally, this study provides a basis from which future research can be done to examine further the 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(2014). the association of self-leadership, health behaviors, and posttraumatic growth with health-related quality of life in patients with cancer. psycho-oncology, 23(12), 1423–1430. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.3582 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 133-impact%2bof%2bteaching%2bmethods%2bcopyediting%2bproduction+%281%29.docx theil et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 1, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. robby thiel, agriculture educator, riverside high school, 2096 county road 24 s. degraff, oh 43318, rthiel@ohiohipoint.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3244-4971 2. amanda bowling, assistant professor, the ohio state, 2120 fyffe road, agricultural administration 200f, columbus, oh 43210, bowling.175@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2526-725x 3. joy rumble, assistant professor, the ohio state university dover road, halterman hall 089c, wooster, oh 44691, rumble.6@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8632-8688 4. brandon mcfadden, associate professor, university of delaware, 513 s. college ave. 224 townsend hall, newark, de 19716, foodecon@udel.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5993-3070 5. kathryn stofer, research associate professor, university of florida, po box 110540 university of florida, gainesville, fl 32611, stofer@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3659-490x 6. kevin folta, professor, university of florida, po box 110690 gainesville, fl 32611, kfolta@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3836-2213 70 impact of teaching methods on learner preferences and knowledge gained when informing adults about gene editing r. theil1, a. bowling2, j. rumble3, b. mcfadden3, k. stofer4, k. folta5 abstract consumer acceptance of gene-editing technologies is a major hurdle to technology use, and opposition to gene-editing technologies may accompany a lack of knowledge by consumers. the purpose of this mixed-method study was to describe which method of instruction, behaviorism or constructivism, consumers preferred when learning about gene-editing and determine which method resulted in the highest amount of knowledge gained. data were collected from eight focus groups across the country through a multiple-choice knowledge scale and open-ended questions. the qualitative results indicated that the participants preferred the behaviorism style over constructivist style due to the clarity of materials, the efficiency of time, and individual work. a large portion of participants felt the exposure to both teaching methods gave them more knowledge, that the information was interesting, and that they wanted more information. the quantitative results indicated that the behaviorist teaching method scores were significantly higher than the constructivist style of teaching. we recommend that practitioners align the appropriate teaching method with the amount of time allowed for the lesson, to use a variety of strategies when using behaviorist methods, and provide guidance and structure when using constructivist methods. keywords keyword: andragogy, adult education, informal learning theil et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.133 71 introduction and problem statement gene editing has been proposed as part of the agricultural technology and innovation needed to feed our ever-growing population (godfray et al., 2010). gene editing is a technology that allows scientists to make changes to dna including removing, adding, or replacing dna (national human genome research institute, 2021). however, consumer acceptance of science and gene-editing technology is essential (baker & burnham, 2001). while an extensive body of literature exists regarding the often-negative perceptions of genetically modified food (yang & hobbs, 2020), less research has examined perceptions of gene editing in the food and agricultural context. yang and hobbs (2020) found that cultural values, along with attitudes toward science and technology, and risk/benefit attitudes toward gene editing all impacted acceptance and that opposing attitudes appeared to be weaker than attitudes of opposition regarding genetic modification. mccaughey et al. (2019) found that adults from 125 different countries did not necessarily distrust gene editing for human applications, but they needed a better understanding of the technology to form their opinions. although early research seems to suggest less opposition to gene edited foods (food and drug administration, 2020) as compared to genetically modified foods (food and drug administration, 2020), the opportunity exists to better understand how to inform consumers, who are likely three to four generations removed from production agriculture (roberts et al., 2016). andragogy, a blend of different educational theories that address adults’ learning preferences and the differences in how knowledge is assimilated (knowles, 1980), provides a lens through which to understand how adult education impacts knowledge of gene editing in agricultural applications such as crop and livestock modifications. by understanding the influence of adult education on knowledge of gene editing, we can further understand how future acceptance or opposition to the technology in agriculture may evolve with different instructional methods. the purpose of this study was to describe consumer instructional preferences between behaviorism and constructivism and how these different methods impacted knowledge. theoretical and conceptual framework we utilized the learning theories of behaviorism and constructivism to frame to the experimental design, qualitative focus group questions, development of lesson plans, and teaching strategies utilized. additionally, andragogy was used to frame the experience of the adult learners, the development of lesson plans, and served as a lens during data analysis. andragogy is the teaching framework that is the basis for adult learning that differentiates itself from pedagogy or youth learning (knowles et al., 1998). the underpinnings for andragogy lie in knowles' et al. (1998) six assumptions of adult learning: (a) learner’s need to know, (b) selfconcept of the learner, (c) prior experience of the learner, (d) readiness to learn, (e) orientation to learning, and (f) motivation to learn. andragogy also asserts that adults typically have more, and varied learning experiences compared to children. educators should focus on adding to adults’ baseline knowledge (knowles, 1980). adults experience learning when new meaning impacts an earlier experience or opinion, causing them to reinterpret the old theil et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.133 72 experience (gutierrez et al., 2010). the andragogy assumptions further state that educators should ensure a learner-centered approach and should take on more of the role of a facilitator rather than a teacher (cochran & brown, 2016). this approach allows the learner to take ownership of the material, allowing the adult to be oriented to learning. behaviorism, commonly associated with lecture-based teaching, is the oldest and most classic learning theory (autrey, 1999; bandura, 1977; skinner, 1938; skinner, 1963). behaviorism is a teacher-centered approach, also known as a direct instruction approach. contradictory to the assumptions of andragogy, behaviorism considers that learners are a blank slate and can learn information from expert knowledge and sources (hallman et al., 2003). during direct instruction, learners receive knowledge from an expert in an explicit manner then engage with the provided material, and the educator assesses if learning has occurred before moving onto the next material. this method is commonly considered very intensive and places a great deal of emphasis on explicit instruction, the expertise level of the educator, and the delivery, practice, and review of material (autrey, 1999). contrary to behaviorism, constructivism is a learner-centered approach that engages the learner in developing knowledge (bezuidenhout et al., 2004; piaget, 1970; simpson, 2002). this method is learner-centered, as it allows learners to create their ideas and thoughts through self-discovery. in this method, teachers help facilitate knowledge growth instead of directly giving it (fosnot, 1996) and knowledge is constructed by peers, superiors, and others (smith, 2015). experts have debated about whether behaviorism or constructivism is most effective (kirschner et al., 2006). studies focused on behaviorism have shown that learners who receive worked examples rather than unaided forms of problems had a higher transfer of knowledge (atkinson et al., 2000; clark & estes, 1998, 1999). further studies have shown that direct instruction allows for substantial knowledge transfer (klahr & nigam, 2004; schwartz & bransford, 1998), a more significant improvement in conceptual knowledge, and the ability to understand future material (rittle-johnson et al., 2001). when comparing behaviorism and constructivism, longterm effects of learner recall have shown little difference quantitatively, but qualitatively there have been differences in learning from those that had an active engagement with the materials (semb & ellis, 1994). additionally, constructivist approaches have found to be effective when teaching science concepts (adak, 2017), and behaviorism does not allow for active learning processes often used when teaching science (agarkar & brock, 2017). purpose this mixed-method study describes which method of instruction, constructivist or behaviorist, was preferred and resulted in highest knowledge gained among adults learning about gene editing. the following research objectives and questions guided the inquiry: 1. describe participants’ knowledge after participating in a single instruction method. theil et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.133 73 2. determine if a difference exists between knowledge gained after participating in a singular instruction. 3. describe the participants’ knowledge after participating in both instruction methods. 4. identify whether the order of participation in the instruction method impacted knowledge. 5. what method of instruction do adult learners perceive to be more beneficial to learning information? 6. what degree of alignment does the learner’s teaching methods preference have with their amount of knowledge gained from that teaching method? methods design and sampling we used a mixed-method concurrent design collecting data at the same time and location (creswell, 2014; tashakkori & teddlie, 2010). a mixed methods approach allowed us to capture both knowledge gained and participant perceptions. we collected data during the winter and spring of 2020 from participants in eight different in-person focus group discussions, in four different locations (dallas, tx; columbus, oh; philadelphia, pa, san francisco, ca). we selected these locations to represent the united states' diverse regions and temperaments of individuals (rentfrow et al., 2013). we utilized a third-party organization to identify potential participants using the organization’s voluntary log for each city, and we then nonrandomly selected participants. a recruitment script qualified participants based on age, gender, income, employment, cell phone ownership, confirmation of state residency, and trust in science. we were not interested in subcategories of people based on demographic characteristics and thus recruited for a mix of ages, genders, income, and employment comparable to the u.s. adult population (krueger & casey, 2014). additionally, the participants had to own a smart phone to participate in the designed focus group activity and score at least a 21 out of 35 (60%) on the trust in science questions (national science board, 2018). potential participants scoring lower than 21 were excluded from the research to eliminate strong negative biases against science from the discussion. we made this decision following a recommendation from our panel of experts, which included individuals with expertise in science communication, genetic modification technologies, behavioral economics, and andragogy. we recruited 10-12 participants in each location as recommended by krueger and casey (2014), however some of the recruited participants did not attend the focus groups. a total of 65 individuals participated in the focus groups, with 4-9 individuals participating in each group. the participants were purposively placed into one of two experimental groups by focus group to keep their focus group intact, with group one receiving a behaviorist teaching method first and group two receiving a constructivist teaching method first. after each teaching method, all participants received a knowledge test (see figure 1). theil et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.133 74 figure 1 experimental design group 1 (philadelphia 1, dallas 1, columbus 1, san francisco 1): x1 o x2 o group 2 (philadelphia 2, dallas 2, columbus 2, san francisco 2): x2 o x1 o note. x1 = behaviorist method, x2 = constructivist method, o = knowledge test experimental treatments one researcher who was an agricultural education master’s student taught both the behaviorist and constructivist treatment in person. the behaviorist teaching method introduced the subjects to gene editing through two brief videos and a researcher developed article. one of the videos was from dupont and timestamps shown were 0:33 – 2:33 (pioneer seeds united states, 2017). the other video was from best food facts, a non-industry internet blogger, and timestamps shown were 0:00 – 3:02 (best food facts, 2018). participants were given shortened versions of each video and were not aware of the source from the dupont video due to time constraints. after group discussion, the knowledge test was administered. the constructivist teaching method started with randomly dividing the participants into three groups. each group was assigned one of three gene editing topics (comparison to other technologies such as genetic modification, uses, or regulation). participants researched their given topic through provided researcher developed articles or self-discovery using their mobile devices. they were asked to share what they learned with the group. after group discussion, the knowledge test was administered. each teaching method treatment lasted 30 minutes to allow time for other components of the research. quantitative methods and analysis we used quasi-experimental design to understand which treatment resulted in more knowledge gained (creswell, 2014). we collected knowledge data through a 10-question, multiple-choice test we developed, confirmed by our panel of experts. a pilot test (n = 9) was conducted to estimate test/re-test reliability through bivariate correlates. question three was reworded as a result of the pilot (n = 9, ρ = -.109, p = .780). question four (n = 64, ρ = .241, p = 0.55) and question six (n = 62, ρ = .223, p = .085) did not meet reliability standards but were left in as this study was exploratory. caution should be used in interpreting the knowledge test. data for objectives one and three were analyzed using descriptive statistics and objectives two and four were analyzed using an independent sample t-test to compare the group scores. qualitative methods and analysis a collective case study was chosen and bound to emphasize the selection of individuals with neutral or positive trust in science (miles & huberman, 1994; stake, 1995; yin, 2003). in person focus groups were facilitated by the same researcher who taught the lesson and included questions focused on participants’ preferences in teaching methods and lesson components. example focus group questions included: which activity did you prefer and why, what could have been changed about either method that would have helped you engage and learn from the material, and how has learning about this information changed your thoughts and feelings about gene editing. the focus group audio, video, and transcription served as the primary data theil et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.133 75 sources. participant notes, annotations, flip charts, and focus group field notes served as ancillary data sources. method triangulation was achieved through the multiple data sources (carter et al., 2014). all data sources were coded and then categorical aggregation was used to identify emergent themes and pseudonyms were assigned (creswell, 2013). passages from the collected data were determined if they were meaningful and then given a code that summarized the passage. then, similar passages were clustered together for themes, and consistent re-working of the themes was accomplished, as no themes were pre-determined. the data were then separated into the teaching method order that was received to analyze if differences occurred in their viewpoint based on the order of teaching methods. the data were developed using naturalistic generalizations, to understand the data and transfer to other cases (creswell, 2013). trustworthiness was upheld through moderator guides, member checking through summaries at the end of the focus groups, peer debriefs through monthly research team members, and thick, rich descriptions (lincoln & guba, 1985). the data were analyzed by an agricultural education master’s student who grew up on a grain farm in the midwest. the themes were confirmed by two faculty members one specializing in agricultural education and the other in agricultural communication, both with ties to production agriculture. convergent data analysis we analyzed the quantitative and qualitative data separately for each independent question and objective (creswell & clark, 2017). the qualitative and quantitative data were then triangulated to address the convergent question. findings the study’s findings should be interpreted with caution due to the limitations including nonrandom and purposive sampling, limited instruction time, repeated measures, and incentivization of participants ($100 in oh, pa, tx, $125 in ca due to higher cost of living). funding was provided through a united stated department of agriculture (usda) agricultural and food research initiative (afri) grant. quantitative findings objective 1: describe participants’ knowledge after participating in a singular instruction method. the participants completed the knowledge test after the first instructional method. the participants’ (n = 30) average score of correct answers after receiving the behaviorist method was 5.20 out of a possible 10 questions (sd = 1.97). the participants (n = 34) average score of correct answers after the constructivist methods was 3.65 out of a possible 10 questions (sd = 2.20). objective 2: determine if a difference exists between knowledge gained after participating in a singular instruction. participants of the behaviorist lesson on average scored higher (m = 5.20, sd = 1.97) than those who participated in the constructivist lesson (m = 3.65, sd = 2.20). the mean difference of 1.55 theil et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.133 76 was statistically significant (p = .004) and represented a medium effect size (t(62) = 2.96, p = .004, d = 0.74). objective 3: describe the participants’ knowledge after participating in both instruction methods. the total participants’ (n = 64) average score after engaging in both instructional methods was 5.76 out of a possible 10 questions (sd = 2.12). group 1 participants’ (n = 30) average score after the behaviorist-constructivist methods was 5.37 (sd = 2.14). group 2 participants’ (n = 34) average score after the constructivist-behaviorist methods was 5.58 (sd = 2.12). number of correct answers by treatment group for each survey question, at both measures, can be found in table 1. table 1 number of correct answers for each knowledge test question test 1 test 2 survey questions group 1 group 2 group 1 group 2 in the usa, “gmo” crop refers to: a. a “gene edited” crop b. a “crispr” modified crop c. a “genetically-moved” crop d. a “transgenic” crop* 8 1 5 10 which country/region has mandatory food labeling for gene edited crops due to opposition? a. european union* b. united states c. china d. brazil 21 16 23 24 what is one of the ways “traditional gmos” and future gene edited crops differ? a. traditional gmo crops are less expensive b. ingredients from traditional gmo crops have different regulations in food* c. traditional gmo crops have received less criticism than gene edited crops d. traditional gmo crops have not been modified as much as gene edited crop 6 6 9 4 gene editing technology is different than prior technology for gmos because it can: a. target specific genes in the genome for inactivation* b. create large inserts in a cell’s dna c. is focused specifically on fruits and vegetables d. creates less pollution and run-off due to chemical usage 26 21 25 30 theil et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.133 77 table 1 (continued) number of correct answers for each knowledge test question test 1 test 2 survey questions group 1 group 2 group 1 group 2 what is a legitimate concern about genetically engineered crops since they were first used in 1996? a. weeds and pests develop resistance to traits used to combat them.* b. cases of toxicity have been identified in humans that consume them. c. genes will jump from the foods to humans. d. insecticide use on crops has increased since they were introduced. 11 16 11 18 what is an example of transgenesis that is currently being used for humans? a. gene encoding amoxicillin b. gene encoding insulin* c. gene encoding melatonin d. gene encoding lipitor 26 6 24 2 gene editing technology uses genes from: a. same species, same genus* b. different species, same genus c. different genus, same family d. different class, same kingdom 15 14 17 22 gene edited crops to hit the market are used for: a. a combination of quality, nutrition, sustainability, and taste.* b. used exclusively for ease of farmer and marketer c. mainly for creating higher yields and more food per land size d. only to allow food that will allow for less diseases to spread 21 21 22 22 the use of selective breeding and the pre-cursor to gene editing technology dates back: a. about 20 years ago b. about 100 years ago c. about 1000 years ago d. about 9000 plus years ago* 9 2 9 16 gene edited crops have the capabilities to do all right now, but: a. create hypo-allergenic foods b. create self-sustaining energy* c. create longer shelf-life produce d. create more production per acre 14 20 15 24 note. * indicates correct answer group 1: x1 o x2 o, group 2: x2 o x1 o, x1 and x2 indication found in figure 1 theil et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.133 78 objective 4: identify whether the order of participation in the instruction method impacted knowledge. on average, participants who started with the constructivist method (group 2) scored higher on the second knowledge test (m = 5.76, sd = 2.12) than those who started with the behaviorist teaching method (m = 5.37, sd = 2.13). however, the mean difference of -0.39 was not significant t62= -0.75, p = .458, and represented a negligible effect size (t(62) = -0.75, p = .458, d = -.19). qualitative findings qualitative data were analyzed to determine what method of instruction the adult learners perceived to be more beneficial to learning information on gene editing. from the analysis, themes emerged within both the behaviorist and constructivist instructional methods and no themes emerged regarding preferences toward the order to which participants engaged in the two teaching methods. for the behaviorist method, four themes emerged and included: materials provided, individualized work, predetermined learner preferences for multimodal materials, and time constraints of lesson. for the constructivist method two themes emerged and included: collaborative learning and unlimited resources with limited time. participants’ preference of instruction method: behaviorism materials provided. a majority of participants noted that inside of the behaviorist instructional method, the clear and concise information that was presented helped them learn more and thus influenced their preference. the information presented to the participants allowed the participants to compare terminology, as yander stated, “i wanted a copy of [the materials] because i thought it was very explicit. it was really clear you could find the difference between gmo and genetic altering." the materials that were provided to the participants also helped guide them in learning information. as yvonne stated, it helped them learn about gene editing, "because there was more information, and we weren’t looking out, because we were guided." nicky also said, “i liked it because it was more concise, and it gave you the information. it gave you a place to go." the participants also sensed that information from the behaviorist method would give them more direction in terms of questions that would be on the test. individualized work. a majority of participants also preferred the behaviorist teaching method due to being able to do individual work. some participants felt more comfortable working alone and able to focus more. frank stated, “i’m not distracted by the other people, and i can get to what i want to find out." additionally, many participants discussed that they appreciated having time to individually read and reflect prior to engaging in a large group discussion. other participants liked the individual work because of not being forced to share and present information. otis was the first participant to answer the question and mentioned he preferred the method due to, “reading and watching the videos, because i’m not much into giving presentations." others wrote down that they also did not enjoy presenting or that they just wanted to sit and learn. the feeling of displeasure was expanded with fran feeling uneasy about presenting information they were not an expert on by saying, “it’s a concept and a subject that i really have very little information on, so it wasn’t comfortable for me talking theil et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.133 79 about it.” the participant was observed as being disgruntled that they had to present information to others. predetermined learner preferences. a majority of participants also stated they appreciated being able to see and hear the information reinforced in the materials. some participants came into the focus group with the idea that they had a certain preference for learning using multi-modal materials, potentially biasing them toward certain materials. for instance, wayne said, “the best part about the second one [behaviorist method], i thought, was the visuals. yeah. yeah. i’m a visual person, so i preferred that one." others in the same group also commented and nodded their heads when they heard this. the idea of being able to see the materials was also shared across other focus groups. kriss also stated that, "i thought the videos were very helpful just because of the visual." the same sentiment from kriss was also shared by cad, a participant from a separate group. ike added, “the video and reading, that helped i feel like more because i think it was--i mean that's just how i learn. i’m a visual audio learner." the multi-modal presentation with ability to hear the information, in a video and not just through a picture, helped them learn information. time constraints of lesson. lastly, many participants preferred the behaviorist method due to the amount of time given for each instructional method. the participants felt that given the short amount of time they had for each instructional method, the behaviorist method best used the time. the participants felt rushed in the constructivist teaching method, as stan stated, “i preferred the first [behaviorist method], because i didn’t feel the second one [constructivist method] really gave us enough time to do what we needed to do. we didn’t have a chance really to communicate with each other afterwards or compare what we had read.” the written responses were also flooded with short comments from just the simple comment of “time [sic],” to comments that participants wanted more time to understand in the constructivist method. some participants felt rushed in the constructivist method, as carlos commented that “oh, man, but we didn’t have time to prepare [our lesson in constructivist]." overall, the limited amount of time overwhelmed the participants along with the added stress of sharing in the limited time in the behaviorist approach. participants’ preference of teaching method: constructivism collaborative learning. just over half of the participants discussed that they enjoyed being able to work with others and collaborate to understand the material during the constructivist lesson. participants were able to gather more information, as izzy stated that, “you get different insights from your peers, and also, they can help you if you’re just struggling with putting together an idea. they can help you to put closure on that." the participant was then nodding to their teammate during the activity and acknowledged that it was helpful to work with others from different backgrounds. this sentiment of working with people with different backgrounds was shared by beth as they said, “it was more like people had different views on each thing, we got to read different things, and then come together as a whole and do it.” theil et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.133 80 these participants felt that working with others also gave them a greater sense of comfort as well. zora commented, “you get a perspective of what everybody feels or [is] thinking, and it just makes you think even more so, i can’t be all wrong, they were thinking the same thing i was thinking." this thought helped reinforce the participants’ thoughts, and a sense of relief was felt by the participants as they laid back in their seats relaxed as they commented on this statement. the collaboration with others also allowed for having the participants to become more involved. dave said, “watching a video, reading, is a passive act, acting with people is a much more active act. it’s more involved." dave was also an educator that shared that his students learn more from group work than writing and watching videos as well. unlimited resources with limited time. the other major positive that a majority of participants felt through the constructivist method was the ability to have a vast number of resources at their disposal to understand gene editing. the participants were given three articles to start their research, but also were able to use their own technology to research on the given topic of gene editing. this was shared by tim, who stated, i think if we had time to really digest the articles and do research online, that we would have had a broader knowledge and been able to spend time discussing and having that other person’s opinion, and we were just forced to rush through. the entire section of constructivism was criticized by the limited time. tim decided that he preferred the behaviorist option but would have chosen constructivist if time wasn’t a factor. right after the comments by tim, uma also stated, “i like the [behaviorist], but if we had unlimited time, i’d definitely like the [constructivist]… it’s very overwhelming, and there’s a lot to learn.” the participant also noted that the constructivist made them feel overwhelmed, but it was not negative. the sense of vast number of materials was also stated by dan with, “if we had an hour to do that method, i think that would have been extremely helpful. more knowledgeable." dan could be seen tapping the table and seeming a bit anxious when commenting on the overwhelming amount of material. convergent findings the convergent question sought to understand the alignment of learners’ perceived instructional method preference with their knowledge gained. from the qualitative data, a majority of the participants discussed their preference for the behaviorist teaching method over the constructivist method. their preference was predicated on the materials that were provided to them. the amount of time allowed in both methods, the visual and auditory information, feeling of more knowledge gained, and being able to work individually were all components of why the participants enjoyed the behaviorist method. some participants did prefer the constructivist method, but the time that was allowed for them in this setting was a factor for not choosing this method. the preference for the behaviorist teaching method aligned with the knowledge gained, as a statistically significant difference was seen between the behaviorist and constructivist lesson with participants scoring higher after engaging in the behaviorist lesson. when comparing the second knowledge test, participants who received a constructivistbehaviorist method scored m = 5.76, while the behaviorist-constructivist method scored m = theil et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.133 81 5.37. the independent samples t-test was not statistically significant, and the order of methods did not appear to impact the number of answers that were answered correctly. additionally, participants had limited to no conversation that order of the methods impacted the amount of knowledge gained and no qualitative themes emerged regarding the order of the methods. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations from the quantitative findings, we concluded that participants displayed a statistically significant higher score on the knowledge test following the completion of the behaviorist lesson as compared to the constructivist lesson which aligns with previous findings (klahr & nigam, 2004; schwartz & bransford, 1998). we also concluded that after receiving both types of teaching methods, no statistical difference occurred in knowledge test scores. from the qualitative findings, participants overwhelmingly preferred the behaviorist teaching method to that of the constructivist teaching method, which contradicts the assumptions of andragogy (knowles, 1980). the participants cited the easily accessible materials, connection of behaviorism with the short time that was given for the lesson, the use of visually to connect to the content being taught, and individualized work. while participants preferred the behaviorist method the most, some benefits of the constructivist approach emerged. participants appreciated the collaborative nature of the constructivist lesson and the availability of unlimited resources if given the proper amount of time to explore them. additionally, there was an alignment with the participants’ preferred instructional methods and the amount of knowledge gained. this finding aligns with prior literature which has shown greater knowledge when learning preference is met (wilson et al., 2016). participants overwhelmingly favored behaviorist methods in the qualitative portion of the study and the alignment of preference and knowledge gained was further supported as participants scored higher on the knowledge test following the behaviorist methods as compared to the constructivist method. based on this alignment, a behaviorist method could be more beneficial to share factual knowledge with adults than a constructivist teaching method when solely using one method and in limited time. however, a behaviorist teaching method may not be desirable for all consumers. learners, in particular adult learners, want to feel that they are in control of their learning (knowles, 1980), as adults are self-directed human beings that have shifted from dependent learners to independent learners. however, it is important to note that the behaviorist approaches used during this study were not solely lecture-based and had multiple activities, which may be reason that participants did not point out that they were not in control of their learning. previous research supports that learners scored higher on an end of course assessment when exposed to a variety of teaching methods as compared to lecture alone (johnson & mighten, 2005). recommendations can be made for practitioners who are teaching adults about gene editing in agricultural applications such as school-based agriculture teachers, extension educators, and academic and/or industry-based researchers. whether it is the school-based agriculture teacher or extension educator educating their community members or researchers educating theil et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.133 82 consumers about scientific findings, recommendations can be made when using constructivist and behaviorist teaching methods. first, practitioners should consider the amount of time dedicated to the lesson. longer lessons would be more suitable for the exploration necessary for constructivist methods. whereas behaviorist methods are more appropriate for shorter lessons and short non-formal learning engagements. for constructivist methods it is recommended that sufficient time be provided to allow learners time to explore the numerous resources available and reflect (cooperstein & kocevar-weidinger, 2004). if time is limited, the educator should consider restricting the resources learners use or provide guidance on potential resources to use. second, educators should provide clear directions and structure to the learners, especially if the learners have no prior experience with the topic. when using behaviorist teaching methods educators should use multiple approaches beyond just direct instruction such as questioning, drills, guided practice, and consistent review. finally, learning materials should have both visual and auditory components to engage a variety of learner preferences. recommendations for future research can be made to further investigate and enhance educating adults about complex scientific topics, such as gene editing. first, this study could be replicated by increasing the instructional time for each teaching method and increasing the sample size. next, a study should integrate both behaviorist and constructivist instructional methods in a single learning setting to then be compared to the use of each method separately. lastly, research should explore how gene editing curriculum and communication tools could engage adult learnings in more meaningful ways to move beyond rote memorization to constructing knowledge which could influence their scientific perceptions. acknowledgements this work 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(2003). case study research: design and methods (3rd ed.). sage. © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 33-manuscript-293-2-11-20200319 olabisi et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 2, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. laura schmitt olabisi, associate professor, michigan state university 480 wilson road, room 138, east lansing, mi 48824 schmi420@msu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6557-9469 2. obafemi elegbede, research associate, michigan state university elegbede@msu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5935-0991 3. matt r. raven, professor, michigan state university 480 wilson road, room 310a, east lansing, mi 48824 mraven@msu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8271-2321 1 insights for farmer training programs from system dynamics: a case study from northern michigan l. s. olabisi1, o. elegbede2, m. r. raven3 abstract training programs for new farmers have been proposed as a solution to rural food insecurity, rural development, and the recruitment and training of younger farmers simultaneously. however, evaluation of these programs and evidence for their individual or collective impact is sparse. in this paper, we use in-depth interviews combined with a system dynamics model to evaluate the current and potential effectiveness of a farmer training program in michigan’s upper peninsula. we use the model to represent the theoretical progression of farmers through three subsequent stages of skill acquisition: training, new farmer (practicing skills on land owned by the program) and experienced (farming on their own). we find that recruitment, access to local markets, rapidity of skill acquisition, and access to start-up costs are all important factors that facilitate trainees’ transition to farming on their own, but of these, start-up costs for independent farming appear to be the most significant barrier. while this model is exploratory and not predictive, these insights can inform the design of effective programs for training farmers who will ultimately go on to start their own operations. in addition, this study also demonstrates how systems dynamics can be a valuable method to evaluate and maximize the effectiveness of training programs. keywords training, systems modeling, evaluation, rural livelihoods, adoption keywords keyword, keyword (make sure they match what is in the system) olabisi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.33 2 introduction and problem statement food insecurity and a lack of affordable, nutritious foods are persistent problems in the rural united states (denney et al., 2017; ramirez et al., 2017). the farming population in the united states is aging, with one quarter of farm operators being 65 or older, compared with only 8% of the general population (united states. congress. senate. special committee on, 2008). training programs for new farmers have been proposed as a solution to rural food insecurity, rural development, and the recruitment and training of younger farmers simultaneously. however, evaluation of these programs and evidence for their individual or collective impact is sparse. the upper peninsula of michigan is a rural region that exemplifies the linked challenges of economic insecurity, an aging farmer population, and a supply for locally produced fruits and vegetables that does not meet consumer demand. according to a 2011 survey conducted by michigan state university extension (msue) on a sample of 108 upper peninsula (u.p.) farmers, only 8% of the respondents derive all of their income from their farms. for most, the farm generated up to 10% of the household income. nearly three-quarters (70%) were over the age of 51 and three-quarters (75%) indicated they did not have someone to take over for them when they stop farming. nearly half of the respondents (48%) indicated they wanted to expand their operations. many producers indicated they needed additional help and technical support. the report pointed out that as interest in local food continues to increase so will the pressures on u.p. producers to keep pace with the demand. furthermore, the report concluded that a vibrant local food economy was integral to the health of small rural communities (lantz & walk, 2011). as a solution to these documented challenges, michigan state university’s upper peninsula research and extension center has developed formal and non-formal research-based educational programs targeting beginning farmers and avocational growers to increase the number of farmers in the u.p. growing nutrient dense food, thereby proposing to fill the gap between supply and demand for healthy local foods. the program provides access to organically managed land, equipment and hand tools, and shared infrastructure (hoop houses, transplant greenhouses, germination chamber, a tractor, etc.). in addition, the program provides subsidized on-site housing, access to markets, training in national organic program and usda good agricultural practices record keeping, guidance with farm business plans, and networking opportunities with other farmers and educational workshops. if successful, the farmer training program could be a model for other such programs in the united states seeking to improve healthy local food access by equipping aspiring farmers. despite the potential benefits of the farmer training program, the enrollment and graduation rates have been low. in the four years since the program was established, six farmers have participated in the program, while the original target completion number was between 12 and 24. we conducted a qualitative evaluation of the program, combined with an exploratory system dynamics model, to understand the barriers and opportunities involved in recruiting farmers to the program, supporting them in completing the program and in their transition to olabisi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.33 3 independent farming, and assessing the potential extent of the impact on agriculture in the u.p. in this work, we seek to capture the complex interactions and dynamic feedbacks between the educational program for beginning farmers, challenges to technology implementation, and economic barriers to entry into farming. consequently, we are using system dynamics modeling to represent these dynamics (meadows, 2008). system dynamics modeling was developed in the 1960s and has been used in a wide variety of fields to investigate how complex systems behave over time (forrester, 1968). it is a quantitative modeling technique based on a series of differential equations, but it is also capable of representing qualitative information gleaned from interviews and focus groups through causal logic (scott et al., 2013). system dynamics has been proposed as a useful tool for conducting program evaluation, because it can demonstrate potential impacts of a program into the future, and of outlining the effects of programmatic changes (merrill et al., 2013). it has also been commonly used to represent technology adoption (amelia et al., 2014; fisher et al., 2000). we drew on the technology adoption models for this study, because we are representing a group of farmers acquiring and then using a set of technologies for growing nutrient dense produce in the u.p. as represented in the model, potential farmers learn about the program from educational workshops offered by the north farm at the upper peninsula research and extension center. the farmers trained in a suite of technologies demonstrated in the program, including walk behind tractors, seeders, hoes, price planning and assessments, etc. then the farmers decide whether to implement these technologies or not. the process of recruiting new trainees is driven by information exchange between potential farmers and those who have gone through the program, as posited by diffusion theory (rogers, 2003). famers that graduate from the program are assumed to be more skilled at growing nutrient dense produce using appropriate technology, and more skilled at developing a business plan that will help with their future farms. we used a system dynamics model to model these patterns of adoption and the ways in which the technologies could diffuse through the farming population of the upper peninsula. the research question we sought to answer with this model: what programmatic interventions would be most effective in increasing the recruitment, graduation, and establishment of beginning farmers relative to the training program? methods we conducted semi-structured scoping interviews with beginner farmers to understand their current farming operations, goals, technology and methods learned from the program, profitability, productivity, challenges and constraints they face and benefits from the program. we carried out the study at the north farm in chatham, located in the upper peninsula of michigan, and at michigan state university, east lansing michigan. the study sample consisted of six farmers that were in the program for at least a year. the farmers in program range in experience from beginners to experienced farmers. we used a survey that had both structured and semi-structured questions, as well as an exploratory approach in the survey to get more olabisi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.33 4 information that might not have been revealed in the structured questions (glesne, 2010). some of the data was collected face-to-face and the rest was collected over the phone. in addition, we used data generated from the msu upper peninsula research and extension center: north farm apprentice farmer program evaluation summary report that was conducted in december 2018. the survey along with the report contributed to a deeper understanding of the issues related to the program. we used information from the scoping interviews and the 2018 evaluation report from the north farm to create and parameterize the system dynamics model, using vensim® software. the logical framework follows rogers’ diffusion of innovation model (rogers, 2003) (figure 1). figure 1 structure of system dynamics model note. model structure depicting the progression of farmers through training, to establishment of a ‘new’ farm on land provided by the training program, to experienced farmer status on their own land. potential farmers (farmers who join the training program) advance through three stages of skill acquisition: training, new farmer (practicing skills on land owned by the north farm) and experienced (farming on their own). their ability to advance through these stages is both mediated and facilitated by factors discovered through the interviews. once the structural logic of the model was established, values for the parameters were derived from the interviews and the north farm evaluation report. for example, we asked interviewees how many months they estimated for the transition from ‘new farmer’ to ‘experienced farmer’ (successfully farming on olabisi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.33 5 their own upon completion of the north farm program), and the average response was 40 months. findings interviews the skills acquired through the north farm program allowed beginner farmers to learn how to start a business and transition to the ‘training farmers’ category. as described by the interviewees, these skills included networking, creating invoices for customers, and developing avenues to sell their products at local restaurants and through community-supported agriculture, in partnership with the north farm. trainees also learned about viable farm business models, including price planning, price assessment, calculations of labor, and soft skills, as well as soil management and safe produce handling. in addition, the farmers were provided with technology for sustainable production practices, such as harvesting tools, water wheel planters, rotor tillers, walk-behind tractors, drip irrigation systems, and hand cultivators. all of these factors were added into the system dynamics model as variables conditioning the transition rate of farmers between ‘training’, ‘new’, and ‘experienced’ categories. model the baseline behavior of the system dynamics model depicting adoption of the north farm technologies by the training population followed a typical s-curve growth pattern over the 30 years of the model run (figure 2). by the end of the model run, thirteen total farmers had successfully transitioned to farming on their own land, representing the cumulative impact of the north farm program. the number of farmers in the ‘training farmer’ category grew as they were trained at the north farm, then declined as these farmers successfully transitioned to farming on their own land. in the baseline model run, we assumed that all farmers entering the program had access to materials they needed for training: access to organically managed land, subsidized housing, access to equipment and hand tools, access to markets, educational workshops, business plan guidance, and supervised training under the guidance of a program manager. this baseline run mirrors the setup of the north farm apprentice farmer program, which provides this support to enrolled farmers. olabisi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.33 6 figure 2 system dynamics model output note. system dynamics model results depicting number of farmers in the ‘training farmers’ category (top) and the ‘experienced farmers’ category (farmers who have successfully transitioned to farming on their own land, bottom) over the 15-year model run under baseline conditions. the flow of farmers into the program is ultimately limited by the amount of contact and positive word of mouth generated by the trainees enrolled in the program. in the context of the north farm model, this was represented by the number of workshops held, driving interest from potential farmers in enrolling in the program. when the number of workshops was increased from one per quarter to one per month, this had the effect of sending a greater olabisi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.33 7 ‘pulse’ of farmers through the system initially. without additional support for farmers to transition into successfully starting their own operations, however, this did not result in substantially greater numbers of farmers becoming independent (figure 3). figure 3 model output: results of program interventions note. system dynamics model results depicting number of farmers in the ‘training farmers’ category (top), number of farmers in the ‘new farmers’ category (farming on land provided by the training program, middle) and the ‘experienced farmers’ category (farmers who have successfully transitioned to farming on their own land, bottom) over the 15-year model run under four scenarios: ‘high workshop’ (farmers are recruited to the training program through monthly rather than quarterly workshops); ‘start up’ (startup costs for farmers starting their own operations are subsidized); ‘experience’ (time for farmers starting their own operations to gain the necessary experience is reduced from 3.5 years to 1 year) and ‘more csa’ (a 2x increase in the number of csa customers). olabisi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.33 8 another scenario involved decreasing start-up costs for farmers to start their own farm operations after training in the program. this scenario had the greatest impact on the number of experienced farmers by the end of the model run (increasing this number to 75), but had minimal impact on the number of farmers in the training program or the number of new farmers (figure 3). decreasing the amount of time needed for farmers to gain the experience to start their own operation from 3.5 years to 1 year also increased the number of experienced farmers by the end of the model run above the baseline, but did not have as great an impact on increasing this number as did a decrease in start-up costs. finally, increasing direct sales of vegetables through community-supported agriculture (i.e. doubling the enrollment in csas from 25% of the population to 50%) did not have a substantial impact on number of farmers progressing through the system (figure 3). this is because, in the absence of trainees being recruited into the program, there are not enough farmers to take advantage of increased csa sales. csa sales are also split between the new farmers and the experienced farmers, and new farmers are better able to take advantage of them because of the land and resources they can access through the north farm program. this is a cautionary insight for the design of such programs, which should take care not to place their trainees and their graduates in competition for limited market share. this may be more important for programs that are large in scope relative to their local markets. when all interventions to boost the number of experienced farmers were combined into one model run (increasing workshops, decreasing startup costs and experience needed to start one’s own operation, and increasing csas), the number of experienced farmers after 30 years reached 203. this is a substantial impact for one training program at one location and could potentially transform the food landscape in the upper peninsula region, especially if duplicated at other sites (figure 4). olabisi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.33 9 figure 4 model output: number of experienced farmers note. system dynamics model results depicting number of farmers in the experienced farmer category under baseline conditions, and with all interventions to increase number of farmer recruited and trained (more workshop recruitment, reduced startup costs, increased csa customers, and reduced time to gain experience). this is an exploratory model, based on an in-depth qualitative study of one farmer training program, and is useful for gaining general systemic insights rather than crafting detailed predictions. for example, without a larger survey of farmer training programs across the country with different training models, it is difficult to place weights indicating relative importance on the different components of the program that allow for successful training (e.g., access to tools, subsidized housing, supervised training, etc.). in our model, we assumed the same weight for all of these elements, even though interviewees highlighted the supervisory guidance of a program manager as being particularly important to their learning process, which would imply that the selection of the person to lead the training program is particularly important for its success. similarly, we were not able to generate detailed market scenarios to guide where new farmers might gain the best advantage in selling their products (e.g. to restaurants, csas, or farmers’ markets). a detailed economic analysis of produce markets in michigan’s upper peninsula would be necessary to provide this type of guidance. nevertheless, the model provided substantive insights into the design of successful farmer training programs, and we were able to use it to test commonly proposed interventions for increasing the flow of new farmers into the farming population. we found that decreasing start-up costs for farmers striking out on their own (e.g. through loans, subsidized land purchase and/or leasing arrangements) would be particularly effective in transitioning farmers olabisi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.33 10 from a training period to establishing their operations. at the same time, increased recruitment of farmers into a training program will not ultimately result in more local farmers unless their transition into farming on their own is also facilitated, for example through reduced or subsidized start-up costs, as described above. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations using a system dynamics model, we were able to depict the training of new farmers producing vegetables for local markets in the upper peninsula of michigan as a pipeline, with barriers to entry and opportunities for intervention. the model represents each stage of progression from farmers in training, to new farmers operating on land provided by the training program, to experienced farmers running their own operations. we built the model using in-depth interviews with farmers in the north farm apprentice farmer program, combined with a system dynamics framework depicting adoption of new technologies. while this model is exploratory and not predictive, we were able to glean insights around the design of effective programs for training farmers who will ultimately go on to start their own operations. to increase the number of experienced farmers, more programs will be needed to ease the startup costs for farmers starting their own operations. recruiting more farmers into a training program will not result in more farmers that are independent unless this startup ‘bottleneck’ is addressed. programs should be careful not to engender competition for customers between farmers in training and farmers who have graduated the program to start their own operations. while modest in size, training operations like the north farm apprentice farmer program could have a substantive impact on recruiting and establishing new farmers over time. finally, this study also demonstrates how systems dynamics can be a valuable method to evaluate and maximize the effectiveness of training programs. references amelia, d. f., kopainsky, b., & nyanga, p. h. (2014). exploratory model of conservation agriculture adoption and diffusion in zambia: a dynamic perspective. paper presented at the 32nd international conference of the system dynamics society, delft, netherlands. denney, j. t., kimbro, r. t., heck, k., & cubbin, c. (2017). social cohesion and food insecurity: insights from the geographic research on wellbeing (grow) study. matern child health j, 21(2), 343-350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-016-2119-5 fisher, d. k., norvell, j., sonka, s., & nelson, m. j. (2000). understanding technology adoption through system dynamics modeling: implications for agribusiness management. the international food and agribusiness management review, 3(3), 281-296. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1096-7508(01)00048-9 forrester, j. w. (1968). principles of systems. pegasus communications. olabisi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.33 11 lantz, n., & walk, m. (2011). upper peninsula agriculture assessment. retrieved from east lansing mi: meadows, d. (2008). thinking in systems: a primer. chelsea green. merrill, j. a., deegan, m., wilson, r. v., kaushal, r., & fredericks, k. (2013). a system dynamics evaluation model: implementation of health information exchange for public health reporting. journal of the american medical informatics association : jamia, 20(e1), e131-e138. https://doi.org/10.1136/amiajnl-2012-001289 ramirez, a. s., diaz rios, l. k., valdez, z., estrada, e., & ruiz, a. (2017). bringing produce to the people: implementing a social marketing food access intervention in rural food deserts. j nutr educ behav, 49(2), 166-174 e161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2016.10.017 rogers, e. (2003). the diffusion of innovations. the free press. scott, r. j., cavana, r. y., & cameron, d. (2013, july 21-25, 2013). evaluating long-term impact of qualitative system dynamics workshops on participant mental models. paper presented at the 31st international conference of the system dynamics society, cambridge, ma. united states. congress. senate. special committee on, a. (2008). harvest over the horizon [electronic resource]: the challenges of aging in agriculture : hearing before the special committee on aging, united states senate, one hundred tenth congress, first session, washington, dc, june 21, 2007. © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 107-manuscript-1329-2-11-20210524.docx wise et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 2, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. austin wise, ph.d. student, university of nebraska-lincoln, 322 bessey hall, lincoln ne 68588-0340, awise2@huskers.unl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9388-4946 2. donald johnson, professor, university of arkansas, e108 afls building, fayetteville, ar 72701, dmjohnso@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2592-654x 3. george wardlow, professor and head, university of arkansas, e108 afls building, fayetteville, ar 72701, wardlow@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000--0001-5701-8250 4. kathi jogan, instructor, university of arkansas, 1120 w. maple st., fayetteville, ar 72701, kjogan@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8884-0164 36 predicting college students’ future intentions to engage in public-sphere water conservation behaviors a. wise1, d. johnson2, g. wardlow3 , k. jogan4 abstract the purpose of this study was to describe selected college students’ (n = 252) perceptions of and future intentions (fi) to engage in public-sphere water conservation behaviors, and to determine if fi could be predicted by a single or linear combination of student demographic characteristics and latent variables. a majority of respondents agreed a growing population will negatively affect water quantity (90.5%) and there is a need for water resource management (85.6%). a majority disagreed or strongly disagreed that they (53.4%), their family (57.1%), or their friends (67.5%) practiced water conservation, or that people in their hometowns were concerned about local water availability (78.1%). a majority agreed they would engage in four of five public-sphere water conservation behaviors in the future: support water conservation programs (86.4%), care more deeply about water conservation (81.2%), join a water conservation organization (79.2%), and vote for stricter water use laws (55.0%). fewer than one-half agreed or strongly agreed they would donate money to support water conservation (45.8%). responses to statements concerning water conservation were factor analyzed and two factors were extracted: lack of agency (la) and subjective norms (sn). a linear combination of gender, la, and sn explained 36.7% of the variance in fi. keywords subjective norms, theory of planned behavior, environment wise et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.107 37 introduction and problem statement earth’s surface is over 75% water, however only about 2.5% of that is freshwater and even less is available for human use (united states geological survey, 2018). certainly, freshwater is a valuable and limited resource. thus, it is important to consider the conservation of such limited resources and to promote responsible use practices and policies (chaudhary et al., 2017). water conservation behaviors have been categorized as either privateor public-sphere behaviors (stern, 2002). private-sphere behaviors refer to actions taken to conserve water on an individual or household level, such as use of low-flow shower heads or installation of high efficiency toilets. public-sphere water conservation behaviors refer to civic engagement in proconservation actions designed to influence public policies relative to water conservation. such behaviors include voting, membership in water conservation organizations, and support for water conservation policies (stern, 2002). older adults, females, persons living in single-family residences, and those holding more liberal political orientations are more likely to engage in private-sphere water conservation behaviors (arnocky & stroink, 2011; chaudhary et al., 2018; clark & finley, 2007; larson et al., 2011). individuals with higher levels of education (larson & larch, 2010) and those with college majors in natural resources (arnocky & stroink, 2011) are more likely to engage in broader proenvironmental public-sphere behaviors. koehler and koontz (2008) found males, those in careers related to the environment, those from rural areas, and those with higher levels of political involvement were more likely to be active in collaborative watershed groups, one type of public-sphere water conservation behavior. this research sought to identify predictors of college students’ future intentions (fi) to engage in public-sphere water conservation behaviors. this research is particularly important given the higher level of involvement by college graduates in voting and public policy advocacy (brand, 2010), two primary public-sphere behaviors (stern, 2002). theoretical and conceptual framework the research was guided by the ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior (tpb). the tpb attempts to predict and explain human behavior based on three determinants: attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control (see figure 1). attitude refers to how favorable an individual’s opinion or evaluation is for a given behavior and as determined by the individual. subjective norms refer to perceived social pressure to perform or not to perform the behavior, and perceived behavioral control refers to the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the target behavior (ajzen, 1991). within the context of this study, we sought to predict future intentions to engage in public-sphere water conservation behaviors. respondent demographic characteristics (age, gender, academic classification, major, home community, and political orientation) previously found to be related to water conservation attitudes and behaviors were also included in the theoretical model. wise et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.107 38 figure 1 model of adapted theory of planned behavior note. adapted from “the theory of planned behavior,” by i. ajzen, 1991, organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50, 179–211. (https://doi.org/10.1016/07495978(91)90020-t). according to pradhananga et al. (2015), “socio-demographic characteristics such as age, income, and education provide important information about who [italics in original] commonly engages or does not engage in water resource decision making, but socio-demographics do not explain what [italics in original] motivates engagement” (p. 1602). this view was supported by larson et al. (2011). mancha and yoder (2015) suggested that people’s intended behaviors were influenced by subjective norms. they concluded that if the people surrounding the respondent expected that individual to behave in a specific way then that was likely to influence any intentions that individual may have towards the environment. among the few studies in this area, self-efficacy (martinez & mcmullin, 2004) and subjective norms (fielding et al., 2008) were found to be strong predictors of public-sphere environmental behaviors. in one of the few studies testing these relationships specifically in the realm of water conservation, pradhananga et al. (2015) found that subjective norms had a significant effect on landowners’ public-sphere water conservation behaviors. purpose the purpose of this study was to assess undergraduate students’ perceptions of water conservation and their future intentions toward public-sphere water conservation behaviors. 1. describe students’ perceptions of selected aspects of water conservation; 2. identify and name the latent factor structure underlying students’ perceptions about selected aspects of water conservation; 3. describe students’ future intentions to engage in public-sphere water conservation behaviors; 4. determine the relationships between selected student demographic characteristics (age, gender, community type, academic classification, major, and political orientation), the wise et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.107 39 identified latent factors, and future intentions concerning public-sphere water conservation behaviors; and 5. determine if a single or linear combination of student demographic characteristics and identified latent factors could explain a significant (p < .05) portion of the variance in students’ future intentions concerning public-sphere water conservation behaviors. methods the population for this study was the 27,559 undergraduate students enrolled at the university of arkansas during the spring 2020 term (university of arkansas, 2019). based on an anticipated effect size of f 2 = 0.15 and a statistical power of .95, an alpha of .05, and 10 potential predictors, the minimum sample size was calculated to be 172 subjects using g*power 3.1.9.6 (faul et al., 2007). after university irb approval, all undergraduate courses with enrollments of 30 students or higher were identified using a spreadsheet provided by the registrar’s office. courses were then stratified as agriculture or non-agriculture courses based on their alpha codes, and 10 courses were randomly selected from each stratum. instructors of each selected course were contacted and asked to allow their students to participate. all courses switched to remote instruction due to the coronavirus pandemic within a week after this initial contact, and only six instructors agreed to participate. additional non-random sampling procedures were used to ensure adequate responses to achieve the study objectives. thus, due to circumstances dictated by the novel coronavirus pandemic, a randomly selected sample of students was not surveyed and no generalizations beyond these respondents are warranted. the survey instrument was developed by the researcher and refined during a cognitive interview with a university of arkansas faculty member specializing in quantitative social science survey development. face and construct validity were established by a panel of four faculty members with expertise in quantitative social science research and natural resource conservation. the survey contained three sections. section one determined respondents’ agreement with 16 statements about water resources using a 1 to 4 likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree and 4 = strongly agree). section two contained five items concerning respondents’ future intentions (fi) concerning public-sphere water conservation, measured on the same 1 to 4 likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree and 4 = strongly agree). these items were developed by the researchers based on stern’s (2002) definition of public-sphere environmental behaviors. section three contained six items to determine respondent demographic characteristics of age, gender, academic classification, major (agriculture or nonagriculture), home community (rural or metro), and political orientation (very conservative to very liberal). the post-hoc coefficient alpha reliabilities for the two latent factors derived from part one of the instrument were .73 and .75; the coefficient alpha reliability of part two was .85. data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and ordinary least-squares multiple regression. exploratory factor analysis with a promax rotation was used to identify latent constructs wise et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.107 40 underlying student responses to the 16 water use and conservation statements. the number of meaningful factors to retain was determined based on the scree plot of eigenvalues, the proportion of variance explained by each factor, and by the interpretability of the resulting factors (hatcher, 1994). factors were deemed interpretable if at least three items loaded on each factor (minimum loading = .40), the variables loading on each factor shared some conceptual meaning, and items loading on one factor had near-zero loadings on other factors (hatcher, 1994). prior to multiple regression analysis, data were examined for outliers and influential observations and violations of assumptions of linearity of the predictor and criterion variables, multicollinearity, normality of residuals, and homogeneity of the variance of the residuals (field and miles, 2012). two outliers were identified (studentized residuals > |3.0|) and removed from the data set (field & miles, 2012). linearity of continuous predictors and the criterion variable was verified using bivariate scatterplots. variance inflation factors of < 5. 0 indicated the multicollinearity was not a threat (field & miles, 2012). the shapiro-wilk test was used to test the assumption of normality of residuals and results indicated this assumption was not violated, w = 0. 99, p = .13. homogeneity of variance of the residuals was assessed by white’s test and the results indicated this assumption was not violated, χ2(18) = 20. 91, p = .28. findings of the students (n = 252) responding to this survey, 40.9% identified as male, 58.7% as female, and 0.4% did not disclose their gender identity. a slight majority of respondents were either freshmen (28.6%) or sophomores (30.6%), majoring in agriculture (56.8%), coming from rural (52.4%) areas, and identifying their political views as either conservative (32.3%) or very conservative (24.3%). the mean age of respondents was 20.38 years (sd = 2.25). a majority indicated they paid their own water bill, either as a separate bill (29.0%) or as part of their rent (29.0%). as shown in table 1, more than one-half of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that a growing population will negatively affect water quantity (90.5%), there is a need for water resource management (85.6%), the respondent could easily reduce water use if they wanted (76.0%), that people they spend time with do not care whether the respondent conserved water or not (67.0%), that their personal water use had little impact on regional water quantity (54.7%), and that conserving water is easier for the respondent than for others. conversely, more than one-half of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that they (53.4%), their family (57.1%), or their friends (67.5%) practiced water conservation, or that people in their hometowns were concerned about local water quantity (78.1%). respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed they felt social pressure to conserve water (78.9%) or that the cost of water caused them to use less (74.6%). almost one-half of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that freshwater was a quickly renewable resource (42.1%). wise et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.107 41 table 1 student agreement with selected statements concerning water use and conservation level of agreement statement n strongly disagree (%) disagree (%) agree (%) strongly agree (%) a growing population will negatively affect water quantity 252 2.0 7.5 56.8 33.7 there is a need for water resource management 251 10.8 3.6 44.6 41.0 if i wanted to, i could easily cut down my water use 250 2.4 21.6 61.6 14.4 the people i spend time with do not care whether i conserve water 252 3.6 29.4 59.1 7.9 my water use has little impact on water quantity in my region 252 7.9 37.3 46.8 7.9 conserving water is easier for me than for others 252 4.8 44.4 42.1 8.7 i am engaged in water conservation 251 8.4 45.0 39.4 7.2 my family practices water conservation 252 10.7 46.4 37.3 5.6 freshwater is a quickly renewable resource 252 14.7 43.2 38. 1 4.0 my friends practice water conservation 252 13.9 53.6 30.6 2.0 the cost of water causes me to use less in my daily life 252 20.6 54.0 22.6 2.8 it would make no difference if i conserved more household water 252 54.2 35.5 8.4 2.0 people in my hometown are concerned about local water quantity 252 20.2 57.9 18.1 3.9 i feel social pressure to conserve water 251 19.1 59.8 17.5 3.6 water resource management is less important now than it was in the past 252 39.3 44.4 11.9 4.4 it would make no difference if everyone conserved more household water 251 54.2 35.5 8.4 2.0 exploratory factor analysis identified two factors (see table 2) that explained 93.0% of the variance in the original 16 items. four items loaded on factor 1, six items loaded on factor 2, and six items did not load on any factor. based on the highest loading items in each factor (yong wise et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.107 42 and pearce, 2013), the factors were named “lack of agency” (la) and “subjective norms” (sn). the coefficient alpha reliability estimates for la and sn were .75 and .73, respectively. table 2 summary of items, loadings, and factor reliabilities for the two-factor solution for agreement with selected statements concerning water use and conservation (n = 246) loading item factor 1 factor 2 factor 1: lack of agency (coefficient alpha = .75) it would make no difference if everyone conserved more household water .86 .22 it would make no difference if i conserved more household water .72 .08 water resource management is less important now than it was in the past .55 .01 freshwater is a quickly renewable resource .51 .06 factor 2: subjective norms (coefficient alpha = .73) my friends practice water conservation .03 .71 my family practices water conservation .02 .68 i feel social pressure to conserve water .19 .57 i am engaged in water conservation -.24 .50 people in my hometown are concerned about water quantity .18 .49 conserving water is easier for me than for others .03 .44 note. factor loadings greater than .40 are shown in bold. respondents were asked their level of agreement they would engage in five future publicsphere water conservation behaviors. as shown in table 3, over one-half of all respondents agreed or strongly agreed they would engage in four of the five public-sphere activities in the future: support water conservation programs (86.4%), care more deeply about water conservation (81.2%), join a water conservation organization (79.2%), and vote for stricter water use laws (55.0%). slightly fewer than one-half agreed or strongly agreed they would donate money to support water conservation (45.8%). wise et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.107 43 table 3 student agreement they will participate in public-sphere behaviors related to water conservation in the future level of agreement behavior n strongly disagree (%) disagree (%) agree (%) strongly agree (%) support water conservation programs 251 2.4 11.2 66.9 19.5 care more deeply about water conservation 251 2.4 16.3 64.1 17.1 join a water conservation organization 251 3.2 17.5 64.1 15.1 vote for stricter water use laws 251 8.8 36.2 45 4 9.6 donate money to support water conservation 251 6.8 47.4 38.6 7.2 the five activities in table 2 were summed and a mean score was calculated as an overall measure of future intentions (fi) to engage in public-sphere water conservation behaviors. the mean fi score was 2. 79 (sd = 0. 55) on a 1 to 4 scale, indicating overall agreement. as shown in table 4, five variables were significantly (p < .05) correlated with fi. the descriptors proposed by davis (1971) were used to characterize the magnitude of all correlations. political orientation and la had significant, low negative correlations with fi, indicating that political conservatives and those with higher la scores had lower fi scores. age and sn had significant, low to moderate, respectively, positive correlations with fi, indicating that older students and students with higher sn scores had higher fi scores. the intercorrelations between potential predictor variables ranged from negligible to substantial. classification and age were substantially correlated (as expected), and both had low negative correlations with la. political orientation had a significant low positive correlation with la and with major. finally, there was a low positive correlation between gender and la. no other correlations were statistically significant. wise et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.107 44 table 4 intercorrelations between demographic characteristics, la and sn factors, and fi variable x1 x2 x3 x4 x5 x6 x7 x8 x9 gender a (x1) 1.0 .07ens -.23*** -.04ens .31e*** .06fns .17f** .08fns -.13f* classification b (x2) 1.0 .03ens .00ens -.05ens .61g*** -.21g*** -.04gns -.01gns major (x3) 1.0 .09ens -.12e* -.04gns .10gns -.09gns -.07gns community c (x4) 1.0 -.01fns .01gns -.01gns -.01gns .01gns political orient. d (x5) 1.0 -.08gns .24g*** -.09gns -.15g* age (x6) 1.0 -.26h*** .06hns .16h** la (x7) 1.0 .05hns -.29h*** sn (x8) 1.0 .49h*** fi (x9) 1.0 a coded as female = 0 and male = 1. b coded as 0 = freshman of sophomore and 1 = junior or senior. c coded as 0 = rural and 1 = metro. d coded as 0 = not conservative and 1 = conservative. e phi coefficient. f point biserial correlation. g biserial correlation. h pearson correlation. nsnot significant (p > .05). *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. the final objective sought to determine if a single or linear combination of student demographic characteristic or la and sn factors could explain a significant (p < .05) portion of the variance in fi. based on the results of bivariate analysis, gender, political orientation, age, la, and sn were included as potential predictors in the regression equation. the regression model was significant, f(5, 241) = 28. 62, p < .001. three variables, gender, la, and sn entered into the model (see table 5) and explained 36.7% of the variance in fi. the regression coefficients for both gender and la were negative, indicating lower fi scores for males and respondents with higher la scores. the positive regression coefficient for sn indicated respondents who higher subjective norms related to water conservation also had higher fi scores. the cohen’s f 2 of 0.58, represented a large effect size (cohen, 1988). table 5 regression model predicting fi from political orientation, age, gender, la, and sn variable df b se t p intercept 1 1.59 0.33 4.84 <.001 political orientation 1 0.01 0.06 0.09 .929 age 1 0.02 0.01 1.42 .157 gender 1 -0.15 0.06 -2.53 .012 la 1 -0.25 0.05 -4.86 <.001 sn 1 0.60 0.06 10.10 <.001 squared semi-partial correlations were calculated for gender, la, and sn to determine the amount of unique variance in fi accounted by for each predictor when controlling for the other wise et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.107 45 variables. these results indicated that sn (δr2 = .28) was the most robust single predictor of fi, followed by la (δr2 = .08) and gender (δr2 = .02). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the population for this study was undergraduate students at the university of arkansas during the spring, 2020 academic semester. the accessible population included students in selected intact classrooms from either of two groups, agriculture courses and non-agriculture courses. thus, the conclusions and recommendations from this study are limited to these respondents; caution should be used in generalizing to other groups. the majority of respondents agreed availability of water as a resource will be negatively affected by a growing population and there is need to manage water as a finite natural resource. interestingly, respondents indicated that they could do a better job at water use management, but that people close to them seemed to not care about water conservation and, therefore, did not practice conservation. the respondents felt that their personal water usage had little impact on water quantity and that they felt little societal pressure to conserve water. thus, neither personal agency nor subjective norms appeared to provide incentives to value private-sphere water conservation behaviors. when the students were asked if they would engage in future public-sphere water conservation behaviors, the majority indicated they would support water conservation programs, care more about water conservation, join a water conservation organization and support more strict water use legislation. fewer than half of the respondents indicated that they would donate funds to support these efforts. overall, these results indicate a fairly strong future intention to engage in public-sphere water conservation behaviors. analyses regarding which factors most contributed to respondents’ fi regarding public-sphere water conservation revealed that gender, lack of agency, and subjective norms were significant predictors of fi, explaining 36.7% of the variance. the finding related to gender does not agree with koehler and koontz (2008), who found males were more likely to engage in one specific type of public-sphere behavior (active participation in a cooperative watershed group). however, because koehler and koontz did not control for level of political involvement in their analysis, their finding of greater male participation in cooperative watershed groups may simply reflect males’ higher level of involvement in local government entities (leander et al., 2019), not a greater commitment to public-sphere water conservation behaviors. further research is needed to better understand this relationship. previous research (chaudhary et al., 2018; larson et al., 2011) has found a significant negative relationship between conservative political orientation and private-sphere water conservation behaviors. the findings of this study are consistent with these previous studies and extend this relationship into public-sphere water conservation behaviors; however, the observed wise et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.107 46 correlation was low (davis, 1973) and political orientation did not enter into the regression equation. the construct, subjective norms, made the greatest positive contribution to these students’ fi to engage in public-sphere water conservation behaviors. this is consistent with previous research (fielding et al., 2008; pradhananga et al., 2015). according to cislaghi and heise (2018), determining the effects as opposed to the prevalence of social norms is important in guiding change-centered actions. this research established subjective norms as an important determinant of fi to engage in public-sphere water conservation behaviors. lack of agency was a negative predictor of students’ fi to engage in public-sphere water conservation behaviors. intuitively, this makes sense because belief that circumstances are immutable logically leads to decreased motivation to act. this is consistent with findings by martinez and mcmullin (2004) that self-efficacy was a strong predictor of public-sphere environmental behaviors. in the broader literature, this is also supported by jian and jeffres (2008) who found greater political agency was associated with higher levels of political involvement. if student attitudes and personal agency toward both privateand public-sphere water conservation behaviors can be positively affected during college, graduates are more likely to subsequently engage in these behaviors. one potential method of shaping these behaviors is by surrounding students with experiences and indicators that societal norms value water conservation behaviors. providing on-campus experiences for students that clearly demonstrate positive societal norms about water conservation can provide the “focal points” (p. 1) around which subjective norms can be formed (ensminger and knight, 1997). in addition, publicizing positive outcomes of such initiatives may help to develop higher levels of personal and collective agency toward water conservation. to the extent this research informs practice, activities to promote water conservation behaviors among college students should focus on community-based interventions that shift subjective norms and agency towards water conservation. acknowledgements this research was funded, in part, by the usda national institute of food and agriculture, hatch project 1024473 and the university of arkansas, division of agriculture. references ajzen, i. 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(2019). university of arkansas student degree, enrollment and demographics [data set]. https://oir.uark.edu/students/enrollment-reports/2020spring-report-v2.pdf wise et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.107 49 united states geological survey. (2018). estimated use of water in the united states in 2015. (u.s. geological survey circular no. 1441). https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/cir1441 yong, g., & pearce, s. (2013). a beginner’s guide to factor analysis: focusing on exploratory factor analysis. tutorials in quantitative methods for psychology, 9(2), 79–94. https://doi.org/10.20982/tqmp.09.2.p079 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 9-manuscript-221-4-11-20200131 jordan et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 1, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. samantha jordan, graduate student, the university of tennessee, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1192-1967 2. christopher t. stripling, associate professor & interim department head, the university of tennessee, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5045-3492 3. christopher boyer, associate professor, the university of tennessee, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1393-8589 4. carrie a stephens, professor, the university of tennessee, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5592-2377 5. nathan w. conner, associate professor, university of nebraska-lincoln, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0063-4110 75 academic-related perceptions, beliefs, and strategies of undergraduate agricultural students s. jordan1, c. t. stripling2, c. boyer3, c. a. stephens4, n w. conner5 abstract students’ academic-related perceptions, beliefs, and strategies are fundamental elements that influence teaching and learning within colleges of agriculture. this study investigated students’ academic efficacy, academic self-handicapping, and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success at the university of tennessee’s herbert college of agriculture. the students were academically efficacious, rarely self-handicapped, and did not doubt the relevance of their degree. in addition, a low negative association was found between academic efficacy and self-handicapping, a negligible relationship was found between academic efficacy and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success, and a moderate relationship was found between academic selfhandicapping and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success. therefore, instructors are encouraged to move past traditional lecture-based instruction and challenge their students at higher cognitive levels, which will allow students to realistically explore the complexities of agriculture. furthermore, academic self-handicapping may be an indicator of lower academic efficacy and/or skepticism about the relevance of a student’s degree. future research should further explore these relationships keywords academic efficacy; self-handicapping; skepticism; learning environment; social cognitive theory jordan et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/ 10.37433/aad.v1i1.17 76 introduction and problem statement rapid change in the world has unleashed extraordinary challenges and opportunities creating a sense of urgency concerning the fields of agricultural sciences and natural resources (national research council, nrc, 2009). furthermore, sustaining the global enterprise that supports production of agricultural products has generated a requirement for agriculture graduates to be able to work in an evolving workplace (nrc, 2009). accordingly, university academic programs need to be revived and restructured to sustain the continuous revolving door of expectations that accompany evolving times (nrc, 2009) and the shortage of agricultural baccalaureate graduates (goecker, smith, fernandez, ali, & goetz, 2015). graduates with expertise in the agricultural sciences are crucial to the unites states’ ability to address national and global priorities (goecker, et al., 2015), and addressing both societal and industry challenges will require a better understanding of the complexities of agriculture teaching and learning (nrc, 2009; stripling & ricketts, 2016), including variables related to the educator, learner, and the cultural, social, and physical learning environment (national academies of science, 2018). according to the national academies of science (2018), effective instruction depends on an understanding of this complex interplay among educator, learner, and environmental variables. to that end, this study seeks to add to the limited knowledge of undergraduate agriculture students’ academic efficacy, academic self-handicapping, and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success, which are fundamental elements that impact learner engagement in academic tasks. the results of this study may provide valuable insight into improving undergraduate programs in agricultural and natural resources and be relevant to university educators and administrators by developing a deeper understanding of the above factors and how they impact the educational environment. theoretical and conceptual framework bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory explicates cognitive developmental changes experienced by people during a lifetime and provides a foundation for social learning. according to bandura (1997), human functioning occurs “within an interdependent causal structure involving triadic reciprocal causation” (p. 6), in which the environment, behavior, and internal personal factors influence one another bidirectionally. the determinates can unequally interact and influence one another over time, and the influences and reciprocal effects may not occur simultaneously, suggesting each person maintains the ability to both shape and redirect their own experiences (bandura, 1986; bandura, 1997). for this study, the behaviors of interest are academic performance and self-handicapping. the personal factors under investigation are academic self-efficacy and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success. the environment in which these behaviors and personal factors are observed is the herbert college of agriculture. behavior: academic performance and self-handicapping multiple facets affect academic performance including quality of academic feedback or lack thereof (bandiera, larcinese, & rasul, 2015; stinebrickner & stinebrickner, 2013); prior jordan et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/ 10.37433/aad.v1i1.17 77 learning, life experiences, and ongoing performance (martin, wilson, liem & ginns, 2013); psychological needs (osterman, 2000); a learner’s cultural, social, cognitive, and biological context and interest, motivation and ability to regulate learning; educator’s knowledge of learner development and choice of pedagogical strategies and assessments; the social and physical learning environment (national academy of sciences, 2018); and so forth. self-handicapping involves creating impediments to inhibit or explain performance (berglas & jones, 1978; gadbois & sturgeon, 2011; zuckerman, kieffer, & knee 1998). academic selfhandicapping is an action or choice (e.g., procrastination, overcommitting, consuming drugs/alcohol before an exam, etc.) that improves an opportunity to externalize one’s failure, and yet still internalize success (berglas & jones, 1978). chronic self-handicapping may negatively affect academic outcomes and accomplishments (schwinger, wirthwein, lemmer, & steinmayr, 2014) and over time self-efficacy (arazzini & de george-walker, 2014). personal factors: academic self-efficacy and relevance of school academic self-efficacy is a student’s belief in their own ability to complete an academic skill or task, and this belief influences effort, persistence, use of metacognitive and self-regulatory strategies, and academic achievement (pintrich & zusho, 2007). also, academic self-efficacy positively influences socio-cognitive processes and is a robust predictor of undergraduate academic performance (putwain, sander & larkin, 2013). self-efficacy can be influenced through mastery and vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion that one possesses or does not possess a capability, and physiological and affective states (bandura, 1997). in regards to skepticism about the relevance of school for future success, individuals with a future time perspective tend to place greater emphasis on success “via goal-directed behavior, giving greater attention to environmental cues, and engaging in a greater number of activities to achieve these goals” (murrel & mingone, 1994, p. 4). however, humphreys and davenport (2005) found that students perceived specific requirements of the college curriculum derailed their self-development and created a distraction from major coursework. perceptions impact college students’ prescribed value and relevance of coursework to their career or life (pintrich & zusho, 2007). furthermore, students are more apt to engage in learning when they value the learning experience (deci, vallerand, pelletier, & ryan, 1991). environment: herbert college of agriculture at the university of tennessee the herbert college of agriculture prepares students for careers in agricultural, environmental, life, and social sciences and seeks to enhance educational efforts in order to sustain economic strength, food security, and health; in addition to safeguarding and improving our natural environment (herbert college of agriculture, 2013). the herbert college of agriculture is operating in an era in which colleges of agriculture have been “challenged to transform their role in higher education and their relationship to the evolving global food and agricultural enterprise” (nrc, 2009, p. 1). jordan et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/ 10.37433/aad.v1i1.17 78 purpose the purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduate agricultural students’ academicrelated perceptions, beliefs, and strategies. the following objectives framed this study: 1. describe the academic efficacy of undergraduate students in the herbert college of agriculture at the university of tennessee. 2. describe the academic self-handicapping of undergraduate students in the herbert college of agriculture at the university of tennessee. 3. describe the skepticism about the relevance of school for future success of undergraduate students in the herbert college of agriculture at the university of tennessee. 4. describe the relationship between academic efficacy, academic self-handicapping, and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success. methods the research design was descriptive survey research, and the target population was undergraduate students in the herbert college of agriculture (n = 1,286) at the university of tennessee. the sample was a convenience sample of 303 students or 24% of the target population and consisted of 88 males and 215 females. the average age of the sample was 21.6 years old (sd = 4.73) with a minimum and maximum of 18 and 49 years old, respectively. the class level of the sample was 20% freshman, 18% sophomores, 28% juniors and 34% seniors. the mean grade point average was 3.3 (sd = .68) on a four-point scale. additionally, the sample was compared to the known demographic variables of ethnicity, class level, and gender and was found to be representative based on ethnicity and class level. however, the sample was skewed towards females, and was weighted based on the population parameter to create a representative sample. data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire that consisted of the following: six demographic questions and midgley et al.’s (2000) five item academic efficacy scale, six item academic self-handicapping strategies scale, and the six item skepticism about the relevance of school for future success scale. based on six cognitive interviews, changes were made to improve the clarity of the questionnaire’s directions, and minor wording changes to the academic efficacy and self-handicapping scales to fit the context of the study. for example, i'm certain i can master the skills taught in class this year was changed to i'm certain i can master the skills taught in my classes this year, and even if i do well in school, it will not help me have the kind of life i want when i grow up was changed to even if i do well in school, it will not help me have the kind of career i want when i graduate. midgley et al. reported cronbach’s alpha coefficients for academic efficacy as .78, .84 for the academic self-handicapping strategies, and .83 for skepticism about the relevance of school for future success, and the post-hoc reliabilities for each construct were 0.91, 0.87, and 0.88, respectively. the scales used a rating scale of 1 = not at all true, 3 = somewhat true, 5 = very true. data were collected using the online qualtrics survey software. the questionnaire was sent to the undergraduate students using their university email accounts, and dillman, smyth, and jordan et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/ 10.37433/aad.v1i1.17 79 christian’s (2014) procedures for implementing web surveys guided the multiple contacts made. four emails were sent through the qualtrics survey software approximately one week apart to all herbert college of agriculture students. the first email was sent to inform the entire population of the study. the second email contained the link to the survey and the online informed consent. the third and fourth emails were sent as a reminder of the opportunity to participate in the study and both contained the link to the survey. descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic information. summated means were calculated for each of the three aforementioned scales. frequencies and percentages were also calculated for each item of the scales, and pearson correlations were used to determine the associations between academic efficacy, academic self-handicapping, and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success. davis’ (1971) terminology was used to indicate the magnitude of the correlations. correlations from .01 to .09 are negligible, .10 to .29 are low, .30 to .49 are moderate, .50 to .69 are substantial, .70 to .99 are very strong, and a correlation of 1.00 is perfect. the findings of the study may not be generalizable beyond the target population of undergraduate students in herbert college of agriculture at the university of tennessee. therefore, readers should use caution when generalizing the results of this study unless data confirms the target population of this study is representative of other populations of undergraduate agricultural students. findings objective 1: describe the academic efficacy of undergraduate students in the herbert college of agriculture at the university of tennessee. a majority agreement was reached on all academic efficacy items (table 1). the summated mean for academic efficacy was 4.16 (sd = 0.04), which indicates the undergraduate students are academically efficacious. table 1 summary of student responses on the academic efficacy items 1 2 3 4 5 items % % % % % even if the classwork is hard, i can learn it. 1.3 3.4 12.7 36.7 46.0 i can do almost all of the work in my classes if i don’t give up. 0.7 1.8 12.1 35.3 50.1 i’m certain i can figure out how to do the most difficult classwork. 1.1 5.5 21.8 37.6 34.1 i can do even the hardest work in my classes if i try. 0.7 4.0 18.1 38.0 39.1 i'm certain i can master the skills taught in my classes this year. 1.3 2.6 19.5 35.4 41.2 note. 1 = not at all true, 3 = somewhat true, 5 = very true. jordan et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/ 10.37433/aad.v1i1.17 80 objective 2: describe the academic self-handicapping of undergraduate students in the herbert college of agriculture at the university of tennessee. a majority of undergraduate students strongly disagreed with five of the six academic selfhandicapping items and disagreed with the remaining self-handicapping item (table 2). the summated mean for academic self-handicapping was 1.66 (sd = 0.04), which indicates the undergraduate students do not or rarely self-handicap. table 2 summary of student responses on academic self-handicapping items 1 2 3 4 5 items % % % % % some students purposely get involved in lots of activities. then if they don’t do well on their classwork, they can say it is because they were involved with other things. how true is this of you? 58.3 22.6 15.3 3.5 0.3 some students purposely don’t try hard in class. then if they don’t do well, they can say it is because they don’t try. how true is this of you? 72.5 11.8 11.1 2.8 1.7 some students fool around the night before a test. then if they don’t do well they can say that is the reason. how true is this of you? 61.0 21.0 12.0 3.8 2.3 some students put off doing their classwork until the last minute. then if they don’t do well on their classwork, they can say that this is the reason. how true is this of you? 40.0 30.0 20.5 8.1 1.4 some students let their friends keep them from paying attention in class or from doing their homework. then if they don’t do well they can say their friends kept them from working. how true is this of you? 65.4 21.6 9.4 2.9 0.7 some students look for reasons to keep them from studying (not feeling well, having to help their parents, taking care of a brother or sister, etc.). then if they don’t do well on their classwork, they can say this is the reason. how true is this of you? 57.4 25.0 13.6 3.3 0.7 note. 1 = not at all true, 3 = somewhat true, 5 = very true. objective 3: describe the skepticism about the relevance of school for future success of undergraduate students in the herbert college of agriculture at the university of tennessee. a majority of undergraduate students strongly disagreed with four of the six skepticism about the relevance of school for future success items and disagreed with one skepticism item. the remaining item, getting good grades in school won’t guarantee that i will get a good job when i graduate, had mixed responses (table 3). the summated mean for skepticism about the jordan et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/ 10.37433/aad.v1i1.17 81 relevance of school for future success was 2.00 (sd = 0.04), which indicates the undergraduate students were not skeptical about the relevance of their degree from the herbert college of agriculture. table 3 summary of student responses on the skepticism about the relevance of school for future success items 1 2 3 4 5 items % % % % % even if i am successful in school, it won’t help me fulfill my dreams. 57.4 21.0 14.1 5.1 2.5 my chances of succeeding in a career don’t depend on doing well in school. 55.3 20.5 17.0 4.2 3.0 doing well in school doesn’t improve my chances of having a good career when i graduate. 59.5 22.3 10.3 6.9 1.0 doing well in school won’t help me have a satisfying career when i grow up. 63.6 21.9 9.3 2.4 1.3 getting good grades in school won’t guarantee that i will get a good job when i graduate. 8.8 12.5 34.7 21.8 22.2 even if i do well in school, it will not help me have the kind of career i want when i graduate. 49.6 26.6 18.0 4.5 1.4 note. 1 = not at all true, 3 = somewhat true, 5 = very true. objective 4: describe the relationship between academic efficacy, academic self-handicapping, and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success. as shown in table 4, academic efficacy was negatively related with academic self-handicapping and positively related to skepticism about the relevance of school for future success. skepticism about the relevance of school for future success and academic self-handicapping were also positively related. in addition, a low negative association was found between academic efficacy and self-handicapping (r = -.25). a negligible relationship was found between academic efficacy and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success (r = .03), and a moderate relationship was found between academic self-handicapping and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success (r = .33). jordan et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/ 10.37433/aad.v1i1.17 82 table 4 correlations for academic efficacy, academic self-handicapping, and skepticism variables academic efficacy academic selfhandicapping skepticism academic efficacy academic self-handicapping – 0.25 skepticism 0.03 0.33 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the undergraduate students in the herbert college of agriculture at the university of tennessee are academically efficacious and do not or rarely academically self-handicap. being academically efficacious and not practicing academic self-handicapping should exert a positive influence on the undergraduate students’ academic behaviors and internal personal factors and the environment of the herbert college of agriculture (bandura, 1986, 1997). this is encouraging, since academic efficacy mediates achievement gains (putwain et al., 2013; schunk, 2012), and those who academically self-handicap are seeking ways to accept failure without reducing their self-esteem or conception of ability (mccrea, 2008). having students that are efficacious and that do not or rarely self-handicap may have positively impacted the students’ grade point averages as their mean grade point average was 3.3 on a four-point scale. furthermore, since behavior, personal factors, and the environment impact each other bidirectionally (bandura, 1986, 1997), prior academic success and the success they are experiencing at the postsecondary level may explain why these students are efficacious and rarely exhibit self-handicapping behaviors. as a result, instructors in the herbert college of agriculture should challenge their students to move beyond learning factual information to developing higher-order thinking skills that are needed to solve the extraordinary challenges and opportunities our society and agriculture face today. with that in mind, future research in colleges of agriculture should determine the most effective means of challenging academically efficacious students while improving academic efficacy for those who display low academic efficacy. furthermore, future research should determine if other populations of undergraduate agriculture students exhibit academic self-handicapping, and if they do, approaches or interventions should be investigated to determine those most effective at reducing the behavior. undergraduate students, in the herbert college of agriculture, were non-skeptical about the relevance of their schooling at the university of tennessee for future success. not being skeptical about the relevance of their degree program should also exert a positive influence on the undergraduate students’ academic behaviors and internal personal factors and the environment of the herbert college of agriculture (bandura, 1986, 1997). to that end, being future oriented directly enhances student motivation and academic performance (eccles & wigfield, 1995). the fact that the students in the herbert college of agriculture are not skeptical about the relevance of their schooling may be the result of quality instruction within jordan et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/ 10.37433/aad.v1i1.17 83 the college and the nationwide surplus of job opportunities and shortage of graduates in agriculture, food, and natural resources (national research council, 2009). in regards to the relationship between variables under investigation in this study, the associations between academic efficacy and self-handicapping suggest students who academically self-handicap have a lower sense of academic efficacy, and students handicap at a higher rate when they are skeptical about the relevance of their degree. these associations align with bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory, and instructors should be knowledgeable that handicapping may be an indicator of lower academic efficacy and/or skepticism about the relevance of a student’s degree. lower academic efficacy may discourage students from engaging in challenging academic tasks (bandura, 1986; schunk, 2012), and self-handicapping is often the result of one desiring to externalize failure (berglas & jones, 1978). therefore, if instructors recognize low academic efficacy and/or self-handicapping behaviors in their students, they may consider providing additional instructional support and ensure students are receiving high quality feedback as the aforementioned behaviors may be a result of uncertainty in the students’ perception of their ability (zuckerman & tsai, 2005). future research should further investigate and seek to determine explanatory factors that influence undergraduate agriculture students’ academic performance, motivation, learning strategies use, and engagement in academic task. in conclusion, as we seek to prepare undergraduate agriculture students for the extraordinary challenges and opportunities before them, college instructors should be knowledgeable of their students’ academic-related perceptions, beliefs, and strategies and use this knowledge to inform their instructional practices. additionally, the 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(2005). costs of self-handicapping. journal of personality, 73, 411– 442. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00314.x © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 137-manuscript-1801-1-11-20211008.docx siegelin et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 3, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. steven d. siegelin, director of analysis, planning, and evaluation, montana state university extension, siegelin@montana.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8239-9574 2. daniel lee, associate dean, phyllis j. washington college of education, university of montana, dan.lee@umontana.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4232-0363 3. cody stone, executive director, montana state university extension, cstone@montana.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6518-3168 25 the influence of extension professional’s job satisfaction and the quality of relationship with department heads on field faculty career commitment to montana state university extension s. siegelin1, d. lee2, c. stone3 abstract this research increased the understanding of extension professionals’ career commitment by measuring the relationship between their job satisfaction and how they perceive their relationship with their supervisor using the leader-member exchange theory (lmx 7) and their career commitment. montana state university extension (msue) experiences periods of higher turnover among field-based professionals. the reasons for leaving are not well understood. herzberg et al. (1959) identified intrinsic job satisfaction as a motivation factor and the extrinsic relationships with supervisors as one factor that influences employee dissatisfaction (strong & harder, 2009). thirty-six early career extension professionals at msue were surveyed regarding job satisfaction (benge & harder, 2017; smerek & peterson, 2007); lmx 7 (graen & uhl-bien,1995); and original questions designed to establish the career commitment of extension professionals to msue. pearson’s r was calculated for the job satisfaction and lmx 7 scores with career commitment (the predicted percent of career worked for extension). the research found a strong positive correlation between job satisfaction and career commitment (r(22) = .76); and a weak positive correlation between lmx 7 and career commitment (r(22) = .15). an additional question provided insights into the reasons why extension professionals might leave their career. keywords leader-member exchange, lmx7, county agent, longevity, retention siegelin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.137 26 introduction and problem statement in a 25-month period in 2016 to 2018, msue experienced and filled vacancies, representing 16% of the workforce. extension professionals and administrators asked if there were systemic causes for this turnover. this research sought to understand how job satisfaction and supervisor relationships may influence early career turnover. similar questions have been raised and observations made in past episodes of high turnover. the sustained success and longevity of extension professionals who are based in local communities through local government partnerships has been documented over the past 50 years (arnold & place, 2010; baker & hadley, 2014; clegg, 1967; forstadt & fortune, 2016; fourman & jones, 1997; harder et al., 2014; hyatt, 1966; lindner, 1998; martin & kaufman, 2013; morrill & morrill, 1967). herzberg et al.’s (1959) motivation-hygiene theory identified that things unrelated to job responsibilities (hygiene factors) caused dissatisfaction that may result in a desire to separate. smerek and peterson (2007) developed a methodology to document employee satisfaction as a hygiene factor in non-extension university employees. benge and harder (2017) studied employee satisfaction and the recommended measure of lmx (lmx 7) instrument (graen & uhl-bien, 1995) to study the follower-leader relationship between extension professionals in a county office with the county extension director (ced). this research sought to develop an understanding of the relationships between these two factors and montana state university extension (msue) professionals’ career commitment to their positions. smerek and peterson (2007) developed a conceptual model to study job satisfaction within the context of the motivation-hygiene theory, “…which is comprised of (a) whether a job meets expectations, (b) is close to an ideal job, and (c) how satisfied a person is with their job” (smerek & peterson, 2007, p. 234). three survey prompts addressing these concepts were used by benge and harder (2017) in their research of local extension professionals. this study adopted these three prompts to ascertain extension professionals’ satisfaction and how their responses related to career commitment to msue. theoretical and conceptual framework the motivation-hygiene theory (herzberg et al., 1959) identified the independent nature of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction. they observed an absence of a directly related continuum from highly satisfied employees to highly dissatisfied employees. instead, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are independent of each other (smerek & peterson, 2007). the motivation factors drive satisfaction and are related to success in the job and other factors related to that success. dissatisfiers, defined as hygiene issues, were influenced by routine factors not specifically related to the execution of work responsibilities, (bruening & hoover, 1999; herzberg et al., 1959) note that “when feelings of unhappiness were reported, they were not associated with the job itself but with conditions that surround the doing of the job” (herzberg et al., 1959, p. 113). motivation factors include achievement, recognition, work itself, siegelin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.137 27 responsibility, advancement, and growth. hygiene factors include company policy and administration, supervision, relationship with supervisor, work conditions, salary, relationships with peers, personal life, relationships with subordinates, status, and security (herzberg, et al., 1959). “in herzberg’s mind you could not improve job satisfaction by improving any of the 10 hygiene factors; you could only improve job satisfaction by increasing the six motivators” (smerek & peterson, 2007, p. 231). motivation factors are intrinsic in nature and hygiene factors are extrinsic. this research specifically studied the job satisfaction and the relationship with the supervisor and how they relate to career commitment. smerek and peterson (2007) developed a conceptual model to study job satisfaction within the context of the motivation-hygiene theory, “…which is comprised of (a) whether a job meets expectations, (b) is close to an ideal job, and (c) how satisfied a person is with their job” (smerek & peterson, 2007, p. 234). three survey prompts addressing these concepts were used by benge and harder (2017) in their research of local extension professionals. this study adopted these three prompts to ascertain extension professionals’ satisfaction and how their responses related to career commitment to msue. benge and harder (2017) explored lmx 7 scores of extension professionals for their co-located county extension directors (ced). their study included all extension agents and explored lmx 7 results by years of service, program area, geographic region, educational level, years of the relationship, and gender. the lmx 7 survey instrument was developed over 25 years during the late twentieth century by graen and ulh-bien (1995). it is a seven-item questionnaire using summated scale response options that measures the quality of the relationship between a follower and leader. in short, numeric scores for the responses are summed (range of 7 to 35) to establish the lmx 7 score. graen and uhl-bien (1995) defined three qualitative descriptors based on the lmx 7 scores as the stranger (lmx 7 score range of 7 to 19 points) relationship is highly contractual or transactional, acquaintance (20 to 24 points) relationships have increasing social interactions with longer periods of reciprocation; it is a testing phase where they revert to the stranger phase or grow into the partner phase, and partner (25 to 35 points) relationship includes in-kind support with undefined reciprocation that need not balance out in the end. benge and harder (2017) provided a detailed discussion of the descriptors and the theoretical framework for lmx 7 in the context of extension professionals. for the purpose of this study the following terms are defined. • career commitment: the percent of predicted time to separation and to retirement. • early-career extension professional: agent with zero to five years with msue. • job satisfaction: the quantitative measure of “whether a job meets expectations,… is close to an ideal job, and… how satisfied a person is with their job” (smerek & peterson, 2007) • lmx 7-stranger: “interactions between the members occur on a more formal basis… relationship, exchanges are purely contractual: leaders provide… what [is needed] to perform, and followers… do only their prescribed job” (graen & uhl-bien, 1995, p. 230). • lmx 7-acquaintance: “increased social exchanges occur between the members… both on a personal and work level… and are part of a testing stage. there is still an equitable return of favor… within a limited time period” (graen & uhl-bien, 1995, p. 230). siegelin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.137 28 • lmx 7-partner: “exchanges between the members are highly developed: they are exchanges “in kind” and may have a long time span of reciprocation…. the individuals can count on each other for loyalty and support” (graen & uhl-bien, 1995, p. 230). purpose the purpose of this research was to explore how job satisfaction, and leader-member exchange related to career commitment to msue. to accomplish this purpose four research objectives guided this study: • quantify participant career commitment. • quantify participant job satisfaction and analyze its relationship with career commitment. • quantify participant leader-member exchange and analyze its relationship with career commitment. • document reasons participants think they might leave msue in the future. methods this correlational study included data from msue county-based faculty (agents). developing an understanding of the utility of the short and simple job satisfaction and lmx 7 instruments as easily implemented predictors of career commitment was of interest to leaders. the addition of four questions that established career commitment and attitudes related to job searching or dissatisfaction were developed to keep the questionnaire simple and easy to complete (13 fixed-response and one free-response questions). the study was deemed exempt from irb review. an a priori acceptable correlation value of r > .70 or a strong positive correlation (akoglu, 2018) was established. the target population for this study was county-based faculty serving in their first five years of service in the msue (n = 36). there was interest from msue administration to better understand factors that may influence early career professionals to seek other employment. a census was attempted with a response rate of 67% (n = 24). due to incomplete questionnaires, the effective response rate in some correlations was as low as 58% (n = 21). this response rate for electronic surveys is similar to others administered to extension professionals; 58% (brain et al., 2009), 62% (adams et al., 2009), 68% (benge & harder, 2017), and 69% (benge et al., 2011). data were collected in the spring of 2018 using a questionnaire that utilized previously developed questions for job satisfaction (benge & harder, 2017; smerek & peterson, 2007) and a modified lmx 7 (benge & harder, 2017; graen &uhl-bien, 1995), and researcher developed questions to document predicted career commitment and reasons for leaving msue. leadermember exchange, and career commitment, and predicted reasons for leaving data were presented in 2018 as a poster at the national association of extension program and staff development professionals annual meeting in alexandria, va. this research had three limitations. the participants could misinterpret the questions and provide responses that are not consistent with the original intent. the reliability of the lmx 7 siegelin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.137 29 instrument was noticeably lower than others have reported (discussed in the findings and conclusions, discussions, and recommendations). this research asked participants to predict future actions and reasoning. to address these limitations the questionnaire was vetted by independent researchers or administrators in agriculture education, education, or extension in three states and four institutions. consideration of these limitations should be given when applying of these results to other extension systems. all locally based extension professionals of msue hired between january 1, 2013 and february 28, 2018 served as the population for this research, names were provided by msue human resources. faculty members who satisfied this delimitation ranged in age from mid-twenties to sixties. the majority of participants were female. all were caucasian with some hispanic representation. the sum of the job satisfaction numeric equivalents, lmx 7 score and predicted percent of career spent with msue (a higher scores are better) were utilized to calculate pearson’s r correlation coefficient to determine the strength and direction of the correlation (spss, versions 25 and 27). the dependent variable, career commitment, was calculated by taking the percentage of predicted times of service with msue and to retirement from all careers. this transformation was necessary because the population for this study included professionals at a variety of career and life stages which would have confounded the data if not adjusted for the number of years until final retirement. the independent and dependent variables are interval and ratio in character, respectively. findings objective 1: quantify participant career commitment participants predicted how many years they thought they would work for msue and how many years they would work before retiring from all careers. a percentage was calculated and serves as the numeric representation of career commitment in this study. seven participants (n = 21) predicted they will spend ≤20% of their career with msue; 12 participants predicted they will spend less than half their career with msue; nine participants predicted they would spend more than half their career with msue; and four would retire from msue, see figure 1. siegelin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.137 30 figure 1 career commitment of early career extension professionals to msu extension to further understand the commitment to extension as a career of the participants a question was asked what their career intentions were with msue, see table 1. seventy-eight percent (n = 23) of the participants indicate they are content or plan to retire in their current position. these results show that 21.7% (n = 23) of the participants were predicting they would try to leave their position in the next few years. table 1 career intentions with msue survey prompt f % i am actively seeking employment outside msue 0 0.0 i hope to find a position outside msue in the next few years 5 21.74 i am content in my current position 14 60.87 i plan to retire from msue 4 17.39 objective 2: quantify participant job satisfaction and analyze its relationship with career commitment table 2 and figure 2 show the results to three questions in the survey instrument designed to measure extension professionals’ job satisfaction. all participants agreed that their current job matches their ideal job and over 90% (n = 23) are satisfied with their jobs. however, when asked if their current job exceeds their expectations, agreement dropped to about 61% (n = 23). nearly 40% of participants (n = 23) disagreed that their current job exceeds their expectations. the correlation between career commitment and job satisfaction is shown in figure 2. 0 1 2 3 4 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 60 61 to 70 71 to 80 81 to 90 91 to 100 n um be r o f p eo pl e percentage of career (%) extension professionals prediction of percentage of career served with msu extension (frequency of repsonses) siegelin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.137 31 table 2 frequency of reponses for job satisfaction and expectations of early career professionals in cooperative extension system % (n = 23) survey prompt sa swa swd sd my current job matches my ideal job 34.8 65.2 0.0 0.0 i am satisfied with my job (consider all the expectations you had when you started your current job) 56.5 34.8 8.7 0.0 my current job exceeds those expectations 26.1 34.8 34.8 4.4 note. sa = strong agree, swa = somewhat agree, swd = somewhat disagree, sd =strongly disagree figure 2 correlation of percent of career v. job satisfaction and expectation total score y = 0.48x 1.10 r² = 0.54 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 1 2 3 4 ca re er c om m itm en t t o m su e (% ) average job satisifaction and expectations score (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = somewhat disagree, 3 = somewhat agree, 4 = strongly agree) siegelin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.137 32 the correlation between career commitment and job satisfaction was strong positive (r2 = .54), see table 3. cronbach’s alpha was calculated to assess the reliability of the job satisfaction instrument (a = .71) (chronbach, 1951). table 3 lmx 7 results – descriptive, correlation, and reliability statistics variable n m sd r1 ρ 1 job satisfaction and expectations2 23 5.3 1.7 .76 .77 lmx 73 23 19.5 3.5 .15 .24 msue career (%)4 22 45.8 35.3 1correlation coefficients. spearman’s rho shared for those who prefer a non-parametric analysis of likert-scale data (kero & lee, 2016). 2scale: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = somewhat disagree, 3 = somewhat agree, 4 = strongly agree. 3scale: 7 to 35 with 35 being most positive using various likert-scales (1-5). 4the percent of the respondent’s career they intend to work for msue (calculated) objective 3: quantify participant leader-member exchange and analyze its relationship with career commitment the cumulative lmx 7 score for an individual could range from seven to 35 points. those faculty with lmx scores of seven to 19 are described in the stranger phase with their supervisor, 20 to 24 in the acquaintance phase, and 25 to 35 in the partner phase. the use of one qualitative question in the survey instrument provided avenues to better understand quantitative data in the research. cronbach’s alpha was calculated to assess the reliability of the lmx 7 instrument (a = .46) (chronbach, 1951). a visual inspection of the scatter plot demonstrates that there is a weak positive relationship between the follower-leader relationship as measured by the lmx 7 and career commitment of msue early career professionals. figure 3 shows that 14 respondents were in the stranger, seven were in the acquaintance, and two participants were partner phases. four respondents indicated that they would spend one hundred percent of their career with msue. three of these participants fell in the stranger phase with scores of 19 and the fourth was in the acquaintance phase with a score of 21. none of these participants with high career commitment to msue had partner phase relationships with their supervisors. in contrast, the two participants who were in the partner phase of relationship with their supervisor had career commitments of forty and seventeen percent. eleven (n = 21) participants indicated that they would spend half or more of their career with msue. ten participants indicated they would spend less than half of their career with msue. eight indicated that they would spend less than one fourth of their career with msue. siegelin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.137 33 figure 3 correlation between leader-member exchange score v. career commitment to msue (%), with phase of leadership making (shaded areas) objective 4: document reasons participants think they might leave msue in the future nineteen participants provided reasons why they might leave msue in the future. participants responded to the following prompt, “to the best of your ability, please share the reason(s) you believe you will leave msu extension, whenever that may be”. responses were sorted into four emergent categories: full career with msue, personal goals, professional goals, and hygiene factors. lists that spanned two or more categories were included in all relevant categories. ten responses (52.6%) included personal goals. the most frequent themes within this category were related to family goals including children or starting a family, living closer to extended family, or moving to a place more suitable for the whole family. professional goals included responses that demonstrated desires for career advancement. some participants shared that they would like to “find a better job”, have the “opportunity to explore new career avenues”, obtain an advanced degree, have “a new focus… [or] experience”, or “own/manage a ranch with my [spouse]”. hygiene factors included three participants mentioning concerns about organizational leadership; one specifically mentioned lack of support from their supervisor and the others referenced a lack of leadership in general terms. a dissatisfaction with level of pay (too low or a desire for higher pay) was also mentioned by three participants. lack of growth in budgets was another concern shared. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 7 12 17 22 27 32 ca re er c om m itm en t t o m su e (% ) leader-member exchange score stranger r = .15 aquai ntanc e partner siegelin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.137 34 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this research indicates that career-long commitment from extension professionals may not be a realistic administrative goal. one fourth of the research population (n =36) or 41% (n = 22) or respondents indicated that they would spend less than 30% of their career with msue. all 22 respondents indicated that their current job was their ideal job. extension administrators and staff development professionals may need to consider how to orient, onboard, and train new faculty for rapid success to maximize the impacts the employee has for extension in three to 10 years in a position. a more successful strategy for retention may be to focus on enhancing the motivation factors that drive satisfaction (intrinsic motivators) and minimize dissatisfying hygiene factors (extrinsic motivators) that may increase willingness to pursue other employment. often times orientation and onboarding training focuses much of the allotted time on policy and procedures, employment related issues (benefits, reporting or information systems, compliance issues important for getting paid, etc.). these items are hygiene issues that are important to organizational success but are not contributors to satisfaction or career commitment. addressing both motivators and hygiene factors may increase or extend career commitment amongst professionals. it is commendable that all participants agreed that their current job matched their ideal job. this indicates that msue’s hiring and applicant filtering processes are identifying people who identify with the role of extension professionals. over 90% (n = 23) of participants agreed that they were satisfied in their position. however, nearly 40% (n = 23) participants disagreed that their job exceeded their expectations. this may allow msue to explore ways to help professionals identify reasonable expectations that meet or exceed their own expectations. msue may also be able to identify and address systemic assets, opportunities, or limitations to enhance professionals’ intrinsic success that may increase career commitment. the relationship between job satisfaction and career commitment was strong positive (r(22) = .76) (akoglu, 2018). the simple nature of the three questions used to develop msue professionals’ job satisfaction and the strong positive correlation to career commitment could be a valuable measure of individual and collective attitudes and a predictor of likely future turnover. if these satisfaction questions were gathered in a confidential manner over time; msue could develop further understanding of job satisfaction across the organization. this could allow the tracking of individual and collective trends over years and further validate or refine the predictive utility of this relationship as individual responses and trends could be considered over time and when individuals leave the system. career expectations that relate to hygiene factors could be of utmost importance to helping msue administration develop strategies and practices that minimize the impact of hygiene issues that may increase dissatisfaction. siegelin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.137 35 the lmx 7 instrument’s relationship with career commitment is weak positive (r(22) = .15); however, this is not a negative result. the findings reveal that the relationship between the professional and the supervisor is not negatively impacting career commitment of early career professionals. these results indicate the role of the supervisor in early career turnover is not a major factor. the distribution of over 80% (n = 24) of the respondents in the stranger or acquaintance phase of relationship building is interesting and deserves further exploration. this research explored a new application of the lmx 7 instrument in an extension context. benge and harder (2017) studied the follower-leader relationship between extension professionals at all stages of career with their co-located leader who was in regular contact with the follower. this research found lower lmx 7 scores for follower-leader relationships where they interact inperson on a limited basis (3 to 15 times per year). benge and harder’s (2017) work found greater percentages of lmx 7 scores in the partner phase. the population of their study included all extension professionals in local offices and studied the relationship with their colocated supervisor. the greater years of service in their research population and the increased interaction with the co-located supervisor may explain the differences. more research to understand the growth and limitations of leader-member exchange when supervisor interactions are limited by time and distance may be important for extension systems to understand what is possible in such organizational structures. the low reliability of the lmx 7 questionnaire in this research (a = .46) brings into question its utility in this application. the reliability of the lmx 7 scale was noticeably lower than those reported by previous researchers (benge & harder, 2017; gerstner & day, 1997; maslyn & uhlbien, 2001). further analysis found that if lmx 7 questions one and two were eliminated, cronbach’s alpha rose to .71. alternative correlations were calculated substituting the sum of lmx 7 questions three through seven to explore whether the problematic questions were influencing the results or data interpretation. both pearson’s r and spearman’s rho showed similar, yet lower correlation strength to the original analysis (r(22) = .11 and ρ(22) = .13). as a result, the original lmx 7 score and correlation were discussed here. this research results in several questions that deserve further consideration. developing the longitudinal and predictive utility of the three job satisfaction questions to indicate individual and organizational career commitment over time could be valuable. instead of hoping every new hire will spend their career in extension; administrators could utilize longitudinal results to identify individuals in need of support, predict future vacancy rates, or identify rapid shifts in organizational morale. research that gains a better understanding of what a realistic career commitment is for newly hired employees may help extension leadership create a more satisfying and rewarding work environment. finally, the lmx 7’s low reliability scores in this study is concerning. additional research of the lmx 7 instrument in non-co-located employees and supervisors could help validate or invalidate the instrument in these extension employeesupervisor relationships. siegelin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.137 36 references adams, a. e., place, n. t., & swisher, m. e. 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(2009). implications of maintenance and motivation factors on extension agent turnover. journal of extension, 47(1). https://archives.joe.org/joe/2009february/a2.php © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 89-manuscript-1003-2-11-20210304.docx olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 1, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. taylor olsovsky, graduate research assistant, texas a&m university, 600 john kimborough blvd. suite 263, college station, tx 77843-2116, taylorolsovsky@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0476-1440 2. robert strong, associate professor, texas a&m university, 600 john kimborough blvd. suite 254, college station, tx 77843-2116, r-strong@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5279-4808 3. allen berthold, assistant director, texas water resources institute, 578 john kimbrough blvd., college station, tx 77843. taberthold@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2604-1447 56 enhancing landowner adoption of the natural resource conservation service’s recommended beef cattle grazing management practices t. olsovsky1, r. strong2, a. berthold3 abstract water has a significant role in society, whether through human consumption or agricultural use. the lavaca watershed is an agricultural community affected by nonpoint source pollution, and water quality protection is of high concern. beef cattle operations are linked to nonpoint source pollution which contaminates surrounding water sources. if proper grazing management practices are not used, wastes from the operation impair water quality in the area. landowners should use proper stocking rates and implement best management practices to benefit land and water quality in addition to overall operation profit. females reported a higher intention to adopt, indicating these respondents are more open to practice changes on their own operation. results indicated a need for the natural resource conservation service (nrcs) and texas soil and water conservation board to conduct further outreach to increase interaction with landowners. nrcs agencies could help increase the use of water conservation plans and inquiries by making this clear to current landowners participating in their program as well as potential clients by sending informational flyers or speaking at local organizational gatherings. the importance of adopting water management practices and barriers to adoption are ongoing global concerns. keywords water, texas, intention, awareness, diffusion olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 57 introduction and problem statement the decline in water quality is a reoccurring concern, as water is one of our most significant resources. agricultural practices alone use approximately 80% of the united states’ water resources (national institute of food and agriculture, n.d.). many experts have stated increased communication and education on the impairment of water resources is essential in solving the water quality issue. mulki et al. (2018) stressed the need for the public to take a role in actively conserving water resources through investing “in thorough communication strategies to engage and educate” (p. 117). the lavaca watershed has many bodies of water that are home to aquatic life and used recreationally (texas commission on environmental quality, 2019). agricultural practices can negatively impact the water quality of the lavaca watershed. water quality protection is a high concern as an agricultural community affected by nonpoint source pollution. devant et al. (2020) reported cattle performance relies on access to high quality water. overstocking may cause the manure from cattle operations to deposit into the streams and rivers of the ecosystem through runoff water (tarakalson et al., 2006). redmon et al. (2012) indicated overgrazing depletes forage availability, which leads to decreased beef production efficiency and increases costs. theoretical and conceptual framework the theory of planned behavior (tpb) presents logic for why landowners’ may or may not adopt new water conservation practices. under critical review, ajzen (1991) points out weak arguments, describing human behaviors as multifaceted. therefore, ajzen (1991) presents tpb as a model to predict and explain human behavior in a specific setting. this theory, as shown in figure 1, involves predicting behavior by evaluating the relationship of behavioral intention to the three elements: attitude, perceived behavior control and subjective norms (ajzen, 1991). in explaining the behavior, each element has a foundational belief, such as behavioral, control, or normative underlying the intention and action (ajzen, 1991). rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations provides understanding on the adoption process for an innovation, such as new products or practices. diffusion is defined as “the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system” (rogers, 2003, p. 5). with the introduction of an innovation, there are uncertainties the influencer must alleviate prior to the persuasion stage (rogers, 2003). the influencer clears those uncertainties through three types of knowledge including awareness-knowledge, how-toknowledge, and principles-knowledge (rogers, 2003). this study focused on the awarenessknowledge. awareness-knowledge informs the individual the innovation exits (rogers, 2003). olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 58 purpose the purpose of this study was to understand landowner adoption of the natural resource conservation service’s recommended beef cattle grazing management practices. more specifically, the research objectives were to: 1. describe lavaca county landowner’s knowledge of stocking rates; 2. identify lavaca county landowner’s awareness of nrcs and tsswcb; and 3. explain lavaca county landowner’s intention to adopt grazing management practices. methods a quantitative research design was used to analyze data collected through surveying the targeted population in lavaca county, texas. a mail survey was designed using the principles described by dillman et al. (2014). the survey instrument measured the independent variables, demographics, knowledge levels, and awareness of the nrcs and tsswcb in relation to the dependent variable, beef cattle producers’ behavioral intention to adopt grazing management practices. a simple random sample was acquired from the target population, landowners with beef cattle operations on their property. after contacting the appraisal district’s office, a contact list was acquired and further developed by eliminating duplicate landowners and land plots under ten acres, which does not qualify for agricultural tax exemptions. the final contact list comprised of 4,921 landowners, and 1200 landowners were surveyed. the final response rate was 39%, with a total of 455 surveys received and 38 nondeliverable. one hundred ninety-four of the 455 were usable responses. texas a&m university faculty, texas water conservation board staff, and nrcs staff, assessed criterion validity of the instrument. all constructs were reliable; strategies to determining stocking rates α = 0.81; indicators of overstocking, α = 0.83, results of overstocking α = 0.96, advantages of using proper stocking rates α = 0.97; awareness of nrcs and tsswcb α = 0.85. intention to adopt was reliable, α = 0.79. dillman et al.’s (2014) tailored design method was used for this study. multiple contacts with a variety in appearance can help increase response rates (dillman et al., 2014). therefore, mailing the surveys occurred in four stages: prenotice postcard, 19 question survey package, reminder postcard, and finally the second 19 question survey package. to ensure landowners do not received duplicate surveys, a random identification number was assigned and printed on the survey package and envelopes. data collection began early june, ended late july, and was extended due to covid-19 effects on mailing. early and late respondents’ responses were examined lindner et al. (2001) to assess nonresponse error. significant differences did not exist between the two groups, and therefore, data can be generalized to the population. olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 59 findings the first objective was to describe landowner’s knowledge of beef cattle stocking rates. researchers utilized spss to analyze descriptive statistics for the knowledge items. participants responded most favorably under advantages of properly stocking. with a mean score around five, this result indicated landowners agreed increased forage production, protection of soil and water resources, increased plant resiliency, higher body scores, decreased feeding period, decrease in supplemental feeding needs, and drought resilience were all advantages of using a proper stocking rate. the grand mean of advantages of using a proper stocking rate was m = 5.10, sd = .80. overall, results of overstocking construct resulted in m = 5.05, sd = .87. the construct, indicators of overstocking, had a grand mean, m = 4.65, sd = 1.17. finally, landowners reported m = 4.11, sd = 1.31 for strategies to determine stocking rate (see table 1). olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 60 table 1 descriptive statistics for knowledge knowledge items n m sd advantages of using a proper stocking rate increased forage production 179 5.21 .72 protection of soil and water resources 180 5.19 .82 increased plant resiliency 173 5.12 .74 higher body scores 175 5.09 .78 decreased feeding period 179 5.08 .79 decrease in supplemental feeding needs 180 5.04 .88 drought resilience 180 4.99 .85 results of overstocking reduced land carrying capacity 177 5.12 .74 increase in supplemental feeding needs 180 5.12 .84 decrease in herd performance 180 5.11 .75 decrease in forage production 180 5.11 .89 susceptibility to drought 179 5.09 .96 increased soil erosion and rainfall runoff 178 5.08 .96 increased external parasites 174 4.73 .94 indicators of overstocking bare patches on the land 181 4.86 1.08 less desirable body scores 171 4.85 1.04 weed/brush encroachment 179 4.63 1.23 visible hooves from a distance 173 4.49 1.26 noticeable manure visible from a distance 177 4.40 1.23 strategies to determine stocking rate based on forage availability 175 5.00 1.06 based on calculated grazeable acres for my pastures 175 4.62 1.23 based on preparation for change in season 173 4.48 1.26 based on current or anticipated market prices 173 3.28 1.50 based on the county appraisal district’s recommendations 162 3.18 1.48 note. scale: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = somewhat disagree, 4 = somewhat agree, 5 = agree, 6 = strongly agree. in table 2, descriptive statistics were given for age on knowledge of results of overstocking and indicators of overstocking. participants 51-70 years of age indicated to agree with the items, less desirable body scores, weed/brush encroachment, and visible hooves from a distance while participants 71 and older varied and held lower means. olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 61 the grand mean of the item, less desirable body scores, was m = 4.79, sd = 1.09. weed/bush encroachment had an overall mean, m = 4.69, sd = 1.20. lastly, landowners reported a grand mean, m = 4.51, sd = 1.27, for visible hooves from a distance. table 2 descriptive statistics of age on knowledge knowledge items n m sd less desirable body scores 51 70 80 5.01 .83 71 and over 59 4.56 1.34 weed/brush encroachment 51 70 83 4.76 .98 71 and over 64 4.61 1.41 visible hooves from a distance 51 70 81 4.58 1.17 71 and over 62 4.44 1.37 note. scale: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = somewhat disagree, 4 = somewhat agree, 5 = agree, 6 = strongly agree. provided in table 3 are descriptive statistics for income on knowledge of advantages of properly stocking and results of overstocking. landowners with 0-20% of their income came from the operation indicated higher agreement than landowners who receive 21-100% that increased forage production is an advantage of properly stocking and increased soil erosion and rainfall runoff is a result overstocking. the grand mean for increased forage production was m = 5.11, sd = 0.76, and increased soil erosion and rainfall runoff, m = 4.86, sd = 1.04. table 3 descriptive statistics of income on knowledge note. scale: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = somewhat disagree, 4 = somewhat agree, 5 = agree, 6 = strongly agree. landowner awareness of nrcs and tsswcb is shown in table 4. while the data showed many landowners were aware of the lavaca soil and water conservation district along with the local nrcs, many landowners indicated they were not aware that the technical and financial knowledge items n m sd increased forage production 0–20% of income 136 5.28 .66 21–100% of income 31 4.94 .85 increased soil erosion and rainfall runoff 0–20% of income 137 5.20 .85 21–100% of income 31 4.52 1.23 olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 62 assistance received was confidential. additionally, many indicated they were not aware that the agencies offer financial assistance for implementing practices. overall, landowners indicated they were aware of the agencies purpose and free technical assistance available. table 4 descriptive statistics for awareness of the natural resources conservation service & texas state soil and water conservation board awareness of the natural resources conservation services items f % yes f % no did you know that any technical and financial assistance that you receive is confidential? 64 36 114 64 did you know that the agencies mentioned above offer financial assistance? 88 49 92 51 did you know that the agencies mentioned above work with you to develop a water conservation plan that will help attain your goals? 104 59 73 41 did you know that the agencies mentioned above offer free technical assistance? 118 62 66 34 are you aware of the natural resources conservation services? 135 75 44 25 did you know that the agencies mentioned above work to protect and enhance your working lands and natural resources? 144 80 36 20 are you aware of lavaca soil and water conservation district? 149 82 32 18 note. scale: 1 = yes, 2 = no. descriptive statistics illustrated age on awareness of nrcs and tsswcb. both landowners, 51– 70 years old and 71 and older, reported unaware of nrcs and tsswcb confidentiality. however, both age groups indicated awareness of nrcs and tsswcb conservation plans (see table 5). olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 63 table 5 descriptive statistics of age on awareness of natural resources conservation service & texas state soil and water conservation board awareness items f % yes f % no did you know that any technical and financial assistance that you receive is confidential? 51–70 23 28 58 72 71 and over 25 38 40 62 did you know that the agencies mentioned above work with you to develop a water conservation plan that will help attain your goals? 51–70 43 52 39 48 71 and over 43 68 20 32 note. scale: 1 = yes, 2 = no education on awareness of nrcs and tsswcb descriptive statistics were demonstrated in table 6. landowners with a graduate degree, bachelor’s degree, and some college indicated lack of awareness while landowners with a high school diploma indicated awareness of nrcs and tsswcb confidentiality. table 6 descriptive statistics of education on awareness of natural resources conservation service & texas state soil and water conservation board awareness items f % yes f % no did you know that any technical and financial assistance that you receive is confidential? graduate degree 7 21 27 79 bachelor's degree 15 29 36 71 some college 12 40 18 60 high school graduate 21 57 16 43 note. scale: 1 = yes, 2 = no descriptive statistics are given for gender on awareness of nrcs and tsswcb. males indicated less awareness than females of nrcs, tsswcb, and confidentiality (see table 7). olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 64 table 7 descriptive statistics of gender on awareness of natural resources conservation service & texas state soil and water conservation board awareness items f % yes f % no did you know that any technical and financial assistance that you receive is confidential? male 39 30 89 70 female 21 49 22 51 are you aware of the natural resources conservation services? male 94 73 34 27 female 36 84 7 16 are you aware of lavaca soil and water conservation district? male 103 79 27 21 female 39 91 4 8 note. scale: 1 = yes, 2 = no in table 8, income on awareness of nrcs and tsswcb descriptive statistics were presented. landowners who receive 0–20% of their household income from their beef cattle operation indicated less awareness of nrcs and tsswcb items than landowners who receive 21–100% of their income from the operation. landowners who receive 0–20% of their income from the operation indicated they were not aware of financial assistance offered by the nrcs while landowners who receive 21–100% from the operation were aware of the offer. olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 65 table 8 descriptive statistics of agricultural income on awareness of natural resources conservation services & texas state soil and water conservation board awareness items f % yes f % no did you know that the agencies mentioned above offer financial assistance? 0–20% 60 43 78 57 21–100% 23 77 7 23 did you know that the agencies mentioned above work with you to develop a water conservation plan that will help attain your goals? 0–20% 74 55 61 45 21–100% 22 73 8 27 did you know that the agencies mentioned above offer free technical assistance? 0–20% 84 61 54 39 21–100% 26 87 4 13 are you aware of the natural resources conservation services? 0–20% 102 75 34 25 21–100% 26 84 5 16 did you know that the agencies mentioned above work to protect and enhance your working lands and natural resources? 0–20% 108 79 29 21 21–100% 27 87 4 13 are you aware of lavaca soil and water conservation district? 0–20% 111 80 27 20 21–100% 28 90 3 10 note. scale: 1 = yes, 2 = no the grand mean for landowner’s intention to adopt grazing management practices was 3.44. landowners already adopted the use of alternative water sources (m = 3.60, sd = 1.00) and cross fencing (m = 3.60, sd = .92) on their operation. landowners reported they either plan to adopt or already adopted the use of alternative feed/salt/mineral locations (m = 3.53, sd = .92). finally, landowners indicated they plan to adopt alternative shade structures (m = 3.34, sd = 1.22), grazing plans (m = 3.30, sd = .96), and calculating grazeable acres for stocking rates (m = 3.29, sd = 1.01) (see table 9). olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 66 table 9 descriptive statistics for intention to adopt intention to adopt items n m sd alternative water sources 179 3.60 1.00 cross fencing 178 3.60 .92 alternative feed/salt/mineral locations 178 3.53 .92 alternative shade structures 180 3.34 1.22 grazing plan/prescribed grazing 171 3.30 .96 calculating grazeable acres for stocking rates 175 3.29 1.01 note. scale: 0 = not applicable, 1 = will not adopt, 2 = undecided, 3 = plan to adopt, 4 = already adopted descriptive statistics were provided for gender on intention to adopt grazing management practices. females indicated to have adopted calculating grazeable acres for stocking rates and grazing plans while males plan to adopt the practices. the grand mean among males and females for calculating grazeable acres for stocking rates was m = 3.39, sd = 0.96 and grazing plan, m = 3.37, sd = 0.94 (see table 10). table 10 descriptive statistics of gender on intention to adopt grazing management practices n m sd calculating grazeable acres for stocking rates female male 41 127 3.63 3.15 .89 1.03 grazing plan/prescribed grazing. female 40 3.53 .88 male 124 3.20 1.00 note. scale: 0 = not applicable, 1 = will not adopt, 2 = undecided, 3 = plan to adopt, 4 = already adopted. provided in table 11 were descriptive statistics for age on intention to adopt grazing management practices. landowners 51–70 years old adopted cross fencing while landowners 71 and older plan to adopt the practice. the grand mean for cross fencing among landowners 51–70 years old and 71 and over was m = 3.55, sd = 0.97. olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 67 table 11 descriptive statistics of age on intention to adopt note. scale: 0 = not applicable, 1 = will not adopt, 2 = undecided, 3 = plan to adopt, 4 = already adopted. descriptive statistics were displayed for income on intention to adopt grazing management practices in table 12. landowners who receive 21–100% of their income from the operation adopted alternative feed/salt/mineral locations while landowners with 0–20% of income from the operation plan to adopt the practice. the grand mean between income groups for alternative feed/salt/mineral locations was m = 3.64, sd = 0.81. table 12 descriptive statistics of income on intention to adopt grazing management practices n m sd alternative feed/salt/mineral locations. 21–100% 31 3.81 .65 0–20% 135 3.47 .96 note. scale: 0 = not applicable, 1 = will not adopt, 2 = undecided, 3 = plan to adopt, 4 = already adopted. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations females indicated higher knowledge than males in determining stocking rate based on county appraisal district recommendations. these results suggest that females may be researching stocking rates more than males, looking to improve the operation. landowners in the 0–20% income group indicated higher knowledge than landowners earning between 21–100% of their income from the beef cattle operation. this result was a contradiction to the literature as landowners with more income coming from the operation would have more of a focus, leading to more knowledge (peterson et al., 2015). landowners indicated awareness of the nrcs and tsswcb yet lack of awareness in financial assistance and the confidentiality policy. males and females both indicated awareness of the nrcs and tsswcb. however, both males and females also showed they were unaware the technical and financial assistance provided by the nrcs is confidential. males reported a higher mean than females, indicating males were more unaware than females. similar to the knowledge and gender findings, this result also suggests that perhaps females are pursuing further research for the success of their operation. grazing management practices n m sd cross fencing. 51–70 85 3.61 .87 71 and over 61 3.49 1.06 olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 68 landowners with some college, bachelors, and graduate degree were unaware of the technical and financial assistance they received was confidential. this result suggests there may be a misconception acting as a barrier to landowners engaging in assistance from the nrcs. rogers (2003) indicated knowledge is essential for a successful adoption rate of an innovation. in this case, females reported to have knowledge and intention to adopt, confirming rogers’ (2003) theory. also, ajzen (1991) predicted, a favorable attitude is an element leading to a higher likelihood of intention to adopt. females appear to have a more favorable attitude with an indication they are more open to change on their operation. consistently, assistance from the nrcs being confidential was significant in relation to adoption of practices. landowners who were unaware of nrcs confidentiality had a lower intention to adopt. this confirms rogers’ (2003) emphasis on trust when adopting a new practice. landowners indicate to be unaware of nrcs confidentiality, and privacy is a valued aspect of working with a government agency. practitioners such as extension and nrcs agencies should take a step towards making landowners more aware of the resources available. given the females’ results, females might reach out to these agencies and develop positive working relationships that will increase the likelihood others reach out for help. also, data indicated a common theme in landowners not being aware that working with the nrcs is confidential. nrcs agencies could help increase the use of water conservation plans and inquiries by making this clear to current landowners participating in their program as well as potential clients by sending informational flyers or speaking at community civic or development organizational gatherings. sharing this conservation responsibility with the public can increase awareness of the potential impact and create the change society needs to live healthy lives. there are multiple inquiries for researchers to investigate moving forward from this finding. further research is necessary to determine the cause of the difference in females over males in their knowledge and intention to adopt. additionally, researchers can further explore interaction or lack thereof between the public and the nrcs. research could confirm the extent confidentiality and privacy have a role in whether landowners engage with the nrcs. future researchers should examine the role of nrcs’ electronic information dissemination efforts on stakeholders learning, adoption, and program impact. acknowledgements funding for this project was provided by the texas state soil and water conservation board through a state nonpoint source grant. olsovsky et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.89 69 references ajzen, i. (1991). the theory of planned behavior. organizational behavior and human processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-t devant, m., verdu, m., medinya, c., riera, j., & marti, s. (2020). psxi-11 drinking device can reduce apparent water consumption and improve device cleanliness without impairing calf performance. journal of animal science, 98(4), 389. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaa278.685 dillman, d. a., smyth, j. d., & christian, l. m. (2014). mail and internet surveys: the tailored design method (4th ed.). john wiley & sons. lindner, j. r., murphy, t., & briers, g. e. (2001). handling nonresponse error in social science research. journal of agricultural education, 42(4), 43–53. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2001.04043 mulki, s., rubinstein, c., & saletta, j. (2018) texas’ water quality challenge and the need for better communication in an era of increasing water quality contamination events. texas water journal, 9(1), 108–119. https://twj.media/wpcontent/uploads/2018/10/mulki.opt_.pdf national institute of food and agriculture. (2020, december 15). water. u. s. department of agriculture. https://nifa.usda.gov/topic/water redmon, l., wagner, k., & peterson j. (2012). lonestar healthy streams: beef cattle manual. (extension publication no. b-6245) texas a&m agrilife extension service. http://lshs.tamu.edu/media/340444/beef_cattle.pdf rogers, e. m. (2003). diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). free press. tarakalson, d. d., payero, j. o., ensley, s. m., & shapiro, c. a. (2006). nitrate accumulation and movement under deficit irrigation in soil receiving cattle manure and commercial fertilizer. agricultural water management, 85(1–2), 201–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2006.04.005 texas commission on environmental quality. (2020, october 29). lavaca river above tidal and rocky creek: a community project to protect recreational uses. https://www.tceq.texas.gov/waterquality/tmdl/nav/lavaca-rocky/108-lavaca-rockybacteria © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 37-manuscript-709-1-11-20200914.docx alford et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 3, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. katrina r. alford, graduate student, university of florida, 305 rolfs hall po box 110540 gainesville, fl 32611, trini@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2769-1388 2. j.c. bunch, associate professor, university of florida, 307a rolfs hall gainesville, fl 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 3. absalon pierre, post graduate coordinator for université internationale d'hispaniola-unidhi, area project-haiti, university of florida, 12 rue st-patrick, delmas 33, port-au-prince, haiti, absulpeter@yahoo.fr, https://orcid.org/00000003-0688-3409 4. boaz anglade, post-doc researcher, university of florida, p.o. box 110180, gainesville, fl 32611 banglade@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7436-4056 5. t. grady roberts, professor, university of florida, 117c bryant hall po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611, groberts@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-7850 27 employer expectations for graduates from haiti’s agricultural universities k. alford1, j. c. bunch2, a. pierre3 , b. anglade4 , t. g. roberts5 abstract human capacity building in haiti’s agricultural sector can be utilized to reduce the country’s food insecurity. haitian agricultural university and technical schools are responsible for supplying workforce ready graduates and therefore play a role in poverty reduction. previous research has been conducted to assess these institutions from the perspective of faculty, students, and farmers. however, the employer perspective has not been considered, which could lead to a disconnect between what employers and the university believe are essential skills for graduates to obtain. this study focused on identifying the perceptions of the haitian agricultural workforce regarding the ability of technical schools to produce graduates. this study used a basic qualitative design involving interviews of haitian agricultural employers. the interviews revealed employers perceptive of curriculum strengths and weaknesses as well as desired employer skills for graduates. employers also provided insight into the current job opportunities for graduates as well as what makes an “ideal” employee. we found a disconnect between jobs available and the skills being taught to graduates to fill these jobs. while employers desire employees with strong soft skills, there is a need for more technical skills to be taught at the agricultural schools. keywords haiti, tvet schools, universities, capacity building, employer perception, curriculum reform alford et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.37 28 introduction and problem statement a succession of shocks from natural disasters, structural weaknesses and political turmoil have severely impacted haiti, resulting in an increasingly vulnerable population (fao, 2019). it is estimated that almost 3.7 million people are in urgent need of action due to acute food insecurity, which is predicted to worsen (food and agricultural organization (fao), 2019; fao & world food programme (wfp), 2020). as a result, the government of haiti issued an action plan that focused on having agriculture be the driving factor in economic recovery (government of haiti (goh), 2010). according to david and samuel (2014), the development of the agricultural sector cannot occur unless there is an effective extension system. haiti will need to strengthen research, education, agricultural services, and institutions of the ministry of agriculture (goertz, 2016). the extension services within haiti need to be strengthened, since they link agricultural productivity to agricultural education using extension agents (calixte, 2018). extension services are important because they not only disseminate research to farmers but also communicate the needs of specialists and farmers to the researchers (anaeto et. al, 2012). a review of extension services in south africa determined that a “linear approach to development of agriculture innovation should be discouraged” (p. 92), because it leaves out the opinions of stakeholders and farmers (david & samuel, 2014). according to mouzakitis (2010), improvements of vocational education and training should be based on needs assessment research. research has been ongoing about the state of haiti’s multiple agricultural institutions including technical and vocational education and training (tvet), agricultural universities and extension services from the perspective of faculty, farmers, and students (albert et al, 2017; calixte et al., 2019a.; calixte et al., 2019b; pierre et al., 2018) however, the employer’s perspective has not been fully explored. calixte et al. (2019b) recommended determining the skills and competencies employers desire for graduates, and pierre et al. (2018) stated perspectives should be triangulated to provide a more complete picture of student preparedness. theoretical and conceptual framework capacity is defined as “the ability of people, organizations and society to manage their affairs” (oecd, 2012, p. 7), and this process must be initiated from the inside, by the people themselves. capacity development in turn focuses on the process of unlocking this capacity through various strategies, structures, resources, and relationships among the various actors (baser & morgan, 2008). capacity development projects focus on multi-stakeholder engagement, in which an understanding of the context is needed to build dynamic relationships among stakeholders (ika & donnelly, 2017). feedback from the environment is critical so that those in charge of the development of the system can revise their approaches based on the information they received (elliot, 1989). in the context of haiti, employer feedback is necessary for tvet schools to be able to gain valuable stakeholder knowledge on the best way to improve their programs (i.e., curriculum) as well as their graduates (i.e., the workforce), and alford et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.37 29 increase capacity among both. as capacity increases so does the ability for the system to increase economic growth, food security, and poverty reduction (gill et al., 2017). according to yilmaz (2008), social constructivism operates on the premise that knowledge is socially constructed. humans’ understanding of the world is shaped through social context and social negotiations (hwang, 1996). rivera-ferre et al. (2013) argued that agriculture is a complex socio-ecological system that must consider the human-human interactions within the system. framing, the set of assumptions an individual holds, is important for navigating their mental map of a particular issue (bolman & deal, 2013). framing involves subjective perspectives, and as such, any study involving an agricultural system depends on understanding the narratives used within the system (rivera-ferre et. al., 2003). the interactions between the agricultural institutions, faculty, graduates, and employers are influenced by the frames each hold regarding the agricultural system. participation in decision making can bridge and/or change mental maps, therefore increasing capacity (rivera-ferre et. al., 2003). a systems thinking approach should be utilized to examine the interactions of entities to look at the whole picture and find interrelated parts (senge, 1990). systems thinking is focused on looking at the relationships and patterns of interdependent components of a system through a non-linear perspective (leischow & milstein 2006). previously agricultural development efforts utilized a linear approach to problem solving, but a shift to holistic systems approach that focuses on interconnectedness between components of the agricultural sector is needed (banson et al., 2016). the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco) acknowledge that tvets have a reciprocal relationship to changes due to globalization, technology, policy, and so forth, and their tvet strategy includes utilizing a holistic approach to adapt to change (unesco, 2015). within this context of systems and relationships, the agricultural innovation system (ais) provides the framework for universities to work with employers to rebuild the extension service (tap, 2016). the ais can be divided into four components (a) research and education, (b) bridging institutions, (c) business and enterprise, and (d) the enabling environment (hall et al., 2006). the components form a network of actors who work together to bring about agricultural innovations (tap, 2016). figure 1 provides a visual of the ais system and the linkages between research education and business and enterprise. employers should be involved in the development of curriculum since they have an understanding of what skills and competencies graduates need (kraak et al., 2016). within the haitian tvet system, it is has been found that employer insight is lacking regarding curricular development, which can affect the employability of graduates (calixte et al., 2019b). alford et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.37 30 figure 1 conceptual diagram of an agricultural innovation system purpose this study was part of a larger study funded by usaid focused on examining the ability of haitian agricultural universities to supply work-ready graduates. previous research examined this from the perspective of university faculty (pierre et al., 2018), and considered employment opportunities of graduates (calixte et al., 2019b). this study focused on identifying haitian alford et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.37 31 employers’ perception of graduates and curriculum. four research questions guided the inquiry: 1. what are the employment opportunities for recent graduates? 2. what is the ideal employee? 3. what are employers’ desired skills and competencies for new employees? 4. what are employers’ perceptions of the university curriculum? methods this study employed a basic qualitative design (flick, 2007) using a social constructivist lens. interviews were conducted with 17 haitian agricultural employers using a semi-structured interview guide with 22 open-ended questions. the interview guide was developed based on the literature and a panel of experts familiar with the context. this panel included haitian and haitian american researchers as well as americans with previous research experience in haiti. the target population for this study was haitian agricultural employers. the sample was composed of 17 employers who were involved in all types of work in haiti. the individual participants involved in this study were mostly directors and assistant directors in their respected companies (p001, p002, p005, p006, p008, p009, p010, p013, p015, and p016). the remaining individuals held the offices of coordinator, or vice president/rector (p003, p004, p007, p011, p012, p014, and p017). each of the individuals identified that they had been employed for many years in these roles. job duties ranged from financial (p001, p010, p011, p012, p013), promotion efforts (p002, p003, p007), research (p06, p09), and supervision of specific programs (p04, p08, p014, p015, p016). participants self-identified as working in extension (n = 4), research (n = 4), general agriculture (n = 9), social programs (n = 3), agroindustry (n = 3), environmental protection (n = 2) and sustainable agriculture (n = 2). employers may have identified their work as falling into multiple categories. the number of employees each employer hired varied. the number of employees ranged from 10 to 120 at any given time. in addition to full time employees, one employer (p003) identified having employed 70 interns. female employment ranged from 0% to 40% among the employers involved in this study, although employers did state they attempted to hire equally among males and females. data were collected using face-to-face interviews at the employer site. the interviews conducted with the employers lasted one to two hours. interviews were conducted in french and creole by a haitian researcher and translated to english later. in addition to the researcher, a research assistant was present. the researcher and research assistant took detailed notes during each interview. following each employer interview, the research team created a detailed case file for each individual employer, which included transcripts, interview summary, and notes. once the detailed case file was completed, the research assistant verified the accuracy of each case file. at the completion of the verification process, results were presented at meetings and conferences to participants as a form of member checking (merriam, 1998). their feedback enriched the data by providing further details and confirmed other conclusions. alford et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.37 32 data were analyzed using a basic thematic analysis using line-by-line coding (gibbs, 2007). the first round of coding led to initial codes which were then organized into themes. to establish dependability (lincoln & guba, 1985) in the analysis, two researchers collaborated on the initial analysis. a haitian researcher analyzed 17 case files in french and an american researcher analyzed the same 17 case files translated to english. analyses were compared after each case file was analyzed and the researchers collaborated to refine coding techniques. findings employment opportunities for graduates three themes emerged from the data regarding employment opportunities for recent graduates: not enough jobs, relationships between employers and university/tvet partnerships in securing a job, and expectations from employers regarding field versus management jobs. not enough jobs for recent graduates there is a high degree of unemployment in haiti which has resulted in a few job opportunities for graduates. employer recruitment efforts reflect the external environment of there being more people than jobs. employers do not have to spend much time recruiting because workers are taking the initiative to apply for limited jobs and/or employers use their social contacts to fill positions. high unemployment. employers are faced with the situation where there are more applicants than job openings. p002 stated “i cannot hire all people who seek employment due to the lack of funds.” this is echoed by p012 who stated, “i will not have enough employment for the quantity of people who will apply.” p16 stated that when they recruited online, they were shocked by the number of applicants but that this was an indication of the high level of unemployment. the hiring process is highly competitive (p001) because of the scarcity of jobs. recruitment. a common thread among employers was that they did not have to recruit much to fill positions. p002 mentioned that they did not even have to advertise to fill positions. p001 stated that others bring their resumes to the company who then follow up if they meet the job requirements. p004 mentioned that they only recruit if there is a special project, but often people would bring them their resumes. if employers recruit workers, they utilize the following calls in le nouvelliste (a national newspaper), online recruitment tools such as jobpaw, and social contacts such as contacting professionals or universities for recommendations. university partnerships several employers mentioned that they partner with schools in internships which led to job offers. according to p008, recruitment was done through a program or a process of selection during the internship program offered to fourth year students. after this internship, some are hired and some benefit from scholarship programs. p003 had a similar program at his institution, where they directly contacted the deans to recruit interns. p003 explained that when starting a new project, they would recruit at academic institutions based on the theme of alford et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.37 33 the project. p013 recruited among previous intern students from different colleges who had some prior experiences with his company. at p014’s institution, recruitment of new agronomists depended on the department and colleges. although p009 did not directly recruit new employees, he did say that he had great contacts with the universities. employers perception of field versus management jobs employers appear to prefer hiring recent graduates into technician and field agent roles. p013’s company offered employments as technician and experimental farm agent. p001 reported he recruited young (new graduates) agronomists to work in water management and area management. those who were employed in area management worked closely with farmers. he described these area managers as technicians filling an extension role. p12 hired both engineer-agronomists and technicians but the last group is the largest since they are more practical than the first group. p006 explained that job opportunities were more evident in the field, like at the technical school of agriculture, than at the managerial level. he elaborated that managerial level jobs required someone experienced with autonomy and responsibility which was not suited for a recent graduate. at the management level, he believed these positions were for the professional and more experienced individuals. for example, one of the vacancies at his unit was in monitoring and evaluation. for him, this required someone with lots of experience, and not a new graduate. however, a young graduate might be hired to support a person in this role to gain experience. the ideal employeedesired skills and competencies employers consider their ideal employer to be well rounded and having both personal competencies, key transferable skills, as well as necessary qualifications to complete their job. personal competencies employee motivation and work ethic were mentioned by several employers as being important for an ideal employee. p001 valued an employee who displayed a strong work ethic. he would be more likely to give a job to a less experienced employee if they demonstrated a strong work ethic. p008 desired graduates with the competency of punctuality. p002 was not satisfied with his current agronomist because of the employee’s lack of motivation. as such, he seeks an employee who possesses internal motivation to complete job tasks. p004 related that at their company they so not do babysitting and their employees must be proactive and willing to work. between two interns that were hired, the individual with the higher gpa was not as valued as the individual who was proactive. key transferable skills. adaptability to change was a skill highly valued by employers. p003 explained that in many cases the job description may change from the original time of hire, so it was important that employee be able to adapt. this was also stated by p001 who felt that one of the most important competencies to hold were one’s ability to adapt to change. p009 favored employees who display an entrepreneurial spirit and were open-minded to solve problems. p004 wanted an employee who is bilingual. she explained that the ability to speak another language like english or spanish was good for the employee and company. additionally, p003 valued an employee with strong communication skills, critical thinking ability, and leadership skills. p012’s ideal employee has the ability to work in a team setting. he alford et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.37 34 desired employees who understood team dynamics and can function well in a team. p008 also mentioned that he desired employees who were competent in teamwork. job qualifications to be successful, p001 felt that employees needed to be competent in adult learning and agricultural entrepreneurship. p006 wanted to see graduates who had strong competencies in the areas of extension and research. p016 felt that key transferable skills such as teamwork and being adaptable were important job qualifications. in contrast p012 and p015 were more concerned with the technical competency of the student then most. they did not think the other competencies were as important as the technical ability of the employee. p004 also desired employees who understood the faming system. p010 and p011 both exclaimed that graduates with the competency to deliver educational programs and evaluate those programs would be highly effective. p014 also wanted graduates who could deliver training programs and work in a team environment. p006 focused on evaluation as being necessary for success but stressed that this competency could not be built without experience. he thought that students who have the capacity to evaluate programs would be highly desired in the field. p017 thought all competencies were important, however, employees who displayed strong competencies in gender issues in agriculture and program planning were most desired. current curriculum strengths and weaknesses strengths the primary theme that emerged from the employers was that the current curriculum prepares students theoretically for their work. p006 stated that the theoretical content was very rigid, and students were really good in theory and had access to a lot of information due to the internet. p013 supported this notion by exclaiming that students were really excellent in learning theory and memorization. p015 also spoke about how haitian colleges of agriculture curriculum offered a solid theory base for graduates that allowed students to pursue postgraduate studies abroad without any problem. students could take the theory taught and apply it to their current work context (p003). aside from being strong theoretically, p001 thought that the inclusion of general education courses was a strength, because they helped develop a holistic graduate. he further explained that these courses helped graduates take opportunities. weakness employers highlighted several weaknesses of the curriculum, but the primary weakness was the lack of practicums to go with the strong theoretical base. employers felt that both the curriculum and the structure of the schools were contributing to this weakness. lack of practical experience within the curriculum. p008 said the program of study needed to be adapted to the reality of production to produce competent professionals in the field. he advocated the entire curriculum be changed because the curriculum did not reflect the actual needs to the country. he felt that focusing the curriculum more on production would give students more opportunity for practice. p002 echoed this by saying that the curriculum alford et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.37 35 was not complete because graduates did not have the capacity to solve practical problems. he lamented that the lack of practice was a problem and caused many graduates to be incompetent in the field. p010 and p014 both complained about the lack of practice in graduate curriculum in haiti. in addition, p013 deplored that students were really good in memorization and theoretically knew the content but lacked practical experience. structural issues contributing to the curricular weakness. p002 felt that the absence of laboratories was to blame for the lack of practical experience. students are unable to gain and/or practice practical skills because of the shortage of laboratories. p007 talked about the poor infrastructure at the university, and he felt that if infrastructure were improved this would allow for better quality laboratories for students to gain skills. p009 supported this notion by simply saying laboratories were not in functioning operation. although p009 did not reference the type of laboratories, he was most likely referring to both science type laboratories and practical field type laboratories. p007, p008, p010, p011, and p014 all made the case that due to lack of infrastructure students were unable to practice skills and technology. as an example, p017 explained that when they did a soil test or a ph to analyze the soil, there were no ways to see the results. the lack of practical skills in the curriculum is tied to the lack of resources students have in obtaining these practical skills. curriculum improvement when thinking about curriculum improvement, several of the participants had recommendations in this area. these recommendations focused on acquisition of practical skills for graduates and faculty development. acquisition of practical skills employers felt that the disconnect between content taught at the schools and the reality in the field needed to be addressed. p001 and p016 said the curriculum should focus on “real” needs of the market and country. the curriculum did not correspond to the market needs. in fact, p017 said that the curriculum of the colleges of agriculture did not address 50% of the market need. this involves the curriculum focusing more on practice and less on theory (p008, p011). p001 recommended more emphasis be put on time for practice and entrepreneurship theory and skills. desired practical skills. although participants mentioned that students lacked practical agriculture skills, very few employers mentioned specific practical agricultural skills they desired to see. two participants did provide some examples, p016 stated that students should have skills in soil and arboriculture and p10 said that new agronomists needed to have experience with the environment. many employers though focused on non-agriculturally related skills such as software knowledge and skills. p002, felt that new graduates should be emerged in curriculum that is focused on computer technologies both hardware and software. p009 would like to see students’ study and master specific programs such as word, excel, and statistical software. along with including software in the curriculum, p008 insisted that the curriculum include writing and presentation practices to increase students’ ability to communicate effectively. additionally, p008 and p014 explained that the curriculum should teach students to use research results and make decisions. in fact, p016 supports this notion by stating students should know how to analyze data using software. alford et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.37 36 infrastructure changes. to address the need for more practical skill acquisition institutions needed to invest in more laboratories and resources. p011 said that agricultural sciences could not be thought inside four walls. moreover, p002 mentioned emphasis should be put on building practice fields and laboratories to allow students to develop practical skills. p004 stated that institutions should have more labs with adequate laboratory kits and materials. faculty development employers stated that curriculum improvements need to consider faculty development. p017 said that faculty could not continue to use tchala (an old copy or notes book). p004, p015, and p017 all recommended professional development programs for faculty regarding teaching methods. specifically, p004 stated, professors should know and understand the art and science of teaching. p003 was concerned about the teaching methods used by faculty, with the implication that faculty must understand and use different methods conclusions, discussion, and recommendations employers state that high unemployment is an issue for new graduates seeking jobs with supply far outstripping demand. however, partnerships between the employers and educational institutions have produced jobs for graduates. internships primarily are the method that employers use to recruit directly from the schools. it is recommended that the agricultural schools invest in developing more internship programs with various agribusinesses. in addition, research should be conducted to determine the prevalence and strength of existing partnerships. employers view management level positions as being for those with more experience and are not a new graduate position and prefer for new graduates to take technician and field agent roles. this employer mindset should be taken into consideration by haitian agricultural schools so that they can adequately determine which areas of the curriculum should be modified. if field positions are what is mostly available for new graduates, the curriculum may want to emphasize the more practical skills so graduates can be ready for the available jobs. this is in line with employers who said that technical competencies and practical experiences are both desired. however, employers did not provide specific agricultural skills they expected graduates to be competent in and further investigation should occur in order to make appropriate curricular modifications. the employers in this study support this argument that soft skills and personal competencies are equally as important as the technical skills. mcquaid and lindsay (2005) stated that individual factors are important to holistically assess an individual’s employability. baser and morgan (2008) argued haitian employers are looking for schools to increase organizational development which focuses “human and organisational qualities such as resourcefulness, identity, resilience, innovation, collaboration, adaptiveness, courage, imagination and aspiration” (p. 52). according to mcquaid and lindsay (2005) personal competencies focus on alford et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.37 37 attributes such as self-motivation, initiative, and proactivity while key transferable skills involve adaptability, communication skills, teamwork and problem solving. tvet schools are recognizing that their graduates will encounter many types of jobs and are trying to prepare their graduates to be versatile (calixte et al., 2019b) and employers supported their efforts for the inclusion of soft skills. research should be conducted to determine if universities and tvet schools are deliberately teaching soft skills and graduate’s efficacy in these soft skill areas. in keeping with systems thinking, this static image of desirability of soft skills in employees does not demonstrate the whole picture of graduate preparedness. employers view the curriculum as being very strong theoretically but lacking in practical aspects, which is apparent when employers describe their employees not receiving much practical technical training. with many of the opportunities for recent graduates focused on field work, the need for the curriculum to focus on these practical opportunities is evident. employers mention the lack of field experience inhibits student success which is supported by calixte et al. (2019c) who found the lack of resources made it difficult to implement practical experiences. it is recommended that the schools invest in labs and field equipment to ensure graduates receive practical experience. employers note that faculty need professional development to assist them with teaching methods. looking holistically at the curriculum, employers recognize faculty need proper teaching strategies when designing the curriculum to meet their students’ needs. riebe et al. (2016) state that to deliver desired learning experiences, an understanding of curriculum design and teaching strategies is necessary. it is recommended that professional development should be conducted to ensure faculty are prepared to meet graduates needs. universities and tvet schools should continue to teach theoretical knowledge, with an emphasis on soft skills to students. however, incorporation of soft skills into the curriculum should not come at the expense of technical/practical skill development of the graduates. as such, capacity needs to be developed across all dimensions so that graduates can interact with all parts of the system in which they are working within (gill et al, 2017). should these recommendations be implemented, further research should be conducted to determine if employers notice a change in recent graduate preparedness. ika and donnelly (2017) stated that the relationship between stakeholders is important for capacity development, thus, haitian universities and tvet schools need to address employers’ needs for both soft skills and practical experiences so that graduates can become effective bridging institutions between stakeholders (tap, 2016). lastly, research is needed to gain a better understanding of additional external factors which affect graduates’ abilities to act as bridging institutions from the employer’s perspective. alford et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.37 38 acknowledgements this study is made possible by the generous support of the american people through the united states agency for international development (usaid) under the cooperative agreement # aid-oaa-a-15-00039. the contents are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of usaid or the united states government. references anaeto, f.c., asiabaka, c.c., nnadif., n., ajaeroj., o., ajao, o., & ugwokef., o. 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(2008). constructivism: its theoretical underpinnings, variations, and implications for classroom instruction. educational horizons, 86(3), 161-172. www.jstor.org/stable/42923724 © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 71-manuscript-857-1-11-20201209.docx rubenstein et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 3, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. eric d. rubenstein, associate professor, university of georgia, 405 college station road, athens, ga 30602, erubenstein@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8799-2502 2. carolyn a. copenheaver, associate professor, virginia tech, 310 west campus dr., blacksburg, va 24061, ccopenhe@vt.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1778-3593 3. jason b. peake, professor, university of georgia, 405 college station road, athens, ga 30602, jpeake@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1431-5447 81 improving forestry secondary education: identifying teachers’ needs e. rubenstein1, c. copenheaver2, j. peake3 abstract industrial, technological, and societal changes require that teachers continually engage in professional learning activities that promote new scientific approaches in education and content. providing teachers with current and relevant professional development is an important task in secondary education. this study identified the professional development needs for educators who teach forestry and forest ecosystem content to secondary students. the delphi method employed with two participant groups investigated the diversity of thought held throughout the southeastern united states. participants included agriculture and environmental science teachers, state department of education administrators, foresters, and environmental scientists. participants report eleven areas of educational need: 1. forestry career days, 2. tree diseases and pathogens, 3. graduation requirements limit student opportunities for electives, 4. career counseling in forestry jobs, 5. educate students about degrees needed for forestry careers, 6. over commitment of students enrolled in extra-curricular activities, 7. lack of foundational forestry knowledge, 8. lack of forestry /agriculture programs in schools, 9. develop forestry electives in middle school, 10. lack of foundational forest management knowledge, and 11. connect classroom content with ffa and envirothon extra-curricular activities. keywords forestry education, professional development, delphi method, classroom instruction rubenstein et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.71 82 introduction and problem statement undergraduate forestry programs in the united states have experienced a steady decline in enrollment over the past three decades, which corresponds with a reciprocal increase in enrollment in environmental studies programs (sharik et al., 2015). a challenge for recruiting students into forestry programs is the perception that forestry courses are less welcoming to women and minorities than environmental studies programs (rouleau et al., 2017). this reduction in students pursuing forestry degrees coincides with a peak in employment opportunities for recent forestry graduates (connaughton, 2015), which leaves forestry undergraduate programs struggling with recruitment of students and looking towards secondary educators as a pipeline for potential forestry students. most secondary science and agriculture educators identify forestry as an important topic in their classes; however, the likelihood of including forestry content in the classroom directly relates with teacher’s confidence and familiarity with the discipline (munsell et al., 2016). agriculture and environmental science teachers have a continuing need for in-service training ensuring that they are current with industry standards (barrick et al., 1983). pre-service and inservice trainings needed by teachers to keep them current on industry specific competencies, however it is difficult identifying what trainings are most appropriate (peake et al., 2007). teaching is not a routine job and as technology advances teachers must be continually retrained especially, in a rapidly changing global environment (darling-hammond, 2006). forestry equipment will advance substantially over the 30-year span of an educator’s teaching career and thus mandates the need for continuous professional development. therefore, this study examines the professional development needs of educators assisting with increasing their abilities to teach forestry concepts and encourage students to enter the forestry profession. the relevant forestry industry knowledge that students and their teachers must know is reflected in the state standards which are based on industry practices. the state(s) forestry standards advance in conjunction with forestry industry technology. teachers become outdated with regards to both industry validated agricultural curricula and the state standards simultaneously. theoretical and conceptual framework using the conceptual framework developed by roberts and ball (2009), the researchers in this study sought to improve forestry secondary education by identifying teachers’ needs. the conceptual model for teaching agriculture as a content and context ensures all stakeholders in a community and school are engaged in the learning process, developing an educational curriculum to meet industrial and societal needs (see figure 1). specifically, this study examines educators’ needs in development of an integrated curriculum in forestry. the educators’ knowledge of the specific content area is vital for ensuring the correct skills, knowledge, and competencies have been taught to learners. rubenstein et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.71 83 this conceptual framework requires the integrated curriculum incorporate both content substantiated in the current industrial practices and within the context of the industry. the integrated curriculum should incorporate knowledge across all core subject areas and ensure that specific industry-based skills have been corroborated by industry experts. this integrated curriculum can then be taught through a process of a facilitated learning environment between the learner and the educator. this process of instruction prepares learners entering a skilled workforce and become a forestry advocate who values lifelong learning. this conceptual model guided the creation of the research questions for this study. figure 1 a conceptual model for teaching agriculture as a content and context (roberts & ball, 2009) purpose the national research agenda reports that the agricultural education profession must continue examining the preparation of a sufficient workforce ready to address the challenging and complex problems of the 21st century. the purpose of this study was to examine the professional development needs of educators in teaching forestry concepts in their classrooms in georgia and virginia. the research question posed to participants was “what are educators’ areas of concern with teaching forestry and forest ecosystems?” the objective guiding this study is identifying the professional development needs for teaching forestry and forest ecosystem content to secondary students. rubenstein et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.71 84 methods to collect the necessary data from educators, the researchers employed the delphi method. the delphi method is employed in a true (stakeholders meet in person) and in a modified (online survey) format in agricultural education research (franklin, 2011; myers & thompson, 2009; robinson & edwards, 2011; rubenstein & thoron, 2014). to collect stakeholder opinions, the delphi method has been proven as an effective method (landeta, 2006; okoli & pawlowski, 2004). social scientists use focus groups as the qualitative tools for conducting this type of research (sussman et al., 1991, krueger & casey, 2008). participants a true delphi method is employed in this study allowing participants to meet face-to-face and share their thoughts and opinions on their professional development needs. the delphi panel size should include a minimum of four people and that the panel’s composition should depend on the expert’s qualifications and demographics rather than a simple count (thangaratinam & redman, 2005). this study was conducted in two locations ensuring that educators’ concerns of different geographical areas were heard and recorded. session one consists of six panelists who were high school forestry teachers and state department of education administrators from georgia. session two consists of 17 panelists who were educators, foresters, cooperative extension agent, and career and technical education directors from virginia. during the study, two participant groups were examined to investigate the diversity of thought held throughout the southeast region of the united states. specifically, teachers were included from various geographical areas, because inservice teachers’ professional development needs vary within the same state or between neighboring states (washburn et al., 2001). data collection to engage the participants in the discussion, the researchers composed the following lead question, “what are educators’ areas of concern with teaching forestry and forest ecosystems?” the dialogue was led by a trained discussion leader who kept the conversation flowing and would ask appropriate probing questions ensuring each idea was clearly documented. during the discussion, a recorder typed each item into a word processing program, while a scribe wrote each item on large post-it sheets, clearly visible for all research participants. during the first round, participants responded to the lead question by sharing their ideas, without commenting on previous participants comments. at the end of the first round all of the items were compiled, and each participant rated each item, on an electronic device using a qualtrics survey. each item was rated using a five-point likert scale based on their belief/perceived level of importance that this item should be included in a professional development session on forestry and forest ecosystems. at the end of each round the participants were given a report of the mean scores. during the second round, participants discussed the potential of adding new items, combining existing items, and removing items from the list. for items to be removed or combined the discussion leader would ensure rubenstein et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.71 85 consensus before taking any action on the item. an a priori score was set at a mean of 4.0 for the professional development items to be considered in the final data reporting and professional development sessions. to standardize each panelist’s responses, the researchers used a z-score to create an index value for each item and establish the top areas of concerns by environmental and agricultural education educators in georgia and virginia. the researchers do note a limitation in the use of z-scores for this study because of the small sample size in session one (n = 7). however, due to the homogeneity of the participants, the researchers found a normal distribution in their responses deeming the use of z-scores effective. findings all of the participants had teaching experience in the middle school, high school, or collegiate classroom. the participants had been in the education profession between six and 31 years. each of the participants taught forestry or forestry ecosystem content as a portion of their courses. the researchers specifically selected each of the participants based on their level of experience and background, ensuring that a thorough sample of the teaching profession was selected and created a robust list of concerns relevant to educators at all experience levels. during session one, the participants identified 48 professional development needs of teachers to effectively instruct students on forestry and forest ecosystems. following round two, the panel narrowed the list to 27 items, reducing redundancies and eliminating items that had not reached consensus. following the second round, the top four items were: tree diseases and disorders (m = 4.80, sd = 0.45), timber stand improvement/foundational knowledge (m = 4.60, sd = 0.55), forest management (m = 4.60, sd = 0.55), and ffa state forestry field exam (m = 4.60, sd = 0.55). at the end of the process, 14 items achieved a mean score above the a priori level of 4.0 (see table 1). table 1 round two – levels of agreement: professional development needs in forestry and forest ecosystems (session one) item m sd trees diseases and disorders 4.80 0.45 timber stand improvement/foundational knowledge 4.60 0.55 forest management 4.60 0.55 ffa state forestry field exam (match curriculum) 4.60 0.55 rubenstein et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.71 86 item m sd maintenance and use of forestry equipment 4.40 0.89 forestry equipment 4.40 0.55 gps/gis 4.20 0.45 career opportunities in forestry 4.20 0.84 regional differences in teaching forestry, pine vs. hardwood markets 4.00 1.00 timber harvesting, sawmill, hydraulics, 4.00 1.22 best management practices for forestry 4.00 0.00 tree identification and collection of samples 4.00 0.71 how to teach forestry concepts that are not exact 4.00 1.22 ffa contest, regional differences 4.00 1.73 during session two, the participants compiled a list of 93 professional development needs to effectively teach forestry and forest ecosystems. at the end of the second round the needs were reduced to 80 items by removing redundancies and those that received less than the a priori mean of a 4.0. the top four items on the list were: professional career speakers (m = 4.88, sd = 0.33), graduation requirements limit electives (m = 4.71, sd = 0.47), career counseling/job fairs in forestry (m = 4.71, sd = 0.47), educate students about degrees needs for forestry career (m = 4.71, sd = 0.47). at the conclusion of round two, 54 items received a mean average above the a priori level of 4.0 (see table 2). table 2 round 2 – levels of agreement: professional development needs in forestry and forest ecosystems (session 2) items m sd professional career speakers 4.88 0.33 graduation requirements limit electives 4.71 0.47 career counseling/job fairs in forestry 4.71 0.47 rubenstein et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.71 87 items m sd educate students about degrees needed for forestry careers 4.71 0.47 over commitment of students to sports/vacation/jobs 4.71 0.59 lack of background knowledge 4.65 0.86 lack of forestry /agriculture programs in schools 4.65 0.61 have forestry electives in middle school 4.65 0.61 better community engagement by forestry professionals 4.59 0.62 time management/proper instruction planning 4.53 0.51 forestry/environmental science related clubs 4.53 1.01 high school internships with local conservation/forestry professionals 4.53 0.72 lack of bus and transportation funding 4.47 0.72 overall disconnect of students with the outdoors 4.47 0.87 making forestry cross-curricular 4.47 0.51 connection among elementary, middle, and high school curriculum 4.47 0.72 college-bound students not seen as who should be taking forestry classes 4.47 0.72 reaching out to students on social media to educate about forestry 4.47 0.80 how to change negative public perception of forestry 4.41 1.00 have cooperative extension agents visit classrooms 4.41 0.71 more time for teacher curricular planning 4.41 0.80 reaching young kids to direct students towards forestry classes 4.41 0.80 understanding the impact of local environmental issues 4.41 0.71 rubenstein et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.71 88 items m sd administration doesn't value subject matter (forestry and forest ecosystems) 4.35 1.06 lack of funding for student organizations/club activities 4.35 0.86 connect learning standards to forestry content 4.35 0.79 teachers from urban areas lack foundational knowledge 4.35 0.79 lack of collaboration between science and ag ed program in school 4.29 0.92 administration viewing forestry as a lower level science 4.29 0.85 no forestry or agriculture classes offered at high school level 4.29 1.10 grant opportunities 4.29 0.92 connect forestry four-year degree programs with community colleges 4.29 0.59 professional development for teachers across disciplines 4.29 0.92 more scholarships for forestry bachelor degrees 4.29 0.92 students not interested in summer camps designed for forestry 4.29 0.77 improve parental education about careers in forestry 4.29 0.77 administrative removal of students from forestry classes for advising 4.24 0.83 substitute teachers to allow teachers to plan/develop new materials 4.24 0.97 better environmental education opportunities 4.24 1.03 create state position to recruit and educate high school students in forestry 4.24 1.09 increase forestry professionals on state curriculum review boards 4.19 1.05 teacher stipend for students clubs 4.18 1.07 rubenstein et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.71 89 items m sd increase state agencies funding for forestry education 4.18 1.07 lack of forest teaching areas 4.12 1.05 perceived lack of fit between learning standards and forestry 4.12 0.93 administrative removal of student from forestry classes for remediation 4.12 0.86 forestry/environmental science scholarships connected with science fairs 4.12 1.05 push towards stem not connected well to forestry 4.12 0.99 improve day care/after school programs outdoor education programing 4.06 1.06 money to purchase teaching equipment 4.06 1.20 middle and high school students make career choices late in program 4.06 1.03 improve 4-h programs in forestry 4.06 0.90 lack of connection between learning standards and forestry content 4.00 0.94 from sessions one and two, 107 items were reported by the participants of the information sharing sessions. at the conclusion of data collection, the results were compiled and a ranking of the z-scores identified the top 13 areas of concern from environmental and agricultural education educators in georgia and virginia. the top five concern areas were: professional career speakers (z = 2.52); graduation requirements limit electives (z = 1.70); career counseling/job fairs in forestry (z = 1.70); education students about degrees needed for forestry careers (z = 1.70); and over commitment of students to sports/vacation/jobs (z = 1.70) (see table 3). rubenstein et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.71 90 table 3 professional development needs ranked by z-score combined from session 1 and 2 item m sd z session professional career speakers 4.88 0.33 2.52 2 graduation requirements limit electives 4.71 0.47 1.70 2 career counseling/job fairs in forestry 4.71 0.47 1.70 2 educate students about degrees needed for forestry careers 4.71 0.47 1.70 2 over commitment of students to sports/vacation/jobs 4.71 0.59 1.70 2 trees diseases and disorders 4.8 0.45 1.48 1 lack of background knowledge 4.65 0.86 1.41 2 lack of forestry /agriculture programs in schools 4.65 0.61 1.41 2 have forestry electives in middle school 4.65 0.61 1.41 2 timber stand improvement/foundational knowledge 4.6 0.55 1.23 1 forest management 4.6 0.55 1.23 1 ffa state forestry field exam (match curriculum) 4.6 0.55 1.23 1 better community engagement by forestry professionals 4.59 0.62 1.12 2 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the educational needs identified by information sharing session participants can be divided into two overarching categories: changes in administrative constraints regarding instruction of forestry and improving educators content knowledge of forestry. session two was dominated by a discussion of administrative constraints on forestry education and session one was dominated by a discussion of improving forestry educators’ content. these findings support the work of washburn et al. (2001) who similarly identified that geographic and educational administrative differences influence teacher professional development needs. rubenstein et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.71 91 these findings are especially pertinent when viewed through the lens of the conceptual framework for this study developed by roberts and ball (2009). industry-validated agricultural curriculum is a key component of the agricultural context which is a precursor for successful lifelong learners that are agriculturally literature citizens and also a skilled agricultural workforce. more directly, an agriculturally literature citizenship and skilled agricultural workers cannot exist without industry-validated curricula. the need for having a foundational knowledge of forestry concepts, supports the work of lockerman friend (2008) who identified instructor knowledge as a crucial factor for secondary instruction in forestry. the participants in the session provided specific content about what topics they felt were lacking in their own education, but which they were expected to teach in the classroom. there are two approaches for remedying this lack content knowledge: a general forestry course could be added to undergraduate agricultural teacher preparation programs or continuing education learning session could be provided for inservice agriculture and environmental science teachers by forestry experts. forestry is a constantly changing field, both solutions should be adopted by teacher educators and agricultural education state staff providing preservice and inservice teachers with additional content knowledge and adequately preparing students for a career in the forestry industry. these solutions are not time intensive but could be as simple as the cross disciplinary peer education model proposed by copenheaver et al. (2004), where undergraduates in forestry provided guest lectures in secondary agricultural education classes. session two participants focused their discussion on various administrative challenges that face them in the classroom as major areas of concern for teaching forestry content in their classes. concerns about administrative challenges and school procedures have been voiced by many teachers as a reason for leaving the teaching profession (skaalvik & skaalvik, 2011). however, there is no easy remedy for this issue. professional development will increase teacher’s knowledge in forestry content areas (velardi et al., 2015); however, there is a lack of evidence suggesting that professional development assists teachers with overcoming administrative barriers. based on the findings of this study the following recommendations for further research are offered: 1. a needs assessment should be conducted, examining existing teacher confidence and familiarity with the professional development needs identified in this study to better prioritize the professional development opportunities; 2. research should be conducted, examining preservice teacher confidence and familiarity with the professional development needs identified in this study so that teacher educators can better prepare preservice teachers; and 3. research should be conducted, examining a larger geographic area to determine if forestry content concerns identified in this study match those in other geographic regions of the united states. rubenstein et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.71 92 based on the findings of this study the following recommendations for teacher education are offered: 1. require each preservice teacher complete an introductory forestry course to ensure that foundational knowledge is acquired; 2. prepare professional development workshops with forestry experts, merging the content and pedagogy; and 3. work with state cde superintendents to ensure the standards being taught in forestry units/courses align with the various competitive events offered. acknowledgements this paper is a product of usda nifa speca grant no. 2017-28414-26957. references barrick, r. k., ladewig, h. w., & hedges, l. e. 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(2001, february 22 24). the professional development needs of kansas teachers of agriculture. proceedings of the aaae central region agricultural education research conference, 216–227. https:/eric.ed.gov/?id=ed475348 © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 101-manuscript-1593-1-11-20210820.docx muscato et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 2, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. annie muscato, graduate research assistant, university of florida, po box 112060 gainesville, fl 32611, afmuscato@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9936-9374 2. matthew sowcik, assistant professor, university of florida. po box 112060 gainesville, fl 32611, sowcik@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5630-2281 3. rebecca williams, visiting assistant professor, university of florida, , po box 112060 gainesville, fl 32611, rjwillia@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3849-9348 125 an exploration of graduate level agricultural leadership course descriptions a. muscato1, m. sowcik2, r. williams3 abstract since its introduction into agricultural education programs in the 1970s, agricultural leadership has continued to change due to the needs of students and trends within the field (cletzer et al., 2020; jones, 2004; williams, 2007). a single research question guided the study: what is the nature of graduate agricultural leadership courses offered in the united states? this study utilized a qualitative content analysis to capture the meanings, emphasis, and themes of agricultural leadership graduate course descriptions. the frame for this research was established by consulting the american association of agricultural educators member list. university course catalogs were reviewed, and all graduate coursework offered by the agricultural education departments of the identified institutions that included any of the following terms in the title were noted: (a) lead, (b) leader, and (c) leadership. a total of 62 courses from 11 institutions met the criteria. the findings clustered the courses into 21 categories, further compiled into six themes: (1) individual-level focus, (2) organizational-level focus, (3) societal-level focus, (4) professional focus, (5) methodological focus, (6) developmental focus. the findings and recommendations should be considered by agricultural leadership educators as they evaluate how to most appropriately grow their academic programs and coursework. keywords content analysis, graduate courses, leadership education, curriculum muscato et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.101 126 introduction and problem statement leadership education provides students with the skills to effectively engage with organizations, establish meaningful dialogs, increase their ability to fulfill leadership roles, and expand their capacity for thoughts and ideas (huestedde & woodward, 1996; mccauley, et al., 1998; day, 2000). additionally, when exposed to leadership theory and practice, students are better suited to assume leadership roles within their community and contribute to the growth of businesses, industry, and community development (kristick, 2009; russon & reinelt, 2004). the field of agriculture is no exception to these benefits (weeks et al., 2020). those working in this context continually face complex problems such as climate change, droughts, flooding, and water scarcity, requiring strong leadership (jordan et al., 2013). since its introduction into agricultural education programs in the 1970s, agricultural leadership has continued to change to meet the needs of students and industry (cletzer et al., 2020; jones, 2004; williams, 2007). one of the major changes that occurred in agricultural leadership was the inclusion of the discipline in graduate agricultural education (jones, 2004). however, despite the growth of these programs, there exists a scarcity of research on the topic in this context. as agricultural leadership graduate programs further develop, research is critical to better understand both the current state of the field and changes needed to improve the educational outcomes of programs. as alexander (2015) suggests, “having a better understanding of agricultural leadership-related programming will be an asset to the discipline regarding restructuring programs to students’ needs, creating growth among academic programs, and increasing the knowledge of educators within the field” (alexander, 2015, p. 26). the current study provides insight into graduate level agricultural leadership coursework in the united states and explores how the coursework fulfills the needs of the agricultural industry. theoretical and conceptual framework this study utilized finch and crunkilton’s (1999) program systems model (psm) as its conceptual framework (see figure 1). the psm describes a basic feedback loop using a systems approach demonstrating how academic programs revise the process by which they educate students using new information (finch & crunkilton, 1999). this model has been used repeatedly as the framework for examination of agricultural education and communication programs over the course of the last ten years. cannon et al. (2016) used it to develop a national portrait of undergraduate agricultural communication courses. morgan et al. (2013) used the model to explore elements of undergraduate agricultural leadership programs. additionally, research has been conducted within the field of agricultural education related specifically to each component of the model. specifically, watson and robertson’s (2011) research on students, morgan and rucker’s (2013) research on faculty, and morgan’s (2012) research on graduates. muscato et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.101 127 figure 1 program systems model note. adapted from “curriculum development in vocational and technical education, planning, content, and implementation,” by c. r. finch and j. r. crunkilton, 1999, allyn and bacon. in this study, the model’s systems theory approach was employed to understand how graduate level agricultural leadership programs are operating within and influenced by the external environment. specifically, this study will utilize the curriculum component of the process portion of the model, as it is directly related to programmatic coursework. in cletzer et al. (2020) the model was used similarly to explore the scope and nature of undergraduate agricultural leadership coursework. this consistency between approaches for the latter previous research and the current study allow for a holistic discussion regarding the development of agricultural leadership programs in higher education. purpose the purpose of this study was to contribute to the scarce research on agricultural leadership education programs by identifying themes between graduate level course descriptions. the importance of the programs themselves is captured by research priority 3 of the american association for agricultural education’s national research agenda. and tasks agricultural educators with preparing graduates with 21st century skills, such as leadership (roberts et al., 2016). an overarching research question guided the study: what is the scope and nature of graduate agricultural leadership courses offered in the united states? methods research design this study utilized a qualitative content analysis, defined by krippendorff (2004) as, “a research technique for making replicable and valid inferences from texts (or other meaningful matter) to muscato et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.101 128 the contexts of their use” (p. 18). the purpose of qualitative content analysis is to, “capture the meanings, emphases, and themes of messages to understand the organization and process of how they are presented” (altheide, 1996, p. 33). additionally, knapp (2017) argues the study of leadership education is uniquely appropriate to be approached qualitatively. therefore, this qualitative design was most appropriate to capture the meanings, emphasis, and themes of agricultural leadership graduate coursework. data sources and collection the frame for this research consisted of all departments or programs in the united states currently offering agricultural leadership programs at the graduate level. the population frame was established by consulting the american association of agricultural educators (aaae) member list and determining who self-identified as offering a masters or doctoral degree or graduate level specialization in agricultural leadership. eleven institutions were identified: 1. university of florida, 2. university of kentucky, 3. university of nebraska, 4. ohio state university, 5. oklahoma state university, 6. university of tennessee, 7. texas a&m university, 8. virginia polytechnic institute and state university, 9. oregon state university, 10. georgia state university and 11. university of missouri. publicly available university graduate course catalogs were reviewed, and all graduate coursework offered by the agricultural education departments of those institutions that included any of the following terms in the course title were noted: (a) lead, (b) leader, and (c) leadership. then, the corresponding course descriptions were collected. university course descriptions provided a summary of course purpose and objectives making them an appropriate data set for broadly understanding graduate level agricultural leadership courses in the united states. a total of 62 courses met the criteria and were included in the study. data analysis after initial collection the data was first analyzed to determine a variety of factors. these included the number of graduate level agricultural leadership courses offered by the individual institutions and how often the terms: (a) agriculture, (b) natural resources, (c) extension, and (d) agricultural education were included in the course descriptions. since the literature indicates a potential disconnect between the study of leadership and agricultural leadership specifically, these terms were important to understand if leadership courses were including an agricultural and/or life science focus. while qualitative content analysis is not often focused on quantification of individual words or terms, krippendorff (2004) argued the two are inextricably linked when he stated, “ultimately, all reading of texts is qualitative, even when certain characteristics of a text are later converted into numbers” (p. 16). next, a qualitative content analysis approach was used to identify patterns within the course descriptions. following the recommendations of krippendorff’s (2004) hermeneutic loop the researcher engaged in an iterative process of reviewing and re-reviewing the entirety of the data while continuously re-contextualizing, reinterpreting, and redefining it. the intention of this was to construct themes from the content using an abductive research approach as suggested by delputte and orbie (2017). from this the researcher compiled a list of codes for categories all the courses would fit into. leaning on previous research of agricultural leadership muscato et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.101 129 courses these categories were compared to cletzer et al. (2020) and then compiled into corresponding themes. limitations it is worth noting one institution included in the study had no leadership courses listed within the agricultural education department and another had only one. presumably there is an explanation for these outliers, but based strictly on content analysis, that is impossible to know. this method is highly effective for categorizing data, as was done in this study, but the results lack the thick rich description qualitative research is known for. additionally, a lack of publicly available access to up-to-date syllabi made it impossible to include course syllabi in this study. however, it was determined that course descriptions are intended to serve as an outline of both the purpose and objectives of courses, thus serving the research purpose sufficiently. findings of the 11 institutions listed as having graduate level agricultural leadership programs in the aaae membership directory, 90.9% (n = 10) list at least one graduate level leadership course housed within their agricultural education department in their university course catalog. total number of graduate level agricultural leadership courses offered nationwide was 62. number of courses offered per institution ranged from 0 to 15 with a median of 5 and mean of 5.64. when examining the intentionality of connecting the leadership courses specifically to agricultural and life sciences, only 41.9% (n = 26) of the courses included the terms: (a) agriculture, (b) natural resources, (c) extension, and/or (d) agricultural education in the course description found in the university course catalog. respectively, each term occurred in a course description the following number of times: (a) agriculture = 16, (b) natural resources = 3, (c) extension = 10, and (d) agricultural education = 11. the content analysis of course descriptions resulted in 62 courses fitting into 21 distinct categories. these were further compiled into six overarching themes specifying the shared collective focus of the course categories (see table 1). because the categories and themes so closely aligned with cletzer et al.’s (2020) findings, the researcher used their established definition of themes. this provides important consistency of language to national conversations about agricultural leadership programs. description of themes 1. individual-level focus: “…courses focused on the individual student, such as introductory courses designed to provide a survey of leadership theories, or personal leadership courses designed to help students discover their individual leadership strengths, styles, or values” (cletzer et al., 2020. p. 4). 2. organizationallevel focus: “…courses designed to improve bounded systems, such as teams, organizations, and communities” (cletzer et al., 2020. p. 4). muscato et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.101 130 3. societallevel focus: “…courses discussing how leadership impacts broad societal issues, such as diversity, change, and ethics” (cletzer et al., 2020. p. 4). 4. professional focus: “…courses intended to prepare students for leadership roles specifically as agriculture teachers, or more broadly in the agriculture industry” (cletzer et al., 2020. p. 6). 5. methodological focus: “…defined by the structure of the course, rather than content or focus” (cletzer et al., 2020. p. 6). 6. developmental focus: “…courses related to teaching students to develop, deliver, and manage leadership programming. a distinction was made between courses focusing exclusively on youth and those intended for broader applications” (cletzer et al., 2020, p. 6). the range of courses making up each individual theme was 8-13, indicating the courses were distributed among the themes relatively evenly. the mean number of courses in each theme was 10.3 and the median number of courses was 10. however, the number of courses offered nationwide, when examined by category, was much more varied. the range in number of courses offered per each of the 21 categories identified was 1-8 while the mean number of courses per category was only 2.95 and median only 2. muscato et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.101 131 table 1 organization of leadership courses by category and theme theme category number of courses by theme number of courses by category individual-level focus introduction to leadership theory 9 8 personal leadership development 1 organizational-level focus organizational leadership development 10 5 leadership and community development team and group leadership 3 2 societal-level focus global diversity and culture 8 3 2 ethics change 2 1 professional focus leadership in agriculture agricultural teacher preparation communications and leadership leadership for general career 12 6 4 1 1 methodological focus interdisciplinary research methods individual study critical leadership studies 13 3 3 2 2 single theory focus seminar 2 1 developmental focus program development, delivery, and volunteer management youth leadership development 10 7 3 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the results of this study indicate that the number of graduate level agricultural leadership courses offered in the united states has increased by 82.4% (n = 28), since 2003 when fritz et. muscato et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.101 132 al. identified 34 graduate leadership courses offered by agricultural education programs. when considering the results of this study through the lens of the finch and crunkilton’s (1999) program system’s model, the model suggests academic programs are influenced by their own faculty, graduates, and industry representatives. the results of this study, however, do not correspond with jones (2004) findings identifying what leadership traits faculty members and industry representatives’ rate as important for graduates to possess. both groups agreed the three most important traits for graduates were communication, interpersonal relationship building, and collaboration. therefore, program systems model would suggest the categories corresponding to those traits would have an above average number of courses included in them. in the current study, the communications and leadership category includes only one course, and the team and group leadership category, which would apply to both interpersonal relationship building and collaboration, includes only two courses. in both of these categories less than the mean number of courses (n = 2.95) are included. to determine what the focus of graduate level agricultural leadership courses are in the united states, we must look to the categories with the greatest number of courses. of all 62 courses, 48.0% of them (n = 30) fall under five of the 21 total categories. the five categories and the number of courses includes: (1) individual-level focus (n = 8), (2) program development, delivery, and volunteer management (n = 7), (3) leadership in agriculture (n = 6), (4) organizational leadership development (n = 5), and (5) agricultural teacher preparation (n = 4). additionally, when considering content, it is important to consider how few courses included the terms: (a) agriculture, (b) natural resources, (c) extension, and/or (d) agricultural education in the course description. despite 100% of the analyzed courses (n = 62) being offered within colleges of agricultural and life sciences, by agricultural education departments, only 41.9% (n = 26) included any of the terms. based upon the growth of agricultural leadership programs identified by this study and the literature, graduate level agricultural leadership programs should continue to be examined more in depth. a valuable contribution to the national conversation about the future of agricultural leadership education would be to determine if the direction the field is being managed intentionally in program design and delivery. finally, research on agricultural leadership programs should consider the role context and contextual expertise (kellerman, 2014) has on leadership education in an agricultural context. to best meet the unique challenges of the agricultural industry, should coursework focus on leadership education through an agricultural lens? research into this area would provide agricultural leadership faculty insight into the need to introduce context specific areas like agriculture, natural resources, or extension into the leadership education curriculum. it is possible that being housed within agricultural education departments in colleges of agricultural and life sciences is not enough if faculty members aren’t engaging students in examination of leadership challenges or development of skills specific to agricultural industry needs. over the past five decades, the number of agricultural leadership programs have continued to increase within higher education. over that time, these programs continued to change and evolve to address the needs and interests of those in academia and industry. while those muscato et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.101 133 working within the discipline have recognized a need for research and possibly standardization within agricultural leadership programs, the research is still in its infancy. the current study looked to add to the body of knowledge on agricultural leadership programs by providing an overview of themes found in graduate level course descriptions. this research is a first step to address commonalities and differences within agricultural leadership programs and purposefully move the discipline forward. references alexander, j. 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(2005). teaching leadership: do students remember and utilize the concepts we teach? journal of leadership education, 4(1), 62–74. © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 145-manuscript-1813-1-11-20211011.docx zagonel et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 3, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. anissa m. zagonel, research coordinator, uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, 2nd floor, po box 110320, gainesville, fl 32611 azagonel@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6359-5820 2. lauri m. baker, associate professor, university of florida, po box 112060 gainesville, fl 32611, lauri.m.baker@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-6077 3. joelle covarrubias, undergraduate research assistant, university of florida, j.covarrubias@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4131-0112 4. angela b. lindsey, assistant professor, university of florida, 3014c mccarty d, gainesville, fl 32611 ablindsey@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9859-7962 39 credibility in crisis: determining the availability and credibility of online food supply chain resources during the covid-19 pandemic a. zagonel1, l. baker2, j. covarrubias3, a. lindsey4 abstract disruptions from covid-19 forced agricultural business owners to navigate the uncertainty of market disruptions with limited information. as an effect, the quality of information available for agricultural businesses to adapt to changes was a concern. the purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the availability and credibility of resources for agricultural businesses to make informed decisions about food markets during covid-19. source credibility was the guiding framework to achieve the research objectives of 1) describe resources available related to impacts of covid-19 on the food supply chain, 2) determine the credibility of available resources. a quantitative content and textual analyses were employed. results revealed 401 terms used to describe resources (n = 779). eleven of the top 36 terms were used over 100 times. these were: farmer, resources, farm, market, business, local, health, safe, supply, agriculture, and chain. the majority of resources (66%, f = 514) were mid-level credible sources (industry/business organization, online/print news source, nonprofit), and 32.2% (f = 251) were of the highest credibility (university scientists, usda scientist, extension). implications of this work show an opportunity for university and extension systems to publish resources and serve as credible sources related to this particular crisis. keywords source credibility, quantitative content analysis, textual analysis, online resources zagonel et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.145 40 introduction and problem statement a crisis is a complex event that causes or threatens to cause widespread disaster among a whole social system, often with an urgent timeline forcing rapid responses (pauchant & mitroff, 1990). in early 2020, covid-19 swept across the u.s. creating subsequent crises with system shattering impacts (sahin et al., 2020), such as obstructive changes in social behaviors (nakat & bou-mitri, 2021). the impacts to agriculture were great with disruptions in food supply chains (duvall, 2020) and increased need for alternative methods of selling agricultural products to meet new needs (nelson, 2020). these social behavior changes, specific to agriculture, have continued well into 2021 and are observed as changes in consumers’ food buying patterns and disruptions to supply chains (nakat & bou-mitri, 2021). with the accessibility of traditional avenues and markets being limited or closed, agricultural business owners were left to navigate through the uncertainty and indirect impacts of covid19 (lioutas & charatsari, 2021). during the pandemic, agriculture and natural resource business owners expressed concern over the quality of information available to help inform decision making (baker, kandzer, rampold, et al., 2020). a stimulus policy report recommended that food and farm business entities should be included in small business support programs and receive the same technical assistance and resources (thilmany et al., 2020). extension systems have been positioned as a credible source with adequate online program offerings to serve as a mediator and fill these information gaps in times of crises (narine & meier, 2020). however, little is known about what resources currently exist for agricultural business owners related specifically to covid-19 food supply disruptions. because of this problem, this study sought to explore and identify available resources and assess the quality of resources, in terms of authoring source credibility. with a better understanding of what topic areas are already covered and the credibility level of those existing resources, researchers and communicators can have insight when working to fill the needs of agricultural business owners navigating covid-19 impacts. theoretical and conceptual framework this study was based on the conceptual framework of source credibility. the premise of source credibility is that the more credible, or trustworthy, the source, the more the receiver of information is to trust and put to use content (kumkale et al., 2010; pornpitakpan, 2004; sternthal et al., 1978). the element of trustworthiness refers to the receiver’s perception of the likelihood the information the source is sharing is true (hovland et al., 1953). there are many characteristics that can be measured or observed to substantiate whether an online source is credible, such as display of credentials of authors, whether the author represents a reputable organization, date of last update, references for the source’s data, and source funding (hawkins, 1999). for example, burbules (2001) notes specific markers of online credible sources as quality layouts and visually appealing sites, addressing the url or associated emails for either academic or commercial sources, interpreting whether or not the source takes an authoritative stance or a stance with obvious bias, and if the website has been updated or zagonel et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.145 41 revised frequently. for the purpose of this study, only one factor related to credibility, authoring source, will be measured. credibility criteria used in assessing information have been studied within a wide range of disciplines, notably library and information science, marketing, communications, and health sciences (liu, 2004). according to past source credibility literature, consumers of information tended to perceive authority when information appears “scholarly” (rieh, 2001). moreover, perceptions of high authority are found to be associated with academic institutions and government agencies with low authority to commercial sources (rieh, 2001). credible sources also link to themselves in the website and include complete reference lists (burbules, 2001). although source credibility has not been specifically applied to resources related to mitigating the impacts of covid-19 on the food supply chain, source credibility has been applied to other areas in agricultural communications. it is known that agricultural communicators should consider the trustworthiness and perceived expertise of sources, such as representatives from regulatory agencies, educational institutions, members of the agriculture sector, or environmental organizations, when developing messages (lamm et al., 2016). thus, messages delivered by an individual that is perceived as a credible source may have a more meaningful effect than messages delivered by a source that lacks traits of credibility (telg et al., 2012). it is suggested that website source credibility often has the same effect. purpose the overall purpose of this study was to explore an area of literature otherwise unknown and to describe resources available to help enable agricultural business owners to make better informed decisions based on credible, trustworthy resources during the covid-19 pandemic. thus, helping create alternative methods of buying and selling and lessening the impacts from social behavior changes. the conceptual framework of source credibility guided this study in addressing the following research objectives: ro1) describe resources available related to the impacts of covid-19 on the food supply chain. ro2) determine the credibility, in terms of authoring source, of available resources that aim to help mitigate impacts of food supply chain disruptions from covid-19. methods this study employed a quantitative content and textual analysis approach using purposive sampling to gather resources in three pre-determined ways. quantitative content analyses are often used to systematically measure and make sense of materials (berelson, 1952). the first way the sample was gathered was by using a united states department of agriculture (usda) website that aggregated resources related to the topic of covid-19 food supply chain disruptions. as of february 2021, this site included 171 resources. next, the research team developed a list of search terms that could be used to locate resources related to this topic. each search included the term covid-19 plus an additional word or phrase, such as farm resources, selling online, buying from farms, local food, food supply chain, regional food, emergency food, curbside pickup, food processing and marketing, food and farm closure, farm legal support, farmworkers, ghost kitchens, food hubs, meatpacking, food boxes, and grocery zagonel et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.145 42 suppliers. these search terms resulted in 579 novel resources. resources included in the sample were gathered from the first three pages of the search results, a method based on user search behavior (law, 2019) and previous work (baker, mcleod-morin, kent, et al., 2020). the third way the sample was collected was through emails with resource links sent to the research team, which resulted in 29 resources. duplicates were removed in the final stage. the final sample included 779 unique resources. to describe the sample and assess credibility of resources, researchers developed a codebook, a recommended practice in content analyses (krippendorff, 2013). this codebook provided guidance to the two coders on how to systematically categorize the resources (variable), in terms of credibility (measurement). the coders conducted a priori coding, where the variables were assessed, and measurement was pre-established based upon literature and framework (stemler, 2000). the codebook was created by examining characteristics that make a source credible (hawkins, 1999) and applying these elements to topic areas in this study. for the variable credibility, a scale of 1 (lowest) to 3 (highest) credibility. a resource was coded as a one if there was no clear association/author or it was unknown. resources were coded as two if the author was a commodity association, co-op, business/industry organization, nonprofit, or a news source. resources coded as three were considered of the highest credibility and consisted of authors who were university scientists, usda scientists, university programs, or an extension system. the codebook was reviewed by a panel of experts for face content and validity, both of which lend credibility to the findings of this study (krippendorff, 2013). while coding the resources for credibility, the coders also added each resource’s introduction or about information to the code sheet. this data was analyzed using a textual analysis software (anthony, 2021) to describe the resources in the sample by identifying most frequently used terms in the texts. two coders, a research assistant and an undergraduate researcher, were trained on how to use and interpret the codebook and were supervised by the lead principal investigator. prior to coding the full data set, inter-rater reliability was assessed using 20% of the sample and cohen’s kappa (cohen, 1960). this test is used to measure the percent of agreement between coders, while also considering coders may agree on measurement by chance (stemler, 2000). according to landis and koch (1977), a kappa score of .8 is considered substantial and deemed acceptable for social science research. the credibility variable, in this study, was assessed at .8, cohen’s assumptions were satisfied (cohen, 1960). three other variables were not considered reliable at the .8 level and were removed from the study. after assessing reliability, the full data set was split between the two coders and coded during the spring of 2021. disagreements on reliability coding were resolved by random assignment (lacy et al., 2015), and data were analyzed for descriptive statistics using ibm spss 26. zagonel et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.145 43 findings ro1 description of available resources researchers identified 779 unique resources during the three-part sampling procedure described in the methods. to understand the content contained within the resources, textual analysis of the resources’ introduction and about paragraphs were used. in all, the analysis found 401 individual terms. singular and plural forms of the same word, as well as differing tenses of the same word were grouped together as one word. in these scenarios, the frequency count of both words were added together. the data analysis software uses a series of three separate dictionaries of words in the english language and excludes overly common words like of, is, the, etc. when plotted on a line chart, the term frequencies leveled after the top 36 words. top words that were found to be used over 100 times in resources’ introduction and about paragraphs, in descending order, were: farmer, farmers; resource, resources; farm, farms; market, markets; business, businesses; local, locals, locally; health, healthier, healthy; safe, safely, safety; supply, supplies, supplying; agriculture, agricultural; and chain, chains (see table 1). zagonel et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.145 44 table 1 top 36 words used in introduction and/or about paragraphs of resources related to covid-19 disruptions on the food supply chain (n = 36) word frequency of word use % of frequency out of total frequencies farmer, farmers 186 2.60 resource, resources 159 2.22 farm, farms 155 2.16 market, markets 153 2.14 business, businesses 152 2.12 local, locals, locally 128 1.79 health, healthier, healthy 122 1.70 safe, safely, safety 118 1.65 supply, supplies, supplying 106 1.48 agriculture, agricultural 104 1.45 chain, chains 103 1.44 industry, industries 86 1.20 system, systems 85 1.19 consumer, consumers 84 1.17 state, states 80 1.12 community, communities 79 1.10 new 79 1.10 provide, provides, providing 73 1.02 information 73 1.02 program, programs 69 .96 worker, workers 67 .94 restaurant, restaurants 65 .91 work, working 64 .89 support, supported, supporting 61 .85 person, personal, people 60 .84 home 59 .82 country, countries 52 .73 spread, spreads, spreading 52 .73 national, nationwide 48 .67 school, schools 48 .67 operation, operations 47 .66 customer, customers 46 .64 service, services 45 .63 delivery, deliveries, delivering, delivered 43 .60 department 43 .60 people 43 .60 zagonel et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.145 45 ro2 authoring source credibility of resources to determine the credibility, in terms of authoring source, of the resources, each resource was coded for its level of credibility based on the codebook. out of all 779 resources in the sample, two thirds of the resources (f = 514, 66%) were at a mid-level of credibility (2 on a 3-point scale). example sources from this level would be agricultural commodity associations, agricultural cooperatives, business/industry organizations, nonprofits, and online or print news sources. approximately one third (f = 251, 32.2%) of all sources were considered to have the highest level of credibility. these sources were university scientists, usda scientists, universities, university affiliated programs, governmental organizations, or extension systems. finally, nearly 2% (f = 14) of all resources exhibited no clear association or author on the resource. credibility levels can be seen in table 2. table 2 source credibility frequencies and percentages of resources related to covid-19 disruptions on the food supply chain (n = 779) level of credibility f % level 2 commodity association, cooperative, business/industry organization, nonprofit, online or print news source 514 66 level 3 university scientist, united states department of agriculture scientist, university, university program, governmental organization, or extension system 251 32.2 level 1 no clear association/unknown 14 1.8 note. scale: 1 = least credible, 2 = mid-level credibility, 3 = highest level of credibility conclusions, discussion, and recommendations limitations specific to this study are that this sample is a snapshot of the resources available at one moment in time. moreover, this was exploratory research into this specific topic area; therefore, the codebook used was researcher developed, which may include bias in interpretation. this was mitigated through inter-rater reliability but should still be noted. additionally, some resources may have been missed in the development of the sample. results from this study spotlight that there is no shortage of resources available to understand food supply changes and opportunities related to covid-19 with 779 resources available online related to this topic. textual analysis from this study showed that general production terms, such as farm(s), farmer(s), and agriculture were highly used among resources. moreover, terms related to health and safety during covid-19 were also frequently used, which indicates many resources were following and recommending safe protocols for business operations. frequency of terms also indicated that of alternative food systems could be being explored by the recurring use of the term local(lly). topic areas that had less frequently used terms, and zagonel et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.145 46 therefore less resources available, were restaurants, schools, and deliveries. though these terms made the top 36 list of terms in the textual analysis, these make up a far less of the percentage of the total frequency for the top words. for entities creating, organizing, or promoting materials to help business owners navigate covid-19 disruptions to the food supply chain, it is recommended to include resources for less traditional food supply chain partners and processes, such as restaurants, schools, and deliveries. finally, terms like extension and researchor science-based were not frequently used. thus, this could serve as an area of opportunity for extension systems to publish resources and be considered a credible source in their communities during covid-19 and future crises involving food supply disruption. similarly, in terms of source credibility, the majority of the resources had a mid-level credibility from sources like industry, commodity, or grower organizations, nonprofits, online or print news sources, agricultural cooperatives, etc. this work demonstrates that universities and extension systems have provided education in this area but not near to the same extent as industry. part of this is likely due to time constraints and perhaps a focus of quality over quantity, but it does appear there is room for universities and extension systems to increase available resources on understanding food supply changes and opportunities to sell and buy crops in alternative methods due to covid-19. because universities and extension systems are typically seen as more credible sources, it is possible that people would be more likely to retain and implement information provided by these sources (kumkale et al., 2010; pornpitakpan, 2004; rieh, 2001; sternthal et al., 1978). given the number of resources found for this study, it could be assumed that delving through credible and useful resources, as an agricultural business owner, could be overwhelming. researchers recommend that university and extension scientists develop and make available resources on these topics for covid-19 and future crises, while keeping in mind specific needs or circumstances of different communities. resources produced from both industry and academia should follow best practices of credible sources, like linking previous related information from themselves, creating visually appealing graphics and layouts on quality websites, providing contact information for websites, and updating information on the sites frequently (burbules, 2001; hawkins, 1999). in addition, extension and academia should look for unique opportunities to disseminate this important information. possible ideas include collaborating with industry and commodity partners by providing fact sheets and/or infographics that can be shared through traditional media outlets and on social media. even developing op-ed and blog pieces that can be shared among specific target audiences would be beneficial for getting specific credible information to unique audiences. it is also recommended that no stone be left unturned when marketing and cross-promoting these resources to ensure agricultural business owners see credible resources multiple times, thus adding to the credibility of the source. since published journal articles can be time restricting, extension and researchers could develop research-based white papers that can be easily accessed by different organizations and used a source for news stories surrounding the crisis. to aid in future crises and disruptions to the food supply chain, it is recommended that researchers examine information sources from producers, suppliers, business owners, and consumers alike. it would also be wise conduct a needs assessment with agricultural business owners that identifies zagonel et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.145 47 preferential communication methods as a one component of the research. both of these efforts could further help in connecting the right resources with the right people. furthermore, thinking about the bigger picture of future disruptions to the food supply chain, it could be useful to identify opinion leaders among communities and industries to implement and utilize best practices prescribed by credible sources. lastly, communicators and researchers should work to build relationships with agricultural business owners, whether that is online or in real life, prior to disasters to help audiences easily identify credible sources and seek information there first. finally, it is interesting to note that 2% of the resources had no clear association. although this is a small percentage, it provides a unique opportunity for agricultural communicators to understand the importance of providing sources in their products. this is especially crucial during a crisis when source credibility offers a way to swim through the sea of misinformation. acknowledgements this work was supported by the “lessons from covid-19: positioning regional food supply chains for future pandemics, natural disasters and human-made crises” project and is funded by the agriculture and food research initiative, grant no. 2020-68006-33037, from the usda national institute of food and agriculture. references 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(2012). preferred information channels and source trustworthiness: assessing communication methods used in florida’s battle against citrus greening. journal of applied communications, 96(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.1147 thilmany, d., jablonski, b., angelo, b., low, s., & tropp, d. (2020). mitigating immediate harmful impacts of covid-19 on colorado farms and ranches selling through local and regional food markets. regional economic development institute https://mountainscholar.org/handle/10217/217134 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 67-manuscript-701-1-11-20200914.docx agard and roberts advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 3, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. alexis c. agard, master student, louisiana state university, 131 j.c. miller hall, 110 lsu union square, baton rouge, la, 70803, ; aagard1@lsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9261-6018 2. richie roberts, assistant professor, louisiana state university, 131 j.c. miller hall, 110 lsu union square, baton rouge, la, 70803, roberts3@lsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2993-4945 14 a reenvisioned agricultural system in thailand: the growth in human capital experienced by agriculturalists after adoption of the sufficiency economic philosophy a. agard1, r. roberts2 abstract investments in human capital have been shown to positively influence the development of the agricultural industry in regions across the globe. after the asian financial crisis of 1997, therefore, thailand’s king bhumibol adulyadej (the king) adopted the sufficiency economic philosophy (sep) that empowered the country through critical investments in human capital, which led to a transformation of its agricultural system. in this case study, we examined thai agricultural leaders’ reflections on the role of sep in catalyzing such changes. findings from this investigation emerged in the form of two investments that thailand made in human capital through the sep: (1) education, and (2) the establishment of the royal projects. three outcomes also emerged that represent how growth was experienced in the nation’s agricultural system as a result of such investments: (1) individual development, (2) economic development, and (3) societal development. as a result, this investigation’s findings could help extension professionals diffuse agricultural innovations in ways that align better with the unique values of thailand while also helping to improve the production of agricultural commodities. keywords agricultural development, human capital, sustainability, thailand agard and roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.67 15 introduction and problem statement after the asian financial crisis of 1997, thailand’s government was forced to reevaluate its financial policy, reallocate investments, and adopt an alternative development approach (lauridsen, 1998). and a result, king bhumibol adulyadej (the king) implemented the sufficiency economic philosophy (sep) throughout the country (essen, 2010). sep emphasizes taking the middle way or finding a balance between self-indulgence and discipline (barua & tejativaddhana, 2019). as such, sep is grounded on three pillars: (1) moderation, (2) reasonableness, and (3) and mitigating risk during decision-making (kansuntisukmongkol, 2017). it is also believed that individuals must possess knowledge and virtue to uphold each pillar (wibulswasdi et al., 2012). and as a result, the king argued that sep encompassed a holistic and ethical approach toward development that could coexist with other economic systems throughout the world while also allowing the country to uphold cultural norms rooted in buddhist traditions (essen, 2010). after being integrated as a core principle of thailand’s national economic and social development plan in 2002, sep has been recognized by the u.n.’s division for sustainable development goals (dsdg) as a model for sustainable development (united nations development programme, 2007). in particular, evidence has demonstrated that sep has been transformative to various aspects of thai society including: (1) sociocultural, (2) economics and policy, and (3) education (kansuntisukmongkol, 2017; mongsawad, 2010; piboolsravut, 2004; wibulswasdi et al., 2012). however, wibulswasdi et al. (2012) argued the most important change occurred in its agricultural system. a need emerged, therefore, to better understand how the investments to human capital through sep led to a reenvisioned agricultural system in thailand (pigg et al., 2020). theoretical and conceptual framework this study was grounded in schultz’s (1961) human capital theory. through this lens, schultz (1961) theorized that critical relationships existed between a society’s economic growth and the investments made in its citizens’ career preparation, education, and personal growth (schultz, 1961). as a result, schultz (1961) maintained that for a society to advance investments should be made to improve the knowledge and skills of its citizens – a concept schultz (1961) called the development of human capital. therefore, human capital is often linked to employability in which as an individual increases their human capital, they become more employable (smith, 2010). a nation’s investments in human capital have been shown to increase the knowledge, skills, and expertise of citizens and can lead to a more prosperous and productive economy. it is also important to note that unlike material capital, knowledge is infinite and does not devalue (mongsawad, 2010). in fact, human capital can be expanded and passed on from generation to generation. therefore, through investments in human capital, societies can create sustainable solutions that yield a positive return on their investment. despite this, agard and roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.67 16 however, bowles and gintis (1976) critiqued human capital theory because it placed too much responsibility on individuals to become educated, find employment, and be productive members of society. however, existing evidence has demonstrated that in many cases, employment is often influenced by factors such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, and more (farnham, 2017; kühn 2019). the role of government in creating human capital and developing equitable policies for its citizens cannot be understated. in the current study, therefore, we analyzed the growth in human capital that agriculturalists experienced after the thai monarch enacted sep through various initiatives and policies at the national level. sep was not a new concept, however, its adoption emerged as a result of culmination of the king’s experiences during the beginning of his rule in the 1960s (essen, 2010). for example, he discovered that many of the rural provinces were suffering from issues such as soil depletion, deforestation, and poor water quality (essen, 2010). to combat such issues, the thai government developed the first royal project and developmental center, doi angkhang (roy et al., 2005). the royal project in thailand is a concept similar to the u.s. land-grant system in that it provides research, extension, and teaching of agricultural sciences throughout various provinces (roy et al., 2005). the outcomes of such investments in human capital were explicitly explored in this investigation. purpose the purpose of this study was to examine leaders’ reflections on the role of sep in shaping thailand’s agricultural revitalization and growth in human capital. in summer 2019, we collected data for this investigation over four weeks. during this time, she visited local markets, royal project sites in central and northern provinces in thailand, and other cultural activities. she also had the unique opportunity to gain access and interact with prominent agricultural leaders who were key to the successful implementation of the philosophy. because of her role as a participant observer, she was able to gain unique knowledge and insight into sep, which greatly shaped and influenced the design of this investigation. methods methodologically, we grounded this study using stake’s (1995) instrumental case study approach, which can provide valuable insight into bounded systems. as a result, our intent was to provide a rich description into the phenomenon that may have relevance and transferability for other similar circumstances (stake 1995). this study was limited to the actors who had firsthand experience of sep’s implementation in thailand. further, we also bounded the investigation by time and location, which occurred in summer 2019 in thailand. to achieve the purpose of this study, it was important to collect data from participants who had knowledge and insight into the impacts that sep had on the agricultural industry. as such, we used a purposeful sampling technique (patton, 2002) to select individuals who had a background and career involving agriculture before and after the implementation of sep. a description of participants, using their pseudo-name, follows. agard and roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.67 17 our first participant, ajaan lee, was a former professor of plant taxonomy at the kasetsart university in bangkok, thailand. ajaan lee was selected because of his vast experience teaching and applying sep both domestically and internationally. the second participant, chutiya, was a hill tribe farmer in northern thailand. chutiya’s parents were farmers that participated in the original royal project and used sep as a model to guide research and extension programming. the third participant, prite, was an extension agent for the royal projects in the chiang mai region. meanwhile, pui fai, the fourth participant, was an elected representative for chiang mai region for the thai parliament. it is also important to note that due to a language barrier, an interpreter was used during the interview with ajaan lee, creating an additional limitation for this study. reflexivity statement a critical aspect of qualitative research is to reveal the biases that influence one’s perceptions and judgments (patton, 2002). first, it is important to reveal that both authors have previous international experience in thailand with the second author having worked extensively with chiang mai university prior to the collection and analysis of data. it is also important to reveal that the lead author is a first generation american, who spent her early childhood in eastern africa. during this time, she had the privilege of interacting in a diversity of environments and cultures. as a result, these previous experiences greatly influenced our decision to study this topic as well as how data were approached. data analysis and rigor to uphold standards of qualitative quality and ensure trustworthiness, we built lincoln’s and guba’s (1985) four principals (1) confirmability, (2) dependability, (3) credibility), and (4) transferability into the design of this investigation. for example, we: (a) demonstrated parallelism across sources of data, (b) described our role in the study, (c) mobilized findings that were transferable to other contexts, and (d) provided context-rich descriptions. we also collected multiple sources of data to triangulate findings. in particular, data included: (a) interviews, (b) written reflections, (c) field observations, (d) photographs, and (e) video reflections. to analyze this data, we began by breaking the data apart and grounding our analytic decisions in saldaña’s (2015) recommendations. as such, we used the following coding techniques to facilitate the constant comparative method on each source of data: (a) open, (b) axial, and (c) selective (saldaña, 2015). open coding is the process by which researchers generate as many codes as possible through an inductive thinking process. open coding was accomplished by employing saldaña’s (2015) in vivo coding approach by which we used participants’ words to capture the essence and essential elements of the data corpus. after identifying open codes, we started organizing and linking relationships among the open codes through the axial coding approach (saldaña, 2015). through our analysis of the characteristics and dimensions of each code, we were able to reduce the data to categories (saldaña, 2015). after developing categories, we reduced the data further using selective coding by which we used shultz’s (1961) human capital theory to make sense of the categories. this process helped emerge the study’s findings (saldaña, 2015). agard and roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.67 18 findings the findings for this study emerged in the form of two investments that the king made in human capital through the sep: (1) education, and (2) the establishment of the royal projects. three outcomes also emerged that represent the growth experienced in thailand’s agricultural system as a result of such investments: (1) individual development, (2) economic development, and (3) societal development. in the presentation of findings, we offer a description of how the adoption of the sep by the king and subsequent investments in human capital led to a reenvisioned agricultural system in thailand. to promote the transferability of this investigation’s findings, we integrated such into a visual representation at the report’s conclusion and offer implications for future research, theory-building, and practice. conclusion and offer implications for future research, theory-building, and practice. investment #1: education during fieldwork, we conducted extensive observations and interactions with ajaan lee. as a result, she was able to gain insight in the types of investments in human capital (shultz, 1961) made in agriculture as a result of the adoption of the sep. when asked about his historical perspective on such investments, ajaan lee revealed that the king was “ [was] interest[ed] in agriculture so he traveled to many remote areas where even i cannot walk… so he knew a lot of the problems…” regarding agriculture. through the king’s observations of agrarian life in thailand, therefore, he came to understand the power of knowledge, the value of agriculture, and how to bring change to his country through education. prite explained: … [the king] also knew a lot of the problems on the drug trafficking so he started the project called the king’s royal projects to tackle problems [regarding] drug trafficking…[and] poverty. [so] he used agriculture as the base for tackling the entire problems [of thailand]. he devoted [his life] to this until he died… although poverty and drug trafficking were rampant in these regions, previously no attempts had been made to resolve these issues until the king intervened in 1969. in response, he created several educational initiatives through sep to combat the poverty, deforestation, and the trafficking of opium by the hill tribe villagers. pui fai explained these educational initiatives lead to the development of the original royal project, doi angkhan, located in the mountains of chiang mai. chutiya also revealed that her “parents were the [original] farmers of the royal project foundation.” and, as a child, she witnessed a great transformation to thailand’s agricultural sector when the king eradicated the growing of opium and incentivized food crops such as rice and vegetables. chutiya also described how such initiatives were key to her education: “after grade six [i] transitioned into the royal project where [i] was taught organic vegetables growing techniques” which she continues to expand today. she continued: “before the inception of the royal project there weren’t schools around here but since the project started they have schools here and a lot of people who work with the royal project are able to send their kids to the schools.” this investment in human capital expanded beyond thailand’s boarders as well. for instance, prite revealed through the sep, some agricultural education initiatives were “organized by the military [so that] … people from myanmar [could] learn agard and roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.67 19 growing techniques.” ajaan also added that “…in some countries like kenya, uganda, and rwanda we sent people [from thailand] to expand the idea of [sep] and the princess has some stations in myanmar and laos to try to help [educate] them” as well. investment #2: the establishment of royal projects the king also invested in human capital through the establishment of the royal study centers. during fieldwork, we observed the royal project and study centers on a trip to khao hin sorn royal development study center. she also noted that the royal projects appeared to be modeled after the u.s. land-grant institution system. for example, the royal development centers work in cooperation with universities and government agencies to function as agricultural research stations. the knowledge gained from this research is then passed on to agriculturalist through extension agents (see figure 1). often, farmers and others engaged in the agricultural industry are encouraged to visit the development centers to enhance their knowledge on sustainable agriculture practices. khao hin sorn is dedicated to conducting research on land development and environmental conservation practices as well as transferring such knowledge to appropriate stakeholders. figure 1 extension agents in thailand providing education at khao hin sorn, we noted how green, luscious, and vibrant the land was in the region. however, during our visit to doi angkhan, she collected historical artifacts that described this was mainly due to the sustainable development policies implemented by the king through sep. we were also able to view images of the land before the king had intervened. the land was dry, the soil depleted, and there was little to no trees left due to the slash and burn methods used by the farmers (see figure 2). agard and roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.67 20 figure 2 archival images depicting northern thailand in the 1960s before the adoption of sep note. images collected from the doi angkhan development study center. after 50 years, the king’s efforts helped transform the land in northern thailand (see figure 3). however, pui fai argued that this transformation would not be possible without the king’s investments in the hill tribe people. for example, members of the hill tribe were educated and trained to operate the royal projects. chutiya maintained “most people are happy to produce and send produce to the royal project.” now, what was once dirt and dust has been completely revitalized into a green, luscious farmland. figure 3 images of doi angkhan captured in june 2019, depicting the transformation of northern thailand as a result of investments to human capital made through the sep note. images captured during fieldwork in 2019. agard and roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.67 21 outcome #1: individual development the investments in human capital in the form of education and the establishment of the royal projects resulted in the three key outcomes. the first outcome that emerged from our analysis was the fostering of individual development. as an illustration, instead of criminalizing the thai people for growing opium, the king gave them an opportunity to create a sustainable livelihood through agriculture. in particular, he developed small projects, which prite explained allowed each family to obtain “. . . one hectare of land to grow their food.” he maintained, “…the money doesn’t make [them] rich, but at least [they] are able to survive and take care of themselves….” by providing land, therefore, the thai people were able to enhance their individual development by growing food, which reduced poverty. ajaan lee explained: . . .because thailand is diverse in plants and animals that the people can use, if they have the knowledge they can plant it all together in a small area which is suitable for the situation for thai famil[ies]… through the implementation of the sep, lower income individuals acquired the knowledge to be self-reliant, live in moderation, and be prepared for life’s unexpected challenges. or as chutiya suggested: “sep is useful for everyone, you can adapt it to your own situation. you should be content with what you have and not be greedy.” outcome #2: economic development through our interactions with officials at the royal projects, we observed that sep has contributed to the economic development of thailand through sustainable agriculture and ecotourism. further, it has also enhanced the livelihoods of thai people through cooperatives as well as rehabilitated the environment in many regions. further, the sep also promoted the development of community economic wealth. ajaan lee described how economic development was fostered as a result of sep in the following passage: “if you have some surplus production you can sell it to the local market.” as a result, the hill tribe people were able to grow their local markets, which helped to expand resources for their villages. throughout much of thailand, cooperatives are encouraged to help strengthen communities and bring economic prosperity. during one of our excursions, we visited talaad thai market, which is thailand’s largest wholesale agriculture product market. during this experience, we noted the critical role of cooperatives and observed how they aided in the country’s economic development (see figure 4). agard and roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.67 22 figure 4 images of talaad thai market outcome #3: societal development in our fieldnotes, we noted that thailand appeared “peaceful” and the “people seemed to be less stressed and healthier” in comparison to more developed regions of the world. through our analysis of the data, we interpreted such aspects of society to be largely influenced by the adoption of sep. to this point, pui fai explained that because of sep, many thai people have adopted safer agricultural practices and adopted the perspective they should avoid the use of chemicals to protect “… the health of the consumer, the health of the farmer, and [the rest of] the food chain.” although the adoption of sep greatly contributed to thai agricultural development, it also deemphasized greed. for example, prite explained that sep promoted prudence by discouraging the overabundance of resources, which shifted the perspective that individuals should strive to “… get a lot of money.” in recent years, however, ajaan lee described that changes were occurring by which “…the present government is more stressed on the industrial sector…they don’t pay much attention to the agriculture sector.” as a consequence, pui fai cautioned that “…the land area is the same, you cannot expand [it] and you have less and less resource[s]. if you don’t have a good agriculturist this [will] be the problem for the whole world, not only for thailand…” by practicing sep, therefore, thai agriculturist learned how to live a balanced life with the consideration of others by monitoring how and what they consume. the adoption of the sep and key investments in human capital, therefore, led to a reenvisioned agricultural system in thailand. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations in this study, we demonstrated how thailand’s adoption of sep led to the two key investments in human capital: (1) education, and (2) the establishment of royal projects. because such investments, three outcomes for thailand’s agricultural industry also emerged: (a) individual agard and roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.67 23 development, (b) economic development, and (c) societal development. therefore, we conclude that thailand’s adoption of sep and subsequent investments in human capital led to a transformation in the agricultural industry (see figure 6) (essen, 2010). figure 6 a visual representation of how investments in human capital through sep led to a reenvisioned agricultural system in thailand the first outcome, individual development, emphasized the development of the thai people through the royal projects. for example, participants reported individuals were able to increase their knowledge and skills through improved educational systems as well as opportunities to develop professionally through experiences at royal project sites. we conclude that such investments appeared to decrease the thai people’s external dependency and enabled them to be self-reliant while also improving their overall well-being. findings from this study, therefore, provided new insights into the importance that personal development made in allowing the thai people to acquire the resources needed to be self-reliant. the second outcome, economic development, demonstrated the role of policies in supporting the growth of local cooperatives and the tourism industry. as an illustration, the policies enacted under sep by the king helped create one of the largest markets in thailand, taalad thai market, which contributed greatly to the economic growth in the region. this finding aligns with those reported by mongsawad sufficiency economic philosophy long-term change: reenvisioned agricultural system in thailand outcome #1: personal development outcome #2: economic development outcome #3: societal development investment #1: education investment #2: royal projects agard and roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.67 24 (2010) regarding the importance of the governmental policies on influencing the development of community enterprises and local markets. societal development, the final outcome, referred to how sep encouraged a culture of balance and sustainability in thai agriculture. such a change promoted health as well as unity among the thai people. previous literature on the role of societal development suggested that self-evaluation and self-accountability were critical cultural implications to the adoption of sep. future research should explore the ways in which various regions and cultural groups (roberts & edwards, 2017) in thailand interpret and operationalize sep in diverse ways. such an understanding could also help extension agents to introduce new agricultural techniques and principles by tailoring the messaging and educational programming in ways that align with the unique values of each region while also helping to improve the production of agricultural commodities throughout the country. further, additional work is also needed to explore the dimensions of the outcomes – individual, economic, and societal – identified in the investigation. for example, future research should seek to explore how each outcome influences the social dimensions of extension work in thailand and examine which outcome has yielded the most transformative benefits for agriculture since the asian financial crisis of 1997 (lauridsen, 1998). this study also suggested important insights into how sep and human capital theory are intimately connected and bolster each other when considered in tandem. as such, we recommend that future theory-building efforts be dedicated to describing the interrelations between the two concepts. finally, this investigation also opened up critical implications for future practice. for instance, individuals who seek to create change in thailand’s agricultural system should become well versed in the principles of sep and be able to use the language of the philosophy when communicating with extension agents and other locals. in recent decades, sep, and its associated terminology, has become central to the everyday life, especially in the northern and central regions of thailand where the production of agricultural commodities is most prominent. consequently, we recommend that the principles of sep be more significantly integrated into the schooling and professional development of agricultural professionals throughout the region. references barua, p., & tejativaddhana, p. 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(2012). sufficiency economy philosophy and development. sufficiency economy research project, bureau of the crown property. © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 45-manuscript-595-1-11-20200727 rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 2, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. shelli d. rampold, research coordinator, uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources, university of florida, 1408 sable palm dr., gainesville, fl 32611, srampold@ufl.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0003-48157157 2. bradley m. coleman, doctoral graduate assistant, department of agricultural education and communication, university of florida, 310 rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611-0540, bradleycoleman@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 3. j.c. bunch, associate professor, department of agricultural education and communication, university of florida, po box 110540, 307c rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 4. richie roberts, assistant professor, department of agricultural and extension education and evaluation, louisiana state university, 131 j.c. miller hall, baton rouge, la, 70803; roberts3@lsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2993-4945 65 exploring students’ cultural competence development during a short-term international experience: a q-sort study s. rampold1, b. coleman2, j. bunch3 , r. roberts4 abstract this study was conducted to understand how agricultural students’ cultural awareness, knowledge, sensitivity, and communication abilities combine to influence their development of cultural competence. future graduates must have the cultural competencies needed to work effectively in cross-cultural settings. q methodology (q) was used to capture the subjectivity and lived experiences of 10 participants of a short-term international experience (ie) program. when viewed through the lens of the personal cultural competence enhancement framework (pccef), findings suggested students’ cultural competence development could be interpreted through three typologies: (a) cultural learners, (b) cultural engagers, and (c) cultural samplers. cultural leaner students demonstrated new awareness of their limited amount of cultural knowledge and desired to learn more about other cultures through future travel. cultural engagers, on the other hand, expressed greater confidence in stepping out of their comfort zones to engage and communicate in diverse settings. cultural samplers demonstrated increased awareness of the benefits of experiencing other cultures and expressed a desire to continue traveling abroad in the future but were not highly motivated to engage fully with those cultures. these findings support the use of short-term ie programs as supplemental activities to foster agricultural students’ progression toward cultural competence. examining the typologies of study abroad participants can help demonstrate how students’ study abroad experiences uniquely combine to shape their progression toward cultural competence development and be used to inform the development of future ie programs that foster such development. keywords personal cultural competence enhancement framework; q methodology; study abroad impacts; undergraduate students. rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.45 66 introduction and problem statement the internationalization of higher education has increased over the past three decades (bedenlier et al., 2017; deardorff, 2006; deardorff et al., 2012; de wit, 2020; mitchell & neilsen, 2012). in response, de wit (2020) called for greater examination of the educational, research, and societal implications of internationalization efforts at the post-secondary level. a key outcome of purposeful internationalization in higher education is the ability to produce more culturally competent graduates entering the workforce in a world that is more globally connected (deardorff, 2006). although no universal definition of cultural competence exists, it has been broadly defined as the ability to think and interact appropriately and effectively across cultural settings (deardorff, 2011; hammer et al., 2003). one common strategy used to actualize goals for developing cultural competence is engaging faculty and students in international experiences (byker & putnam, 2019). much research has been conducted to explore best methods of doing so (bunch et al., 2015; danjean et al., 2015; rampold et al., 2018). study abroad courses and short-term international experience (ie) programs provide relatively accessible opportunities that have been shown to yield desirable outcomes among participants (bunch et al., 2018; dietz & baker, 2018; harris et al., 2018; zamastil-vondrova, 2005). however, to ensure these high-impact practices instill cultural competence in students more systematically, continuous, and rigorous assessment and evaluation of programmatic impacts are warranted (russell & morris, 2008). existing evidence has demonstrated that impact assessments of study abroad courses and ie programs vary considerably based on intensity, context, lived experiences, and subjectivity of program participants (bunch et al., 2018; dietz & baker, 2018; pigg et al., 2020; roberts & edwards, 2016; salisbury et al., 2013). to understand better the development of cultural competence, it is critical to describe how students’ awareness, knowledge, sensitivity, and skills, combine to influence their development of cultural competence as a result of ie programs (bunch et al., 2018; russel & morris, 2008). theoretical and conceptual framework the personal cultural competence enhancement framework (pccef) served as the conceptual framework for this study (bunch et al., 2018). per the pccef, cultural competence requires the development of cultural awareness, cultural understanding (i.e., cultural knowledge and sensitivity), and cultural communication (see figure 1). cultural awareness does not require indepth knowledge of another culture or country, but rather is a preliminary step in the development of cultural competence that may result from mere exposure of another culture (perry & southwell, 2011). in this respect, cultural awareness involves the transition from a mecentered to an others-centered analysis, in which individuals begin to evaluate their own beliefs, values, and customs as they being to relate to those of other individuals (bunch et al., 2018). cultural understanding comprises the domains of cultural knowledge and sensitivity. cultural knowledge is the cognitive domain of cultural understanding that pertains to gains in knowledge of another culture and the differences between that culture and one’s own. an individual’s subjective response to and experience of such differences represents cultural rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.45 67 sensitivity, the affective domain of cultural understanding (bennett, 1993; bunch et al., 2018; hammer et al., 2003). lastly, cultural communication describes an individual’s ability and willingness to effectively and appropriately communicate with people from cultures different than their own. whether viewed as an individual attribute or a characteristic of the relational or situational context, successful cultural communication requires an understanding and tolerance of cultural differences and the ability to overcome those differences when engaging with people of another culture (bunch et al., 2018; clarke et al., 2009; perry & southwell, 2011; see figure 1). rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.45 68 figure 1 personal cultural competence enhancement framework note. reprinted from “the impact of a short-term international experience on undergraduate students’ cultural competency” by j. c. bunch, s. d. rampold, m. cater, and j. j. blackburn, 2018, journal of agricultural education, 59(4), p. 132. (https://doi.org10.5032/jae.2018.04120). rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.45 69 purpose participants in this study included ten undergraduate students who enrolled in a short-term agricultural ie program to costa rica. the purpose of this study was to understand how students’ cultural awareness, knowledge, sensitivity, and communication abilities combine in their progression toward cultural competence following their participation in a short-term ie program. the following research question guided this investigation: how do students’ experiences during a short-term international experience contribute to their progression toward cultural competence? methods q methodology (q) was used to capture the subjectivity and lived experiences of ie program participants and assess the impact the program had on their cultural competence development. the participants in this study were 10 undergraduate students who enrolled in a short-term ie in costa rica during the 2019 spring semester break. q involves a unique data collection technique, called a q-sort, that utilizes both quantitative and qualitative approaches to understand the collective views of individuals on a phenomenon of interest (watts & stenner, 2013). this method is appropriate for small sample sizes (mckeown & thomas, 2013) as the emphasis is placed on capturing subjective perspectives of participants in a moment-in-time, rather than on generalizing outcomes (brown, 1980; watts & stenner, 2013). to facilitate such, researchers (a) develop a concourse, (b) create a q-set, (c) recruit participants to collect data through a q-sort, and (d) use factor analysis and naturalistic analytic procedures to interpret emergent findings. the concourse is the full range of perspectives that exist on a phenomenon in the form of a collection of statements (brown, 1993; paige & morin, 2016). the concourse can be generated using relevant theories, literature, qualitative data, or a combination of both (brown, 1993; paige & morin, 2016; watts & stenner, 2005). in this study, the concourse was constructed using prior literature (sæbjørnsen et al., 2016) and journal entries and daily group reflections from the ie program participants. through this strategy, 235 initial statements were collected to represent this study’s concourse. a subset of statements was then drawn from the concourse to create the q-set. statements included in the q-set are sampled to represent the population (paige & morin, 2016; watts & stenner, 2005). an a priori theoretical framework was utilized in this study to structure the q set by which the four antecedents of cultural competence outlined in the pccef were used: (a) cultural awareness; (b) cultural sensitivity; (c) cultural knowledge; and (d) cultural communication (bunch et al., 2018). homogeneity within each conceptual category and heterogeneity between categories were pursued when negotiating statements for inclusion. this process resulted in 36 statements, with nine statements in each of the pccef conceptual categories. rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.45 70 the ten ie program participants, or p-set in q methodology, then engaged in the q-sort activity. each participant was provided a packet of the 36 statements and asked to sort the statements into three categories: (1) most like me, (2) most unlike me, and (3) neutral (mckeown & thomas, 2013). participants then self-sorted the statements on a forced distribution board in ranking order of personal preference from -4 (most unlike me) to +4 (most like me) using the condition of instruction: how have you changed as a result of your experiences gained during the international program in costa rica? the condition of instruction is not intended to be the stem of a response scale, but rather provides participants instruction on how to approach the sort. for example, students who previously had a desire to travel abroad, but did not gain more desire to do so as a direct result of the costa rica ie program, may not place that statement in the “most like me” category. the condition of instruction used for this study was selected to best examine student outcomes that were a direct result of the costa rica ie. an explanation of the condition of instruction was provided to all participants prior to the q-sort activity. compared to conventional research methodologies, validity and reliability are of relatively less concern (brown, 1980). in q, emphasis is instead placed on replication under a similar condition of instruction to examine whether similar factors emerge (brown, 1980; mckeown & thomas, 2013). for instance, the condition of instruction in this study served to specify competencies gained because of the ie program and, not other life experiences of the participants. participants’ sorts were uploaded to pq method® version 2.35 (schmolck, 2014), and three statistical tests were performed: correlation, principal components factor analysis, and computation of factor scores. unlike traditional factor analysis that correlates items in an instrument, q correlates individual sorters, rather than individual items as in traditional quantitative methodology (brown, 1980). using varimax rotation, a three-factor solution was chosen with a base significance of .52 that captured 10 participants and 61% of the total variance. correlations among factors were negligible, meaning each factor was considered unique. factors were interpreted by investigating factor array positions, factor loadings, distinguishing and consensus statements, and participants’ personal characteristics (mauldin, 2012). findings to identify defining sorts, the factor matrix (see table 1) was analyzed by establishing a base significance of 0.52. defining sorts are those that load high (significantly) and pure on only one factor. the sorts of all 10 participants were considered defining. rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.45 71 table 1 factor matrix with demographics of participants p number/ gender age academic department factor loadings 1 2 3 1-female 19 agricultural education and communication .12 .67b .34 2-female 20 agricultural education and communication .52a -.18 .46 3-female 19 agricultural education and communication .78a .17 .31 4-female 22 agricultural education and communication .81a .21 -.02 5-female 22 agricultural education and communication -.05 -.03 .88c 6-female 20 animal sciences -.02 .89b .00 7-female 19 agricultural education and communication .03 .37 .65c 8-female 63 agricultural education and communication .16 .52b -.05 9-male 19 food and resource economics .83a .11 .01 10-male 20 agricultural education and communication .29 .01 .57c defining sorts 4 3 4 % variance explained 24% 18% 19% note. p number refers to the numeric identifier for each participant. aindicates a defining sort for factor 1. bindicates a defining sort for factor 2. cindicates a defining sort for factor 3. analysis of the data yielded three factors: (1) cultural learners; (2) cultural engagers; and (3) cultural samplers. four participants, one male, and three females, loaded significantly as cultural learners (see table 2). many of these students had not previously traveled on their own, and they demonstrated new awareness of the cultural knowledge they were lacking and a desire to learn more about other cultures. from their perspectives, the ie gave them a greater desire to travel abroad (35, +4) and willingness to pursue international agricultural opportunities (28, +4). they also felt the ie helped them grow as a culturally minded individual (21, +3). in a follow-up interview, one student noted, “i realized how much i still need to learn about other cultures.” similarly, another student said, “i feel like i’m not very aware of other cultures, because i just live in my own little bubble. so, going to costa rica made me more aware of the differences in cultures and how other people live.” although these students had gained some confidence in their abilities to travel, they were still fairly apprehensive about engaging fully in culturally diverse settings and trying to communicate in another language (31, -4; see table 2). rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.45 72 table 2 array positions for cultural learner students’ statements no. statement array position z-score theoretical category 28a i am more willing to pursue international agriculture opportunities. +4 1.89 cultural communication 35 i have a greater desire to travel abroad. +4 1.82 cultural communication 32 i have a greater desire to learn spanish (or another language). +3 1.22 cultural communication 22 i am more aware of the benefits of experiencing other cultures. +3 1.56 cultural sensitivity 21 i have grown as a culturally mindful individual. +3 1.33 cultural sensitivity 7 i am more aware of the comforts i have at home. +3 .91 cultural awareness 14a i am more knowledgeable of the differences in values between us and cr cultures. -3 -1.32 cultural knowledge 10a i am better able to make comparisons between other cultures. -3 -1.24 cultural knowledge 4 i am more aware of my own traditions. -3 -1.24 cultural awareness 1a i am more aware of the cultural values in costa rica. -3 -1.40 cultural awareness 33 i am more comfortable trying to communicate in another language. -4 -1.46 cultural communication 31 i am more comfortable using foreign currency -4 -2.04 cultural communication note. the no. column provides the reference number for each statement in the q-set. a indicates distinguishing statements for the cultural learner students typology. cultural engagers, which included all female participants (3/3), perceived the ie helped them feel less apprehensive about stepping out their comfort zones (29, +4) and more confident in their abilities to travel abroad (30, +4) by helping them feel more comfortable engaging in culturally diverse settings (36, +3). one high and pure loader stated, “i’m more comfortable engaging in a culturally diverse setting. i never felt i was uncomfortable, but now i feel when i talk to my friends about someone [from another background] i can have more patience and think about where they come from and why they think like that.” cultural engagers also expressed a greater desire to learn another language (32, +3) and a higher degree of comfortability to communicate in another language (33, +3). however, cultural engagers did not perceive the ie helped them become more aware of the stereotypes they hold toward other cultures (8, -4), helped them become more knowledgeable of the differences between u.s. and costa rican cultures (11, -3), nor help them become more aware of the challenges they rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.45 73 face in being respectful of other cultures (23, -3; see table 3). follow-up interviews with cultural engagers revealed they felt the ie was very agriculturally based and helped them learn more about agricultural production topics than cultural traditions. one participant stated, “anything that had to do with tradition i immediately put to the left because i felt like, in my experience there, i didn’t experience many traditional things.” table 3 array positions for cultural engager students’ statements no. statement array position z-score theoretical category 30 i feel more confident in my ability to travel abroad. +4 1.77 cultural communication 29 i am less apprehensive about leaving my comfort zone. +4 1.59 cultural communication 36a i am more comfortable engaging in culturally diverse settings. +3 1.37 cultural communication 21 i have grown as a culturally mindful individual. +3 1.45 cultural sensitivity 33a i am more comfortable trying to communicate in another language. +3 1.42 cultural communication 32 i have a greater desire to learn spanish (or another language). +3 1.36 cultural communication 3 i am more aware of my own values and beliefs. -3 -1.56 cultural awareness 11 i am more knowledgeable of the differences in traditions between us and cr cultures. -3 -1.92 cultural knowledge 23 i am more aware of the challenges i face in being respectful of other cultures. -3 -1.33 cultural sensitivity 13 i am more knowledgeable of the similarities in traditions between us and cr cultures. -3 -1.39 cultural knowledge 8a i am more aware of the stereotypes i hold toward other cultures. -4 -1.83 cultural awareness 4 i am more aware of my own traditions. -4 -1.99 cultural awareness note. the no. column provides the reference number for each statement in the q-set. aindicates distinguishing statements for the cultural engager students typology. cultural samplers included three participants, one male, and two females. from their perspectives, the ie inspired them to travel abroad (35, +4) again in the future, and helped them build confidence in their abilities to study abroad (30, +4). the ie also enhanced their awareness of the benefits of experiencing other cultures (22, +3), as well as their awareness of the comforts they have back home (7, +3). however, the ie did not facilitate a greater desire to learn another language (32, -4), nor did it help them feel more comfortable to communicate in rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.45 74 another language (33,-3). for example, one student maintained, “i’m definitely not comfortable at all trying to communicate in any language other than english. while [in costa rica], i really struggled with that and i have not changed at all.” further, their experiences abroad did not change cultural sampler students’ degree of awareness of the challenges they face in being accepting (25, -3) and respectful (23, -3) of other cultures. cultural samplers’ significant statements are displayed in table 4. table 4 array positions for cultural sampler students’ statements no. statement array position z-score theoretical category 35 i have a greater desire to travel abroad. +4 1.74 cultural communication 30 i feel more confident in my ability to travel abroad. +4 1.56 cultural communication 22 i am more aware of the benefits of experiencing other cultures. +3 1.50 cultural sensitivity 7 i am more aware of the comforts i have at home. +3 1.43 cultural awareness 16 i am better able to relate everyday experiences to my international experiences and make sense of them. +3 1.23 cultural knowledge 27 i am more patient when working with people from other cultures. +3 .98 cultural sensitivity 33 i am more comfortable trying to communicate in another language. -3 -1.21 cultural communication 25 i am more aware of the challenges i face in being accepting of other cultures. -3 -1.26 cultural sensitivity 9 i am more knowledgeable of the similarities in traditions between us and cr cultures. -3 -1.30 cultural knowledge 23 i am more aware of the challenges i face in being respectful of other cultures. -3 -1.48 cultural sensitivity 31 i am more comfortable using foreign currency. -4 -1.86 cultural communication 32a i have a greater desire to learn spanish (or another language). -4 -1.93 cultural communication note. the no. column provides the reference number for each statement in the q-set. aindicates distinguishing statements for the cultural sampler students typology. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations overall, the findings of this study support the continued use of short-term programs to help generate cultural competency outcomes among agricultural undergraduate students. when viewed through the lens of the pccef (bunch et al., 2018), students’ cultural competence was interpreted through three perspectives: (a) cultural learners, (b) cultural engagers, and (c) cultural samplers. cultural learners perceived the ie instilled in them a greater desire to travel abroad and pursue international agriculture rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.45 75 opportunities. the ie also helped enhanced their awareness of the cultural knowledge they did not possess. in follow-up interviews after the sort activity, students in this typology explained that the ie made them more aware of their general lack of cultural knowledge about costa rica and other cultures. these conclusions align with the notions of cultural awareness described by bunch et al. (2018) and suggest these students are in the early stages of their cultural competence development. cultural engagers reported the ie lowered their apprehension about leaving their comfort zones, as well as helped them become more self-assured in their abilities to travel abroad and engage in culturally diverse settings. these participants felt more comfortable trying to communicate in another language and expressed a greater desire to learn another language. growth among these students was primarily in areas of the cultural communication element of the pccef (bunch et al., 2018) and suggest more advanced cultural competence development than any of the other typologies observed. cultural samplers expressed the ie promoted a greater desire to travel abroad and confidence in their abilities to do so. however, post q-sort interviews with cultural samplers suggested these students have an interest in experiencing, or “sampling,” many new cultures to push themselves out of their comfort zones, but little motivation to engage fully in those cultures. the ie also did not help these students become more aware of the challenges they face in being accepting and respectful of other cultures. per the pccef (bunch et al., 2018), students in this typology appeared to still be developing in all elements. however, it should be noted that some students in this typology had already acquired extensive international experience prior to the ie program. the retrospective design of the study is a limitation in that students’ prior experience likely contributed to patterns in the findings related to awareness of challenges faced in being accepting and respectful of other cultures, because some of students may have already developed such abilities. future research is needed to examine how ie programs impact students with and without prior international experience. it is recommended that those seeking to implement short-term ie programs as a means of internationalizing higher education should include opportunities for students to increase their cultural competence. while the design of the costa rica ie helped students gain agricultural production knowledge, the findings suggest more activities focused on cultural traditions need to be included in ie programs to foster cultural competence development. doing so aligns with de wit’s (2020) pillars of purposeful internationalization by building abilities to learn about and engage with other cultures. providing students experiences in which they can build knowledge of cultural beliefs, customs, traditions and stereotypes, build sensitivity and respect toward others who are culturally different, and develop a willingness to communicate and interact with those of different cultures are all means of increasing cultural competence (bunch et al., 2018). it is further recommended that those seeking to provide such experiences should assess program impacts with cultural competence elements found within frameworks such as the pccef (bunch et al., 2018). further exploration of the pccef (bunch et al., 2018) is needed. for most participants, statements in the cultural communication domain were split on the sort board as those most like and most unlike them. this divergence in statements could indicate that cultural communication should be expanded into two separate elements; one intended to capture attitudes or willingness to engage in other cultures (e.g., i am more comfortable engaging in culturally diverse settings); and another to capture desire or intent to verbally communicate (e.g., i have a greater desire to learn spanish, or i am more comfortable communicating in another language). future research should further explore cultural communication measures. as previously noted, participants of this study identified with one of three rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.45 76 typologies. further research should be conducted to identify extraneous variables (i.e., personal characteristics, previous international/domestic experience) and ie program characteristics that may have influenced students’ sorting patterns. these external factors were not assessed, and the lack of ability to control for such was a limitation of this study. lastly, q research should be conducted with participants of other short-term ie programs to compare results and help identify program designs or characteristics most useful in facilitating cultural competencies. references bedenlier, s., kondakci, y., & zawacki-richter, o. 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(2005). good faith or hard data? justifying short-term programs. international educator, 14(1), 44–49. https://search.proquest.com/docview/200757299?pq-origsite=gscholar © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 119-manuscript-1689-1-11-20210921.docx kreifels et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 3, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. matthew s. kreifels, associate professor of practice, university of nebraska-lincoln, 233 filley hall, lincoln, ne 685830947, matt.kreifels@unl.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6519-8711 2. nathan conner, associate professor, university of nebraska-lincoln, 236 filley hall, lincoln, ne 68583-0947, nconner2@unl.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6519-8711 3. bryan a. reiling, associate professor, university of nebraska-lincoln, ansc c204a, lincoln, ne 68583-0947, breiling2@unl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5913-0614 4. christopher t. stripling, professor, the university of tennessee, 320 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996-4511, cstripli@utl.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5045-3492 5. mark a. balschweid, professor and head, university of nebraska-lincoln, 143 filley hall, lincoln, ne 68583-0947, mbalschweid2@unl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8009-4486 14 teacher perceptions of facilitating inquiry-based instruction following a 12-month professional development experience m. kreifels1, n. conner2, b. reiling3, c. stripling4, m. balschweid5 abstract using inquiry-based learning instructional strategies as a way to integrate science into secondary classrooms is a common approach in education. this study documents agricultural teachers’ perceptions of science integration using inquiry-based learning as an instructional method when teaching animal science after participating in a on professional development program. a focus group (n = 10) was used to collect data which were analyzed using the constant comparative method. the following six themes emerged: (a) perceived value in inquiry-based learning, (b) alignment to state and local expectations, (c) value and challenges of a 12-month program, (d) challenges in engaging science teachers, (e) confidence in teaching technical content, and (f) integrating science concepts. teachers in the focus group described positive experiences and attitudes when using inquiry-based learning techniques in their classrooms and described an appreciation for the 12-month program, including how the approach helped to meet state standards and local administrative requirements. logistical challenges of a 12-month program existed, but also provided accountability for teachers. the program increased teachers’ confidence in both instruction of technical content and their ability to engage students while integrating science concepts. keywords science integration, animal science, training kreifels et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.119 15 introduction and problem statement in 2015, 78% of high school students in the united states lacked proficiency in science (desilver, 2017), and in nebraska, 45% of 11th grade students lacked proficiency in science during the 2018-19 school year (nebraska department of education, 2019). traditional instruction is oftentimes reliant upon direct and unilateral instruction originating from the teacher and ending with the student, leaving students sometimes uninvolved and uninterested (abdi, 2014) “inquiry-based teaching is a teaching method that can be used to combine the curiosity of students and the scientific method to enhance the development of critical thinking skills while learning science” (warner & myers, 2011, p.1). according to thoron and myers (2011) and wells et al. (2015), inquiry-based learning assists students in the process of discovery. agricultural education teachers oftentimes possess a unique ability to integrate core academic subjects (math, science, reading, and language arts) into their curricula based on teaching this content within the context of the agriculture, food, and natural resources-related industries (warner & myers, 2011). in a 2015 literature review focused on the infusion of inquiry-based learning, wells et al. concluded that agricultural teachers should continuously seek out methods to integrate inquiry into their coursework. this suggestion is also supported by parr and edwards (2004), phipps et al. (2008), thoron and myers (2011, 2012), and washburn and myers (2010). additionally, baker et al. (2000) found professional development can enhance a teacher’s content knowledge level. this study aims to enhance science literacy in nebraska by providing teachers with a rigorous professional development program that teaches science through the context of genetics, muscle biology, microbiology, and nutrition, while utilizing inquiry-based instructional practices. theoretical and conceptual framework the conceptual framework for the 12-month professional development program and this research was guskey’s (2002) model of teacher change. guskey’s model indicates teachers alter their attitude and beliefs on a particular teaching approach after they use the approach and personally see how the approach positively impacts student learning. according to guskey (2002), improvements in student learning outcomes “typically result from changes teachers have made in their classroom practices” (p. 383). changes may take the form but are not limited to the use of new content/curricula or the use of different teaching methods/approaches (guskey, 2002). the professional development experience is an example of where a teacher could be exposed to new content/curricula and teaching methods for which they are unfamiliar, and the opportunity to use their new knowledge/skill set in their own classroom allows for implementation, evaluation of student learning, and the change in beliefs and attitudes (guskey, 2002). kreifels et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.119 16 purpose the purpose of this case study is to describe the perceptions of agricultural teachers’ science integration using inquiry-based learning as an instructional method when teaching animal science after participating in a 12-month professional development program. research questions include: 1. how did teachers perceive the 12-month professional development program? 2. how did teachers perceive their ability to utilize genetics, nutrition, microbiology, and muscle biology during science instruction? 3. how did teachers perceive their ability to facilitate inquiry-based instruction? methods the data collected for this study were part of a larger research study. criterion-based sampling was utilized to select participants to participate in the study, which consists of both a 12-month professional development experience and a culminating focus group interview. participants had to be a high school agricultural or science teacher in nebraska and complete the entire 12month professional development program. ten high school teachers participated in this study (nine agricultural education teachers and one science teacher). this 12-month long professional development experience (july 2017-july 2018) focused on educating teachers on how to use inquiry-based learning techniques in their courses through the context of genetics, muscle biology, microbiology, and nutrition. to ensure teachers from the entire state had the opportunity to attend, three two-day sessions were delivered (western region, central region, and eastern region). additionally, a joint one-day session was facilitated upon completion of the 12-month professional development program. participants were expected to participate in six online video conferencing meetings using the zoom conferencing platform. participants were asked to incorporate four inquiry-based learning labs into their curriculum. participants also used their new knowledge and skills to design and teach an inquiry-based lab of their own. a case study approach was selected as the design for this study in order to more completely understand the perspectives of the participants regarding inquiry-based learning. due to the structure of the professional development program, the researchers consider this an intrinsic case study, as it focuses on the case itself and serves well as a method of program evaluation (creswell & poth, 2018). ten teachers participated in a focus group that was conducted at the end of the 12-month professional development at a nebraska high school and the focus group was facilitated by one of the professional development facilitators. the focus group session lasted approximately 80 minutes and utilized a semi-structured protocol. an audio recording was manually transcribed verbatim. researchers also took handwritten notes as a form of secondary data collection that was also utilized for analysis. (conner et al., 2014; creswell & poth, 2018; merriam & tisdell, 2016). data were analyzed using a thematic analysis method, which reduced the data in order to identify and focus on repeated phrases and words that related to the case study (grbich, 2007). kreifels et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.119 17 the constant comparative method of analysis was also employed (merriam & tisdell, 2016). open coding, axial coding, and selective coding (corbin & strauss, 1990) were utilized in the coding system. themes were identified, then reexamined, and titles were developed for each theme that emerged. to ensure and enhance trustworthiness, triangulation and member checks were used in addition to dependability and confirmability audits (dooley, 2007; lincoln & guba, 1985). data from the focus group were triangulated between participating investigators. additionally, member checking was done throughout the focus group through verbal confirmation. methodological decisions were also recorded in a journal to provide a dependability audit and a confirmability audit so findings could be connected directly to the collected data. the five researchers involved in this study include (a) two associate professors of agricultural education, (b) one associate professor of animal science, (c) one professor of agricultural education, and (d) one associate professor of practice of agricultural education who is also a doctoral student. all five researchers have between 12-18 years’ experience teaching at the secondary and/or post-secondary level and strive to adapt their teaching techniques to address student needs, which may influence the choices. findings the participants that completed this study were high school agricultural or science teachers in the nebraska. for the purposes of this study, we are going to refer to the 10 participants that completed the 12-month professional development as agricultural teachers because the only science teacher was also a certified agricultural teacher. six themes emerged from the data, (a) value and challenges of a 12-month program, (b) challenges in engaging science teachers, (c) confidence in teaching technical content, (d) integrating science concepts, (e) alignment to state and local expectations, and (f) perceived value of inquiry-based learning. the themes are organized by the corresponding research question and the participating teachers are labeled as “t1” through “t10”. value and challenges of a 12-month program (research question #1) multiple teachers cited the value of participating in a 12-month professional development program, in particular the accountability and continued support aspect over a schoolyear. similar statements were made by t1, t3 and t6, which indicated that the teachers were held accountable over the course of the 12-month professional development and the program expectations were designed for the teachers to complete the entire program. other teachers, including t7 and t8 felt that a time period of 12 months allowed them flexibility to “work the lessons in” to their curriculum. others enjoyed the monthly zoom group video calls between teachers, with t2 citing, “i like the zoom [group video calls], the zoom was easy, it was not a hard technology [service] so i liked that. it was positive,” and t4 stated, “i was a first-year teacher, going into my second year, so just having that basic feedback and bouncing ideas off of each other, i think was really good for me.” many teachers also emphasized the tangible kreifels et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.119 18 benefits of the 12-month program, including lesson and laboratory plans, provided supplies, equipment, stipend, and optional graduate credit. other teachers discussed challenges involved in a prolonged professional development experience, including the potential to strengthen the monthly zoom group video calls. teacher t8 expressed herself by stating, “sometimes it felt like it was just kind of “so what have you done?”, i think [the zoom calls] could be strengthened by maybe each session having a focus question or something that we get ahead of time so that we come prepared.” others indicated that the monthly zoom calls were difficult to attend, due to a difference in time zones (t3), wednesday evening church activities (t9), and a scheduling conflict with national ffa convention (t7). challenges in engaging science teachers (research question #1) given that the project was originally intended to engage science teachers in addition to agricultural teachers, many commented on the challenges related to science teacher involvement in professional development. many reasons surfaced, including that science teachers do not typically attend professional development during the summer months (t1, t8), the agricultural teacher was new to the school and did not feel they were in a position to encourage the science teacher to attend (t4), or that the science teacher had changed from the previous year (t1). others suggested potential solutions, including offering, or advertising the workshops through the regional educational service unit (t1, t5, t7) or by offering graduate credit (t2). teacher t5 identified herself as a science teacher and emphasized her appreciation for the experience, saying, “i would say thank you to the [agriculture] teachers for helping to teach that also because if kids can get it more than one way, it will help them to understand the material better.” many participants agreed that more science teacher participation would be a positive addition. confidence in teaching technical content (research question #2) an increase in confidence when teaching technical content was expressed by several teachers. teacher t1 initially stated, “i’ll be the first one to tell you, muscle biology, i don’t go there because i don’t know enough,” however, she continued by discussing how the professional development reminded her that there are many resources that can be used to infuse muscle biology into the classroom. teacher t7 identified herself as a younger teacher who appreciated having laboratory activities that she could add to her courses rather than solely rely on “textbook learning.” conversely, teacher t5 identified herself as someone who’s been teaching for a long time and someone who often teaches a concept the same way each time because that is how she has always taught it. additionally, t5 appreciated the curriculum that this professional development provided because it boosted her confidence. teachers also emphasized the benefit of university animal scientists as resources that empowered them to teach technical content with more confidence. teacher t2 stated, “i would have dr. [university animal scientist] do more as he’s an expert and [all] his comments he was giving throughout were worthwhile, critiquing our lessons, into more of the science side,” adding, “but more comments about this is what we’re doing at the university, this is an kreifels et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.119 19 application of what your lesson is, [helps] to reinforce that [what] we’re teaching is correct.” others agreed that expert presence and university involvement increased the relevance of the content with students (t1, t7). integrating science concepts (research question #2) based on participation in the professional development program, teachers described how they were able to integrate science concepts into their classes. teacher t7 stated, “it made me think a lot more about forcing students to [do] some research and come back with an answer the next day, … whereas sometimes i maybe struggled with that in the past.” teacher t8 agreed, saying, “when i went through unl, i had to take more science classes … so i knew this information but some of it i hadn’t taught for a while—just because i don’t teach science every day.” it’s good to bring [science] it back to my classroom and refresh a little bit” (t8). others were more explicit, including teacher t1, explaining, “i knew how it [science] connected to animals and, you know, digestion and this is how the stomach works, and this is how it breaks it down, but now i know more of the science behind it.” she went on to describe how that impacted what she shared with students, stating, [because] i knew more of the science behind it, i didn’t just kind of gloss over that and talk about strictly the animal and the digestive tract, but i was able to go into the science, so i would say [my integration of science] was better than it was. others described how integrating science into their classes helped to connect their content to that from other classes, including the scientific method (t6), independent/dependent variables and graphing (t2), and scientific vocabulary (t2, t6, t7). teacher t8 summarized the ability to support other scientific content as follows, so i think this is where, we as [agriculture] teachers have a really cool opportunity, i have students that come to my classroom and they’ve already learned about genetics, maybe in biology class, but they haven’t got to do anything hands-on or apply that. really, so a lot of times, like when i taught this genetics lesson, it was like a brief refresher, they knew how to do punnett squares, they knew all of that, but they hadn’t done any sort of hands-on inquiry-based lab and so i was able to spend my time doing that just to reinforce something that they had already learned. and we have the opportunity to do that i think a little bit more in the [agriculture classroom]. some teachers identified ways that integrating science benefited the critical thinking process of students, including teacher t1, who said, “so giving them an outlet to be able to communicate that and realize that science is not always a black or white answer, like there’s a lot of gray areas, and there’s not really a wrong answer necessarily.” teacher t3 discussed how students struggle to effectively justify their findings, while teacher t8 described how her students tested more than one variable in an experiment and then were not able to determine which variable was responsible for tenderizing the meat. she added, “i think by letting them make that mistake, and then if i would’ve had time, go back and do the lab again, reinforcing that you want to have just one variable would’ve been good.” while many benefits of integrating science were discussed, challenges were also identified, including a reluctance of students to complete laboratory reports thoroughly (t1, t4, t5, t7), kreifels et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.119 20 hesitance to diagnose possible errors in an experiment (t5), and difficulty using scientific literature as a resource (t2, t7). teacher t2 indicated that there is not enough time to have students connect their findings to science experiments that have already been done. alignment to state and local expectations (research question #2 and #3) several teachers discussed how both the focus on science content and integration within the agricultural lessons in addition to inquiry-based instruction addressed local school and state expectations. teacher t5, who teaches science, noted that “inquiry is such a new, or big—huge part of the new standards and so, [i enjoy] facilitating the use of more of that in my classroom.” she extended her thought, stating, …the new science standards are heavily inquiry-based and the new science assessment that’ll come about 2021 … may have a text dependent analysis component, so to push yourself to have kids analyze data and analyze a research project and things is good for them. teachers also agreed that they can help to meet state and local requirements, including local curricular requirements, including stated learning objectives (t6), approved teaching methods (t2), and helping prepare students for the act exam through the use of vocabulary (t7). perceived value of inquiry-based learning (research question #3) teachers that participated in the 12-month professional development program felt that learning and practicing inquiry-based learning as a teaching method was a strength of the program. teacher t8 said: …we get so busy in teaching and kind of sometimes it feels like you get into a rut of doing the same thing or just surviving sometimes. and so to have this to challenge you or challenge me to do more inquiry, you know, kind of just brought it back. i’ve done it in the past but it kind of brought it to the forefront and i’m going to say forced me to do more of it, which is good.” teacher t4 appreciated a different approach as a second-year teacher, saying: i think that first year was really more, you know, book discussion and lecture type thing. and part of [it is] different types of classes because i didn’t have any animal science lessons my first year, but going into this and having to think about the inquiry-based lessons and trying to keep myself from just guiding them down the path every lesson and letting them work through some of the questions and materials at times, rather than being their shepherd.” conversely, teacher t6, who had experience with inquiry-based learning emphasized the accountability of the 12-month program, saying, “i think this [professional development] helped a lot with learning how to do inquiry because a lot of other [professional development], they touch on it and they give you lessons and they’re like [this professional development] here, do this”. additional teachers also felt that the professional development taught them how to use inquiry in their courses, with t3 and t7 emphasizing how the focus on inquiry-based learning in one course encouraged them to think about how they approach content and instruction in other courses. kreifels et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.119 21 some teachers felt that inquiry-based learning did present some challenges, citing a difficulty when teaching multiple ages or grade-levels in the same class. teacher t8 stated, “i had different ages in the same class and i found that the seniors actually struggled the most with inquiry because they haven’t had to do it, and they just want spoon fed.” however, “the younger kids seem to do better with it, and so having that mix in the classroom was a little bit different and difficult and made it hard” (t8). teacher t3 discussed the possible advantages of including difficult content for younger students, including the potential to “expose [students] to what’s taking place in the digestive system, which sparks their interest for some higher-level [thinking] in some of the classes, such as vet science and so forth.” conclusions, discussion, and recommendations research question #1 the 12-month nature of the professional development program that spanned an entire school year allowed teachers to slowly integrate these practices over time. integration of inquirybased lesson into teachers’ classrooms over a one-year period aligns with guskey’s (2002) model of teacher change. teachers had the opportunity to teach using the new content and inquiry-based learning method at least five times over the year. then, they were able to evaluate how the new content and teaching method impacted student learning in their classroom (guskey, 2002). when considering the longitudinal nature of a 12-month program, teachers identified both positive and challenging aspects, including accountability and flexibility to implement the lessons in addition to difficulties involved in scheduling monthly group video calls. additionally, given the 12-month length of the program, the online zoom meetings may be better timed to accommodate as many teachers’ schedules as possible and by having a clearly defined purpose with assignments that help prepare the teachers to continue to move forward. research question #2 teachers described an increased confidence in their ability to teach technical content in agriculture, crediting access to prepared lesson materials and university expert support. finally, teachers also indicated an increased ability and appreciation for the integration of science concepts, including helping students connect to science content taught in other classes and the development of critical thinking skills, as previously supported by warner and myers (2011). research question #3 the professional development program successfully helped agricultural teachers gain knowledge and skills that were used in their classrooms to facilitate inquiry-based instruction. using guskey’s (2002) model to design the 12-month professional development created an environment where teachers engaged students in their classrooms with scientifically oriented questions and required students to collect evidence and make decisions. this inquiry-based process aligned with pedaste et al.’s (2015) visualization of inquiry-based learning. the focus of infusing inquiry-based learning into the classroom also helped to meet the call of researchers kreifels et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.119 22 that posit that agricultural teachers should regularly use inquiry-based learning in their courses (parr & edwards, 2004; phipps et al., 2008; washburn & myers, 2010; wells et al., 2015). some teachers found difficulty with getting students to formulate explanations after summarizing evidence that was collected. integration of the inquiry-based teaching method into the teachers’ classrooms gave the teachers the opportunity to critically examine how learning outcomes were impacted, thus shaping the teachers’ attitudes and belief towards the inquiry-based learning method (guskey, 2002). advancements can also be made to help teachers facilitate and critique student connections to scientific knowledge, noting specifically that teachers and students did not utilize scientific or peer-reviewed journals as sources of information. future professional development trainings should be modified to help teachers equip students to reflectively formulate explanations and utilize scientific literature. further research should be conducted to capture student perception of inquiry-based learning as a teaching method, how scientific content is utilized within an agricultural course, resistance to inquiry-based learning due to students’ responsibility to find answers, challenges in using inquiry-based learning in classes with mixed grade levels, and the ability for inquiry-based learning to make science concepts relevant by giving students choice in the context of their learning. acknowledgements we would like to 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(2015). the infusion of inquiry-based learning into school-based agricultural education: a review of literature. journal of agricultural education, 56(4), 169–181. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2015.04170 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 99-manuscript-1159-1-11-20210427.docx minus et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 1, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. kristoff t. minus, agriculture teacher and ffa advisor, mac williams middle school, 4644 clinton rd, fayetteville, nc, 28312, kristoffminus@ccs.k12.nc.us, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5127-443x 2. s. janine parker woods, associate administrator for cooperative extension, virginia state university, 1 hayden drive, p.o. box 9081, virginia state university, va 23806, jpwoods@vsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9296-5106 3. 3richie roberts, assistant professor, louisiana state university, 131 j.c. miller baton rouge, la 70803, roberts3@lsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2993-4945 4. chastity warren english, associate professor, north carolina agricultural and technical state university, 1601 n. market street, 251a carver, greensboro, nc, 27411 ckwarren@ncat.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4474-1495 5. beatriz m. rodriguez, extension associate nc agrability and nc agromedicine, north carolina agricultural and technical state university, 107 coltrane hall, p. o. box 21928, greensboro, nc 27420, bmrodrig@ncat.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0932-7523 96 empowering the caregiver network of farmers with a disability: a case study of the north carolina agrability project k. minus1, j. parker woods2, r. roberts3, c. warren english4, b. m. rodriguez5 abstract a majority of farmers with a disability rely heavily on caregivers to ensure they can fulfill their daily roles and responsibilities. family members, such as spouses, parents, siblings, and children, are the most common caregivers. however, little is known about the resources and support needed to ensure these individuals can successfully navigate this complex role. in response, the north carolina agrability project has provided caregivers with education, resources, and support so that these individuals can better assist farmers with a disability to minimize the job-related obstacles they face. in the current study, we sought to examine how caregivers of farmers with a disability have been empowered through the north carolina agrability project. when viewed through the lens of zimmerman’s empowerment theory, four themes emerged (a) barriers to empowerment; (b) intrapersonal empowerment; (c) interactional empowerment; and (d) behavioral empowerment. consequently, findings from this investigation documented that caregivers navigated key barriers to become empowered after receiving assistance from the north carolina agrability project. further, their experiences in agrability changed how they approached supporting farmers with a disability. in response, we provide recommendations for better supporting and leveraging the caregiver network of farmers with a disability. keywords accommodations, assistive technology, professional development, qualitative research, special needs minus et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.99 97 introduction and problem statement there are approximately 288,000 individuals in the u.s. involved in the agricultural industry between the ages of 15 and 79 who have a disability, which complicates their ability to fulfill their job-related duties (fetsch et al., 2020b). some of the major difficulties farmers with a disability face include: (a) the lack of information about adequate worksite accommodations; (b) economic constraints caused from wage loss and a lack of insurance; (c) residing in isolated areas that lack necessary services, and (d) limited professionals who have the knowledge needed to successfully accommodate their disability (fetsch et al., 2020a; fetsch & turk, 2018). one program designed to assist farmers with a disability with job-related accommodations is the national agrability project (2021), founded in 1991 it provides education, resources, and support to individuals with disabilities to ensure they can succeed in their daily lives. the national agrability project was authorized under the food, agriculture, and trade act of 1990 and administered by the united states department of agriculture (usda) (national agrability project, 2021). agrability is currently funded in 24 states and has assisted over 10,000 farmers in the u.s. affected by physical, sensory, cognitive, and emotional disabilities (fetsch et al., 2020a). previous evidence has demonstrated that with the support of agrability, farmers with disabilities have been able to complete up to 86% of farm responsibilities more successfully (hamm et al., 2012). many farmers with disabilities receive assistance from individuals who can help them with physical tasks, also known as caregivers. a family member is the most common caregiver (jepsen et al., 2011). however, friends, distant relatives, and other farmworkers have also been reported to serve in this role (fetsch et al., 2020b). despite this, little is known about the resources and support needed to ensure that caregivers can successfully navigate these responsibilities. on this point, christen and fetch (2008) suggested that communication is key to empowering the caregiver network. however, little is known about the techniques, strategies, and processes that lead to caregiver empowerment in north carolina. theoretical and conceptual framework zimmerman’s (1995) empowerment theory served as the theoretical framework guiding this investigation. since 2011, the north carolina agrability project, administered by the north carolina a&t state university cooperative extension service, has provided resources and support to empower caregivers of farmers with a disability. empowerment has been defined as a process by which individuals gain mastery over issues that concern them (rappaport, 1987). zimmerman (1995) theorized that empowerment involves three interconnected tenets (a) intrapersonal; (g) interactional; and (c) behavioral . intrapersonal empowerment relates to an individual’s thoughts about themselves and their ability to influence others. as such, it affects an individual’s affective dimensions such as their perceived control, self-efficacy, motivation, and mastery over issues and problems minus et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.99 98 (zimmerman, 1990, 1995). interactional empowerment refers to an individual’s understanding of their environment and how to navigate this context to achieve a desired outcome successfully. through this critical awareness, they are then able to “exert control in their environment” (zimmerman et al., 1990, p. 589) and mobilize relevant resources. the final tenet, behavioral, reflects the direct actions that individuals take to affect outcomes. it also includes behaviors that help them manage stress and adapt to change (zimmerman, 1995). figure 1 provides a visual model of the tenets of zimmerman’s empowerment theory. figure 1 adapted from zimmerman’s (1995) empowerment theory using this lens, we investigated how the caregivers of farmers with a disability were empowered as a result of participation in the north carolina agrability project by analyzing their self-reported experiences and those observed during data collection. for instance, we sought to understand caregivers’ changes regarding self-efficacy, motivation, and perceived competence. we also probed how they learned to navigate their context as well as other personal and professional factors. as a result of the analysis, zimmerman’s (1995) empowerment theory served as a useful lens for investigating the empowerment of caregivers. purpose the purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which caregivers of farmers with a disability have been empowered through the north carolina agrability project. intrapersonal interactional behavioral empowerment minus et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.99 99 methods the current study was nested, methodologically, in stake’s (1995) instrumental case study approach. case studies allow researchers to describe a phenomenon in a bounded context using a variety of data sources. in particular, we bounded the case by place and time. to accomplish this, we used a criterion-based sampling procedure by which the north carolina agrability project director nominated individuals to participate who: (a) served as a caregiver to a farmer with a disability; and (b) had participated in the north carolina agrability project in the past three years. using this approach, three individuals agreed to participate. participant #1 was a 67-year-old wife of a veteran farmer who was a vietnam war veteran with a right arm amputation, diabetes, and other health limitations. the two main commodities produced on their farm were beef cattle and grass hay. participant #2 was a 57-year-old father of a farmer who had a spinal cord injury that resulted in him being in a quadriplegic state. the main commodities produced on their farm were sunflowers, soybeans, and poultry. finally, participant #3 was a 31-year-old, long-term girlfriend of a farmer who had a rare neurological condition that began in 1988, which resulted in lower-body paralysis that affected his ability to walk. they mainly focused on large-scale vegetable production. reflexivity when conducting qualitative research, the biases and experiences of researchers often influence the investigation (houghton et al., 2013). therefore, it is essential to reveal that the lead researcher worked with the north carolina agrability project as a graduate research assistant. in this role, he assumed several responsibilities, such as recruiting new participants, educating the public on the mission of agrability, and collecting data regarding farm injuries and deaths in north carolina. the other researchers in this investigation were faculty at north carolina a&t state university at the time of data collection. further, two of the researchers served as the lead investigator and director for the north carolina agrability project. because the director of the program nominated individuals for participation, this could have influenced the responses received during our collection of data. as a result, these experiences and biases allowed us to obtain unique access to the phenomenon under investigation, which likely influenced our interpretation of the data. data sources, analysis, and rigor in the qualitative paradigm, ensuring rigor is critical. to achieve such, lincoln and guba (1985) advanced four standards to enhance rigor: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. we achieved these standards through (a) prolonged and varied field experiences in which we conducted on-site observations with each participant for three days; (b) maintaining thorough fieldnotes and observations; (c) employing member checks; and (d) a thick description of our findings. in addition to participant interviews, we also collected multiple sources of data to triangulate findings, including observations, and relevant program artifacts such as agrability curriculum, pamphlets, and written correspondence. minus et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.99 100 after the data collection, we used corbin’s and strauss’ (2015) constant comparative method to analyze each source of data. in the first stage of analysis, we employed open coding. during open coding, we become intimate with the data by analyzing sources line-by-line. we also coded data from various frames of reference and created memos based on conceptual and theoretical assertions (corbin & strauss, 2015). as a result, the open coding process allowed us to discover the meaning hidden in data (walker & myrick, 2006). for the second phase of analysis, we employed axial coding (corbin & strauss, 2015). in this stage, we reconstructed the data based on similarities by grouping our open codes into categories and subcategories. we then reduced the data using walker’s and myrick’s (2006) three recommendations by which we considered (a) the conditions in which the data were collected; (b) the actions and interactions of participants in response to the phenomenon; and (c) the consequences of actions taken by participants. this analytic technique helped us distill the data corpus into distinct categories as we began to weave our emergent findings into a coherent storyline (corbin & strauss, 2015). in the final phase of analysis, we used to selective coding to transform the categories into substantive, theoretically rich explanations of the data. using this analytic process, our findings emerged through four themes. findings in our analysis of the data, we gained deeper insight into the phenomenon. our findings demonstrated the caregivers’ empowerment was largely shaped by how they reckoned with key barriers. consequently, our emergent findings are presented through four themes of meaning (a) barriers to empowerment; (b) intrapersonal empowerment; (c) interactional empowerment; and (d) behavioral empowerment. theme #1: barriers to empowerment through our observations of caregivers, we noted they often experienced barriers that hindered them from being empowered while receiving assistance from the north carolina agrability project. in particular, the barriers to empowerment included (a) lack of trust; (b) poor communication skills; and (c) insufficient training. for example, when receiving assistance from the north carolina agrability project, noticing positive results required time for the caregivers. while waiting for resources and equipment, some participants reported they initially experienced impatience and a lack of trust with agrability. on this point, participant #2 explained that during his involvement with the program, he lost trust because as he was unable to observe changes for his son happening as quickly as he expected. having poor communication skills was also a barrier to the empowerment of caregivers. participant #3 explained: “some days are tuff, especially if we are bumping heads [with agrability staff]. there is a need for better communication because we move at different paces.” the final barrier to the empowerment reported by the caregivers was a lack of perceived training among the agrability staff. for instance, participant #1 described how she was frustrated with the program staff because at times because she perceived “workers lacked minus et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.99 101 advanced training on how to work with farmers with a disability in the agricultural industry.” this lack of trust appeared to be rooted in a disagreement between the caregivers and agrability staff regarding the appropriate accommodations for farmers with a disability. theme #2: intrapersonal empowerment although the caregivers experienced the aforementioned barriers, over time they learned to navigate such to become empowered through the north carolina agrability project. the caregivers accomplished this through the use of internal processes by which they influenced themselves and others, i.e., intrapersonal empowerment (zimmerman, 1995). as such, the caregivers experienced intrapersonal empowerment through (a) perceived control; (b) selfefficacy; (c) motivation; and (d) growth in competence. perceived control represented how the caregivers gained control over their actions, behaviors, and mindsets to better support farmers with a disability. as an illustration, participant #3 explained that at times, “caregiving can be exhausting both physically and mentally.” however, through supports provided by the north carolina agriability project, participant #3 stated, “i learned to control [myself] in various situations and better support [my boyfriend].” during observations, participants #1 and #2 made significant strides in learning to control their environments when faced with challenges. for example, after receiving resources and support from the north carolina agrability project, we noted that participant #1 and #2 used various assistive technologies and strategies obtained through the program, which helped them support their farmer with a disability more efficiently. the caregivers also reported making significant strides in improving their self-efficacy. for example, before agrability’s assistance, participant #2 reported “little to moderate” levels of self-efficacy to assist farmers with disabilities with duties on the farm. during observations, we also noted that participant #1 was not confident in her ability to make accommodations for her husband. however, after receiving assistance from the north carolina agrability project, many caregivers reported greater levels of self-efficacy. to this point, participant #1 explained, “a bump n’ drive gate that was provided by north carolina agrability was more for me than him because it allowed him to become more independent since he no longer had to rely on me for opening gates on the farm.” we also observed participant #2 exhibiting more confidence after his son received a mechanical lift from north carolina agrability to help board his tractor, which reduced the stress of lifting his son for the aging caregiver. improved motivation also helped caregivers became empowered interpersonally, which reflected whether they had a desire to improve their ability to provide assistance as a caregiver for farmers with a disability. it should be noted that each participant in this study reported that they gained intrinsic motivation as a result of their participation in the north carolina agrability project. for instance, participant #1 and #2 maintained that agrability made significant improvements in helping their farmers “gain independence” to complete on-farm tasks. as a result of these improvements, the caregivers’ motivation improved because they desired to make additional progress. case in point, after her boyfriend received an all-terrain vehicle (atv) that greatly improved his mobility, participant #3 argued she become more interested in minus et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.99 102 additional resources and educational opportunities through agrability so that she could provide the best support possible. to this point, each of the caregivers in this investigation articulated that attending professional development opportunities coordinated by the north carolina agrability project kept them engaged and motivated to advocate for disabled farmers. participant #1 explained, “i am always excited to go to events [through agrability] and see things that allow it to be easier for people with a disability.” finally, the caregivers also reported a growth in competence. after receiving assistance from agrability, the caregivers explained they felt more competent in using assistive technology and research-based strategies to assist their farmers more effectively. for example, through incorporating atv’s, bump n’ drive gates, mechanical lifts, and other assistive technology, the physical demands placed on caregivers were often reduced, which helped them give more attention to other areas of need. all three caregivers also said they felt “more educated” about best practices regarding farm safety, which helped them to provide guidance to other farmworkers. participant #1 explained, “[i now know] about farm safety and how it is practiced. i have male children who assist my husband as well. so, this has really helped.” in the second theme, therefore, we demonstrated how the caregiver experienced intrapersonal empowerment through four sources: perceived control, self-efficacy, motivation, and growth in competence, after receiving assistance from the north carolina agrability project. theme #3: interactional empowerment the third theme, interactional empowerment, reflected how individuals began to understand how to navigate their context to address issues and problems as a result of agrability. participants reported that interactional empowerment was experienced by developing and transferring skills and mobilizing resources. for instance, the caregivers began to develop and transfer the skills needed to accommodate farmers with disabilities better while also becoming knowledgeable about ways to manage resources effectively. before receiving assistance from the north carolina agrability project, all participants reported low skill attainment. however, after attending professional development sessions, participant #2 explained that he acquired the skills needed to “lift his son onto farm equipment safely.” he also demonstrated how he learned to use a wrench and cable wires to lift his son onto a tractor through education provided by agrability during our observations. the caregivers also became empowered by learning to mobilize available resources. during the interview with participant #3, for example, she pointed to an old ladder that she previously used to help her boyfriend mount tractors and other farm machinery. she stated, “i would have to go up the ladder with him, lift his legs, step by step until he was high enough to get in the combine.” after receiving assistance from agrability, however, the caregivers demonstrated greater resource mobilization. in particular, participant #1 and #3 shared they felt more empowered after learning to use assistive technologies such as an atv and a mechanical lift as well as a new organizational structure for their barn recommended by agrability professionals to ensure that their farm activities could operate more smoothly. as a result of learning to minus et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.99 103 mobilize these tangible and intangible resources, participant #3’s boyfriend gained most of his independence back, allowing her to focus on other tasks. our observations also triangulated the interactional empowerment of caregivers. as such, we witnessed each caregiver in the investigation develop and transfer skills as well as mobilize resources to achieve goals. theme #4: behavioral empowerment the final theme, behavioral empowerment, reflected the caregivers’ specific actions to positively impact the professional lives of farmers with a disability. the caregivers experienced this form of empowerment through organizational participation and community engagement. organizational participation referred to how the caregivers became actively engaged in the disability community because of agrabilty. participant #3 explained, “i am the only one with a smartphone, so i keep in contact [with others in the agrability]…to stay on top of certain things and events.” participant #1 also expressed that she became the “primary source of communication” with the disability community through more engagement with the agrability network. further, participant #1 and #3 also regularly attended disability-focused events out of their geographical region, such as the national agrability training workshop, which helped them learn new strategies for their farm and share their experiences with others. the caregivers also reported they became more engaged in their local and professional communities as a result of the north carolina agrability project. for instance, participant #2 explained that after observing the distinct benefits of agrability, they began to seek out more authentic experiences to connect with others in organizations such as the north carolina assistive technology program, vocational rehabilitation, and north carolina agromedicine institute. she explained, “i’ve started accompanying my boyfriend when he attends farming conferences and receives certifications now.” meanwhile, caregiver #3 reported that she has now developed a “love for building relationships with other local farmers in the area” through attending community-based events. as a result of these connections, participant #1 illuminated that she felt more empowered because she developed the vocabulary to “better communicate” about her husband’s needs. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the purpose of the study was to examine how caregivers of farmers with a disability had been empowered through the north carolina agrability project. when viewed through the lens of zimmerman’s (1995) empowerment theory, we conclude that although the caregivers reported key barriers, they were empowered at three distinct levels – intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral. as a consequence, several implications and recommendations emerged. first, because the participants reported a lack of trust, poor communication skills, and insufficient training of agrability staff, we concluded that such served as barriers to the caregivers’ empowerment. this finding is supported by the findings of fetsch et al. (2020a) and fetsch and turk (2018). as such, we recommend that north carolina agrability provide tailored training and professional development for staff regarding how to best communicate with minus et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.99 104 caregivers as well as farmers with a disability. we also recommend that north carolina agrability embed listening sessions into professional development opportunities so that caregivers can be given a space to articulate their concerns and staff can respond accordingly (roberts et al., 2020a). finally, additional research should seek to understand how caregivers could better navigate barriers to become empowered through the north carolina agrability project and better sustain the agricultural pipeline for future generations (alston et al., 2019, 2020). future studies should also examine caregivers’ preferences regarding receiving information about accommodating disabled farmers. despite the aforementioned barriers, we conclude the caregivers learned to overcome these challenges to become empowered on the intrapersonal level (zimmerman, 1995). for example, the caregivers reported growth regarding their perceived control, self-efficacy, motivation, and competence. such a notion does not appear to have been reported in the broader literature. as a result, these outcomes generated several potential questions that could be addressed through additional research: in what ways can caregivers’ intrapersonal empowerment be leveraged to better diffuse agrability in other states? is caregivers’ sense of intrapersonal empowerment stable over time? and does the intrapersonal empowerment of caregivers extend to the farmers with a disability whom they provide assistance? in the third theme, interactional empowerment, the caregivers learned to navigate their context to address complex issues and problems. we concluded the caregivers were able to accomplish this by developing and transferring skills as well mobilizing resources – a notion that has not been reported in previous literature on agrability. because of the importance of skill development, we recommend that additional educational and professional development opportunities be created that target the needs of the caregiver network based on their career phase (roberts et al., 2020b). through additional engagement opportunities at conferences, exhibits, and agricultural shows, the caregivers could gain access to unique resources and innovations in assistive technology. consequently, we recommend that additional work be conducted to understand the types of marketing and communication approaches that would likely motivate caregivers of farmers with a disability to engage in outreach programs coordinated by the north carolina agrability project. finally, we conclude the caregivers became behaviorally empowered through greater organizational participation and community engagement. as articulated by participants in this study, caregiving can be physically and mentally exhausting, which results in unique burdens placed on this population. therefore, we recommend that agrability create a formal support group for caregivers of farmers with a disability. through support groups, caregivers could congregate and share practical solutions to navigate the physical, emotional, and cognitive demands of this role. further, because learning to communicate about farmers with disabilities needs was critical to the empowerment of caregivers in this study, participation in support groups might help these individuals learn to express themselves to individuals who understand their experiences on a personal level. going forward, more research is also needed to understand how innovations that could positively impact the lives of farmers with a disability might diffuse more rapidly (rogers, 2003) if buy-in is achieved from the caregiver population. minus et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.99 105 acknowledgements this research was partially funded by the usda-nifa national agrability project. references alston, a. j., roberts, r., & warren english, c. 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(1995). psychological empowerment: issues and illustrations. american journal of community psychology, 23(5), 581–599. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02506983 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 31-manuscript-209-3-11-20200213 roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 1, 2020 agdevresearch.org i advancements in agricultural development letter from the editors we are pleased to announce the launch of a new open-access, peer-reviewed journal called advancements in agricultural development. the journal was started to complement existing journals in agricultural education, extension education, human capacity building, diffusion of innovations, leadership, and communication. we publish theoretically and conceptually-sound articles focused on practical outcomes in the context of food, agriculture, and natural resources. we accept quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research. research can be conducted anywhere in the world. our goal is to provide a timely review of your research by qualified reviewers. our submission guidelines and review processes are streamlined to facilitate this process. the major focus of submissions is on findings and implications. we strive to have reviews completed within two weeks and will have rolling publication of articles once the editing process is completed. we require all contributing authors to have orcid numbers to facilitate the integration of research published in advancements in agricultural development with the broader research community. we also require authors to include literature published from journals in the social science or emerging science indices from web of science. our philosophical belief is that building connections between our relatively small field and larger ones will positively affect the visibility, impact, and quality of our research moving forward. advancements for agricultural development is managed by a team of editors, editorial assistants, and an editorial board. the inaugural team is listed below. editor team executive editor dr. grady roberts, university of florida managing editor dr. amy harder, university of florida managing editor dr. james lindner, auburn university editorial assistant katrina alford, university of florida editorial assistant gangseok "chris" hur, university of florida editorial assistant olivia caillouet, university of florida editorial board dr. matt baker, texas a&m university dr. anna ball, university of illinois dr. craig edwards, oklahoma state university dr. vikram koundinya, university of california, davis dr. matt raven, michigan state university dr. scott d. scheer, the ohio state university dr. carrie stephens, university of tennessee, knoxville roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 1, 2020 agdevresearch.org ii we do wish to thank the 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agricultural development volume 3, issue 1, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. debra m. barry, assistant professor, university of florida, 1200 n. park rd., plant city, fl. 33563, dmbarry@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9579-3872 2. anna j. warner, assistant professor, washington state university, 259 johnson hall, po box 646420, pullman, wa 99164-6402, anna.warner@wsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4683-9912 3. sarah e. larose, assistant professor, purdue university, 915 w. state street, west lafayette, in 47907-2054, slarose@purdue.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0279-783x 4. blake c. colclasure, assistant professor, doane university, 1014 boswell ave., crete, ne 68333, blake.colclasure@doane.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8375-286x, 5. ed w. osborne, professor emeritus, university of florida, 305 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611-0540, ewo@ufl.edu , https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1967-717x 103 personal resilience of first-year, alternatively certified agriscience teachers d. barry1, a. warner2, s. larose3, b. colclasure4, e. osborne5 abstract a wide range of challenges continues to exist in delivering school-based agricultural education (sbae) programs. among the most pressing challenges are the recruitment and retention of high-quality agriculture teachers (guffey & young, 2020). teacher educators and researchers in sbae are tasked with meeting the nationwide demand for teachers, while also better understanding the status of alternatively certified agriculture teachers (foster et al., 2020). this study explored the challenges, coping strategies, and personal resilience of first-year agriscience teachers in florida who held a temporary teaching certificate. using a qualitative, phenomenological approach, seven alternatively certified florida agriculture teachers were interviewed. the personal resilience framework developed by hoopes (2017) guided this study, as researchers examined alternatively certified teachers’ experiences and responses to challenges in their teaching. emergent themes included prior plans to teach, overwhelming expectations, supportive networks, aspects of resilience, and feelings of motivation and inspiration. this study highlights the need for proactive professional development and support systems for first-year, alternatively certified agriculture teachers. keywords agricultural education, beginning teacher, hardiness, mindset, teacher challenges barry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.183 104 introduction and problem statement the recruitment and retention of agriculture teachers has been a long-standing issue (guffey & young, 2020). data collected in 2019 from state agricultural education supervisors nationwide indicated more than 25% of new hires were either alternatively certified or not currently licensed (foster et al., 2020). due to the continued growth and expansion in sbae programs and the inability to fill vacancies with qualified candidates, the demand for teachers has outweighed supply (foster et al., 2020; lawver et al., 2018), further contributing to the increase of non-licensed or alternatively certified sbae teachers (lawver et al., 2018). teacher educators and researchers in sbae need to not only identify the next steps in meeting this demand, but also understand the status of those who are entering the profession. some of the greatest challenges and needs of beginning agriscience teachers have included program design and management, teaching, classroom management, and organizing an effective alumni and advisory council (joerger, 2002; myers et al., 2005). emotional burnout is a challenge that many teachers face, with contributors such as an unfulfilled commitment, lack of efficacy, unsupportive administrators, and feelings of overwhelming responsibility (day & gu, 2014; hong, 2010). relationships and perceived support in a school community can impact beginning agriculture teachers’ job satisfaction and self-efficacy (hasselquist et al., 2017). when given a supportive workplace environment, many teachers learn to respond positively when faced with challenges, become resilient over time, and can build their resilience in their workplace (day & gu, 2014). theoretical and conceptual framework the personal resilience framework proposed by hoopes (2017) operationalized the resilience construct for this study. in the book, prosilience, hoopes theorized that resilience consists of seven interdependent characteristics. within the context of responding to challenge and disruptive change, the dimensions of resilience are positivity (focus on opportunities), confidence (maintain belief in my capacity to navigate the situation), priorities (remain focused on the important things), creative (generate new ideas and approaches), connection (seek support and assistance from others), structure (organize my actions), and experimenting (try new approaches and learn from the experience) (conner & hoopes, 1994)). while one’s resilience profile is usually a mix of high, moderate, and low levels of resilience across these seven dimensions, strength in all seven aspects of resilience is optimal (hoopes, 2017). maddi (2013) defined hardiness as the “pattern of attitudes and strategies that constitute the existential courage and motivation to do the hard work of turning stressful circumstances from potential disasters into growth opportunities” (p. 6). the hardy attitudes are remaining engaged in the difficult situation (commitment), exerting influence where possible (control), and learning from difficult situations (challenge). these attitudes are coupled with strategies that include transformational coping, giving and receiving support from others, and healthy self-care (maddi, 2013). maddi concluded that a key indicator of hardiness is continuous engagement in barry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.183 105 chores and responsibilities during the developmental years. contributors to the development of hardiness are a loving and supportive home environment; challenging, yet achievable tasks; and supportive parents who help their children make the most of and learn from challenges and changes in their lives. hardiness is the essence of resilience (maddi, 2013). day and gu (2014) provided a comprehensive summary and analysis of research on teacher resilience in their book titled resilient teachers, resilience schools. defining teacher resilience as “the capacity to maintain equilibrium and a sense of commitment and agency in the everyday worlds in which teachers teach” (p. 9), these authors suggested that teachers need “everyday resilience” (p. xvii) to successfully manage the multitude of challenges in their teaching. resilience is not a static trait, but instead fluctuates and is shaped by one’s circumstances and environment (day & gu, 2014). in the first of six professional life phases proposed by these researchers, a teacher’s developing sense of efficacy is influenced by student behavior, support from school administrators and colleagues, school culture, and recognition of their work. after completing a review of research in the broad literature and in agricultural education, thieman et al. (2012) concluded that resilience is essential for teacher success. dweck’s groundbreaking research on mindsets (2017) concluded that people tend to gravitate toward either a fixed or growth mindset (view of themselves), although everyone has dimensions of both. those with a strong growth mindset accept challenges, try new things, appreciate constructive feedback, enjoy learning and developing, and are comfortable with imperfection. they also recognize that effort, focus, and self-discipline, versus intellect and innate traits, are the keys to their success. on the contrary, others use their fixed mindset as a “suit of armor” (p. 242) to protect their view of themselves, often as perfect or superior, while closing off new ideas and experiences. dweck concluded that the messages we receive from those around us, beginning at a young age, shape our view of ourselves and our position along the fixed-growth mindset continuum. purpose the purpose of the study was to explore the challenges, coping strategies, and personal resilience of first-year agriscience teachers in florida who held a temporary teaching certificate. the overarching research question that guided the study was do alternatively certified first-year agriscience teachers demonstrate resilience as they respond to the challenges they experience in their teaching? methods working from a philosophical perspective of constructivism (crotty, 1998), we used a qualitative approach and phenomenological design (creswell & creswell, 2018) to examine how agriculture teachers respond to the challenges they encounter during their first year of teaching. we examined the resilience of first-year, alternatively certified (ac) agriculture barry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.183 106 teachers, with the expectation that each teacher exhibited aspects of resilience during their first year. our execution of the study was informed by our experiences as high school agriculture teachers and university faculty preparing and supporting agriculture teachers. we recognize that our perspectives may pose a potential threat to the trustworthiness of the findings. in order to support trustworthiness of our data, we employed several strategies in our methodology. two researchers participated in each teacher interview, complete interview recordings and transcripts were prepared, field notes were shared among the researchers, and multiple researchers were involved in the analysis of each interview transcript to strengthen interpretation credibility (yin, 2016). an attempt was made to share interview transcripts with the participants. however, due to changes in contact information or employment, the researchers were unable to reach two of the teachers. cell phone or valid email addresses were used to reach the other five teachers. based on the in-depth interviews conducted and the consistent themes that emerged, the researchers believe the findings are applicable to other first-year, alternatively certified agriculture teachers. participants the seven participants in the study included all florida first-year agriculture teachers during the 2017–2018 school year who held a temporary or provisional teaching certificate. pseudonyms were assigned to each of the seven participants, which included five women, four teachers who were married, five teaching in a program with one agriculture teacher, and one teaching in a new program. four of the teachers taught in a middle school. all participants held at least a bachelor’s degree. none of the teachers had previous school-based teaching experience. five of the seven teachers in the study completed the personal resilience questionnaire in their first semester of teaching, which generated an individual resilience profile backdrop for the interviews that occurred later in the school year. the average percentile scores were high for two teachers, moderate for two teachers, and low for one teacher. however, the teachers had a mix of high to low scores, with the majority of scores across the seven dimensions of resilience in the moderate or high range. data collection and analysis a semi-structured interview guide was piloted with an agriculture teacher who had completed her first year of teaching. data from the pilot interview are not included in the findings. all interviews were held immediately after school in the teacher’s classroom in may 2018. interruptions from passersby were brief and inconsequential. interviews lasted 70–110 minutes, averaging 86 minutes. only interview data obtained through the 22 questions focused on academic and professional background, challenges in teaching, and personal resilience are reported in this paper. we worked toward aggregation of the data into a small number of themes, allowing codes or key words to emerge during the data analysis (creswell & creswell, 2018). two members of the research team independently sifted out the unique ideas and perspectives shared by each teacher in the three areas of focus for this paper. each researcher then independently barry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.183 107 identified subthemes and major themes from these first-level ideas. we compared our coding outcomes for each interview and found them to have only minor differences in wording. we then developed a final set of subthemes and main themes embedded in each of the interviews. our final step was to identify the emergent themes across all seven interviews. five of the seven participants completed the personal resilience questionnaire (prq) (conner & hoopes, 1994) in their first semester, which generated an individual resilience profile. percentile scores of 35 and below are considered low, and a score in the 65th percentile or higher is considered high (conner & hoopes, 1994). cronbach’s alpha coefficients for five of the seven subconstructs measured by the prq (positivity, confidence, priorities, creative, connection) range from .71 to .83, with the other two (structure, experimenting) having reliability coefficients of .68 and .65, respectively (hoopes, 2013). prior studies have also demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity of the prq (hoopes, 2013). findings not my first choice the first-year agriscience teachers in our study had a wide range of backgrounds. four of the seven teachers had agriculture coursework and ffa experience in high school and an interest in or experience with animal agriculture. all had earned an agriculture or environmental sciencerelated degree. none of the teachers had formal teacher preparation coursework. although six of the seven teachers had some interest in teaching while in high school or college, only one of the teachers, ron, initially planned on pursuing this career path but changed his major midway through college. allison commented, “the one thing i told everybody, i do not want to go into teaching.” five of the seven interviewed had been employed in a full-time job prior to taking their agriscience teaching position but had felt unsettled and were searching for something more. overwhelming expectations none of the first-year teachers interviewed had a clear understanding of the sbae program structure or school policies and procedures as a teacher. all of the teachers felt overwhelmed by the ffa component of their agriculture teacher responsibilities. paige explained her view that managing ffa is like “a second job” by saying, “[i] blinked and missed something, all the time. … when you first come into it, there’s no way ... to remember everything or know everything.” many of the teachers shared their frustrations with ffa rosters, registering for events, and the added administrative responsibilities that ffa advisors routinely manage. another major challenge shared was the stress of planning and teaching, even while many felt relatively comfortable with most of the technical agriculture content in the lessons. without a teaching background or education coursework, the teachers felt overwhelmed, unsure, and frustrated. paige commented, “i initially thought that there was a particular curriculum that was set up and then i was just going to follow. ... that’s funny, right?” allison said, “i knew stuff about ag, and knew i could tell them about ag, but as far as planning to teach them and having barry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.183 108 a well thought out plan on how to keep them engaged, how to keep them interested, those things were what i worried about.” teachers described the overwhelming number of unfamiliar acronyms and the amount of time needed outside of the 40-hour work week. one teacher shared that she expected the hours to be more than a typical job, “but that first two months, three months, it was like 80–90 hours in the week that i was trying to figure out my life.” agriscience teachers routinely shared the difficulties they faced with classroom management and their inability to maintain a consistent, structured learning environment. mary shared her frustration by acknowledging “there have been two fights in my classroom, both totally unpredictable. so, i mean, it’s been hard.” stress, isolation, and exhaustion were commonly used words to describe the impact of the challenges the teachers faced. paige recalled one morning, in particular, where students were being disruptive right before an assistant principal stopped by her classroom. “[the principal asked] how are you doing? and i said, i just need a minute, and i started bawling. and i said, i just don’t want to talk to you right now. i’ve never cried in my job, ever.” supportive networks teachers, mentors, and administrative staff in the first-year teachers’ home school and in other schools formed a highly supportive network for the new teachers. teachers were often mentioned as the most supportive in helping first-year teachers navigate the challenges of teaching. one teacher described how the local agriscience teachers connected, “we have a text group all the time, or we’re asking each other questions. i relied on them heavily this year.” professional learning community (plc) meetings of agriculture teachers in the area proved to be a very useful, albeit intimidating, source of teaching ideas and resources. paige shared her honest reaction to her first plc meeting, “when i was listening to those [teachers], i was like, jump ship, jump ship. you're nowhere near this, but every single one of them [said] … it's like that for like three years.” referring to an agriculture teacher at a nearby school, ron said, “i’ve worked with him a lot. they have a very successful program. i didn't know him before i started teaching, but i quickly saw there's good work coming from there.” allison worked closely with a senior agriculture teacher in her county, saying “she's very experienced and so i have lots of phone calls with her, just to even vent.” other teachers in the school and administrative staff were also very supportive of the first-year teachers in some cases. for example, mary credited a staff member in her school with helping her become a better teacher. paige was also grateful for the school counselors taking the time to help her understand school operations, explaining “there's so much to learn about how things run in the school ... i had no idea.” steve mentioned that his first assigned mentor was “awesome,” but after she left his new mentor left him “out to dry.” in contrast, natalie said her “buddy” teacher has provided the most support for her, “… helping with getting the hogs to the state fair, with paperwork for this school, understanding schedules. she's definitely been one of the best close-by resources that i've been able to use.” teachers also expressed their appreciation for programs organized for new teachers. one said, “i found those [sessions] extremely helpful, even for my mental well-being.” new teacher barry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.183 109 meetings not only provided the opportunity for an open forum to ask questions and share, but also for peace of mind in knowing that others shared the same struggles. for some teachers in the study, close friends and family members offered emotional support needed during their first year. cathy continued to stay in close contact with her former agriculture teacher as a mentor during her first year of teaching. paige often relied on her close friend for support, saying “i can call him anytime.” for those who were married, spouses were invaluable in helping the new teachers talk through their day, de-stress, and stay motivated. allison described her way of letting go by venting to her spouse, “i go home and vent, then it’s over. and then the next day i come in with a fresh new perspective.” aspects of resilience as a group, the teachers displayed adaptability and resilience during their first year of teaching. they remained positive and hopeful, sought help and ideas from others, and proactively addressed the problems they encountered in teaching. despite the challenges and stress inherent in their work, they maintained a sense of agency and strong commitment to their teaching. as a supplement to the qualitative data, the resilience profiles obtained for the teachers were mixed but generally reflected moderate to high levels of resilience across the seven dimensions. steve and cathy’s resilience profiles were in the high range. ron and natalie’s profiles were in the moderate range, and allison’s overall profile was in the low range. specific interview questions were posed to uncover precursors to resilience that may have been present in these teachers' lives. in particular, we explored home and school environments, parental expectations, messages from others, exploratory experiences, and chores and responsibilities while growing up (dweck, 2017; maddi, 2013). six of the seven teachers in the study described themselves as high achievers in school and in other aspects of their life. they enjoyed school and had positive relationships with their teachers and peers. cathy described her positive connection with teachers by recalling, “my teachers were also very supportive. … they were always interested in what i did. even in college, all my professors really liked me, and i could relate to them on a personal level.” while in school, all seven teachers were involved in multiple activities beyond their classes and responsibilities at home, with extensive time commitments in several cases. allison said, “i did everything. … i was in band, ffa, sports, weightlifting, and track. i did it all.” parents were supportive and encouraging, while conveying high expectations. cathy said, “my parents were very supportive in everything that i did …, so definitely strong, strong family support.” each teacher in the study named a person who was their “champion” – someone who helped shape their self-confidence, determination, and views of opportunity and competition. natalie said, “i was the pride and joy of my parents. … they definitely were attached and invested in me throughout my entire youth and still are.” allison said her parents had “expectations to be respectful. … the kind of person they expected me to be was an upstanding individual towards my teachers and others.” barry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.183 110 messages from these highly influential others focused on working hard to create opportunities for yourself, choosing your own path in life, pursuing your passion, persisting in the face of failure and setback, and discovering your potential. paige described her mom as her champion – her rock, who always nurtured, encouraged, and supported her, even in her dysfunctional home environment. “because of that kind of confidence and expectation that she gave me, i've gotten every job that i've applied for, and my jobs have been really cool.” steve described his parents as “encouraging but not overbearing.” natalie said that from elementary to high school she was “always striving to be the top of her class.” she attributed her perfectionism to an intentional decision to not repeat the mistakes her biological mother had made in her life. however, her parents always reminded her “that it's not about always being the best, but it's being my best.” in contrast, one teacher’s parents instilled a competitive drive. allison recalled this recurring message from her dad, “if you’re not first, you’re last.” all teachers in the study had daily or weekly chores and responsibilities while growing up. referring to her family’s hay production business, cathy said, “after school that was my job or on the weekends and over the summer. if i wanted to hang out with my friends, i needed to get my job done first. i fed cows in the morning before i went to school.” steve said, “my nickname was buddy, because i was my dad's little buddy. i would follow my dad around and help him out with anything i could.” teachers in the study shared the importance of reflection, learning from mistakes, and understanding that perfection is not the answer. as teachers tackled new obstacles, they felt more confident in their ability to handle issues relating to classroom management, lesson planning, and work balance in their role as an agriscience teacher. the teachers shared numerous accounts of adapting the way they approached their work to improve their general well-being and teaching effectiveness. these included adjustments in time management, work boundaries, stress management, response to setbacks, and teaching strategies. paige described the need to make herself take a “timeout” from her responsibilities. she took one day during the week to not look at anything work related and described her feeling that “you’re never going to be done with it. making myself have a timeout for a minute has helped.” natalie described how she adapted over the year, “there are literally times i'll be up to like two in the morning, three in the morning, and like … i shouldn't be doing this. … so, i've gotten a lot better.” motivated and inspired without exception and despite the challenges participants faced during their first year of teaching, all seven teachers expressed unequivocal commitment to doing their best and becoming a better teacher. cathy said, “every day i'm actually excited to come to work. i'm excited to see the students’ faces or hear their thoughts.” one teacher shared a story about a confrontational student and her efforts to connect with the student. after talking with a parent who described his son as “terrible” and developing a plan for working better with the student, the student became one of the hardest working students in her class. barry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.183 111 although admitting the job was stressful, participants also described teaching as an inspiring and worthy endeavor and were grateful for the opportunity to support student learning and development. allison commented, “i see my freshmen, how much they've grown in a year, it gets me excited to see where they could be in another three years as seniors and how awesome of a program we could have here.” paige shared how her students inspire her work. “right now i'm still very much in [teaching]. i've seen changes in students just from being in this class that are monumental. ... that makes it worth it. i'll do all the other stuff.” even through moments of stress and anxiety, the ac teachers persevered, finding ways to manage the impacts on their lives and general well-being. natalie shared, “i know that any career and life will have challenges, and these are challenges that i’m willing to accept and work towards getting through and resolving. … yeah, i would say i’m still satisfied with teaching.” for those with a background in agriculture, teaching agriculture was particularly enjoyable. the teachers were proud of their accomplishments and were hopeful for the coming year. “my motivation for teaching has definitely increased,” said ron. natalie offered a very positive view of her year: “i'm in a happy place. … i feel like i've done a lot. i feel like i'm on a good track.” steve reflected on his first year by saying, “there were times that were really stressful. i feel lucky to get this position. i could have gone anywhere, but i think this is a good start.” conclusions, discussion, and recommendations an array of people and material resources is needed to support the success and general well-being of first-year, alternatively certified agriculture teachers. the teachers in this study stepped into their role with no prior professional knowledge or preparation for teaching, leaving them stressed, overworked, and overwhelmed. these findings emphasized the value of established teacher professional support systems that proactively anticipate, monitor, and address the needs of beginning teachers. thieman, et al. (2012) found that lack of colleague and administrative support is a significant contributor to stress among agriculture teachers. mentor teachers, school and district administrators, and university faculty should help ac teachers build supportive networks and set reasonable targets for student, program, and teaching improvement in their first year, scaffolding professional development accordingly. school administrators should give special attention to the needs of ac first-year teachers, not assuming they will figure things out over time. future research should examine the value and impact of these teacher support systems. student progress and a sense of accomplishment are sources of inspiration and motivation for first-year teachers. a surprising finding in this study was that, without exception, teachers were determined to become better teachers, despite feeling behind and unprepared for much of the school year. this unwavering commitment to their teaching was driven by their observations of the academic and personal growth of their students and a sense of accomplishment and progress in their teaching. research reported by clemons et al. (2021) also found that student achievement barry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.183 112 is a major factor in agriscience teacher motivation. future research should take a closer look at the lasting effects of student and teacher accomplishments on teacher motivation and satisfaction. alternatively certified agriculture teachers demonstrate remarkable resilience as they navigate challenges in their first year of teaching. teachers in this study expressed confidence in their ability to become a better teacher, acknowledged their personal and professional growth during their trying first year, and were optimistic about the upcoming school year. even though the demands of teaching compromised their personal well-being at times, they attempted to adjust their work patterns as they sought better balance. interview transcripts contained abundant evidence of these teachers as problem solvers – confronting challenges, seeking solutions, and trying new approaches. these dimensions of resilience (hoopes, 2017) supported teachers’ continued commitment and productivity in teaching. the interview data largely mirrored the scores contained in the teachers’ resilience profiles. four of the five profiles were in the moderate to high range. allison’s low resilience, as shown in her profile, appeared to be compensated by her strong, somewhat competitive desire to succeed. data from her interview showed elements of four resilience dimensions – confidence, priorities, connection, and experimenting. the resilience profiles offered an additional source of data indicating these teachers demonstrated resilience, sometimes at a high level, as they encountered challenges in their teaching. according to day and gu (2014), whether teachers find fulfillment in their work and sustain their commitment to teaching “…will depend to a large extent upon the opportunities they have to grow, sustain, and renew their capacities to be resilient” (p. 146). based on the results of their census study of agriscience teachers in four states, easterly and myers (2018) concluded that “resilience should be considered a significant factor in explaining career satisfaction of agriscience teachers” p. 129). a clear understanding of personal resilience and what resilience looks like in the life of an agriculture teacher may be a cornerstone of first-year ac teacher success. longitudinal studies are needed to further examine teacher resilience in this early career stage. life experiences develop the foundation for teacher resilience. maddi (2013) described hardiness as the essence of resilience, citing chores and responsibilities while growing up as a key predictor of hardiness. all teachers in this study had clear, often extensive, chores during their late childhood and adolescent years. dweck (2016) concluded that messages from others have a pivotal effect on whether people accept imperfection; believe potential is unknown; work well with others; and are eager to learn, comfortable with uncertainty, unafraid of failure, and open to feedback from others – all characteristics of a growth mindset. based on their extensive literature review and interviews with a select group of 18 health related professionals, greene, galambos, and lee (2004) concluded that “resilience is an ecological process expressed and affected by multilevel attachments involving families, schools, and communities” (p. 82). participants in this study shared many examples of the supportive and encouraging messages they received from their teachers and family members, and their positive school experiences carried over into their teaching. they identified one or more “champions” in their life who consistently gave them messages of “find your place” and barry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.183 113 “pursue your dreams,” with hard work and without boundaries and limitations. according to dweck (2016), these types of messages lead to a view of oneself as capable, worthy, learning, and developing. this growth mindset gave these teachers the courage to embark on the journey of an ac agriculture teacher, while knowing that path would be filled with setbacks and unforeseen challenges. professional support systems and future research should further consider how life experiences shape the foundations of personal resilience in beginning teachers. references clemons, c. a., hall, m., & lindner, j. 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(2018). personal resilience as a predictor of professional development engagement and career satisfaction of agriscience teachers. journal of agricultural education, 59(1), 119-134. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2018.01119 foster, d. d., lawver, r. g., & smith, a. r., (2020). national agricultural education supply and demand study, 2019 executive summary. american association for agricultural education. https://www.naae.org/teachag/nsd2019%20summary_7.15.20.pdf greene p. r., galambos, c. & lee, y. (2004) resilience theory: theoretical and professional conceptualizations. journal of human behavior and the social environment, 8(3), 75–91. https://doi.org/10.1300/j137v08n04_05 barry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.183 114 guffey, k. b., & young, j. s. (2020). recruitment and retention of agriculture teachers in the southeast: an empirical analysis of the star program. journal of agricultural education, 60(4), 203–313. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.04203 hasselquist, l., herndon, k., & kitchel, t. (2017). school culture’s influence on beginning agriculture teachers’ job satisfaction and teacher self-efficacy. journal of agricultural education, 58(1), 267–279. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2017.01267 hong, j. (2010). pre-service and beginning teachers’ professional identity and its relation to dropping out of the profession. teaching and teacher education, 26(8), 1530-1543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.06.003 hoopes, l. (2013). personal resilience profile handbook. resilience alliance. https://resiliencealliance.com/ joerger, r. m. (2002). a comparison of the in-service education needs of two cohorts of beginning minnesota agricultural education teachers. journal of agricultural education, 43(3), 11–24. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2002.03011 lawver, r. g., foster, d. d, & smith, a. r. (2018). status of the u. s. supply and demand for teachers of agricultural education, 2014-2016. american association for agricultural education. http://aaaeonline.org/teacher-supply-and-demand. maddi, s. r. (2013). hardiness: turning stressful circumstances into resilient growth. springer. myers, b. e., dyer, j. e., & washburn, s. g. (2005). problems facing beginning agriculture teachers. journal of agricultural education, 46(3), 47–55. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2005.03047 siperstein, g. n., wiley, a. l., & forness, s. r. (2011). school context and the academic and behavioral progress of students with emotional disturbance. behavioral disorders, 36(3), 172–184. https://doi.org/10.1177%2f019874291003600303 thieman, e. b., henry, a. l., & kitchel, t. (2012). resilient agricultural educators: taking stress to the next level. journal of agricultural education, 53(1), 81–94. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2012.01081 yin, r. k. (2016). qualitative research from start to finish (2nd ed.). guilford press. © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 87-manuscript-979-1-11-20210216.docx benge and beattie advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 1, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. matt benge, extension assistant professor, university of florida/ institute of food and agricultural sciences, po box 112060, gainesville, fl, 32610, mattbenge@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5358-3233 2. peyton n. beattie, doctoral candidate, university of florida, po box 110540 gainesville, fl 32611, pbeattie@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0677-4600 42 challenges of early career extension agents in florida m. benge1, p. beattie2 abstract extension agents serve a critical role in the land-grant mission as they disseminate research to local clientele in the form of educational programs. however, extension agents face a myriad of challenges, such as the changing scope of clientele and programming, nature of the job, and burnout. much research focuses specifically on new agent challenges within the first year, however, few studies have focused on early career extension agents after the initial onboarding process is complete. we used a phenomenological approach to explore the challenges of early career extension agents, which yielded eleven major themes, such as a lack of understanding extension, the nature of the job and understanding their role, and personal pressure. another major theme was the lack of extension knowledge of early career extension agents which could stem from the lack of formalized extension education programs and professional development programs targeted to early career agents. social capital theory could be used to better understand the social networks of early career extension agents, how these networks form over time, and what type of impact social networks have on new extension agents. keywords onboarding, professional development, burnout benge and beattie advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.87 43 introduction and problem statement cooperative extension is an agency of change, providing non-formal education programs targeted toward community citizens. since its inception in 1914, extension has served both rural and urban dwellers alike, helping to transform communities through education and empowering citizens to make behavior changes that positively affect themselves, their families, communities, agriculture, and the environment (united states department of agriculture, 2019). florida extension has 367 extension agents who take the research conducted at a landgrant university and create educational programs in focus areas such as 4-h youth development, agriculture, horticulture, natural resources, families, and communities (uf/ifas extension, n.d.). extension agents serve a critical role within their local communities, but are faced with many challenges such as burnout, stress, and many weeknight and weekend activities (kutilek, 2000), which often lead to employee turnover (martin, 2011). extension agent turnover leads to gaps in educational programming, community relationships, volunteers, knowledge, and experience (arnold, 2008; bradley et al., 2012; ensle, 2005; strong & harder, 2009), which presents greater challenges at the state level due these programmatic and monetary losses (borr & young, 2010; ensle, 2005; kutilek, 2000). martin (2011) suggested the first two to three years on the job is the most critical time for extension agents to be onboarded and where the organization can decrease employee intent to leave the organization. though there is much literature focused on extension agents within their first year, and extension agents overall, the literature does not focus on challenges of early career extension agents (ecas) beyond the first year and is essential to providing quality support to help curb employee retention. theoretical and conceptual framework the challenges extension agents face have changed over time due to a myriad of reasons. in its prime, cooperative extension’s outreach focused largely on agriculture and home economics (gonzalez, 1982; rasmussen; 1989). beginning in the late 1940s and to this day, changes in technology, reduced farm size and rural populations, and extension’s clientele base all contribute to an ever-changing landscape of extension agent challenges and the need for evolving professional development beyond on-board training (warner & christenson, 1984). with declining budgets and inadequate networks and partnerships (borich, 2001), as well as a shift to serve increasing urban and suburban audiences (harder et al., 2019; henning et al., 2014), both extension agents and the extension system are feeling pressure to continuously adapt to meet changing needs, programming, and methodology. there are many common challenges extension agents and administrators are faced with, such as understanding agent roles and responsibilities (ensle, 2005; myers, 2011), reaching lowincome audiences (benavente et al., 2009), and reaching parity and working across different cultures (moncloa et al., 2019). other challenges faced by extension professionals include, time management, balancing work, and family, working with volunteers, insufficient staff, lack of benge and beattie advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.87 44 training, and program evaluation and reporting (diaz et al., 2019; ensle, 2005; myers, 2011). harder et al. (2015) identified transactional factors increase the burnout of agents more than transformational factors. challenges such as these affect the turnover rate of extension professionals, which is approximately 7-9% annually (benge & harder, 2017; kutilek, 2000), making it difficult for state extension systems and program and staff development professionals to keep up with the demand of hiring and training new employees. among land-grant universities across the nation, a total of only 18 universities offers an undergraduate or graduate academic program for extension agents (harder et al., 2018). this lack of formal extension education programs provided by land-grant universities contributes pressure to state extension systems to train and develop new hires as they are not competentready when first hired. harder et al. (2010) identified nineteen competencies entry-level extension professionals should possess. however, many extension agents lack the entry-level competencies deemed necessary by harder et al. (2010). thus, cooperative extension is hiring new educators without the complete skillset required to be successful. the motivation-hygiene theory (herzberg, 1968) provides a lens for identifying challenges that can influence an employee’s feelings of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction, which can ultimately affect their willingness to leave the organization. herzberg (1987) theorized that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are distinct from each other, and that certain internal factors would lead to an increase in motivation and job satisfaction, whereas external factors would lead to negative feelings and job dissatisfaction. herzberg (1987) stated, ‘‘the opposite of job satisfaction is not job dissatisfaction but, rather, no job satisfaction; and similarly, the opposite of job dissatisfaction is not job satisfaction, but no job dissatisfaction’’ (p. 4). motivation factors relate to job satisfaction and include achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility, advancement, and growth (smerek & peterson, 2007). conversely, maintenance factors, also known as hygiene factors, relate to an employee’s job dissatisfaction and include company policy and administration, supervision, relationship with supervisor, work conditions, salary, relationships with peers, personal life, relationships with subordinates, status, and security (smerek & peterson, 2007). purpose the purpose of this study was to explore challenges of ecas in florida, and it was part of a larger investigation of the florida extension new agent onboarding process. the research question guiding the study was: what are the challenges of ecas in florida? methods we used a qualitative methodology design through a phenomenological lens, where challenges of florida ecas were the phenomenon being addressed. phenomenology was the appropriate approach for this study as we sought to capture the “meaning for several individuals of their lived experiences of a concept of phenomenon” (creswell, 2007, p. 56). we acknowledged our benge and beattie advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.87 45 bias (merriam, 1988) by searching for a convergence of information among multiple data sources to form themes (golafshani, 2003). we obtained institutional review board (irb) approval from the university of florida irb office prior to contacting potential participants. at the time the data was collected for this study, the total population of florida extension faculty was 367, of which 62 were county extension directors (ceds), according to the florida extension business services office (t. obreza, personal communication, march 15, 2019). the target population for the study consisted of: (a) 89 extension agents who have been on the job for 1-3 years and (b) 48 ceds who currently have an extension agent in their office with 1-3 years of experience. a sample of 15 participants (eight ceds and seven ecas) were purposively selected to participate in the study based on their district, program areas, and county type (i.e., rural, urban, mixed). we created two semi-structured interview guides, one for eca participants and another for ced participants. a six-member expert panel reviewed both interview guides for face and content validity. the expert panel consisted of one extension agent, one county extension director, two program and staff development professionals, and two state extension faculty. five of the sixmember panel either currently work or have worked for extension as an extension agent or ced. both interview guides consisted of 20 questions, with the difference being that we asked eca participants about their own experience and we asked ced participants about their perceptions of their eca(s) experiences in their office. this study pertains to the following three questions from the 20-question interview guide: (a) describe your experience so far as being an extension agent; (b) describe any challenges you have encountered while working in extension; and (c) what has been most difficult? we conducted interviews over two months, ranging from 28 to 63 minutes in length, with the average interview length being 40 minutes. we audio recorded and transcribed interviews verbatim, and we utilized nvivo 12 qualitative software to organize, code, and analyze the data collected. data was reduced using the phenomenological reduction method by stevick-colaizzikeen as modified by moustakas (1994). we used five strategies to maintain credibility of study, as eisner (1991) stated that establishing credibility within qualitative research “allows us to feel confident about our observations, interpretations, and conclusions” (p. 110). these strategies include investigator triangulation, peer debriefing, member checking, thick and rich descriptions, and clarifying researcher bias. findings the interviews yielded 11 themes of challenges: (a) building relationships; (b) official mentor; (c) lack of knowledge and understanding of extension; (d) the nature of the job and understanding their role; (e) ced turnover; (f) leadership and supervision; (g) personal pressure; (h) plans of work and reporting; (i) competence; (j) volunteer management; and (k) following the previous agent. benge and beattie advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.87 46 building relationships an eca shared challenges she experienced with navigating political relationships during her first three years on the job (abigail). abigail expressed her experience with feeling misplaced among colleagues given her job title: “i got a sense from some of my colleagues that they thought i didn’t really belong where i was. and there was this sense that is inaccurate, but it still exists, that rsas are somehow better or higher or above county agents.” carl, a ced, urged his early career agent to build relationships with a few people in the county because of their visibility of being an opinion leader within the county: i don’t know these 10 people very well, but i get the feeling that they have a huge influence on this group’. you need to get to know those people and decide if that’s true or not. if it’s not, we need to find out who does and figure out how to build those relationships. build their trust, and overall, you’ll have a bigger impact with that group. official mentors both the ecas and the ceds explained there were inconsistencies regarding assigned peer mentors, such as not having an assigned mentor, having a mentor who doesn’t keep consistent contact, and number of mentors (both official and unofficial). early career agent anna expressed, “it’s been, kind of, very short-lipped” when sharing experiences with her assigned mentor. additionally, abigail indicated, “i actually have two [mentors], because they weren’t sure who to assign me, based on me being an rsa and [program].” the ceds wished their agents’ assigned mentors would have been more present or provided more guidance during the agents’ first years on the job, and they have witnessed a variation in mentor and mentee relationships in terms of time invested and experiences. camile, a ced, expressed, “i feel like [agent] has these other kind of more informal networks that he uses more than maybe [mentor].” lack of knowledge and understanding of extension the ecas did not discuss their lack of knowledge of extension as much as the ceds discussed the extensions agents’ lack of knowledge of extension being a difficulty. there was only one eca, abigail, who expressed her lack of knowledge of extension and stated: “i didn’t really know what extension was…i was in uf/ifas for 6 years doing my graduate work, and i didn’t really know about land grants.” the ceds expressed having to invest more time with agents who lack knowledge of extension when coming into the job as compared to agents with previous knowledge of extension when starting the job. carol explained, “[agent]… came in as an agent but did not have an extension background. so, she has been undoubtedly the agent that i’ve done the most handholding with, ever, in my ced time.” caleb explained that a lack of extension knowledge coming into the job causes agents to “have a hard time figuring about what they’re supposed to do regarding programming.” nature of the job and understanding their role many of the ecas shared their high level of uncertainty of what they were supposed to be accomplishing when they started their job (anna, alexis, adam, alyssa, amy). anna stated, “there have been parts of it that have been frustrating, not knowing the exact direction to take.” amy explained the amount of time to learn the job was a challenge, and she benge and beattie advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.87 47 communicated, “the thing that you kind of hear a lot is ‘oh, it takes you 6 or more years to really understand your job,’ … it shouldn’t take me 6 years to understand my job!” adam also discussed: [finding] your role within the county and how you fit… a lot of times they [the county] are already doing a lot of the same programs, so they have departments doing some of the programs, and you have to find a place to fit that makes sense. this is a challenge to make everyone happy and creating the right programs that people want. the discussion with the ceds was very similar to the discussion with the ecas regarding agents being uncertain what exactly they should be accomplishing in the first years on the job (camile, cade, caleb, cameron, and carol). carol shared, “i think that she [agent] really had trouble understanding what she was supposed to be doing, for almost the first year, and it took her months just to start teaching.” cameron discussed, “as an agent, you have to come up with your own programming, what you think is important, and being a new agent… that can be a challenge, you know? what do i do, when do i do it, what’s enough, what’s not enough?” caleb stated, “knowing what to do. having a clear job description: ‘this is what i need to do’. too many times [new agents] are left in the office and we say ‘okay, go out into the world and figure it out’. they need a clearer direction.” turnover of county extension directors two ecas from two different counties shared their experiences with having multiple ceds in their first three years on the job (adam and amy). the multiple turnovers in leadership left the agents confused, as each ced came with different expectations. adam shared, “we’ve had multiple ceds, three in three years. they’ve all had a different way of doing things, which can be tough trying to navigate.” adam expanded his experience: you didn’t know what was expected. with our ced now, we know what to expect which is definitely different than before. she seems to have more of a balanced plan. i feel now more micromanaged now than i did before, which is something i have to get used to. amy shared, “she’s been our interim ced, i want to say for about six months now, so i’m still trying to learn her… leadership style.” amy further explained: each person has their own unique leadership style, and so trying to conform or understand those different leadership styles can… not that it was hard, but it is a little, you know, it can be a little challenging, especially when, you know some of them are interim. ced leadership and supervision ecas expressed frustrations relating to the level of guidance they received from their ceds (abigail, anna, adam, alyssa, and amy). anna indicated a lack of coaching received from her ced by stating: i’m not sure i’ve had what i would call ‘coaching’. i mean, i’ve had reviews of my packet… but i don’t think i’ve had… i’m not sure what you would call ‘coaching’ but as benge and beattie advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.87 48 far as coaching specific things, i mean, i don’t think that has, you know, that hasn’t really happened. alyssa shared her lack of confidence in her ced to coach her and stated, “some of the things that i’m working on, i know that she may not be able to necessarily give me good direction on, so that’s why i’ve kind of moved to other parts of our extension community to find some of those answers.” abigail discussed frustrations with ceds from other counties: they just assumed that i needed any guidance they had to give me, and without trying to meet me at my level, you know? i’m sure that ced would have had plenty of great things to tell me as someone who’s only been in extension 3 years, but i don’t really need someone to tell me how to network at this point. ecas expressed their enjoyment with ceds who have experience in their program area or have experience being an agent prior to becoming a ced (adam and anna). adam stated, “i always like the ceds that are veteran agents. those ceds with that longer experience that worked their way through the system, they tend to have a really good perspective.” anna, a rsa, struggled with ceds from different program areas, stating “with the counties that their ced is an [agriculture] agent, again, it’s kind of easy because they know what i’m doing, and they know what i’m involved in and what’s going on.” personal pressure a challenge many ecas discussed was personal pressure they, often times, put on themselves (abigail, alexis, adam, amelia, alyssa, and amy). one of these pressures was time management, often related to not being able to say no or overcommitting to too many tasks (abigail, alexis, adam, and amelia). abigail shared, “the obvious challenge of time management and figuring out your limits… you have enough freedom to get yourself in trouble with your time.” abigail continued to share her experience with personal pressure, stating: i don’t really like the term ‘time management’ because it’s more overcommitting, because i’m extremely efficient. i don’t waste time at work – i just work a lot. so, i find it really hard to say ‘no’ because i think in my head, something’s not going to take me that long because i do work efficiently, but of course, there’s always things that you don’t plan for. so just learning my limits, i guess, has been the most difficult. and sticking to those [limits]. much like the ecas reported, the ceds noticed the ecas’ lack of ability to manage their time causing stress for the agents and their lack of ability to say ‘no’ (candice, cade, and carol). cade shared an experience with an agent, stating: [agent] also gets dragged into things too. he got a call asking to help pull weeds at a community garden. i said, ‘[agent], you’re not a weed puller. you’re a horticultural agent and you’re responsible for programming. you can’t use valuable time and resources to drive across town and help someone pull weeds. that is not going to work.’ helping them, sometimes, as these things can be difficult because they are afraid to say no. help them figure out how to draw that line and say ‘no, i can’t do that’. that can be difficult for all new agents, even seasoned agents sometimes. benge and beattie advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.87 49 plans of work and reporting reporting and developing records of accomplishment (roas) and plans of work (pows) have shown to be a challenge for ecas (anna, adam, amelia, and amy). anna explained that because of the nature of her programs, she struggled with how to report impact, stating “i can’t say because of this program, 10 less cattle were lame on this farm, because there’s a million things that go into that, and there’s no way to measure the instance, the direct impact of that.” amelia shared her challenges with roas by explaining, “i have to admit, the one area i struggle with is figuring out the percentages in the roa, how much behavior change you are making.” the ceds shared that understanding plans of work and annual reporting is time consuming and especially difficult for early career agents who are not familiar with the system (cade, caleb, cameron, and carly). for example, cameron shared: as an agent, i think it’s always good to have a lot of guidance for putting together your [annual report]. it’s a very stressful thing because you never know if enough is enough. you never know if you’ve got enough programs, or trainings, or what have you, and there’s no formula to tell you that there’s enough, which i’ve always found very difficult to swallow. the ceds also recognized the importance of their role in helping ecas understand the reporting processes and what is expected of them (caleb, cameron, and carly). carly explained: i didn’t do the greatest service to her in the very beginning about reporting. and reporting can make or break an agent. i know it’s just a little bit in the onboarding sessions, and it kind of depends on when they start, whether it’s spring or fall, but i just think we are doing them a disservice if we don’t do more in that arena. learn how to write that success story. learn how to write that objective. maybe it’s a workshop so they can develop their first set of objectives. competence ecas expressed they received a number of professional development trainings but do not feel as competent in all areas they should be. the ecas reported desire to receive more in-depth training related to social science research (abigail), evaluation and evaluation methods (abigail and alyssa), development of logic models (alyssa), and strategies for marketing (amy). abigail shared her challenging experiences with evaluation: i definitely played a lot of catch-up in terms of my reporting and getting a good start on evaluation… a lot of people just sort of jump in head-first and focus on developing presentation materials, and the evaluation is sort of an afterthought, and that was mostly because i didn’t really understand the sort of short, medium, long-term impacts. the ceds and the ecas only indicated one competence area in common as a common challenge among ecas: evaluation. additionally, ceds expressed different competence areas the ecas could use supplemental professional development, such as social media (camile), communication and dealing with conflict (camile and carol), program development and teaching (caleb, carly, and carol), and developing relationships with clientele (carol and carl). benge and beattie advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.87 50 volunteer management both ecas and ceds expressed challenges with volunteer management, though ceds perceived volunteer management as a bigger challenge than the ecas did. alexis explained, “i really hadn’t put a lot of emphasis on the volunteer recruitment and retention. and i feel like that’s the hardest, most challenging thing – is something to do with, you know, some kind of training on volunteers.” most of the experiences shared by the ceds were with agents who had responsibilities with the master gardeners (mgs) and 4-h programs (cade, caleb, cameron, and carol). the challenges witnessed by the ceds regarding the agents’ volunteer management had to do with volunteer conflicts. carol explained her eca dealt with backlash from volunteers through the enforcement of rules. additionally, cade expressed that running a volunteer program can be challenge for an early career agent: it’s a big challenge, especially here because we have a lot of them, over 100 mgs, that come on a regular basis. one of the key things with those volunteers is they come from a job where they were director, they were in charge, and now they are part of a program where they are asked to pull weeds or do something that they might not necessarily want to do. following the previous agent ceds discussed following the previous agent as a challenge for ecas. candice discussed how the previous agent’s lack of following policies and procedures caused hardship for the current agent in their beginning years on the job: some of the challenges she’s been having, and it’s getting all these mgs that have existed with all these loosy-goosy rules back in the fold into the new rules. for them to understand she is doing it for a reason. there was quite a bit of folks, the mgs that have been here for a long time really like her, they love her teaching style, they don’t like the rules so much, but they are getting to understand why. different than the previous example, caleb witnessed his eca having to follow an agent who was well-respected. caleb mentioned the eca was adjusting to the job, but following a wellrespected agent is difficult, stating “i don’t care what master gardener agent comes in, it’s always hard following someone who did well. so you have a year for the agent to get used to the volunteers and vice versa.” conclusions, discussion, and recommendations ecas indicated a myriad of challenges, though the majority of those challenges are maintenance factors in which herzberg (1968) suggested an organization must focus its attention in order to decrease employee turnover. nine of the 11 challenges identified in this study fall under the ‘maintenance factor umbrella’, which include: (a) building relationships; (b) official mentor; (c) the nature of the job and understanding their role; (d) ced turnover; (e) leadership and supervision; (f) personal pressure; (g) plans of work and reporting; (h) volunteer management; and (i) following the previous agent. benge and beattie advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.87 51 both ecas and ceds alluded to difficulties having strong relationships regarding clientele, volunteers, mentors, and their ceds. some ecas who had been on the job for three years did not yet have a mentor, and other ecas noted very poor relationships with their respective ceds due to leadership styles or ced turnover. many of the challenges the ecas and the ceds identified have existed for at least a decade or more as diaz et al. (2019), ensle (2005), and myers (2011) all indicated similar conclusions. it is an interesting finding that many ecas struggle to develop relationships because extension is a relational organization that utilizes its social capital to onboard and train employees (seevers & graham, 2012). in addition, the amount of ced turnover for ecas is a major cause for concern as ceds play an integral part in the onboarding and development of extension agents (citation omitted). we recommend uf/ifas extension conduct an in-depth assessment to understand why ceds are turning over, as well as the impact of ced turnover on ecas in those counties. the extension agents and ceds in this study attested that defining the roles and responsibilities of the extension agent were difficult. ensle (2005) and myers (2011) reached similar conclusions in their respective studies. the extension job and understanding their role is a not a new challenge for extension agents and is rooted within the changing extension landscape and the lack of formalized academic extension education programs (harder et al., 2018; henning et al., 2014). however, what is concerning is that agents in their third year are still challenged with understanding their job. ecas should understand what extension is when hired, and uf/ifas should evaluate and/or revamp their new agent training program. it was evident that the extension agents included or discussed in this study require professional development programs focused on their evolving needs which is supported by the thoughts of warner and christenson (1984). plans of work and reporting are common challenges among all extension agents (benge et al., 2020; diaz et al., 2019; lamm, 2011); extension administrators and evaluation specialists need to increase the training and resources available to creating plans of work and evaluation capacity among its workforce. as extension agent job responsibilities increase so does the demand for competence and skillsets to fulfill these responsibilities. florida extension agents may not be receiving enough professional development in these areas of need. though this study results are not generalizable beyond florida, other extension systems should ensure their onboarding processes are producing the desired results and limiting the amount of job dissatisfaction (i.e., maintenance factors) that can lead to employee turnover. the costs associated with onboarding and developing a new employee can be high (borr & young, 2010); however, if an agent is not performing at a sufficient level two to three years on the job, extension administrators might consider either creating professional improvement plans or parting ways with those employees, as the costs of employing an insufficient employee may be higher than hiring and training a new employee. extension researchers could use social capital theory to better understand the social networks of early career extension agents, how these networks form over time, and what type of impact social networks have on new extension agents. benge and beattie advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.87 52 references arnold, s. k. 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(2009). implications of maintenance and motivation factors on extension agent turnover. journal of extension, 47(1), article v47-1a2. http://www.joe.org/joe/2009february/a2.php united states department of agriculture. (2019). about us. https://nifa.usda.gov/extension benge and beattie advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.87 55 warner, p. d., & christenson, j. a. (1984). the cooperative extension service: a national assessment. westview press. uf/ifas extension. (n.d.). about extension. https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/who-we-are/aboutextension/ © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 2021_spring_sotl_plan easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 1, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. r. g. (tre) easterly iii, assistant professor, university of florida, 3007c rolfs hall po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, tre.easterly@ufl.edu , https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2807-512x 2. kelsey humphrey, agriculture teacher, strawberry crest high school, dover, fl kelseyhumphry68@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6707-1386 3. t. grady roberts, professor, university of florida, 117c bryant hall po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611, groberts@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-7850 1 exploring how covid-19 impacted selected school-based agricultural education teachers in the united states r.g. easterly1, k. humphrey2, g. roberts3 abstract the covid-19 pandemic of 2020 disrupted education all over the world. teachers and students were forced to adapt to online learning. in the united states (u.s.), school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers faced challenges in delivering what is traditionally a hands-on curriculum. this study used a pedagogical design capacity framework to understand the experiences of four sbae teachers at different career stages and different geographic regions of the u.s. our results showed dissatisfaction over initial changes, frustrations over changes to program outcomes, and impacts to teacher well-being. recommendations for research, practice, and policy are provided. keywords pedagogical design capacity; school-based agricultural education, united states, well-being, professional growth easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 2 introduction and problem statement the covid-19 pandemic of 2020 has had direct implications on schools in the u.s. and the students they served (ghebreyesus, 2020). schools moved from meeting in-person to delivering instruction online. some subjects faced greater challenges than others. school-based agricultural education (sbae) programs, which include classroom/lab teaching, future farmers of america (ffa), and supervised agricultural experiences (sae), have long relied on in-person delivery (phipps et al., 2008). like their peers, sbae teachers had to choose new approaches to teach remotely. remote instruction was a new concept introduced to many k-12 teachers during the covid-19 school closures. the central attribute of “remote instruction” is the separation by space during instruction (lindner et al., 2020) in the case of covid-19, k-12 students were forced into remoted instruction with no regard for their competence or motivation to be taught or learn remotely (lindner et al., 2020). this came with its own challenges of limited internet access, individual school-mandated instruction rules, and lack of resources. this study explored how covid-19 impacted sbae teachers. theoretical and conceptual framework the framework for pedagogical design capacity (pdc) served as the theoretical framework for this study (brown, 2009; knight-bardsley & mcnewill, 2016; see figure 1). according to brown (2009) pdc is “a teacher’s capacity to perceive and mobilize existing resources in order to craft instructional episodes” (p. 29). these resources can be either instructional resources or resources internal to the teacher. teachers can be introduced to new instructional resources, provided with professional development, and given other tools to improve their teaching. teachers can also improve their subject knowledge, develop new forms of pedagogical content knowledge, and adapt their beliefs about teaching (brown, 2009). figure 1 framework for pedagogical design capacity note. from knight-bardsley and mcneill (2016). used with permission. easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 3 knight-bardlsey and mcnewill (2016) recommended professional development to support teachers implementing reform-oriented curricular initiatives. other researchers have examined the value of layering professional development to help teachers implement curricular reform initiatives (e. g. maskit, 2011; selmer et al., 2015). during the school closures caused by the covid-19 pandemic, the resources teachers had at their disposal remained fairly static, however the context of instructional delivery shifted immediately. this study used the pdc framework to examine the changes that occurred immediately after the shutdown and as the teachers coped with the realities of teaching in an online environment. there are two identified categories of teacher coping behaviors: emotion-focused (palliative) and problem-focused (direct action) (admiraal, et al., 2000; kyriacou, 2001; leiter, 1991). problem-focused coping behaviors are the most effective for teachers as they include strategies of action, such as defining the problem, developing alternative solutions, evaluating the alternatives, selection of a solution, and finally taking action (thieman et al., 2012). by contrast, emotion-focused coping behaviors consist of defensive or escapist strategies including avoidance, minimization, and distancing (thieman et al., 2012). emotion-focused strategies focus more on dealing with the emotions associated with the stress, rather than handling the source of the stress (kyriacou, 2001). the coronavirus (covid-19) was that extra level of stress given to the teachers, and how they identified that stress helped dictate how their instruction changed during the brick-and-mortar school closures. according to the organisation for economic co-operation and development (reimers et al., 2020), educators are required to develop responses with specific contexts in mind to adapt to the realities faced by the covid-19 pandemic (reimers et al., 2020). these responses for teachers include improving curricular resources, creating professional development resources, and improving access to tools that help manage teaching and learning (reimers et al., 2020). lindner et al. (2020) found sbae teachers were not prepared to shift instruction to alternative modes in the spring of 2020 and recommended professional development to improve their teaching going forward. this investigation seeks to illuminate how nuanced efforts can be implemented to meet the needs of sbae teachers going forward by developing a more thorough understanding of how teacher pdc was impacted by the covid-19 pandemic. this investigation will help square the recommendations of lindner et al. (2020) with the response outlined by the organisation for economic co-operation and development (reimers et al., 2020) by using pdc to outline the response of sbae teachers to the pandemic. purpose the purpose of this study was to use a pdc lens to explore how covid-19 impacted four schoolbased agriculture education (sbae) teachers, from various regions in the u.s. and with varying amounts of teaching experience. easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 4 methods this study used a basic interpretative qualitative approach to examine how sbae teachers pdc changed because of the covid-19 shutdown (merriam, 2002). because teaching at a distance was an abrupt shift for sbae teachers, this method was employed to provide a rich description of how teachers reacted (ary et al., 2014). this study sought to explore how selected sbae teachers in the united states responded to the covid-19 pandemic. the university of florida provided a website that housed resources for sbae teachers to teach at a distance. the website had an optional questionnaire to collect information on how teachers were teaching the students. the final question of the instrument asked if teachers would allow us to contact them to ask some further questions about their teaching. the participants from this study were selected from that list. an effort was made to select teachers with a range of years, experience, and geographic diversity. four teachers were interviewed for this study. the results included thick, rich descriptions of the participants and used representative quotes to allow the reader to determine transferability to other teachers in various settings (creswell & miller, 2000). teachers are also described by their career stages as defined by fessler and christensen (1992) to give additional insight into their professional identity. pseudonyms were assigned to the participants to ensure confidentiality. carl had just finished his third year as an agriculture teacher in arkansas when the schools closed. he began teaching in the middle of the school year after being laid off from a job in the agriculture industry. his teaches at a small school in a rural community. because he was still learning his role in the school and developing his skill as a teacher, he was determined to be in the competency building phase (fessler & christensen, 1992). jan was in her seventh year of teaching in oklahoma when schools closed due to the covid-19 pandemic. she serves as a leader in the professional teachers’ association. she had planned to leave her current school in at the end of the school year and take another job in the same state. she was in the enthusiastic and growing career stage having developed a high level of competence in her teaching, continuing to seek ways to grow as a professional, and serving in leadership roles in her school and professional organization (fessler & christensen, 1992). anna taught at a large, urban school district in idaho as part of a program with 13 agriculture teachers. she was in her sixth year of teaching when schools closed. she had worked for a textbook reviewer and stay-at-home mom before entering the profession as a lateral-entry teacher. because of the frustration she expressed with the administration and working conditions, anna could be categorized as the career frustration stage (fessler & christensen, 1992). however, it seemed as if her entry to the frustration phase was recent and brought on by the change in her role because of covid-19. henry was in his 37th year as an agriculture teacher in florida when schools were shut down and is in the career wind-down or career-exit stage (fessler & christensen, 1992). his school easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 5 was in a rural area. despite his longevity in the field, he has worked to learn new things and reinvent his program, changing from the teaching general production agriculture to biotechnology and horticulture. the qualitative interview guide was developed by the researchers to examine the aspects of teachers’ pdc. the one-on-one, semi structured interviews were conducted using a zoom meeting platform in july and august of 2020. the interviews lasted approximately one hour and were conducted by an assistant professor in agricultural education. the interviews were recorded and transcribed using the automatic transcription feature available from the zoom software. the transcriptions were cleaned and checked for accuracy by the researchers. nvivo software was used to assist in the coding process. open and axial coding procedures were used to analyze the data (saldaña, 2015). the qualitative standards of rigor were addressed by using commonly accepted methods to ensure trustworthiness (lincoln & guba, 1985). data were collected and analyzed by one of the researchers. additionally, peer debriefing occurred regularly between the researcher collecting and analyzing data and a second researcher. an audit trail was conducted through the data collection, analysis, and reporting process and reviewed by the research team to ensure dependability. member checks were used to ensure credibility (lincoln & guba, 1985). a reflexivity statement is also important to establish trustworthiness (creswell & miller, 2000). the research team includes two agricultural education faculty who were former sbae teachers and one graduate student who is a current sbae teacher. the entire research team faced teaching impacts due to the covid-19 pandemic. dealing with our own teaching and personal challenges faced during the pandemic certainly influenced our interpretation of the interviews. collectively, the researchers believe in the value of sbae and the importance of teachers to implement the total program. findings three themes emerged from this study, each with two sub-themes. the first theme was how teachers responded to the initial changes at their school caused by covid-19. the second theme explored how teachers had to shift program outcomes. the final theme that emerged was the well-being of teachers. a summary is presented in figure 2. easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 6 figure 2 themes and sub-themes initial changes teachers reported facing challenges based on the initial changes due to covid-19. teachers felt a lack of agency and faced challenges in their instructional approaches. agency when the schools closed because of the outbreak of covid-19, the teachers did not seem to have any agency over the decision-making process for how things would continue. according to anna, “we were asked to do nothing for two weeks, we kind of just paused and waited.” jan was at a large livestock show when the decision was made to shut down and some of her students did not get to engage in the culminating experience of their semester-long project. according to jan, “[the decision] was out of my control, but the kids were really disappointed.” carl noted the directive from his school was to “to do a review. so, don't really try to introduce new concepts, because you're not there to explain it, or go over it.” teachers also felt they had little agency over grades. according to the teachers, the schools had blanket polices about how work could be graded. in anna’s school, “the district froze grades . . . the grades could no longer go down [only] up.” jan similarly noted, “anyone who had a grade they liked in any class, you didn’t have to do anything for the rest of the year.” according to carl, his school, “kind of said, hey, if they've done any kind of work at all, just give them the grade they would have had at the end of the third nine weeks.” carl went on to note, “i never got to see those [student work] packets. all we got was a yes, little johnny sent his back, little sally never sent her’s back. do their grades accordingly.” henry stated, “they put some limits on work that could be graded . . . electives could only have one graded assignment a week.” he also noted, “we were required to be in contact with all of our students at least once per week.” initial changes agency teaching approaches outcome changes ffa opportunities educational experiences teacher wellbeing exhaustion professional growth easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 7 however, the quality of contact was superficial. according to henry “our contact could count as an email” or the “remind app.” teaching approaches teachers reported mixed opinions about being forced to use new teaching approaches. one of the teachers noted using “alternative methods of instruction” packets to shift quickly at the initial onset of covid-19. according to carl, these packets were designed, “for snow days” so the students could do work from the packet and it “would count as a day of instruction for the state.” these packets were already at the student’s home and had two weeks of material for each of their classes. similarly, henry stated, “going to the purely distance learning or online learning was not a real big adjustment at our school. we have been a one-to-one school for [two years] so students are already using the online platform.” other teachers faced challenges. anna found it difficult to engage students in online learning. according to anna, “regardless of all my cheerleading that i was trying to do online, it [student engagement] just wasn't happening.” anna went on to share that students who were already satisfied with their grades did not wish to engage. jan observed that students were more engaged in online meetings that focused on keeping in contact with each other, rather than delivering content. jan concluded that “i think i had so many people show up to those zoom classes because they were there to see their friends.” she found interactive approaches like trivia, scavenger hunts, and “two truths and a lie” were most successful. technology issues also impeded engaging in meaningful learning. carl noted, “our area of internet is a huge problem. a lot of our students do not have access to reliable internet.” henry echoed this, “our internet is so sketchy still in this county. … i was running from home off a hotspot on my phone.” henry also explained student challenges, saying “i know a lot of kids were having to pull into the school parking lot [to get wi-fi] and dump their assignments every week.” henry also discussed how this was a barrier to synchronous teaching, as far as maybe thinking about me videoing myself doing like a lecture or doing like a demonstration or something like that i didn't feel like knowing the situation a lot of kids in internet wise, i mean, and go sit in the parking lot of mcdonalds on the wi fi and watch you for 30 minutes . . . so, i didn't feel like that was worth my effort to do that. outcome changes teachers reported how covid-19 forced the outcomes of their programs to change. they specifically noted changes related to ffa and other educational experiences. ffa opportunities carl noted the major goals of his program before the pandemic was to “bring back participation in ffa and just i wanted kids to get excited about ffa.” pre-covid-19, carl saw the ffa as a tool to keep students engaged and away from “drugs, alcohol, teen pregnancy.” he said, “i want to turn this program around and give these kids some hope you know that there is something more.” henry had a goal to use the new affiliate membership for ffa as a way of easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 8 engaging more “hispanic and black kids by saying, hey, you don't have to pay dues, you're already a part of this.” however, when the schools closed, those goals were put on hold. covid kind of destroyed that because then you don't have that face to face stuff with those kids to encourage them to do things and do sample stuff that they'd be doing an ffa contests in class to see if that perked any you know any interest in them, so that kind of hurt us on that because that's what's starting to be one of our pushes back there is to you know get more diversity in our, in our organization. (henry) anna noted the shift happened without her even reassessing the goals, saying “i didn't even reassess thinking what my new goals might be actually. after that happened that's probably something i should [have done].” educational experiences the participants also noted specific learning experiences their students missed out on because of the school closures. when describing a school-based enterprise, jan said, the kids were super bought into the herb business like we've spent all this time like coming up with our logo, they voted on the name. we had kind of like a general manager who would do the jobs every day. like assign them and oversee them. we had taken pictures like we've done all the product lines . . . so they spent all this time doing this i ordered their stuff. . .that just completely shattered and ended and there will be no closure because they're not going to do horticulture next year, they're cutting out that program. so those kids really lost out. henry shared a similar experience with his horticulture class, discussing how hands-on learning opportunities were not possible. without access to labs, students “just got to read about it and see diagrams of it over a powerpoint” (henry). henry went on to say, “we couldn't deliver hands on activities . . . so it was just awful.” anna shared having to cut out a capstone experience and research projects she was planning to do.” despite the abrupt shift, the participants seem to look forward to the next steps. carl stated, “you can't stop the train, but just, you can figure out where the next station is going to be. so just start with next year and start making a plan.” the teachers noted a hesitation in delivering new and engaging content to students. when jan was asked if she taught any new content to her students, she stated, “nope, and i probably regret that the most. i just didn't see how it was possible.” she went on to note that trying something new in the classroom may not work even under the best of conditions, so she felt powerless to try new things during the pandemic because of limitations of what students had access to in their homes. in her words, “the ‘what ifs’ kept me paralyzed.” when asked to describe her teaching goal after the shutdown, anna stated, “sadly, kind of getting through the curriculum.” anna went on to share that before the shutdown she had hoped her students would “fall in love and have a passion for the stuff that i'm teaching.” however, she had easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 9 challenges getting students to engage in the online learning. she shared that “maybe three four kids, and every class out of 37 that kind of hung in there, all of them already had a’s.” not all the teachers shared the same frustrations. henry was able to find some innovative ways to engage students. he shared about having his students do a scavenger hunt for food items in their homes. students had to read the nutrition labels to look for specific information and then take a picture of the item to submit. he did figure out that students “had to be in the picture where i know they didn't get it off of google.” teacher well-being teachers reported how covid-19 impacted their well-being in both positive and negative ways. two sub-themes emerged within this theme, exhaustion, yand professional growth. exhaustion teachers reported facing issues dealing with their own personal and professional stagnation when schools were closed. when schools closed, “the momentum just stopped like a giant train wreck” according to carl. anna noted additional responsibilities due to the closures, stating “i was in the greenhouse for probably four of five days planting plugs and caring for them.” she continued, “my days ended up being like 12-hour days, almost every day with school then maybe two of three hours for my kids to help with their schoolwork . . . so it was actually really stressful.” jan noted being “exhausted” by the end of the day despite working less hours than normal. jan noted that although she would have typically been spending extra time working with students after school in a normal year, when teaching by distance students asking for extra assistance proved to be exhausting. she said, “i hear it's because of this zoom fatigue or whatever and like this is not natural only be engaging with this part of our bodies.” for some, the added stress led to more serious issues than exhaustion. carl stated, “i can’t say i wasn’t depressed after spring break.” he went on to say, [my wife] was reading all this stuff everyday about, you know, covid, she’s ordering stuff online every day. just truckloads of groceries and vitamins and, you know, we’re not going to be able to shop . . . and on top of, you know, now everything i’d worked at the last year and half, two years, was just suddenly stopped. it really was depressing. it caused a lot of trouble at home and i hated it. professional growth the participants did find ways to engage in professional development opportunities during the shutdown. anna worked closely with the other agriculture teachers at her school to work on curriculum alignment. according to anna, “we've actually already gone through and realigned our district standards with our state standards when we use that time to really do some stuff, we needed to get done, but probably would have never found time to get done.” the participants reported having professional development provided by their school that was largely ineffective. according to jan, easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 10 during the time everyone was just in triage mode. they were looking at the people that literally haven't logged into their google classrooms ever set up and we're just like ‘oh, we need to support you’ and anyone that was above that was like ‘you guys got it’. anna noted that the professional development provided by her school was “100% around platforms, like how to use teams,” which was not particularly helpful for her because she was “comfortable with it.” henry did not find the professional development to be particularly helpful. according to henry, “i'm at the i'm at the stage in my career where about professional developed out.” he went on to state, “i'm not averse to new things . . . but it's just at that point we were all about on brain overload.” conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the teachers in this study faced numerous challenges and successes in the spring of 2020 due to covid-19. their personal accounts of their experiences were organized into three themes, each with two sub-themes. our first conclusion was that these teachers reported facing challenges based on the initial changes they were forced to make. they reported feeling a lack of agency in the process of making important decisions and frustrations about the ways they were being asked to teach. when viewing this through a pdc lens (brown, 2009; knight-bardsley & mcnewill, 2016), these changes impacted teacher resources (teacher beliefs and pedagogical content knowledge) as well as instructional resources (other tools and curriculum). based on the impacts to pdc, it is easy to understand why teachers felt the way they did. teachers were clearly exhibiting a problem-solving coping behavior (thieman et al., 2012) and wanted to have input in decisions which impacted themselves and their students. in the future, school administrators should consider the pdc of teachers and involve them in choices being made. sbae teachers are best positioned to consider the unique features of their curriculum and needs of their students (phipps et al., 2008). our second conclusion was that these teachers were worried about changes to outcomes of their programs. they specifically mentioned how they have had to adjust the ffa opportunities for students and how they also had to change the types of educational experiences they could provide to their students. when viewing these results through a pdc lens (brown, 2009; knightbardsley & mcnewill, 2016), covid-19 forced changes in classroom instruction, which affected program outcomes. sbae in the u.s. is typically operationalized in a 3-circle model including classroom/lab instruction, ffa, and supervised agricultural experience (sae) (phipps et al., 2008). although the pdc model only shows classroom instruction, the ffa and sae pieces of the 3-circle model can be viewed as out-of-class instructional activities. in a typical sbae program, the classroom/lab instruction part of the model is often operationalized through a wide variety of teaching labs and hands-on learning experiences for students (phipps et al., 2008). our results easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 11 revealed teacher frustrations about having to adjust their expected outcomes for all aspects of the 3-circle model. teacher likely need professional development on how to deliver a comprehensive 3-circle sbae curriculum when forced to use remote instruction practices. professional development on how to engage students in meaningful saes in a distance learning environment could be beneficial. it would also be insightful to document actual student outcomes to see how they compare to teacher perceptions of outcomes. our third conclusion was that the well-being of these teachers was impacted both negatively and positively. a negative impact was the exhaustion faced by teachers in trying to manage all the teaching labs at their schools without student support and learn a new way to teach. a positive impact was the opportunities for continued professional growth. when looking at this through a pdc lens (brown, 2009; knight-bardsley & mcnewill, 2016), professional growth is an instructional resource. interestingly, teacher exhaustion is not directly evident in the pdc model, however it is reasonable to assume that the physiological and emotional readiness of the teacher could have implications on all parts of the model. managing a comprehensive sbae program in normal times requires teachers to maintain and manage a variety of teaching labs, typically with support of students enrolled in the program (phipps, et al., 2008). removing those students created a burden on teachers. in the future, school administrators should provide additional human resources to assist teachers, thus allowing teachers to focus more on teaching and less on program management. this would allow teachers to better capitalize on their felt need for professional development to improve their online teaching abilities. organizations that provide professional development should work to create meaningful professional development to give sbae teachers opportunities beyond the district offerings. universities who prepare sbae teachers should examine their curricula to see how they might better prepare preservice teachers for online and blended teaching. although this study does not allow for wide-spread generalizations about how covid-19 affected all sbae teachers in the u.s., the transferability highlights some potential issues which should be examined at the local level in case a similar event happens in the future. the complexities of a sbae program, and perhaps other career and technical education programs, create challenges for sbae teachers that are different than other teachers with only classroom teaching responsibilities. school administrators should examine their policies and resource allocations to be better prepared if faced with a similar problem in the future. references admiraal, w. f., korthagen, f. a. j., & wubbels, t. (2000). effects of student teachers’ coping behaviour. british journal of educational psychology, 70(1), 33–52. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709900157958 easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 12 ary, d., jacobs, l. c., sorensen, c., & walker, d. a. (2014). introduction to research in education (9th ed.). wadsworth; cengage learning. brown, m. (2009). the teacher-tool relationship: theorizing the design and use of curriculum materials. in j. remillard, b. herbel-eisenmann, & g. lloyd (eds.), mathematics teachers at work: connecting curriculum materials and classroom instruction (pp. 17–36). routledge. cresswell, j. w., & miller, d. l. (2000). determining validity in qualitative inquiry. theory into practice, 39(3), 124–130. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1477543 fessler, r., & christensen, j. c. (1992). the teacher career cycle: understanding and guiding the pd of teachers. allyn and bacon ghebreyesus, t. a. (2020). world health organization director-general opening remarks at the media briefing on covid-19 [speech transcript]. https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-atthe-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020 knight-bardsley, a., & mcneill, k. (2016). teachers’ pedagogical design capacity for scientific argumentation. science education, 100(4), 645–672. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21222 kyriacou, c. (2001). teacher stress: directions for future research. educational review, 53(1), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131910120033628 leiter, m. p. (1991). coping patterns as predictors of burnout: the function of control and escapist coping patterns. journal of organizational behavior, 12(2), 123–144. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030120205 lincoln, y. s., & guba, e. g. (1985). naturalistic inquiry. sage publications. lindner, j., clemons, c., thoron, a., & lindner, n. (2020). remote instruction and distance education: a response to covid-19. advancements in agricultural development, 1(2), 53–64. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.39 maskit, d. (2011). teachers’ attitudes toward pedagogical changes during various stages of professional development. teaching and teacher education, 27(5), 851–860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2011.01.009 merriam, s. b. (2002). qualitative research in practice: examples for discussion and analysis. john wiley & sons, inc. phipps, l. j., osborne, e. w., dyer, j. e., & ball, a. (2008). handbook on agricultural education in public schools. thompson delmar learning. easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 13 reimers, f., schleicher, a., saavedra, j., & tuominen, s. (2020). supporting the continuation of teaching and learning during the covid-19 pandemic. organisation for economic cooperation and development. https://www.oecd.org/education/supporting-thecontinuation-of-teaching-and-learning-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.pdf saldaña, j. (2015). the coding manual for qualitative researchers. sage. selmer, s. j., luna, m. j., & rye, j. a. (2015). insights into teachers‘ experiences implementing garden based leaning: characterizing the relationship between the teacher and the curriculum. teachers college record, 117(9), 1–36. thieman, e., henry, a., & kitchel, t. (2012). resilient agricultural educators: taking stress to the next level. journal of agricultural education, 53(1), 81–94. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2012.01081 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). bunch_2020_uf_international_educator dossou kpanou et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 3, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. bidossessi m. g. dossou kpanou, graduate research associate, university of georgia, 203 lumpkin house, 145 cedar street, athens, ga, 30602, bd8245@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7969-0811 2. kathleen d. kelsey, professor and director of the impact evaluation unit, university of georgia, 203 lumpkin house, 145 cedar street, athens, ga, 30602, kdk@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9683-6993 3. kyle l. bower, postdoctoral research associate, university of georgia, 203 lumpkin house, 145 cedar street, athens, ga, 30602, kbower@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6043-356x 42 evaluation of a federally funded research network using social network analysis b. dossou kpanou 1, k. kelsey2, k. bower3, abstract united states federal agencies fund research to promote discovery and innovation. most agencies require collaboration because teams promote productivity to a greater degree than singular researchers. however, the functionality and productivity of collaboration is poorly understood. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the collaborative structure of a federally funded entomology research team to determine the characteristics of the network structure and its impact on research collaboration using social network analysis (sna) methodology. an online survey and interviews were used to collect data. the theories of social network, strong and weak ties, and scientific collaboration were employed to determine the degree of collaboration among team members. we found a low-density pattern of collaboration that was associated with: (a) a centralized pattern, (b) the presence of sub-teams functioning like sub-networks, and (c) the presence of less interactive members. our results confirm that the sna approach was useful for evaluating network collaboration with innovative indicators to assess the dynamics of scientific collaboration. the study was limited by non-response. future research should focus on collecting sna data longitudinally of the whole network to determine how networking structure and benefits evolves over time, and how strong and weak ties impact scientific discovery. keywords scientific collaboration, network connectivity, evaluation. dossou kpanou et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.65 43 introduction and problem statement united states (u.s.) federal agencies fund research to promote discovery and innovation. most agencies require teams to collaborate on successful awards because they promote productivity to a greater degree than research projects executed by a single investigator (contandriopoulos et al., 2018; lee & bozeman, 2005). academic collaboration is also important as it fosters scientific discovery and generates knowledge (katz & martin, 1997; lee & bozeman, 2005). accordingly, agencies such as the u.s. department of agriculture (usda, 2019) and the national institute of food and agriculture (nifa) seek to enhance the productivity and efficiency of scientific research by requiring collaboration as stated in their request for proposals (katz & martin, 1997; lee & bozeman, 2005). the development of new scientific networks, or the continuation of existing collaborations, depends on the success and productivity of previous collaboration. researchers who have worked together in the past are likely to continue their partnerships on future scientific projects (contandriopoulos et al., 2018), while research networks are strengthened by their ability to secure additional funding having demonstrated past success. despite the plethora of evidence supporting scientific effectiveness among collaborative research teams, their structure and functionality has not been adequately evaluated in the literature. social network analysis (sna) is a viable methodological approach that provides researchers with scientific tools to evaluate the structure of collaboration within networks (borgatti et al., 2018). sna enabled our exploration of emergent characteristics of a federally funded research team focused on solving an invasive pest problem and provided an opportunity to understand the functionality of this network. furthermore, the evaluation of ongoing scientific networking provided evidence needed to improve research productivity and future collaboration among the team. theoretical and conceptual framework this study integrated principles from social network theory (borgatti et al., 2009 & 2018), strong and weak ties theory (granovetter, 1973; 1983; rademacher & wang, 2014), and scientific collaboration theory (olson et al., 2008) to develop a comprehensive approach for describing a social network originated for the purpose of executing a federally funded research project to address a major pest infestation damaging fruits in the u.s. social network theory (snt) explains the essence of interactions between members of a network and emphasizes the study of network characteristics, configurations, and architectural features (borgatti et al., 2018). additionally, snt moves beyond the attributes of individuals to emphasize the relationships that form within a network by mapping connections (schmidt, 2007) between team members, or ties, that constitute the channels for exchanging resources such as knowledge, funding, and access to infrastructure (borgatti et al., 2018). the exchange of resources is strongly influenced by a member’s position within the network and is vital for dossou kpanou et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.65 44 accessing benefits associated with networks (hansen, 2009). furthermore, the sociometry of social networks provides strong indicators of productivity (hansen, 2009) because it gives insight into the collaboration structure of relationships among members who are involved in creating, disseminating, and using knowledge that adds to team functionality (dunn, 1983). strong and weak ties theory guided our analysis of network connectivity and information flow (granovetter,1973, 1983; rademacher & wang, 2014). strong ties within a network suggest frequent interrelations that assume better collaboration within a network (borgatti, 2018; granovetter, 1973). alternatively, weak ties are characterized by distant and infrequent interrelations between members of a network, suggesting low reciprocity among members (granovetter, 1973; rademacher & wang, 2014). while weak ties appear less advantageous, they benefit a network by providing a bridge between two unknown, or weakly connected, members (leij & goyal, 2011). scientific collaboration theory is underpinned by communication theory (olson et al., 2008; olson & olson, 2000; sonnenwald, 2007). research indicates that remote scientific contributors communicate less frequently than contributors working at the same institution (ding et al., 1998; katz, 1994; olson et al., 2008), which leads to difficulties in sharing knowledge and resources among collaborators. this theory helped us to understand how team members in this study communicated from geographically disparate locations, placing their ability to communicate at a disadvantage. olson et al. developed the theory of remote scientific collaboration, which recognized digital communication as an effective way for remote scientific researchers to exchange information, data, ideas, and results. their theory indicated that communication technologies such as videoconferencing, e-mail, and instant messaging helped to circumvent the geographical distance by allowing ongoing conversations among members (ding et al., 1998; katz, 1994). olson and olson (2000) noted that despite access to advanced communication technologies, remote collaboration remains challenging. purpose the purpose of the study was to evaluate the collaborative structure of a federally funded scientific research network. accordingly, the primary research question was to what extent did the current characteristics of the federally funded research network structure impact the research collaboration? this question guided our evaluative inquiry into how the research project fostered transdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing among team members. methods the study was conducted through a sequential mixed-methods evaluation design (mertens, 2018). our approach was exploratory with a stronger emphasis placed on quantitative data. qualitative data was used to triangulate the survey and observational findings (fraenkel et al., 2012). the sequential design allowed us to identify factors impacting the cohesion of the dossou kpanou et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.65 45 network via survey and then gather explanatory data via interviews that aided our interpretation of the results. data collection the evaluation team began data collection with participant observations (patton, 2001) during monthly team meetings, webinars, conferences, and email correspondence. observational data gathered before and after the survey data added to the contextualization of relationship patterns observed in the network sociograms (figures 1 and 2) and helped us to frame the survey questions, known as an ethnographic sandwich approach (borgatti et al., 2018). to recruit for the survey, all team members (n = 52) including research faculty (n = 16), postdoctoral research associates (n = 7), advisory board members (n = 15), laboratory technicians (n = 7), a graduate research associate (n = 1), and undergraduate students (n = 6) were first informed of the study during monthly team meetings and then sent a formal invitation to participate via email with the survey link embedded. two follow-up emails were sent to nonresponders. when necessary, we called participants to encourage survey completion (dillman et al., 2008). thirty-six participants completed the self-administered survey through qualtrics® for a 69% response rate. purposeful sampling (mertens & wilson, 2012) resulted in telephone interviews with five faculty and one graduate student. the interviews were recorded with consent and lasted an average of 36 minutes each. while the student and faculty were asked similar questions, the semi-structured interview protocols differed slightly taking into consideration their specific roles. advisory board members did not respond to our requests for interviews, so we emailed all of them requesting written responses to five open-ended questions regarding their overall interaction with the project. three of 15 advisory board members responded by providing written responses. data analysis survey data were cleaned by removing missing data. non-respondents who were referred to by other team members were kept in the dataset to ensure completeness of the network analysis (borgatti et al., 2018). to protect participants' privacy, all names were changed. once the data were properly formatted, we used ucinet 6 software to design the corresponding sociograms (figures 1 and 2) and computed the following sna indicators: (a) density, (b) degree (including in-degree and out-degree), (c) degree centralization (including indegree-centralization and outdegree-centralization), (d) betweenness, (e) dyad reciprocity, and (f) betweenness centrality. qualitative interview data were transcribed through an online program, otter.ai (lang, 2020). transcripts and observation notes were then uploaded into atlas.ti 8 for windows, where the data were stored, managed, and analyzed (friese, 2019). the coding process focused on acquiring meaning from interviewees’ perspectives by identifying significant quotations related to collaboration within the data (linneberg & korsgaard, 2019). we performed line-by-line dossou kpanou et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.65 46 coding by using the group code collaboration and two main codes, valuing collaboration and barriers/difficulties to collaboration. findings overall, the network had a low-density value, which at first glance implies that it was less connected and less cohesive than a high-density network. however, through our mixed-method analysis we identified three explanatory factors which contributed to a nuanced understanding of the low-density network, including: (a) a centralized network pattern, (b) the presence of sub-teams functioning like sub-networks, and (c) the presence of less-interactive members. we first describe the a less connected network pattern using the sna metric of density and present two sociograms to illustrate this finding (figures 1 and 2). next, we explore the centralized pattern of the network and the presence of sub-teams using specific sna indicators and the sociograms. finally, we introduce qualitative data to explain how the less-interactive members contributed to reducing the overall network density. the less connected structure of the research network most of the team members had previously collaborated on a federally funded project, therefore, it was necessary to examine the structure of the current network against a baseline. to obtain a baseline, the question, “who have you worked with prior to this project?” was included in the survey. results from this question made it possible to assess changes in interactions and interconnections within the team between two time periods. table 1 compares the indicators characterizing the structure of the network at baseline and at the time of data collection. findings revealed that the baseline had a density of 13.3% while that of the current network was 18.2%, suggesting that the overall professional connections within the network evolved over time but remained relatively low. table 1 comparison of indicators characterizing the structure of the network indicators network baseline at the time of data collection density 0.133 0.182 number of ties (degree) 326 445 degree centralization 0.287 0.776 in-centralization 0.323 0.294 out-centralization 0.261 0.835 dyad reciprocity 0.374 0.422 while the network density had increased and was visually perceptible when comparing the two sociograms (figures 1 and 2), most of the members who were peripheral at baseline remained peripheral, thus, maintaining the low density of the whole network. the peripheral members dossou kpanou et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.65 47 were mainly advisory board members (names starting with letter a), students (names starting with letter s), and laboratory technicians (names starting with letter l). generally, the indicators of the current network showed improvement in the number of ties, degree centralization, and dyad reciprocity between the baseline and at the time of the study. on average, at the time of data collection, each member shared information and data with nine other members of the network, higher than 6.5 at baseline. in addition, when compared to its initial structure (figure 1), figure 2 visually supports the findings indicating that the current research network has a more connected and centralized structure. figure 1 sociogram of members’ professional acquaintances prior to the project (baseline) note. names starting with i are the principal investigators (red), names starting with c are the co-principal investigators (pink), names starting with p are postdocs (orange), names starting with a are the advisory board members (yellow), names starting with l are laboratory staff (green triangle), names starting with s are students (green square), and black circles are nonrespondents. dossou kpanou et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.65 48 figure 2 sociogram of members’ professional acquaintances at the time of study note. names starting with i are the principal investigators (red), names starting with c are the co-principal investigators (pink), names starting with p are postdocs (orange), names starting with a are the advisory board members (yellow), names starting with l are laboratory staff (green triangle), names starting with s are students (green square), and black circles are nonrespondents. the network centralization as a factor of the network low connectedness the structure of the research network, characterized by a centralized pattern with few central members and several peripheral members, explains the low connectedness of the network. initially, the baseline network (figure 1) exhibited a structure with relatively low degree centralization, 0.287. at the time of data collection, the network became more centralized, which is substantiated by a relatively high degree centralization value of 0.776. for instance, central members, namely ivan (the project director), ismael, peter, and alice (figure 2) played a key role in disseminating information and data within the network. in particular, the findings revealed that with a degree centrality of 65 and a betweenness centrality score of 407.19, ivan was the most central member of the research network. additionally, out-degree and in-degree centralization values supported the centralization pattern of the network around a few central members. the out-centralization, which is the total number of connections going out from all members, was 0.835 (table 1), suggesting that there were high outgoing interactions compared to the total possible outgoing interactions. on the other hand, the in-degree centralization, which is the total number of connections being received by members, was 0.294 for the whole network, meaning there were fewer incoming interactions compared to the total possible incoming interactions. both changes were significant at the 0.05 level (p-value = 0.002 for out-degree, p-value = 0.000 for in-degree). dossou kpanou et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.65 49 the sub-teams as a factor affecting the network connectivity the dyad reciprocity was 0.422, which means that from all possible relationships between all pairs of members 42% of the connections occurred. this indicates a relatively low reciprocity among the network and supports the low connectivity finding of the whole network. furthermore, we explored sub-teams’ characteristics from four sub-teams (table 2). while we did identify more than four sub-teams within the network, we were unable to detect significant results due to small sub-team size (3 or fewer members), low interaction within the sub-teams, and low response rates within the sub-teams. table 2 characteristics of sub-teams sub-teams # of members density dyad reciprocity sub-team 1 4 0.91 0.83 sub-team 2 6 0.57 0.70 sub-team 3 5 0.55 0.37 sub-team 4 8 0.83 0.67 note. the four sub-teams had at least four members each. the density of each sub-network was higher than the whole network density value (18%). also, three of the four sub-teams had higher dyad reciprocity than the whole network value (42%), indicating that networking was stronger within sub-teams than the whole network. for example, sub-team 1 and sub-team 4 densities regarding information sharing were respectively 91% and 83%, suggesting well-connected sub-teams with a high flow of information supported by their relatively high dyad reciprocity of 83% and 67%. also, apart from sub-team 2, all other sub-teams reported having frequent interactions substantiated by high levels of internal interactions (table 3). table 3 frequency of interaction within sub-teams sub-teams # of members rarely sometimes often very often most often sub-team 1 4 2 1 3 0 6 sub-team 2 6 10 5 0 2 4 sub-team 3 5 0 0 2 9 5 sub-team 4 8 0 21 17 15 3 note. the four sub-teams had at least 4 members. dossou kpanou et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.65 50 low connectivity within sub-teams (e.g., sub-team 3) and less frequent interactions (e.g., subteam 2) is explained by the absence of relationships between some sub-team members and by the few reciprocal relationships between them. this impacted the connectivity of the whole network. participant observations and interviews further supported this finding. for instance, during meetings and conferences we observed self-distinction made between the university research teams. i.e. the researchers identified themselves based on their employer’s affiliation versus members of the whole network (entomology team). further, interview data supported this pattern of collaboration. for example, charlie (faculty) stated, “truth be told, we have been working more independently than we did before. we are working more on being parallel with the [other sub] teams”. faculty reported that in practice, because their collaboration encompassed independent research, the sub-teams worked separately from the whole network. although we cannot determine if this distinction will affect the research outputs over time, it explains the emerging pattern of interactions with more intense collaborations within the sub-teams. the meaning of less interactive members the qualitative data provided insights into the nature of interactions within the whole network and explained the effect of less interactive members on low connectivity by contextualizing interactions with each other and within sub-teams. while sub-team and group (faculty, student, advisory board) members’ interactions with each other were infrequent, they were productive. student activity was most important to bolstering research outputs. faculty reported that their student advisees, both graduate and undergraduate, were deeply involved in the research activities. faculty were most connected to their student advisees. however, interactions between students and faculty beyond their sub-teams was limited and had the effect of decreasing the whole network density value. sub-team 4 worked on the economic aspect of the project, differing from the other sub-teams who were involved in entomology experiments. sub-team 4 interactions with the whole network were limited because of their unique mission. lucas, graduate student in sub-team 4, reported that collaborations with other sub-teams would occur later in the project. he said, “a lot of their lab studies are not going to be directly applicable to our economic stuff. it is going to be over the next year that [we are] going to be collaborating a lot more with [the other subteams].” lucas added that interactions between his sub-team and the other sub-teams would determine who they would most likely work with in the future. advisory board members’ infrequent interactions with faculty also lowered the whole network density value. participant observations noted low attendance of advisory members at conferences and webinars. faculty said that advisory members were more interested in receiving information regarding pest solutions than discussing emerging research findings, which was the focus of most of the team meetings and webinars. this finding was also triangulated by advisory board members in their responses to the questionnaire. of the three who responded, two wrote they only interacted with the research sub-team located in their state of residence and the third did not mention any interaction with faculty. although advisory dossou kpanou et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.65 51 board members’ involvement in research meetings was infrequent, faculty expressed the importance of their engagement during farm demonstrations and commented on their positive contributions toward research conducted on their farms. while the mostly unilateral transfer of information from faculty to students and advisory board members led to low density values, knowledge and resources were shared bilaterally to promote the advancement of research that benefited the whole network. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations overall, the whole network demonstrated a relative low-density value, which suggests a weakly connected network. according to borgatti et al. (2018), the judgment of high or low connectivity as measured by network density depends on the context. to better understand the relatively low connectivity of the network, we explored the centralized pattern of the network, the presence of sub-teams, and the meaning of less interactive members within the network. we expected the whole network to have a high-density value that theoretically supports a wellconnected network because it was a closed network focused on solving an invasive pest issue (borgatti et al., 2018). however, the overall low density of the network was associated with the centralized pattern of the network. the central members, including the project director (ivan), sent information and data to members more frequently than they received it. thus, they facilitated the interconnection between sub-teams, resulting in a positive influence on collaboration, building on weak ties theory (zamzami & schiffauerova, 2017) that suggests scientists who are central within their networks have a positive impact on the flow of information across sub-teams who may not otherwise be connected in the same whole network. the low connectedness value of the whole network can also be explained by the presence of sub-teams, which functioned like mini networks within the whole network. sub-team internal interactions were governed by pre-assigned research questions at project initiation. therefore, there was little need for sub-teams to communicate frequently with other sub-teams to accomplish their work. this finding is consistent with hoang et al. (2019) who concluded that working on the same research topics is an essential factor that encourages interaction between faculty. given the importance that funding agencies, especially nifa, place on promoting collaborative research, we recommend greater collaboration between sub-teams by creating overlapping research questions that require input from the whole network (contandriopoulos et al., 2018; defazio et al., 2009). consistent with the literature regarding the value of cohesion inherent among weakly tied members (granovetter, 1973, 1983), our finding suggests a relatively strong collaboration among the whole network despite its relatively low connectivity value. while students and advisory board members did not regularly interact with faculty, they contributed significantly to the overall research agenda. therefore, we conclude that the quality of a scientific dossou kpanou et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.65 52 collaboration between and among sub-team members did promote the advancement of scientific discovery and fostered future collaboration, which is indicative of a strong network collaboration (defazio et al., 2009; hoang et al., 2019; olson et al., 2008). we recommend that researchers working within a network include overlapping research questions and implement activities that require frequent input from all network members. such an approach should foster better interaction between sub-networks, foster participation of all members, improve overall network connectivity, and foster future collaboration among team members. the study was limited by non-respondents. sub-team 3 remains underexplored due to low interaction within the sub-team and the whole network. including non-respondents in the sociograms (figures 1 and 2) influenced the number of ties; and therefore, it is possible we may have overstated density values (borgatti et al., 2018). nevertheless, the contributions of this study toward better understanding the structure and function of collaborative teams highlights the contextual factors that negatively impacted the overall connectivity of the research network. future research should focus on collecting sna data longitudinally of the whole network to determine how the network evolves over time, and how strong and weak ties impact scientific discovery over the life of the project. acknowledgements this research was supported by funding from the usda-nifa organic agriculture research and extension initiative (award # 2018-51300-28434). references borgatti, s. p., everett, m. g., & freeman, l. c. 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(2017). the impact of individual collaborative activities on knowledge creation and transmission. scientometrics, 111(3), 1385–1413. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-017-2350-x © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 15-manuscript-215-4-11-20200213 dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 1, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. kim dooley, professor, texas a&m university 600 john kimbrough dr., office 240, college station, texas 77843-2116 k-dooley@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5654-5988 2. catherine e. dobbins, ph.d. graduate assistant, university of georgia 204c four towers, athens, ga 30602 catherine.dobbins@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5787-8752 3. leslie d. edgar, associate dean and director, agricultural experiment station, new mexico state university box 30003, msc 3bf, las cruces, nm 88003-8003 ledgar@nmsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7987-8670 4. bradley d. borges, senior lecturer, texas state university 601 university dr., san marcos, tx 78666 b_b518@txstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5350-2405 5. sarah l. jones, university of arkansas 1371 w altheimer dr., fayetteville, ar, 72704 slj017@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9569-222x 6. jose a. hernandez, university of arkansas 21280 n. kennefick rd., acampo, ca 95220 jose.hernandez@ejgallo.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5010-5148 7. amanda birnbaum, texas a&m university tamu 2133, college station, tx 77843-2133 abirnbaum@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9425-3815 1 a cross case synthesis of the social and economic development of three guatemalan coffee cooperatives k. dooley1, c. e. dobbins2, l. e. edgar3, b. d. borges4, s. l. jones5, j. a. hernandez6, a. birnbaum7 abstract cooperatives in the international coffee sector can help build farmer capacity, increase coffee productivity, and improve farmer welfare. the purpose of this research was to examine guatemalan coffee cooperatives to determine unique attributes, social capital perspectives, and social impacts on small holder farmers. four perspectives on social capital and economic development were examined across cases: (a) the communitarian view, (b) the networks view, (c) the institutional view, and (d) the synergy view. the research design was mini-ethnographic case study with cross-case synthesis. the emerging themes were (a) economic impacts, (b) multiple generation farmers, (c) capacity building trainings to improve crop management, (d) use of shade trees and organic matter for soil amendments, (e) service learning/agritourism, and (f) use of microloans to enhance economic development. based upon the exploratory cases, each community had similar and unique internal and external interactions that could be triangulated with social capital perspectives. networks were formed between members of the co-ops (intracommunity) giving a sense of community and purpose (i.e. agritourism, service learning) and external sources (i.e. workshops/trainings and a usaid research plot). the concept of social capital perspective gives insight into an explanation of economic development. keywords social capital perspectives; impacts; networks; international agricultural development dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.15 2 introduction and problem statement guatemala, despite a rich cultural tradition and vibrant history, is considered one of the poorest countries in latin america and the caribbean, due to unequal incomes, malnourished children, political insecurity, and a lack of skilled workers and infrastructure (cia.gov/the-worldfactbook). many of these factors result from the destabilization of guatemala’s political structure and its agricultural sector. around 50% of guatemala’s population resides in rural areas and relies on agriculture to meet daily needs (aguilar-støen, taylor, & castellanos, 2016). rural poverty and food insecurity are major issues facing guatemala (lopez-riadura et al., 2019). over 70% of those impoverished live in rural areas and rely on agriculture for their livelihood and food source. thus, agricultural means for improved livelihoods are critical for these regions of guatemala. the country’s location and climate make it well suited for the production of coffee. coffee is the third largest industry in guatemala with approximately 100,000 coffee farmers and 250 coffee cooperatives. coffee production has transformed dramatically in guatemala over the past two decades, mostly driven by changing tastes among international consumers for high-quality coffee (fischer & victor, 2014). previously, the coffee industry in guatemala consisted of a few large producers, who operated fincas (plantations) producing a high-volume, low-cost, and lowquality product. today, many former coffee laborers support their families by producing and selling coffee outside of the finca production model. these small-scale producers view coffee as an opportunity for a better life through upward social and economic mobility (fischer & victor, 2014). coffee not only represents income-generating potential, but also a way to educate their children, buy more land, and obtain greater financial security. studies have shown that cooperatives in the international coffee sector can build farmer capacity, increase coffee productivity, and improve farmer welfare (ortega et al., 2019). cooperatives and the institutions that support cooperatives help smallholder coffee farmers access alternative income sources, such as agritourism (lyon, 2013). the international cooperative alliance (ica.coop/en) defines a cooperative as a people-centered enterprise controlled by and for the members to realize a common economic, social, and cultural need in a democratic and equal way. the role of cooperatives and institutional relationships in the coffee sector cannot be underestimated, as the coffee industry is socioeconomically fragile, primarily due to the coffee rust epidemic and its impact on farmer food security, climate change, and other pests and diseases (avelino et al., 2015). cooperatives focus on fairness, equality, and social justice to create sustainable enterprises. however, little is known about individual co-op function within el café guatemalteco (ecg, pseudonym) to determine what is working across various communities and under what social capital perspective they function. theoretical and conceptual framework in developing countries, improvement in income and welfare often depend upon generating productive employment and value-added opportunities from agricultural production. farmers dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.15 3 face higher costs, have limited access to bank loans, and are vulnerable to price fluctuations. thus, belonging to a cooperative can provide a collective advantage to improve economic development and sustainability. however, the “performance of agrarian cooperatives strongly depends on the interaction between internal cohesion and external exchange” (ruben & heras, 2012, p. 463). agricultural cooperatives must be established based upon mutual trust and reciprocity among members. the creation of agricultural cooperatives helps smallholder producers develop economies of scale and scope (blokland & gouet, 2007). social capital theory has been used as a theoretical framework in a variety of disciplines such as corporate governance (kim & cannella, 2008), marketing (glenane-antoniadis, whitwell, & bell, 2003), and community resilience (aldrich & meyer, 2014). diaz, drumm, ramirez-johnson and oidjarvstu (2002) used social capital theory to study economic development and food security in peru. these authors describe the theory as “social relationships, ties and networks characterizing human social systems (p. 483). woolcock and narayan (2000) add to this definition with the “norms and networks that enable people to act collectively” in reference to economic development (p. 226). woolcock and narayan (2000) describe four perspectives on social capital and economic development: (a) the communitarian view, (b) the networks view, (c) the institutional view, and (d) the synergy view. the perspective of the communitarian view is that of local associations with community groups and voluntary organizations as the primary actors. the policy prescriptions of the communitarian view recognize social assets of the poor. in the networks view, bonding and bridging within community ties are the perspective, with actors being entrepreneurs, business groups, and information brokers. here the policy is decentralized to create enterprise zones and bridge social divides. for the institutional view, political and legal institutions are the perspective with private and public sectors giving policy more transparency and accountability. in the synergy view, community networks and statesociety relations provide the perspective with community groups, civil society, firms, and states being the actors. in the synergy perspective, policy is focused on co-production, complementarity, participation, and linkages to enhance capacity and scale of local organizations (wookcock & narayan, 2000). purpose the purpose of this research was to examine three coffee cooperatives that are working with ecg to determine unique attributes, social capital perspectives, and social impacts on small holder farmers in guatemala. the research objectives were to: (a) describe each cooperative for common and unique attributes; (b) determine unique and common characteristics across communities; and (c) analyze social capital perspectives to evaluate social impact within the communities for economic and agricultural sustainability. dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.15 4 methods case study is best used as a research design to illuminate decisions made within a bounded system (community) and the results or impacts of those decisions (yin, 2018). historically the case study design comes from the chicago school of sociology with participant-observation as a data collection technique (platt, 1992). its epistemological orientation is interpretivist or naturalistic. case study “investigates a contemporary phenomenon (the case) in depth and within its real-world context” (yin, 2018, p. 15). the researchers specifically used the miniethnographic case study design (fusch et al., 2017) to guide data collection in the field, which blends ethnographic and case study research designs and is beneficial when researchers are bounded by a short time in the field (specifically two weeks for this case). ethnography is “the description and interpretation and interpretation of a culture or social group” (holloway, brown, & shipway, 2010, p. 76); however, this research design is often accompanied by extensive time and immersion within a specific cultural or social group. a mini-ethnography, by contrast, is used for a specific and narrow inquiry when time constraints exist (white, 2009). researchers are able to understand the cultural norms, values, and roles of participants within a particular context, while limited by time constraints, due to the various methods employed with this approach. this research design uses an ethnographic approach “bounded within a case study protocol that is more feasible” for researchers with limited time and resources and thus was an appropriate design for this project (fusch et al., 2017). this study conducted three exploratory cases with a cross-case synthesis (yin, 2018). four participant observers visited three coffee cooperatives in guatemala through a service-learning experience, each through different lenses: sustainable agriculture, crop management, motivation, and improved livelihoods. the specific methods used by the researchers included direct observation, field notes, reflective journals, informal and unstructured interviews, and participant observation (fusch et al., 2017). the service-learning experience was designed for the researchers to extract as much observation and dialogue from each day as possible, and this was further assisted through the questioning route developed by the researchers aligning with the research questions. each researcher conducted daily observations and conversations in the natural setting over a two-week period with field notes and narrative write-ups after each interaction. debriefing sessions with the research team were conducted with reflective journals kept throughout the process. the ngo and three cooperatives were given pseudonyms to protect their confidentiality. data themes emerged through open coding from multiple sources of evidence based upon interactions with the participants and communicated through a translator. it is assumed that the translators were able to adequately communicate the views of the farmers. each researcher created an individual case report from their data collected from individual interviews, the daily field notes, participant observations, and reflective journals. within-case patterns were crossexamined for data triangulation. the use of participant quotations offered a deeper understanding of “a day in the life of a guatemalan coffee farmer.” dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.15 5 the criteria used for judging the quality of the cases were (a) construct validity, (b) internal validity, (c) external validity, and (d) reliability (yin, 2018). for construct validity, multiple sources of evidence were collected from each key informant (participant observer) who created a case from their emic perspective. observations, informal interviews, and field notes/reflexive journals provided triangulation for data sources. for internal validity, open coding was used across the cases created by the participant observers to determine emergent themes and patterns to begin building explanations. for external validity, social capital theory perspectives were considered for each case with the use of replication logic across the three cooperatives (cross-case analyses). reliability was ensured with maintaining a chain of evidence in an audit trail. findings el café guatemalteco (ecg, pseudonym) is a non-profit agency that works with smallholder coffee farmer cooperatives in guatemala to create economic opportunities that improve their quality of life. coffee requires a great deal of processing and specialized machinery for processing. selling unprocessed coffee (cherries) brings in much less money so the ecg coffee cooperative focused on organizing co-op farmers to produce specialty coffee and to share the cost of obtaining processing equipment. it began in 2005 after the founder had served as a volunteer in guatemala and wanted to turn coffee production into a sustainable livelihood. the goal was for smallholder farmers to work collaboratively to improve coffee quality through better processing techniques and improving cooperative infrastructure. the ngo purchased the coffee and negotiated a fair price, offered microloans with low interest rates, and provided training and support to improve farming practices. ecg empowered farmers to process their coffee, allowing farmers to increase profits from their sales. there are five partner co-ops with about 300 farmers currently working with ecg. this agency helps facilitate opportunities for these smallholder farmers to increase self-sufficiency and financial stability, which can lead to business growth and increased access to education, as well as assist with financial mobility for the farmers and their families. the co-ops share exporting licenses to get their coffee to united states and canada markets. most farmers had been working the same way with the crops before the co-op. coffee farmers were able to sell their product for higher prices in new markets. thus, providing them the ability to give their children an opportunity for education. as with many small-scale farming operations, family members are all engaged during the four months of the coffee harvest season. most of the farm lands were located on the sides of volcanoes where soils were fertile but acidic. farmers readily manage their lands with the use of organic matter to feed and amend the soils. the pruning of shade trees was done at a time where sun exposure was needed by the coffee trees, but also the debris was used to assist with the retention of moisture in the soil. coffee trees were also pruned every 14-20 years (about 12 trees a year in rotation to ensure enough trees were fruiting for the next season) to ensure the trees were fruitful and productive. it takes about two years to begin harvesting from the same tree after heading [trimming the top back] the tree compared to three years to harvest when planted from seed. dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.15 6 case one: entre las montañas de fuego (emf) (the cooperative between the volcanoes) this cooperative was initially persuaded by an american company to grow zucchini. after this crop failed, the farmers were hesitant to start a coffee cooperative. initially only seven farmers agreed to participate. the first export of coffee into the united states was stopped by customs, causing further hesitation. however, the coffee cleared customs and the income generated was more than they expected. they now roast all of their coffee “in house” and have an exporting license. currently, this coffee cooperative has 28 active members. most of the children in the community had some schooling, but some were returning to the community and have started a youth coffee co-op (segunda generación). these children have returned to the community after their education to work on their family’s land or to purchase their own land through ecg loans. in addition to education, cooperative members used their income from coffee to add rooms onto homes, improve infrastructure, purchase a vehicle to transport goods, and to expand existing services. having additional income also improved access to healthcare and the overall lifestyle with additional economic stability. a participant indicated that “…[coffee] allowed me to have cinder block walls instead of [sugar] cane.” the coffee fields are often planted on the side of the volcanoes with long walks [from their homes] required. one participant stated, “joining the coffee cooperative allowed me to purchase a truck.” emf has an extensive service-learning program (agritourism) that is coordinated through ecg. the farmers offer tours of their farm with the option to assist with agricultural work—picking coffee. they offer dinner or lunch at the farmers’ homes, roasting and grinding coffee by hand, pepian cooking (traditional guatemalan stew made with pumpkin seeds), and textile workshops. ecg provided low interest microloans for emf to purchase mechanized de-pulpers, mills, a coffee roaster, and an export license. farmers were able to purchase more land as well. one farmer in this cooperative participated in a usaid experimental plot to conduct variety and cultivar trials to determine which cultivar grows and produces best in the climate and elevation. there were three cultivars being grown (two trials, one control) and also one hybrid variety. case two: boxha’ (mayan word for coffee) boxha’ is located in an area known for its strong mayan cultural traditions. the community was founded with the original intent to create a seed bank of the native plants around the region to serve as a teaching tool for future generations. coffee cultivation provided improved economic opportunities. a tropical storm hit this region and boxha’ lost 15 years of documented work with the seed bank and land conservation efforts. ecg began working with them in 2015. there are now 35 active members of the co-op, most who are second or third generation coffee farmers. some youth came back after their education to farm coffee, but the youth have not organized into their own co-op. one farmer had eight children, with three of them receiving degrees in dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.15 7 mechanics and one returning to boxha’ to continue coffee farming and finding other ventures to increase income. boxha’ received a microloan from ecg to set up six vermicompost boxes where worms are managed to create vermicompost tea and humus, both beneficial for amending soil. additionally, microloans assisted in the purchase of a washing/fermentation station, a de-pulping platform, and back-pack sprayers for treating leaf rust. “financial security” and “education” were words that described the impact of joining the cooperative. this co-op coordinated with ecg to provide service-learning experiences at the farm, including sharing meals with the farmers and women’s artisan groups in a common area. this community raised rabbits for food and used the litter as part of their fertilizer. unique characteristics of this cooperative include the highest organic matter content among soil types, growing of pache (arabica coffee variety), including one plot that was 100% organic, and the preservation of native and culturally significant plants. case three: ts’oon por el café (tc) (mayan word for gun [traded] for coffee) tc members were not historically farmers; rather, their history was forged from a 30-year civil war. members were previously guerilla fighters for equal opportunities and rights against an oppressive and abusive government who had disregard for mayan populations. even with many hardships, tc began to cultivate and produce coffee to provide revenue for their community after building and rebuilding from complete destruction and relocation. tc was the smallest coop and in the most remote area of the three co-ops, with eight households as active members. after many years of fighting they were able to purchase land and create a community based on coffee farming. most members were first-generation farmers due to the civil war. they were still learning and innovating cultural practices to figure out how to grow higher quality coffee. therefore, most of the knowledge they had about coffee farming was through capacity trainings and workshops. children were going to school, and some were staying in the community and learning the practices of coffee production. “satisfaction” and “stability” were words used to describe the impact from the cooperative. one participant stated, “we traded the art of war for the art of coffee.” this co-op also gave tours of the farm and led hikes through the forest. it was at the lowest elevation which allowed them to grow a different species, coffea canephora, known as robusta. they also grew chili peppers as a companion plant to attract birds to the red peppers, preventing the birds from eating the coffee cherries. rather than using grevillea robusta for shade, like the other co-ops, this co-op planted native fruit trees (avocado, mango, etc.) that provide food and shelter for native wildlife, and an additional source of income and nutrition for the community. this co-op was at a lower elevation and thus struggled with coffee leaf rust, as well as additional insect and disease pests. this co-op was the only one monitoring the insect pest population. additionally, it has received microloans to purchase a de-pulper and build a drying patio and bodega (store) that is used for storage and co-op meetings. dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.15 8 cross case synthesis: explanatory themes across all three cases, cooperatives had long-term visions of sustainability for their coffee production, in terms of environmental conservation and cultivation of coffee. next-generation farming, improvements to cultural practices, extensive use of organic matter, and the management of their lands and trees (coffee and shade) were prevalent. all farmers were aware of and showed concern for climate change and how it would affect coffee production. the themes that emerged across cases were (a) economic impacts, (b) multiple generation farmers, (c) training to improve crop management, (d) use of shade trees and organic matter for soil amendments, (e) service learning/agritourism, and (f) use of microloans to enhance economic development. economic impacts in the examination of individual exploratory cases, one participant observer stated that “all farmers we met had their children in school or had given their children the opportunity for schooling and higher education (college and university)”. one farmer in the case indicated that “the biggest impact coffee has had in the community was that kids did not have to drop [out of] school to help on the farms, and coffee allows them to pay for school and educate their kids.” this was the overall goal of most farmers: to have their children become professionals and be able to have a career of their choosing. another farmer stated: “…with coffee, the children can stay in school.” multiple generation farmers most farmers were second or third generation farmers who have learned the cultivation practices from their fathers and grandfathers. they would like to see the “legacy” of their coffee continue for future generations. training to improve crop management most of the farmers in the co-ops improved their knowledge of coffee cultivation through trainings, workshops, previous experience working the fincas (plantations), and help from other members of the co-op. these workshops were hosted by local and international organizations that were geared toward helping small-scale farmers. in general, being a member of the co-op did not change any specific management practices in the field, but it did change their management practices in terms of becoming more business-minded. use of shade trees and organic matter for soil amendments across all cases, the use of trees to provide shade and aid in erosion control, and the incorporation of organic matter back into the soil, were prevalent. farmers understood these practices sustain the microbiota naturally rather than overusing chemical nutrients. in comparison to the u.s. where it is typical to prepare “clean” plots for disease control, the elevation alleviates many pathogens. for example, coffee leaf rust decreases around 1,600 meters, but its pervasive presence causes farmers to continue using control for preventative reasons. most farmers have a ratio of using 80 percent organic matter for soil amendments and only using 20 percent chemical amendments. the organic soil amendments include bi-products from the processing of coffee (coffee pulp, parchment), animal litter from chickens, horses, and dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.15 9 rabbits, and organic food waste, letting little go to waste. the co-ops met to decide timing of pesticide sprays and fertilization so that label instructions were followed and no farmer would use excess chemicals that may damage the crop and environment. service-learning/agritourism all three cooperatives had incorporated agritourism and service learning as an additional source of income (one of the goals of ecg). helping with harvesting and preparing coffee for the market, having a meal or cooking class in the community, and learning more about native plants and natural areas were common. microloans as an incubator for economic development one fundamental component to jump-start economic development was the use of microloans (also part of the mission of ecg). it was evident that communities discussed purchasing equipment, acquiring additional land, and building meeting space as things that could benefit individual families and the community. vermicompost boxes, de-pulpers, mills, coffee roasters, back-pack sprayers, and a washing/fermentation station were examples of items purchased to improve farmer production. the cooperative involvement holistically improved livelihoods by giving farmers a greater sense of security. partnering with ecg increased tourism and diversified income. this case study indicated that each co-op had gone through some kind of negative experience (failed crop, natural disaster, guerrilla warfare), yet they were able to persevere and improve the human condition for their children and community. it was not evident that management practices among farmers changed dramatically after joining a co-op, but they were able to take their production to the next level. working cooperatively and pooling their resources improved the coffee quality and prices to increase income and stability to the farmers. social capital perspectives the basic assumption of agricultural cooperative success depends upon the interaction between internal cohesion and external exchange (ruben & heras, 2012), with mutual trust and reciprocity among members. based upon the exploratory cases, each community had similar and unique internal and external interactions that could be triangulated with social capital perspectives. for example, emf had developed a ‘next generation’ co-op that was evidence of a communitarian view in regard to a ‘local organization’ providing social solidarity. but that alone will not lead to economic prosperity. networks were formed between members of the co-ops (intracommunity) giving a sense of community and purpose (i.e. agritourism, service learning) and external sources (i.e. workshops/trainings and a usaid research plot). granovetter (1995) argued that “economic development takes place through a mechanism that allows individuals to draw initially on the benefits of close community membership but that also enables them to acquire the skills and resources to participate in networks that transcend their community” (as cited by woolcock & narayan, 2000, p. 232). the institutional view was not evident because the success of the co-op was not directly tied to a political, legal, or institutional environment. however, the ngo (ecg) did provide access to external markets (in a legal sense) through contracts/export licenses. lastly, the synergy view builds upon the network dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.15 10 and institutional perspectives. if the intent is to broaden the “positive manifestations of social capital—cooperation, trust, and institutional efficiency” (woolcock & narayan, 2000, p. 238) then synergy was apparent in the improved livelihoods of the coffee farmers. the ngo (as an ‘institution’) was providing microloans to improve individual and collective infrastructure. the concept of social capital perspective gives insight into an explanation of economic development. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the farmers highlighted several major impacts that cooperative membership had on their livelihood. the first included increased access to education for their children. this concept was mentioned by almost every farmer interviewed in this project. additionally, many farmers expressed that they were able to improve upon the traditional agricultural knowledge they had (from their families and from work on the fincas) though the training and capacity building facilitated by the cooperative and ecg. all farmers were affected by agritourism—an opportunity provided by their relationship with ecg. co-op two (boxha’) and co-op three (ts’oon por el café) emphasized that this was the major impact they experienced through their work with ecg. these two organizations indicated that their local cooperative membership assisted more in their upward economic mobility, while co-op one (entre las montañas de fuego) more heavily emphasized how ecg contributed more toward their financial gains. it agritourism (facilitated through service learning activities) was the most cited benefit for involvement with ecg with co-op two and co-op three, next to fair trade market access. co-op one was located in the same city as ecg; thus, they had greater access to immediate resources than the other two cooperatives due to geographic location. by viewing the economic development of the cooperatives through the lens of social capital theory, there is greater insight gained about improved farmer livelihoods through cooperative membership. intracommunity relationships and access to external resources (human, training, market access, and agritourism) are critical factors explaining the impacts of cooperative membership with these three cases. lyon (2013) expressed how agritourism helps strengthen cooperatives organizational capacities, which is further increased through the involvement of ecg, which lyon’s research supports by identifying the necessity of substantial external support for successful cooperative ventures. agrotourism was an important alternative income source for co-op two and co-op three, which relates to lyon’s (2013) finding that “alternative income sources are especially critical for small and medium scale farmers in countries […] such as guatemala” (p. 188). the three cooperatives detailed the various ways through which ecg benefitted them; however, the researchers noted that increased geographical separation between ecg and each cooperative diluted the amount of success attributed to involvement with ecg. other cooperatives working with variously located cooperatives or communities should examine their impacts based on geographic location of their clients to better serve all who rely on their services. dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.15 11 the mini-ethnographic case study design enabled the researchers to conduct a cross-case analysis that examined the experiences of three cooperatives working with a local agency focused on improving smallholder coffee farmers’ livelihoods through economic development. these results were shared with the staff of ecg to give an external perspective to the work ecg does in country. this research process was facilitated through a service-learning experience which enabled the researchers to seamlessly integrate the necessary methods for the miniethnographic case study due to the existing infrastructure in place by the design of the servicelearning component. the implications of these results for practice include using the miniethnographic case study design to conduct rigorous, in-depth research with communities with whom researchers only have a limited amount of time, constrained by the service-learning experience being only two weeks long. this research design allows for rapport to be built quickly through participant observation and the conversational nature of informal, unstructured interviews. at the end of the service-learning experience, the researchers were able to present ecg with evidence-based results about the work they do and how each cooperative interprets and shares their experiences with the agency. this evidence-based practice is a way to disseminate research findings to the stakeholders in a comprehensive and easily understandable way. future research should be conducted with ecg with similar methods as they experience a change in leadership. other researchers in international settings with a limited time frame are encouraged to embrace the use of the mini-ethnographic case study to extract the most meaning, interpretation, and evidence from their experience as possible. references aguilar-støen, m., taylor, m., & castellanos, e. 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(2007). peer-to-peer farmer support for economic development. in producer organization and market chains. wageningen, the netherlands: wageningen academic publishers. dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.15 12 central intelligence agency (2019). world factbook. retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-worldfactbook/attachments/summaries/gt-summary.pdf diaz, h. l, drumm, r. d., ramirez-johnson, j. & oidjarv, h. (2002). social capital, economic development and food security in peru’s mountain region. international social work, 45(4), 481-495. fischer, e. f., & victor, b. (2014). high-end coffee and smallholding growers in guatemala. latin american research review, 49(1), 155-177. fusch, p. i., fusch, g. e., & ness, l. r. 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(2019). food security and agriculture in the western highlands of guatemala. food security, 11(4), 817-833. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-019-00940-z lyon, s. (2013). coffee tourism and community development in guatemala. human organization, 72(3), 188-198. ortega, d., bro, a., clay, d., lopez, m., tuyisenge, e., church, r., & bizoza, a. (2019). cooperative membership and coffee productivity in rwanda’s specialty coffee sector. food security, 11(4), 967-979. social capital perspectives; impacts; networks; international agricultural development https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-019-00952-9 ruben, r., & heras, j. (2012). social capital, governance and performance of ethiopian coffee cooperatives. annals of public and cooperative economics, 83(4), 463-484. dooley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.15 13 white, k. l. (2009). meztizaje and remembering in afro-mexican communities of the costa chica: implications for archival education in mexico. archival science, 9, 43-55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-009-9102-5 woolcock, m., & narayan, d. (2000). social capital: implications for development theory, research, and policy. the world bank research observer, 15(2), 225-249. yangmin, k., & cannella, a. a. (2008). toward a social capital theory of director selection. corporate governance, 16(4), 282-293. yin, r. k. (2018). case study research and applications: design and methods. los angeles, ca: sage. © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 7-manuscript-241-4-11-20200213 mulvaney and kelsey advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 1, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. chandler mulvaney, extension agent i, 4-h youth development, uf/ifas extension marion county, university of florida 2232 ne jacksonville rd, ocala, fl 34470 chandlermulvaney@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3030-6604 2. kathleen d. kelsey, professor and director, impact evaluation unit, university of georgia 203 lumpkin house, 145 cedar st., athens ga 30602 kaykelseyuga@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9683-6993 63 a phenomenological inquiry to understand ugandan farmers’ perceived barriers to fertilizer use c. mulvaney1, k. d. kelsey2 abstract sub-saharan african (ssa) countries hold the promise of becoming the second breadbasket of the world if they adopt modern farming practices, including the use of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs. increasing food production is imminent for all nations, especially in ssa due to the growing global population. agricultural input adoption, such as fertilizers, leads to an increase in productivity; however, adoption rates among ssa nations remain chronically low. using a phenomenological lens and qualitative research methods to gather interview data from 30 ugandan subsistence farmers in situ, we described what and how farmers experienced in regard making decisions to adopt or reject fertilizers. findings indicated that farmers experienced two poverty traps, resource and cultural beliefs. recommended interventions include increasing participation in farmer groups and increasing participation in extension training on the use of agricultural inputs, especially fertilizers. keywords uganda; fertilizer adoption; qualitative inquiry; poverty trap theory; international development; extension education. mulvaney and kelsey advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.7 64 introduction and problem statement sub-saharan african (ssa) countries hold the promise of becoming the second breadbasket of the world if they are able to adopt modern farming practices, including the use of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs (fao, 2015). specifically, uganda is well positioned to advance their agricultural sector with sufficient arable land and labor; however, productivity is hampered by low rates of adoption of modern farming technologies and sufficient application of fertilizers (the world bank, 2013). uganda is a rapidly growing country in ssa with a population primarily comprised of undereducated youth. a third of uganda’s 35 million people are between the ages of 10-24 years and 56% of the population is under the age of 18 (uganda bureau of statistics, 2010). the majority of ugandans (72%) work within the agricultural sector (fao, 2015); however, farmers lack training in the agricultural sciences, leading to an industry that consistently underperforms given its potential (the world bank, 2013). in addition, the majority of farmers suffer from persistent poverty due to poverty traps, defined as living below the nation’s poverty line with little opportunity for advancement due to social and economic barriers (barrett, garg, & mcbride, 2016). one example of a poverty trap is that farmers infrequently apply agricultural inputs in part because they practice subsistence-farming methods on small plots of land whereby they do not have surplus crops for generating cash to purchase inputs (banerjee & duflo, 2011; lade et al., 2017). ugandan farmers reported the lowest rate of fertilizer adoption among ssa countries at 3.2% (barrett & sheahan, 2017). the ugandan government and the food and agricultural organization (fao, 2015) have emphasized the need to increase production of agricultural commodities to lift farmers and the nation out of poverty; however, attempts to increase agricultural productivity have failed. we sought to describe subsistence farmers’ decision-making process for adopting or rejecting fertilizers in the central region of uganda and if poverty traps were a co-variable in making fertilizer adoption decisions. theoretical and conceptual framework a poverty trap is defined as “a situation in which self-reinforcing mechanisms trap people in poverty” (lade et al., 2017, para 1), whereby “household income or expenditures consistently, or at least on average, fall below the poverty line” (barrett & carter, 2013, para. 4). poverty traps keep individuals and households in poverty and are caused by structural mechanisms at both macro and micro levels. macro causes include geography, climate, social networks, social norms, and fixed endowments. micro causes include mental or physical disability, systemic discrimination, and social exclusion, among other immutable characteristics (barrett & carter, 2013). an example of a poverty trap occurs when declining yields from degraded farms require the poor to farm more intensively on smaller plots, reinforcing the degradation of soils and low agricultural productivity (enfors, 2013). mulvaney and kelsey advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.7 65 poverty traps emerge for substance farmers when (a) increases in earnings are scaled below the cost of purchasing inputs, thus minimizing returns on investment such as fertilizers, (b) lower income households have restricted access to financial service, such as credit or insurance, and (c) exclusions occur within social and economic environments such as failure to affiliate with a farmer group or cooperative that would provide access to markets and farming knowledge (adato, carter, & may, 2006; barrett, garg, & mcbride, 2016; chantarat & barrett, 2012). under these conditions, low-income households face economically stalled situations characterized by low assets and unsuccessful efforts to amass wealth. the poor are often excluded from jobs, social contacts, and access to transportation to pursue income. the initially poor are trapped in persistently low levels of well-being, while initially better-off individuals can parlay wealth into higher levels of well-being (adato et al., 2006). existing poverty traps constrain poor farmers by limiting their access to capital, credit, insurance, and stable markets that are important factors in reducing risk and increasing wealth. in addition, social networks and cultural norms may serve to exclude individuals from growing wealth and assets (barrett, garg, & mcbride, 2016). in most cases, the poor will remain so due to social, cultural, and economic environments that disadvantage those already trapped in poverty (adato et al., 2006; lade et al., 2017). lade et al. (2017) examined the political, social, economic, biophysical and historical settings that limited subsistence farmers from escaping poverty traps. a lack of access to capital and insurance may lead to social exclusion and inequality as farmers were ashamed to appear in public or participate in community activities that would advantage them (bhalla & lapeyre, 2002). adato et al. (2006) also found that as inequality increased, an individual’s social identity became increasingly intertwined with economic status, further trapping them in poverty. purpose the purpose of the research reported here was to describe subsistence farmers’ decisionmaking process for adopting or rejecting fertilizers in the central region of uganda in relationship to the poverty trap conceptual framework (adato et al., 2006; lade et al., 2017). understanding farmers’ barriers to fertilizer use and how poverty traps may be a co-variable in nonuse of agricultural inputs is important to assist non-governmental organizations (ngos) and government extension agencies in creating approaches to increase fertilizer adoption, thereby reducing poverty in subsistence farming communities in uganda. methods the population for the study consisted of 30 subsistence farmers in the central region of uganda. the farmers were criterion selected by in-country staff from the international fertilizer development center (ifdc), an ngo operating globally, and the ugandan ministry of mulvaney and kelsey advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.7 66 agriculture, animal industry and fisheries division. the selection criterion consisted of farmers who belonged to registered farmer groups (n=22) and those who did not (n=8). the researchers used convenience sampling to identify farmers registered in groups, while snowball sampling was employed to generate non-farmer group members to deepen our understanding of emerging social knowledge (chaim, 2008). farmer groups in uganda are formed through the ministry of agriculture, animal industry and fisheries division. upon the formation of a farmer group, the members are certified in order to lease land, establish access to savings and loan vehicles, and sell harvested crops to reputable buyers. we invited 30 farmers to participate in the research through key informants in their respective communities. key informant contacts helped to establish trust and rapport among potential participants (williamson et al., 2011) and facilitated us in making appointments to visit participants for data collection. we used phenomenological research design to frame data collection, analysis and reporting (van manen, 2014). the central phenomenon addressed was subsistence farmers’ decisionmaking process for adopting fertilizers and barriers that limited adoption through the lens of poverty trap theory. the principal researcher acknowledged his bias by searching for a convergence of information among multiple data sources to form themes and draw conclusions (golafshani, 2003). the principal researcher traveled to uganda and conducted interviews with participants in october 2018 on the participants’ farms or at the local sub-county building. the interviews were recorded and later transcribed verbatim. an interpreter was present at all 30 interviews. the interpreter assisted with 23 interviews, while seven were conducted in english. the interpreter was ugandan, spoke seven languages, and held a bachelor’s degree from makerere university in kampala, uganda. the interpreter worked as a consultant with the sponsor of the study, international fertilizer development center (ifdc), and external organizations collecting household data with farmers in the region. she was a trusted member of the community. the principal researcher mitigated field issues when using an interpreter by observing responses of both the interpreter and the participant (williamson et al. 2011), while relaying questions to the interpreter for clarity of perspectives and experiences shared during the interviews. the principal researcher acknowledged that all information disclosed during each of the thirty interviews was interpreted by one party, making precision a limitation of the study. however, to enhance quality and validity we (a) conducted a literature review to determine the interview protocol, (b) collected data from participants using face-to-face interviews in situ, (c) transcribed the interviews verbatim and sent the transcripts to the interpreter for verification (unfortunately, member checking was not conducted with the participants due to communication barriers), (d) analyzed the transcripts line-by-line to highlight significant statements (open coding) using atlas.ti software (saldana, 2015), and (e) clustered the significant statements into themes that enabled us to draw conclusions regarding the phenomena. we added participants’ quotations in the findings to establish truth-value. to ensure anonymity, we used pseudonyms (tracy, 2010; van manen, 2014). mulvaney and kelsey advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.7 67 findings overall, farmers experienced several barriers to adopting agricultural practices that were consistent with the literature on poverty traps (barrett & carter, 2013; barrett, garg, & mcbride, 2016; chantarat & barrett, 2012). farmers were interested in learning about new farming innovations that would facilitate consistent and appropriate use of fertilizers but were constrained by cultural beliefs, social networks, social norms, and economic resource traps. all of the farmers reported farming out of necessity versus choice, as they had limited options for pursuing economic opportunities outside of working for a farmer or becoming a farmer by acquiring credit or small plots of land or both. we classified the participants into two groups, those who did not associate with a farmer group (n=8) and those who did (n=22) (see table 1). farmers who associated with farmer groups in all cases except one (sarama), served as the chairperson for the group. sarama served as the secretary and treasurer for her farmer group (table 1). farmer group members were poor but reported reduced levels of poverty stress due to slight increases in household income. theme 1: systemic poverty resulted in reduced motivation to use fertilizers claim: farmers desired to use fertilizers but could not afford to consistently purchase them due to a lack of income. supporting evidence: all but one (sadah) farmer used organic or mineral fertilizers or both inconsistently as they were unable to reliably buy fertilizers and hire labor due to a lack of cash or credit. the primary barrier to adoption was an inability to pay for fertilizers after purchasing basic household necessities such as food, water, and school fees for their children’s education. often, even these necessities were forgone due to poverty. a lack of resources sustained systemic poverty and reduced farmers’ motivation to adopt new technologies beyond what they learned from their parents, who were also subsistence farmers. zaharrah reported she was stuck in “a little hole,” unable to move by making changes such as adopting agricultural innovations and inputs due to a lack of cash and credit. she said, we lack [items needed for farming] at times. if we are cultivating tomatoes, you need a system for spraying and watering, watering cans, those tools [needed] for agriculture. we lack all of those things that help in agriculture. so we have to struggle in a small hole. you cannot move anywhere. yes, if you have such things, you can help your farm, you can grow crops on a large scale because this little hole here will take you nowhere, and you cannot move (371-385). all of the participants reported feeling uncertain about how to overcome the challenges they faced to escape poverty. fourteen farmers reported that fertilizer affordability was the main barrier to adoption. mulvaney and kelsey advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.7 68 table 1 demographic profile of farmers pseudonym and gender district age educational levelabc dependentsd fertilizer usee farmers not associated with a farmer group caliana, f budaka 49 s3 5 organic dawda, f budaka 64 s1 14 both farya, f budaka 35 s2 8 organic kali, f budaka 27 s4 5 organic laila, f budaka 45 p7 12 both mada, f budaka 30 p7 8 organic mae, f budaka 35 p5 7 organic saleem, m budaka 46 s3 10 both farmers associated with a farmer group aaden, m mbale 58 p6 15 both abby, f mbale n/a s3 14 both abdulla, m mbale 34 s2 9 organic abraham, m butaleja 35 p3 13 organic ali, f tororo 50 s4 10 both amare, f budaka 40 p3 5 mineral ami, f butaleja 55 none 3 organic asha, f tororo 52 p7 12 organic esther, f tororo 51 s4 10 mineral halah, f butaleja 46 p3 15 mineral kwame, f butaleja 48 s2 11 both moses, f mbale 56 p2 8 both noah, m tororo 59 bachelor 2 mineral ode, f budaka 32 bachelor 2 both omari, m butaleja 36 s4 4 both rabea, f tororo 31 s3 6 mineral sabah, f butaleja 30 p7 10 both sadah, f mbale n/a p5 8 none sarama, f butaleja 47 u bachelor’s 3 both zaharah, f tororo 53 s4 7 organic zakai, f butaleja 58 p7 12 mineral zane, f budaka 75 s2 20 both note. ap=primary school level achieved. bs=secondary school level achieved. cu=university education. ddenotes the number of immediate family members the farmer was responsible for housing and feeding, including adopted children. edenotes the type of fertilizers the farmers used. both denotes the use of mineral and organic fertilizers. none denotes farmers’ nonadoption of any fertilizer inputs. mulvaney and kelsey advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.7 69 theme 2: fertilizers equate to increased yields claim: participants believed that fertilizer use increased yields and would use them if they had the resources to purchase them. supporting evidence: despite the existing poverty that affected all of the participants, farmers valued fertilizer use over all other inputs they had adopted in the past. when asked why they were motivated to use fertilizer, zaharrah said, the yield, the yield! because people who are using fertilizers you find they are getting a bumper harvest. some good, good harvest. even the soil remains fertile. the moment you apply, the soil changes and the fertility is boosted (276-278). eleven farmers reported that fertilizers increased their yields when applied to a crop. ode, a consistent user of both organic and mineral fertilizers, mentioned that when he used fertilizers on his crops, he was “assured of good yields” (193-194). nineteen farmers believed that fertilizers were directly associated with increased yields, despite that fact that 17 of the 19 farmers had not received any formal fertilizer training. despite the lack of formal knowledge and training regarding fertilizer use, farmers were confident in fertilizers’ ability to positively affect crop yields and provide an increase in one’s profitability. theme 3: farmers felt cheated by the government, agricultural buyers and consumers claim: farmers reported feeling cheated by the government, agricultural buyers, and consumers resulting in lost income to advance their farming practices and receive fair prices for their crops. supporting evidence: all 30 farmers reported financial stress. eleven farmers reported feeling cheated by the government, market buyers, and consumers. noah said, there was one time a group came and they gave us seed for soybeans and they told us they would get us a market [to sell]. so we planted and then the people disappeared. then, we got stuck with all of this soybean in our house and had to sell for cheap. people got discouraged to grow soybean. some people will use tricks to convince farmers to grow something and then cheat us into [poor] prices later (304-308). noah spoke about the poverty trap that existed within his household. farmers attempted to break free from poverty by trusting agricultural buyers. however, after the agricultural buyers abandoned them, farmers feel devalued by the system that was supposed to support them. eleven farmers cited access to markets and transportation issues as barriers to wealth. esther, a farmer who lacked access to transportation from the fields to the market, said, after harvesting, those people [buyers] just disappear and they send people to come and cheat you from your products. then, you must search for a person to buy. it was promised that the person would buy for a certain price. but when they come back, they do not remember the agreed upon price and try to cheat you (308-310). mulvaney and kelsey advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.7 70 mada also reported that she was cheated by agricultural buyers. she said, we depend on the buyers. we [farmers] don't have bargaining power because what they [buyers] give you is what you take. at the end of the day, they [buyers] are selling it at a much higher price but we depend on them [buyers] because what they say is what we take. take it or leave it. we depend on the local methods and buyers for our crops (495-500). inconsistent prices and market conditions affected farmers’ ability to buy seeds and hire labor. despite a desire to adopt fertilizers, ten farmers believed that corrupt governmental employees and market buyers abused their power during peak sell-off times by offering below market prices, thus, draining farmers’ small savings. ode said, some of the challenges are the prices; there are no stable prices. we are seriously engaging in farming but the bias [of the governmental employees and agricultural buyers] always determine the prices. so they are not even considering us (224-226). with limited transportation availability to markets farmers traded with unscrupulous buyers, receiving marginal prices for their crops, leading to a poverty trap. farmers’ feeling cheated in the existing market system eroded their confidence in buying fertilizers as the investment may not be returned. theme 4: no other way we are trapped in farming claim: farmers were trapped in a subsistence farming lifestyle with no path to additional income or alternative employment. supporting evidence: twenty-eight farmers said that subsistence farming was their only employment option. when asked why he continued to farm, omari said, “farming is what you rely on. you get food and in the case of plenty, i sell some to earn a living” (96-97). these farmers were in a subsistence farming trap, with no opportunity to escape based in part on their identity as substance farmers. for half of the participants, farming was their only option for survival. sabah said, “there was a moment when poverty was too much and i felt like i could hardly even afford a meal. so i was forced to go and work in the rice fields” (23-25). the participants believed they were trapped in subsistence farming because they possessed limited skills and training for other work. however, all of the participants expressed hope for the future, despite their reported barriers to generating wealth from farming. when asked why he continued to farm, noah said, “i know farming but the problem is we are just doing it locally because god has given us an ability. so, it is my prayer that god helps us, trains us and gives us new skills” (21-23). farmers desired to improve their economic and social status but lacked external macro support structures to do so such as fertilizer application training from government extension agencies and ngos, lack of access to credit and cash, and a lack of stable markets. therefore, they remained in a cultural and resource trap. mulvaney and kelsey advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.7 71 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations our findings uncovered two poverty traps to explain why farmers did not adopt fertilizers, a cultural trap and a resource trap (barrett & carter, 2013; chantarat & barrett, 2012; lade et al., 2017). farmers’ cultural identity as subsistence farmers prevented them from escaping poverty, leading to “persistent poverty as the natural consequence of the group-defining characteristic, resulting in a single equilibrium poverty trap” (barrett, garg, & mcbride, 2016, para 9). the culmination of external factors combined to de-motivate farmers’ who understood the value of fertilizers when applied appropriately but lacked the knowledge and capital to access fertilizers. the implications of the two poverty traps identified in this study resulted in farmers’ feeling stuck in poverty, with few opportunities to access capital and markets. in addition, the cultural trap was rooted in farmers’ belief that there were no other options for employment. because all of the participants came from subsistence farming families, their families expected them to continue in that vocation. economic and social constraints limited their opportunity for professional growth, despite a desire to do so. to further compound the lack of opportunity for social growth, farmers’ who participated in the study felt trapped in their current occupation, as described in theme four. the knowledge of alternative lifestyles and new technology was limited, resulting in culturally imposed limitations. the resource trap included economic vulnerability from unpredictable markets and a lack of access to credit, labor, transportation, agricultural inputs, and extension training. with a lack of control in the markets, farmers reported feeling devalued and cheated by governmental employees, agricultural buyers, and consumers. the resource trap left farmers with little motivation to adopt new agricultural practices, deepening the cycle of poverty. not belonging to a farmer group was important for understanding social exclusion and how it reinforced the poverty trap as the chronically poor associated mainly with similar others, who also lacked knowledge and resources (chantarat & barrett, 2012). alleviating poverty traps requires a multi-pronged approach and is dependent on national and international policy to support and protect farmers from exploitation. barrett, garg, and mcbride (2016) recommended initiatives that could move people out of poverty traps, including investments in assets such as farm equipment, adoption of agricultural production technologies and inputs, participation in remunerative markets, credit and insurance programs, safety net programs, education, and entrepreneurial activities. transfer programs (giving cash directly to the poor) are also an effective policy for addressing poor sociocultural identities in the short term (barrett & carter, 2013). while these issues are beyond the scope of this study, we recommend that ngos and government extension agencies serving farmers in ssa provide educational programs to empower farmers to gain memberships in farmer groups as an important first step (sigman, chibwana, & matenje, 1994). farmer groups can serve as collective groups to provide individuals with access to inputs and farm tools through cooperative social structures. additionally, future research should be conducted on the impact of participation in a farmer mulvaney and kelsey advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.7 72 group and the potential relationship that increased knowledge has on fertilizer adoption or rejection in uganda. farmers would benefit from targeted educational programs focusing on best practices for applying agricultural inputs, including fertilizers (bunyatta et al., 2005). such programs could be implemented through existing extension programs with the ugandan national agricultural advisory development services (naads) and external ngos. educational opportunities serve to integrate new technology into the community, leading to economic growth, and reducing both types of poverty traps identified in this study. references adato, m., carter, m. r., & may, j. 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(2011). interpreter-facilitated cross-language interviews: a research note. qualitative research, 11(4), 381-394. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794111404319 © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 51-manuscript-615-1-11-20200731 mcleod-morin et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 2, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. ashley mcleod-morin, communications coordinator, uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources, doctoral student, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive 2nd floor, po box 110320 gainesville, fl 32611, ashleynmcleod@ufl.ede, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-9783 2. peyton beattie, doctoral candidate, university of florida, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, pbeattie@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0677-4600 3. whitney stone, graduate assistant, university of florida, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, whitney.stone@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3090-5751 4. kevin kent, doctoral candidate, university of florida, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, kevin.kent@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0239-6817 5. jamie loizzo, assistant professor, university of florida, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611, jloizzo@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5575-2918 6. ricky telg, professor, director of uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources, university of florida, po box 110320 gainesville, fl 32611, rwtelg@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8729-1634 79 the science of mosquitoes: youth perceptions, engagements, and learning from a skype in the classroom science communication program a. mcleod-morin1, p. beattie2, w. stone3 , k. kent4, j. loizzo5, r. telg6 abstract this study examined the impact of a live, interactive electronic field trip (eft), called scientist online: the science of mosquitoes via the streaming science platform and skype in the classroom network for connecting university entomologists with middle and high school youth around the world. more than 150 students viewed the program, and 60 answered post-quantitative and qualitative questions regarding their perceptions of the eft and knowledge related to mosquitoes. students reported an increased knowledge about mosquitoes, mosquito-borne illness, mosquito-borne illness prevention and protection, entomology and related careers, and the mosquito life-cycle. future research should determine how interactive, synchronous video programs with scientists can impact participants’ behavior intentions, specifically for making lifestyle choices based in science, as well as decisionmaking for improving their health and the planet. keywords electronic field trip, skype in the classroom, science communication, solutions-focused communication, stem careers mcleod-morin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.51 80 introduction and problem statement the mosquito has played an instrumental role in shaping human history, the global economy, and world health (winegard, 2019). mosquitoes can transmit several dangerous and, sometimes, deadly diseases, such as malaria (ruckert et al., 2017). in addition to the negative impacts on human and animal health, the diseases also cause significant economic impacts. it is estimated that the 2016 zika outbreak cost between $7 billion and $18 billion for affected countries (united nation development programme, 2017). to address the severe implications caused by mosquitoes, health agencies are working to increase public education and awareness initiatives through science communication campaigns (porse et al., 2015). the public can informally learn about topics related to science through science communication, which should engage individuals in a way that will lead to a more informed society about science issues and topics (dijkstra & gutteling, 2012; kleinman & powell, 2010). as the public engages more with topics related to science, such as mosquitos, they become better equipped to make informed choices concerning policy, personal health, and family finances and can participate in discussions on ecological, economical, and social issues (nelkin, 1995; treise & weigold, 2002). as public health agencies aim to broaden their engagement with a variety of diverse audiences to increase awareness and mobilize behavior change around mosquitoes and related topics, it is imperative youth audiences are included and reached in interactive and educational ways. electronic field trips (efts) are a proven delivery model for introducing pk-12 classrooms to remote locations, topics, and careers and have the potential to include entomology content (mccrea, 2012). the diffusion of efts should be further explored to determine how this innovation can impact agricultural education and communication. theoretical and conceptual framework scientists today have more opportunities than ever before to engage in two-way communication through online media, such as video conferencing, that can reach diverse audiences around the globe and impact individual’s science literacy (davies & hara, 2017; lundy et al., 2006). efts are an example of a two-way online channel for connection and dialogue for live, synchronous, interactive video for science engagement (cassady et al., 2008; loizzo et al., 2019; tuthill & klemm, 2002). efts have increased in popularity in recent years, as schools have cut travel budgets and teachers have identified constricting logistical barriers such as time, transportation, and academic testing demands that prevent them from taking physical class field trips to external locations (adedokun et al., 2011; parker et al., 2010; stoddard, 2009). efts straddle the formal and non-formal education because they include an out-ofschool location connecting with students inside a typical classroom environment (adedokun et al., 2012a; adedokun et al., 2012b; tuthill & klemm, 2002; loizzo et al., 2019; nrc, 2015). mcleod-morin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.51 81 the microsoft educator skype in the classroom network includes thousands of educators from around the world in an online community to connect their learners with guest speakers, including scientists (skype, 2020). teachers who have participated in skype in the classroom have indicated youth are excited, engaged, and can ask a variety of questions of experts through skype (foote, 2008; mccrea, 2012; morgan, 2013). participating students are often encouraged to ask questions of the experts throughout the skype sessions. exposing youth to insects, such as mosquitoes, fosters an appreciation and interest that may not otherwise be encouraged (shipley & bixler, 2019). however, most youth are not exposed to insects beyond the life cycle. a combination of theory and concepts guided this study, including solutions-focused science communication, social cognitive theory (sct), vicarious learning, and social cognitive career theory (scct) guided this study. scct and vicarious learning informed the design choice of connecting youth with scientists vicariously through skype in the classroom. scct guided the researchers’ conceptualization of impacts of the eft on participants’ stem topical and career interest, while solutions-focused communication informed the program content development and assessment for examining specific learning goals of mosquito-borne illness prevention and protection. roots of solutions-focused communication were first established by chalmers (1959) as he studied journalists who brought attention to corruption and explained how solutions-focused journalists did not simply provide information, but also recommended solutions to problems. gyldensted (2015) furthered the notion of solutions-focused communication, as she established the need for journalists to report on news beyond crises, but also on news that brings attention to advancements in society. through sct, bandura (1977, 1986) proposed an individual’s personal factors, environment, and a person’s learning or behavior have a direct, relationship to each other (bandura, 1986; 2001). vicarious learning through mass media permits audiences to learn a vast amount of information about behaviors and social norms, ultimately offering new ways of thinking and approaching behavior (bandura, 2001). moreover, individuals’ motivation to perform the observed learned behavior hinges on if the individuals value the outcome to a behavior (bandura, 2001). scct (lent et al., 1994) is founded in the work of bandura’s sct (1977) and hackett and betz’s (1981) theory of translation work and examines human agency in career development with understudied populations (lent & brown, 2019). scct in stem-related research can help better understand students’ goal orientation toward stem careers (dutta et al., 2015). purpose the purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of a live, interactive eft called scientist online: the science of mosquitoes via the streaming science platform and skype in the mcleod-morin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.51 82 classroom network for connecting university entomologists with middle and high school youth around the world. the objectives that guided this study included the following: 1. describe students’ perceptions of the mosquito eft. 2. describe students’ perceived knowledge before and after the mosquito eft. methods the science of mosquitoes eft program was streamed via skype in the classroom and lasted 3545 minutes (beattie et al., 2020). this project was a part of a larger grant project funded by the florida department of health (fdoh) to the university of florida institute of food and agricultural sciences center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources (pie center).. the purpose of the larger grant project was to increase public awareness related to mosquitoes, mosquito-borne illnesses, and mosquito control. the learning objectives were for students to (a) describe the mosquito life cycle, habitats, and physical traits; (b) list mosquito-borne diseases; and (c) summarize mosquito-borne illness prevention and protection/control methods. researchers and skype in the classroom promoted the program broadly and recruited approximately 150 students in grades from 4th to 7th, 11th to 12th, and adult learners participated in the eft: florida (1 classroom), pennsylvania (2 classrooms), canada (2 classrooms), and pakistan (an all-male college-aged boarding school). a retrospective post-survey was used to collect individual answers from students about their perceived knowledge before and after the eft, as well as their personal perceptions of the program. the population of interest for this study were all students who participated in the science of mosquitoes eft program. a total of 60 students across the six classrooms completed the survey, approximately a 40% response rate. the first section of the questionnaire asked the students to please share your thoughts on ‘the science of mosquitoes’ skype in the classroom call given five points (i.e., 1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). the second section of the questionnaire addressed students’ level of knowledge retrospectively about mosquito related topics given four points (i.e., 1 = none, 4 = high). the open-ended section of the questionnaire asked the students to type/write a response to the question prompt. an example of one open-ended prompt is what are the top three things you learned from the program? the questionnaire was administered through the teachers of the participating students either via the online, qualtrics software or by paper, depending on computer accessibility. the data from the two fixed response sections was analyzed through descriptive statistics. we calculated individual item means and standard deviations and reported answers for the two question sets. the following real limits of the scale were used to interpret the data answering the question please share your thoughts on ‘the science of mosquitoes’ skype in the classroom call: 1.00 1.49 = strongly disagree, 1.50 2.49 = disagree, 2.50 3.49 = neutral, 3.50 4.49 = agree, 4.50 5.00 = strongly agree. the real limits of the scale used to answer the retrospective mcleod-morin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.51 83 before and after knowledge question were as follows: 1.00 – 1.49 = none, 1.50 – 2.49 = low, 2.50 – 3.49 = medium, 3.50 – 4.00 = high. we analyzed the open-ended responses through a deductive coding process, based on the learning objectives of the science of mosquitoes eft program. for instance, codes included lifecycle, prevention, protection, and careers. we used the predetermined codes to categorize the student responses and calculated the frequency of the code’s appearance in the students’ answers. a limitation of this study is the small sample size. the exploratory nature of this study does not allow for the results to be generalized beyond the sample of this study. the age of participants also varied widely, ranging from fourth grade to young adult. this variation may result in limitations in the data. findings the student respondents reported the highest means for the items the scientist did a good job answering questions (m = 4.35, sd = .78), the scientist was knowledgeable about the topic (m = 4.33, sd = .93), i would recommend the program to other classes (m = 4.27, sd = .86), and it is important to learn about mosquito-borne illnesses (m = 4.25, sd = .80), respectively (see table 1). the students rated i learned about careers in entomology from the scientist (m = 3.22, sd = 1.03) and i like entomology (m = 2.78, sd = 1.03) the lowest according to mean scores. table 1 students’ perceptions of the mosquito eft m sd the scientist did a good job answering questions. 4.35 .78 the scientist was knowledgeable about the topic. 4.33 .93 i would recommend this program to other classes. 4.27 .86 it is important to learn about mosquito-borne illnesses. 4.25 .80 the scientist communicated at a level that i understood. 4.10 .78 the scientist gave an interesting demonstration to explain mosquito research. 4.05 1.00 the scientist was interesting. 3.92 .77 the program was easy to see. 3.85 .92 the scientist talked about something i did not already know. 3.80 1.07 the program was easy to hear. 3.78 .89 i thought the topic was interesting. 3.75 .84 it is important that we learn about mosquitoes. 3.68 .93 i learned about careers in entomology from the scientist. 3.22 1.03 i like entomology. 2.78 1.03 note. real limits of the scale: 1.00 1.49 = strongly disagree, 1.50 2.49 = disagree, 2.50 3.49 = neutral, 3.50 4.49 = agree, 4.50 5.00 = strongly agree mcleod-morin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.51 84 students rated their knowledge about mosquitoes before the science of mosquitoes eft to be the highest (m = 2.44, sd = .74). see table 2. after the science of mosquitoes eft, the students ranked their knowledge of the mosquito life cycle the highest (m = 3.57, sd = .57). the students reported their knowledge of entomology careers to be the lowest both before (m = 1.41, sd = .71) and after (m = 2.55, sd = .99) the science of mosquitoes eft. table 2 students’ perceived knowledge before and after the mosquito eft before after my knowledge before/after the ‘the science of mosquitoes’… m sd m sd mosquitoes 2.44 .74 3.43 .57 mosquito life cycle 2.20 1.07 3.57 .57 mosquito-borne illness prevention and protection 1.93 .99 3.04 .84 mosquito-borne illness 1.91 .96 3.06 .67 entomology 1.51 .85 2.80 .97 entomology careers 1.41 .71 2.55 .99 note. real limits of the scale: 1.00 – 1.49 = none, 1.50 – 2.49 = low, 2.50 – 3.49 = medium, 3.50 – 4.00 = high when asked to provide their own typed/written answers to the question what are the top three things you learned from the program?, students discussed mosquito-borne diseases/illnesses, mosquito control, the life cycle or breeding of mosquitoes, types/species of mosquitoes, entomology/entomology careers, mosquitoes biting or sucking blood, the mosquito habitat, mosquito’s diet, and how mosquitoes are dangerous/not dangerous. the topics students discussed the most for the item list the top three things you learned from the program were the life cycle or breeding of mosquitoes (n= 35), mosquito-borne diseases/illnesses (n = 34), and types/species of mosquitoes (n = 21). for the question where do mosquitoes live?, the students discussed water-related habitats, all around the world, grass, and warm/hot places. the answer most frequently provided was water-related habitats (n = 36), followed by all around the world (n = 7), warm/hot places (n = 5), and grass (n = 2). students provided answers to the question what are two actions you can do to protect yourself from mosquito-borne illness? the students most frequently reported bug spray or repellent (n = 40), followed by using window screens or mosquito nets in your home (n = 12), getting rid of standing water or keeping mosquitoes from breeding (n = 11), and wearing longer clothing (n = 10). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations exploring students’ perceptions and perceived knowledge gain through the participation of an eft program provides greater understanding of the impacts eft participation can have on student education. students who participated in the science of mosquitoes eft answered questions about their personal perceptions and knowledge. in this study, students reported improved perceived knowledge in almost all topics that were elements of the eft program, mcleod-morin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.51 85 including entomology careers and the mosquito life-cycle. these findings align with previous literature that posited efts can culminate excitement and interest in science-related topics, such as entomology (foote, 2008; mccrea, 2012; morgan, 2013). the eft content was solutions-focused in nature, which could have also aided the students’ engagement (gyldensted, 2015). while statistical significance of knowledge gain cannot be determined, it can be noted that students had some level of increased knowledge of mosquitoes, the mosquito life cycle, mosquito-borne illness, mosquito-borne illness prevention and protection, entomology, and entomology careers from their reported self-perceived knowledge before and after the eft. the only topic students indicated having a high level of knowledge of after the eft was the mosquito life-cycle. the mosquito life-cycle and breeding were the answer students reported most frequently learning from the eft program in the open-ended question. the scientists used toy-like replica models of the mosquito life cycle to teach students about the life-cycle. this was the only portion of the program that used replica models and possibly could have enhanced student learning. shipley and bixler (2019) determined that most elementary and secondary education curriculum commonly included insect life cycles, which might have aided student comprehension in this study since it was likely they had been exposed to that information previously. recommendations for future research include continued study of eft impacts on youth and adult science literacy and knowledge. additional research questions in the future should include how interactive, synchronous video programs with scientists can impact participants’ behavior intentions, specifically for making lifestyle choices based in science, as well as decision-making for improving their health and the planet. as results revealed that life cycle portion and learning objective of the program, which featured physical insect props, was the only portion that students indicated a high level of knowledge, future efts should continue to show some photos and videos, as well as real life props, including handheld, physical demonstrations to explain a concept. this method appears to be more favorable for youth online audiences. hence, live efts should have a live demonstration and not rely on videos or multimedia material, which appeared to be less engaging. scct was included in the guiding framework for this study. however, according to data analysis, entomology careers appeared to be students’ least interested/engaged portion of the program. future programs should more specifically and seamlessly incorporate detailed, targeted moments and content to more intentionally create excitement about career pathways, as well as show a variety of careers and role models from diverse backgrounds. future researchers should then explore how different career content and role models might impact students’ career interest. additionally, future eft programs should more directly investigate vicarious learning impacts on students’ stem interest in self-efficacy. mcleod-morin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.51 86 acknowledgements prevent & protect: mosquito control messages for your community is supported by the smithlever special needs competitive grant program [grant award no. 2016-41210-25622] from the usda national institute of food and agriculture. any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this work are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the u.s. department of agriculture. this work is also supported by a grant from the florida department of health. the research reported in this article supports the mission of the university of florida institute of food and agricultural sciences’ (uf/ifas) center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources. references adedokun, o. 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(2019). the mosquito: a human history of our deadliest predator. penguin random house llc. © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 9-manuscript-221-6-11-20200213.docx kamruzzaman et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 1, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. md kamruzzaman, assistant professor, sylhet agricultural university/ phd fellow, australian national university sylhet-3100, bangladesh/ act 2601, australia kamruzzamanmd.aext@sau.ac.bd or md.kamruzzaman@anu.edu.au; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4980-4125 2. katherine a. daniell, associate professor, australian national university anu college of science, linnaeus way, the australian national university, acton, act 2601, australia katherine.daniell@anu.edu.au, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8433-1012 3. ataharul chowdhury, assistant professor, university of guelph 50 stone road east, guelph, on n1g 2w1, canada ataharul.chowdhury@uoguelph.ca, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2432-0933 4. steven crimp, research fellow, australian national university anu college of science, building 141, linnaeus way, the australian national university, acton, act 2601, australia steven.crimp@anu.edu.au, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4068-573x 5. helen james, interim director, institute for integrated research on disaster risk science, australian national university anu research school of earth sciences, 142 mills road, the australian national university, acton, act 2601, australia helen.james@anu.edu.au, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7169-7691 48 how can agricultural extension and rural advisory services support innovation to adapt to climate change in the agriculture sector? m. kamruzzaman1, k.a. daniell2, a. chowdhury3, s. crimp4, h. james5 abstract because the climate has been rapidly changing and undermining the sustainability of the agriculture sector, agricultural extension and rural advisory services (aeras) need to rethink their contemporary roles and initiatives. although enhancing agricultural innovation is considered a key process to increase farm income and ensure sustainability under complex climate-affected development conditions, little is known how aeras can support the process in the said context. a broad range of literature was reviewed and a deductive coding approach was followed to analyze the literature. the findings suggested numerous transformative roles of aeras providers supporting agricultural innovation. aeras providers should extend their mandates and broaden their scopes by connecting and working with multiple actors and groups within and beyond the agriculture sector. they need to support interactions and learning among diversified actors to develop complementary understanding and approaches for collective action for climate change adaptation. the findings highlight the importance of enhancing innovation by aeras providers for climate change adaptation in the agriculture sector. keywords agricultural extension service, agricultural innovation, climate change, extension organization, transformational roles kamruzzaman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.9 49 introduction and problem statement the agriculture sector has been considered extremely vulnerable to climate change with impacts felt across a large number of agricultural land uses (anita, dominic, & neil, 2010). the primary roles of agricultural extension and rural advisory services (aeras) have long been recognized as enhancing agricultural development and improving rural livelihoods for both high and low-income countries (anderson, 2007). in most literature, the terms extension service and advisory service have been used interchangeably, although some literature has used advisory service to highlight the tasks associated with the facilitation of joint learning and action (faure, desjeux, & gasselin, 2012; faure et al., 2013). in this article, the term aeras was used to capture a more comprehensive understanding of roles of service providers and conceptualized as “all the institutions from different sectors that facilitate farmers’ access to knowledge, information, and technologies; their interaction with markets, research, and education; and the development of technical, organisational, and management skills and practices” (davis & sulaiman, 2016, p. 1). the traditional aeras methods and tools have achieved limited success in tackling the climaterelated challenges in farming (christoplos, 2010; selvaraju, 2012). aeras agencies often do not consider fundamental changes to their conventional strategies and initiatives, and focus on production efficiency, which has been shown to have limited effectiveness in increasing incomes and improving livelihoods (stål & bonnedahl, 2015). as a consequence, a call has emerged to re-think and revise the current aeras agendas and strategies (mustapha, undiandeye, & gwary, 2012; ozor & cynthia, 2011). in the context of climate change, enhancing agricultural innovation is likely to be a way to ensure profitable farming and develop the agriculture sector in sustainable ways (food and agriculture organization [fao], 2018; world bank, 2012). although aeras providers serving as intermediaries and knowledge brokers might fill a significant support role for agricultural innovations to deal with complex issues in general (rajalahti, janssen, & pehu, 2008), little or only anecdotal evidence exists on how aeras providers can enhance agricultural innovation for adapting to climate change. theoretical and conceptual framework climate change is considered a complex problem, having several interrelated drivers and issues (mahmoudi & knierim, 2015). it directly affects certain related sectors, such as agriculture, fishery, and forestry (fao, 2007). increasingly, debates are occurring among academic scholars, practitioners, and policymakers about the speed and scale of climate change effects in the agriculture sector (sala, rossi, & david, 2016). it is evident that technical inventions or improvements in practice efficiencies do not suffice as adaptations to climate change in the spheres of natural resource management, cropping, livestock, and forestry. instead, climate change adaptation should be considered in the light of adjustments of the policy process and institutional systems, which administer crop production, value chains, and consumption strategies (neufeldt et al., 2015). successful adaptation to climate change seeks comprehensible sets of technical and institutional initiatives (leeuwis, hall, van weperen, & preissing, 2013). in essence, climate change adaptation in the agriculture sector calls to kamruzzaman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.9 50 support the process of enhancing agricultural innovation (aase, chapagain, & tiwari, 2013), which is the process whereby: “individuals or organizations bring existing or new products, processes, and forms of organization into social and economic use to increase effectiveness, competitiveness, resilience to shocks or environmental sustainability, thereby contributing to food and nutritional security, economic development, and sustainable natural resource management” (tropical agriculture platform, 2016, p. x). the sources of innovative practices and new ideas are often invisible and primarily contained by a particular actor (rajalahti et al., 2008). every actor in a system has both discursive and tacit knowledge (spielman, davis, negash, & ayele, 2011). an individual is conscious about discursive knowledge any idea that can be evaluated and expressed in language. nevertheless, individuals are usually unaware of their tacit knowledge, which is embedded in their practical activities, skills, practices, and experiences (leeuwis, 2004). the building blocks of innovation are often not accessible because they are the part of individuals’ tacit knowledge, and those individuals may not be part of the innovation network (sharma, peshin, khar, & ishar, 2014). initiating new ideas, which draw on both discursive and tacit knowledge, is a process of bringing together the perspectives of multiple actors who have their individual theories of knowing (ngwenya & hagmann, 2011). for enhancing agricultural innovation, therefore, ideas, knowledge, experiences, and creativity from a variety of actors should be connected, integrated, as well as mobilized to ensure collective cognition (world bank, 2006). to support agricultural innovation, aeras providers need to facilitate network building, social learning, and negotiation among relevant actors and groups (leeuwis & aarts, 2011). network building is critical to establish new relationships among people, technical devices, and natural phenomena. social learning is required to support individual as well as collective cognitive changes, which may result in conflicts among stakeholders. therefore, they have to be involved in negotiation to resolve conflicts (leeuwis, 2004). aeras agencies have been considered the engine for enhancing agricultural innovation. given the emerging issues, including climate change, aeras agencies need to revisit their structures, such as managerial and operational strategies, roles, regulations and cultures and mandates so they can play relevant facilitation and leadership roles in supporting agricultural innovation (rivera & sulaiman, 2009). in the sections that follow, the establishment of a rationale for the roles of aeras in enhancing agricultural innovation is explored, particularly in the context of climate change adaptation. purpose enhancing agricultural innovation can help individuals and organizations in the agriculture sector to adapt to climate change. but no systematic research exists on what new roles, agendas, and strategies aeras agencies could undertake to support agricultural innovation. only a limited number of recent studies have discussed and recommended the roles and kamruzzaman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.9 51 strategies of aeras in supporting climate change adaptation. these recommendations are mainly general in nature and based on experts’ opinions. in this study, a systematic review of the current literature was undertaken aimed at exploring the mandates and roles of aeras in supporting agricultural innovation for climate change adaptation. methods secondary data was collected by searching in different digital databases, such as google scholar, cab abstract, and scopus, during the period of march 2018 to august 2019. the searching was bound as only publications in english from 1980 to the present were used. different keywords were used both separately and in combination to determine relevant literature for analysis. the keywords included adaptation, advisory (rural) services, agricultural extension, agricultural innovation, agricultural practices, climate change, drought, and flood. articles discussing agricultural practices and the roles of aeras in adapting to climate change were the focus and principal criteria for inclusion. peer-reviewed journals, organizational reports, project reports, as well as published and unpublished theses, were selected initially. in addition, national agricultural plans and aeras strategies of different countries were also included. a deductive coding of the text was performed using keywords of relevance to agricultural innovation, such as collaboration, connecting, coordination, interaction, learning, linking, negotiation, and networking (bernard, 2017). informed by gough, oliver and thomas (2017), the findings were synthesized and presented in a thematic summary. the coded descriptive texts were read through, and specific tasks for aeras were identified. those tasks were integrated and interpreted by themes, such as broadening the scope, capacity development, interaction and learning, lobbying policy process and negotiation, performing intermediary roles, and working with multiple actors (yami, vogl, & hauser, 2009). these themes ultimately supported understanding the processes of enhancing agricultural innovation to adapt to climate change. in the review process, a total of 72 articles were included of which 22 were organizational reports, and 32 were based on empirical research in different countries. in this study, the cases and examples were used according to their significance and relevancy with the themes of agricultural innovation. findings broadening the scope and working with multiple actors international organizations (see table 1) and empirical case studies (see table 2) reported that the current functions, operational frameworks and strategies of aeras should be reconsidered and revisited to ensure that agricultural activities are responsive, adaptive, and profitable in the current and future context of climate change. as a consequence, aeras providers should broaden their scopes and embrace a larger, comprehensive mandate that comprises technical and managerial support, as well as social, gender and institutional governance (leeuwis et al., 2013; sala et al., 2016; simpson & burpee, 2014; sulaiman, chuluunbaatar, & vishnu, 2018). kamruzzaman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.9 52 the global alliance for climate-smart agriculture (gacsa) and united states agency for international development (usaid) recommended that aeras providers should move from a strategy of working with few actors, such as farmers, researchers, to working with multiple and diverse actors and groups from different backgrounds with different knowledge and interests (sala et al., 2016; simpson & burpee, 2014). research in ethiopia found that gaps and missing linkages existed between aeras providers and other relevant actors while attempting to support adaptation to climate change. moreover, the policymakers of some aeras agencies, working at different scales, were in disagreement about the degree of urgency and priority of climate change and adaptation (abegaz & wims, 2015). the cooperative extension services of land grant institutions in the united states (us) failed to coordinate efforts to identify priority investment for climate change and agricultural activities at regional and state levels. aeras providers, therefore, faced challenges of dealing with diverse and often conflicting priorities of stakeholders (wright morton et al., 2016). aeras providers of cameroon had very negligible contact and limited connection with the farmers, which ultimately led to farmers reaching out to other farmers to seek support and guidance for climate change adaptation (julie, amungwa, & manu, 2017). infrequent and limited contact with stakeholders also resulted in disputed relationships between farmers and policymakers in zimbabwe (huyer & nyasimi, 2017). the global alliance for climate-smart agriculture (gacsa) suggested that all public aeras providers, serving in a particular region, should be well connected. they need to serve collaboratively for better alignment and synchronization of climate change adaptation activities and programs (sala et al., 2016). aeras agencies should link and work in partnership with other relevant actors and groups within and beyond the agriculture sector at different scales to allow free flow of climate change adaptation information, knowledge, understanding, and strategies (abegaz & wims, 2015; simpson & burpee, 2014; sulaiman et al., 2018). a study in zimbabwe reported a lack of connection and linkage between two sister organizations, i.e. the ministry of agriculture, mechanisation and irrigation, development and the ministry of environment, water and climate who were the key players for supporting climate change adaptation. this study highlighted the importance of institutional collaboration and coordination among agricultural and climate-related institutions, both public and private, including development agencies at the local, national, regional, and international levels (huyer & nyasimi, 2017). this review identified that emphasis had been placed on polices, roles, and regulations at institutional levels to facilitate a supportive environment for aeras providers, but they lacked access to different resources. for instance, about 80% of aeras providers in ethiopia claimed that they did not have adequate access to climate change adaptation resources, such as readily available and user-friendly data, policies and strategies, scientific publications, up to date information, as well as reading materials and manuals (abegaz & wims, 2015). aeras providers in cameroon identified lack of access to information from the ministry related to environment and disaster mitigation, leading to a deficiency in climate change engagement activities (julie et al., 2017). kamruzzaman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.9 53 table 1 the roles of aeras providers to enhance agricultural innovation to adapt to climate change: insights from international organizations broad roles specific tasks number of cases organizations example of key sources broadening the scope, working with multiple and diverse actors reconsidering the operational frameworks, strategies, broadening the mandates, and functions 7 fao, gacsa & usaid (sala et al., 2016; simpson & burpee, 2014; suleiman et al., 2018) creating alignment and developing collaboration among public aeras providers 1 gacsa (sala et al., 2016) partnering with relevant actors and groups of the agriculture sector at appropriate scales 2 usaid & fao (simpson & burpee, 2014; sulaiman et al., 2018) dealing with multiple and diverse actors beyond the agriculture sector 2 fao & gacsa (leeuwis et al., 2013; sala et al., 2016) implementing policies, programs, including both agricultural and fund, policy-related stakeholders 1 ifpri (davis, 2009) performing intermediary roles and supporting learning connecting domestic and international markets 1 gacsa (sala et al., 2016) linking farmers with diverse actors 1 gacsa (sala et al., 2016) organizing participation and facilitating interaction and social learning among diverse actors and communities 2 fao (leeuwis et al., 2013) practicing technological management (e.g. interactive design & experimentation; trying out new practices & adaptive measures) 7 fao, gfras, ifpri, usaid (hachigonta, 2016; sala et al., 2016; simpson, 2016) lobbying policy processes performing lobby and advocacy communication 2 fao & gacsa (sala et al., 2016) seeking out influencing the enabling environment and developing supportive policies 2 fao & usaid (simpson & burpee, 2014; sulaiman et al., 2018) capacity development of aeras providers deepening and broadening knowledge on soft skills related to co-learning, communication, facilitation, networking, and dealing with diverse groups; revising training curricula 4 fao, gacsa, ifpri, & usaid (davis, 2009; sala et al., 2016; simpson & burpee, 2014; sulaiman, 2017) note. fao=food and agriculture organization, gacsa=global alliance for climate-smart agriculture, gfras=global forum for rural advisory services, ifpri= international food policy research institute, usaid= united states agency for international development kamruzzaman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.9 54 performing intermediary roles and supporting interactions the food and agriculture organization (fao) identified that aeras agencies should provide a broader sense of intermediary roles and support participation and interaction among multiple actors (leeuwis et al., 2013). aeras providers need to link domestic market products with international trading markets and consumers (sala et al., 2016). they should connect farmers with diverse actors, including markets, as well as communities, agencies, and institutions to maximize the benefits of information and knowledge (hachigonta, 2016; huyer & nyasimi, 2017; sala et al., 2016). aeras providers need to facilitate diversified stakeholders to interact and share their knowledge and priorities and negotiate to learn from one another to achieve a better and complementary understanding of climate change impacts and adaptation options (mahmoudi & knierim, 2015; sala et al., 2016). the usaid recommended that aeras providers should take advantage of modern and advanced information and communication technologies (icts) to link different actors, to support communication and interaction, and to develop a feeling of interdependence and synergy in collective action (simpson & burpee, 2014). table 2 the roles of aeras providers to enhance agricultural innovation to adapt to climate change: insights from empirical studies in different countries broad roles specific tasks countries example of key sources networking, collaboration and co-learning networking & partnership development, collaboration & coordination of aeras activities, information & knowledge sharing, collaborative research, colearning with multiple & diverse actors ethiopia, india, malawi , namibia, south africa, us, zimbabwe (abegaz & wims, 2015; huyer & nyasimi, 2017; mkisi, 2014) access of aeras providers to resources (e.g. funding, policies & strategies, reading materials, scientific publications, updated information & user friendly data) cameroon, ethiopia, kenya, us (abegaz & wims, 2015; ifejika speranza, kiteme, & opondo, 2009; julie et al., 2017) lobbying/ advocating providing feedback & supporting policy processes nigeria, zimbabwe (huyer & nyasimi, 2017; ozor & cynthia, 2011) capacity development of aeras providers capacity development of aeras providers on technical & functional knowledge (e.g. arranging training, seminars, and workshops; financial investments; updating course curricula) cameroon, ethiopia, india, malawi, namibia, nigeria, pakistan, south africa, us, zimbabwe (afful, 2016; diehl et al., 2015; mkisi, 2014; ogunbameru, mustapha & idrisa, 2013) to formulate adaptation strategies and develop technological innovation, gacsa, global forum for rural advisory services (gfras), and usaid recommended setting out interactive design kamruzzaman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.9 55 principles and co-designed experimentation, as well as promotion of farmer-to-farmer extension (davis, 2009; hachigonta, 2016; sala et al., 2016; simpson, 2016). aeras providers of south africa promoted conservation agriculture as a technological innovation but failed to achieve desired outcomes in terms of increasing yields and ensuring sustainability. therefore, aeras providers were suggested to participate in adaptive research on conservation agriculture management packages with farmers and scientists (afful, 2016). smallholder farmers of malawi identified that aeras providers should strengthen farmers’ linkage with research institutions to draw support for on-farm adaptive research and develop the best risk management practices in different farming systems (mkisi, 2014). lobbying and negotiation this literature review highlighted that aeras providers should have strong linkage and effective communication with the policy process to positively influence the enabling environment and develop supportive policies, as well as funding opportunities for climate change adaptation (leeuwis et al., 2013, simpson & burpee, 2014; sulaiman et al., 2018). farmers in nigeria perceived that aeras providers were knowledgeable about the local effects of climate change on the agriculture sector because they lived and worked with farmers in the rural areas. aeras providers, therefore, could more effectively communicate on local climate change effects to their higher authorities during regular official meetings. thus, the government and other agencies were aware and could develop plans and policies, allocate funding, and implement programs to address the risks and challenges of climate change (ozor & cynthia, 2011). likewise, the gacsa suggested that aeras providers should advocate and raise awareness with decision-makers about the importance of funding for climate change adaptation in the agriculture sector (sala et al., 2016). aeras providers need to invite and engage with funding and policy-related stakeholders while implementing different agricultural policies and programs in the field (davis, 2009). capacity development of aeras providers as an underlying condition aeras providers should develop new capacities to explicitly support innovation in the agriculture sector to adapt to climate change (sala et al., 2016). researchers in malawi recommended that aeras agencies should obtain sufficient investment for human resource development and capacity building (mkisi, 2014). evidence from nigeria highlighted the need to develop teaching and training materials addressing the risks and challenges of climate change for aeras students and providers, respectively (ogunbameru et al., 2013). a case study in the us recommended that aeras providers should receive training to understand both managementand technology-related adaptation strategies, engage in conversations with stakeholders, and participate in co-production of climate change adaptation-related knowledge and strategy (diehl et al., 2015). in this vein, the cameroon case reported that aeras providers need to be provided with seminars and workshops (julie et al., 2017). according to the fao, the current knowledge and efficiencies of aeras providers should be deepened and broadened mostly on soft skills, such as co-learning, communication, facilitation, and networking with diverse groups at different scales (davis, 2009; sulaiman, 2017). kamruzzaman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.9 56 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations to enhance innovation for adapting to climate change in the agriculture sector, aeras providers need to embrace new organizational mandates, agendas, roles, and strategies. they should broaden their scopes by working with multiple actors and groups both within and beyond the agriculture sector. aeras providers need to perform intermediary roles and support interaction and learning among the stakeholders to develop complementary understanding of climate change adaptation and approaches for collective action. seeking support in terms of favorable rules, regulations, and required financial resources from the policy processes are other important tasks on which aeras providers should focus. aeras agencies will likely face challenges in embracing the transformational roles to support innovation for climate change adaptation in the agriculture sector. in this vein, the political context, and the organizational structure and worldviews of aeras providers are among the many challenges that may need consideration. the plans and priorities of governments often influence the focus and ways of implementing aeras programs (berhanu & poulton, 2014). governments require support from the aeras providers to execute different public policies and interests (mahon, farrell, & mcdonagh, 2010), which ultimately might deviate aeras agencies from their principal modes of action (diesel & miná dias, 2016). conducting organizational reforms of aeras agencies to embrace agricultural innovation approaches is challenging, especially in developing countries (hounkonnou et al., 2012; rivera & sulaiman, 2009). the administration and policy-making system of aeras agencies might be unwilling to reconsider their long-term roles and practices to embrace agricultural innovation approaches (chowdhury, odame, & leeuwis, 2014). aeras agencies have shown resistance to consider deep-rooted reform (islam, gray, reid, & kemp, 2011). change in organizational strategies faces political, social, and contextual complexities (islam et al., 2011). moreover, gaps often exist between the organizational mandates or vision and the aeras providers’ worldviews (landini, 2015). in addition, intraand inter-organizational differences of innovation perception and mindsets are found among aeras providers. in the same aeras agency, some individuals might have mindsets largely dominated by top-down approaches emphasizing specialists’ knowledge dissemination whereas others might prefer to adopt dialogical approaches and horizontal interaction of knowledge sharing and learning (landini, 2016). overall, a lack of evidence exists from the reviewed literature on how to develop the capacities of aeras providers to enhance agricultural innovation in the context of climate change. the tropical agriculture platform (2016) proposes four aspects of capacity development, capacity to navigate complexity, collaborate, reflect and learn, engage in strategic and political processes to ensure actors’ effective involvement in enhancing agricultural innovation in general. these capacities might provide insight on formulating ways to develop functional capacities of aeras providers to support agricultural innovation for climate change adaptation. however, further research is needed to better understand the means and strategies for developing the capacities of aeras providers. kamruzzaman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.9 57 the aeras professionals, providers, and agencies serving in regions more prone to climate change and working at different scales, could utilize these research insights to better develop strategies for ensuring sustainability in the agriculture sector. however, these findings should not be used as a one-size-fits-all approach. depending on the local, national, and political contexts, as well as financial and organizational support, aeras providers are encouraged to reconsider their roles and formulate new ways to enhance agricultural innovation for climate change adaptation in their localities. acknowledgements the higher degree by research (hdr) fee merit scholarship and hdr research scholarship of the australian national university are acknowledged for supporting the doctor of philosophy study of the first author. references aase, t. h., chapagain, p. s., & tiwari, p. c. 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(2009). comparing the effectiveness of informal and formal institutions in sustainable common pool resources management in sub-saharan africa. conservation and society 7(3), 153-164. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-4923.64731 © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 117-manuscript-1323-1-11-20210520.docx eck advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 2, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1christopher eck, assistant professor of agricultural education, 253 mcadams hall, clemson, sc 29634, eck@clemson.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-3632 25 implications of the covid-19 pandemic on school-based agricultural education teachers in south carolina c. eck1 abstract understanding a complete school-based agricultural education (sbae) program and the many tasks at hand for the teacher are critical in determining the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic on sbae teachers. the human capital theory was used to undergird this study, focusing on the components impacting the effectiveness of sbae teachers. the purpose of the study was to determine the implications of the covid-19 pandemic on sbae teachers in south carolina (sc). this nonexperimental survey research study reached 46.5% of sbae teachers in sc through the electronic distribution of a 27-item survey instrument implementing a then-now design. sbae teachers in sc felt less prepared to deliver relevant classroom instruction, supervise supervised agricultural experiences projects, advise ffa members, and train career and leadership development events teams now than they did prior to the covid-19 pandemic, while they feel more prepared to teach student virtually than ever before. the pandemic impacted the preparedness and self-efficacy of sbae teachers, impacting both their career and personal life satisfaction. moving forward sbae teachers should evaluate their roles and responsibilities associated with their career and determine how to best bring balance into their lives. additional research on the roles and responsibilities of sbae teachers post-pandemic should also be considered. keywords human capital, then-now design, teacher preparedness eck advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.117 26 introduction and problem statement the world health organization declared the covid-19 outbreak as a global pandemic on march 11, 2020 (world health organization, 2020). this announcement cased a ripple effect as schools, businesses and government agents across the country had to adapt normal day-to-day operations to limit in-person contact (centers for disease control and prevention [cdc], 2020). in the case of schools, k-12 teachers, regardless of subject area, had to modify their instructional strategy overnight to begin teaching using virtual platforms (daniel, 2020). unfortunately, most school districts were not prepared for this abrupt shift, leaving students and teachers unprepared for this new instructional delivery method (daniel, 2020). in contrast to in-person course delivery, many “teachers were devoting what would have been instructional time to tackling technology challenges, whether struggling to get up to speed learning the intricacies of a learning management system or fixing access problems on zoom calls” (bushweller, 2020, para. 19). school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers were not immune to these changes, as they also experienced an immediate interruption in their daily functions (lindner et al., 2020). although sbae teachers have a primary teaching responsibility (i.e., classroom/laboratory instruction), they are also tasked with roles associated with their national ffa organization (ffa) chapter, and students supervised agricultural experiences (sae) (national ffa, 2015). to effectively deliver a complete program, sbae teachers assume many roles to engage students in all three components (terry & briers, 2010). these diverse roles require additional time commitments over a traditional classroom teacher (torres et al., 2008). understanding a complete sbae program and the many tasks at hand for the teacher are critical in determining the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic on sbae teachers. given the sudden change in instructional delivery and demand for technological proficiency from sbae teachers (lindner et al., 2020), the questions of what implications did the covid-19 pandemic have on sbae teachers in south carolina (sc) to deliver a complete program arose. theoretical and conceptual framework human capital theory was used to undergird this study, as human capital aims to evaluate the education, skills, experiences, and trainings (becker, 1964; little, 2003; schultz, 1971; smith, 2010; smylie, 1996) necessary for gainful employment (becker, 1964) as an sbae teacher. an individual’s human capital and human capital needs differ based on personal and professional characteristics (lepak & snell, 1999). wilson and ball (1996) identify one grand challenge in teacher education as understanding where teachers are and where they want to be, as prospective teachers often come into a teacher education program with years of experience. additionally, “reform efforts have focused mostly on improving teacher effectiveness and student achievement, ignoring the roles of school organization and teacher job satisfaction, which are critical for student success” (banerjee et al., 2017, p. 234). furthermore, banerjee et al. (2017) conclude the need for career satisfaction and a positive environment as being pivotal factors in overall teaching effectiveness, ultimately leading to student achievement. eck advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.117 27 when considering human capital development in agricultural education, eck et al. (2020) developed the conceptual model of effective teaching for sbae teachers, which takes into account an individual’s current human capital along with the identified components of effective sbae teachers (i.e., intracurricular engagement, personal dispositions, appreciation for diversity and inclusion, pedagogical preparedness, work-life balance, and professionalism) and personal, professional, and environmental factors (i.e., career tenure, program size, certification pathway, and personal attributes), all of which lead to effective teaching in sbae. the conceptual model developed by eck et al. (2020) was adapted for this study to include additional factors related to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic (i.e., marital status, family, the covid-19 pandemic, and grade levels taught). together, the human capital theory and the conceptual model of effective teaching for sbae teachers (eck et al., 2020) provides a lens to evaluate the preparedness, self-efficacy, work-life balance, and motivation of sbae teachers in sc during the covid-19 pandemic. the factors being evaluated in this study are woven into the human capital (i.e., education, skills, experiences, and trainings) sbae teachers have developed to be effective in their chosen profession, although the pandemic has caused many teachers to question their preparedness (bushweller, 2020; daniel, 2020). purpose the purpose of the study was to determine the implications of the covid-19 pandemic on sbae teachers in sc. understanding sbae teachers’ perceptions prior to the pandemic and now, amidst the pandemic, will help to inform agricultural teacher educators and other stakeholders of the specific needs in preparing and supporting sbae teachers. four objectives directed this study: 1. determine the preparedness of sbae teachers to deliver a complete sbae program before and during the covid-19 pandemic, 2. establish perceived levels of self-efficacy prior to and during the pandemic, 3. determine the work-life balance and satisfaction of sbae teachers prior to and during the pandemic, and 4. identify the motivational factors driving sbae teachers in their careers. methods this non-experimental survey research study aimed to reach sbae teachers across sc (n = 155). the survey frame used publicly available email address for the sbae teachers, where they received an email invitation to participate in the research study. to increase response rate the tailored design method was followed for electronic survey design and electronic distribution (dillman et al., 2014), resulting in a 46.5% (n = 72) response rate. with over half of the population of interest not responding (53.5%), non-response bias was of concern. to address this concern the recommendations of lindner et al. (2001) where followed and a comparison of early to late respondents was conducted, resulting in no statistically significant differences between the two groups (i.e., early and late respondents). therefore, the 46.5% of sbae eck advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.117 28 teachers in sc who responded were considered to be representative on the population of interest. a 27-item researcher developed survey was used for data collection. the instrument was developed using a then-now design to allow participants to reflect on their experiences prior to the covid-19 pandemic (then), while also reporting their current experiences teaching sbae during the pandemic (now) on the same items. a then-now design (john & robbins, 1994) was chosen due to the nature of the pandemic, as researchers did not anticipate a pandemic to collect data prior to the onset. prior to distribution, the survey instrument was evaluated for face and content validity by three faculty members in agricultural education at [university], following the recommendations of privitera (2020). the 27-item survey instrument was divided into eight sections including, preparedness to teach, teaching self-efficacy, hours worked, motivation to teach, work-life satisfaction, instructional delivery, covid-19 impacts, and personal and professional characteristics. the preparedness to teach section asked participants to score five-items on a four-point likerttype scale (1 = strongly disagree; 4 = strongly agree) based on their preparedness pre-covid and currently (during pandemic). teaching self-efficacy was measured using two-items, asking teachers to indicate their pre-covid self-efficacy for classroom/laboratory instruction, sae supervision, and ffa advisement, each on a zero to 100 sliding scale, the second question was the same except teachers reported current (during pandemic) self-efficacy. the third section addressed hours worked pre-covid and during covid using two questions, where teachers indicated the average number of hours per week spent lesson planning, teaching, grading, supervising sae projects, advising the ffa chapter, and on personal/family time. motivation to teach sbae was evaluated by asking teachers to rank four-items (i.e., teaching agriculture, advising ffa members, working with sae projects, and preparing career and leadership development events [cde/lde] teams) based on their motivation, where one is the greatest motivator and four is the least motivating. to address work-life satisfaction, teachers selected their career and life satisfaction both pre-covid and currently on a five-point likert-type scale with 1 being extremely dissatisfied and 5 being extremely satisfied. three questions addressed instructional delivery, including “how are you currently delivering classroom instruction?”, “did you ever deliver online instruction prior to the covid-19 pandemic?” and “do you feel prepared to deliver online instruction?”. to determine covid-19 impacts on sbae, teachers indicated their greatest challenges, greatest benefits, and how [university] could further support them moving forward. the final section of the survey instrument included nine personal and professional demographic questions (i.e., sex, ethnicity, age, marital status, certification pathway, grade levels taught, years of experience, program size, and if they have children). among the respondents, 58.3% (n = 40) were female, 90.3% (n = 65) were white/caucasian, and they ranged in age from 21 to 65 years old. additionally, 75% (n = 54) were married and 31.9% (n = 23) had children under the age of 18. sixty-one (84.7%) were traditionally certified through either a bachelors or master’s degree in agricultural education with a student teaching experience and ranged from first year teachers to those with 36 years of experience. when considering grade levels taught, 84.7% (n = 61) taught only high school students (grades 9–12), while the remaining 15.3% taught either middle school (grades 6–8) or a combination of both middle and high school students. twenty-eight (38.9%) respondents reported teaching in a eck advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.117 29 single teacher program, with the remaining teaching in multiple teacher programs ranging from two to three teachers. the data were analyzed using spss version 26 and included descriptive and inferential statistics. for objectives 1, 2, and 3, paired-sample t-tests were implemented to compare sc sbae teachers self-reported mean scores prior to and during the pandemic to further understand the educational impacts of covid-19. findings findings for research question one: determine the preparedness of sbae teachers to deliver a complete sbae program before and during the covid-19 pandemic to determine the preparedness of sbae teachers in sc, five-items (see table 1) were scored on a four-point likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree; 4 = strongly agree) for pre-covid preparedness and current (during pandemic) preparedness. table 1 outlines the five items, item means, and standard deviations along with the results of the paired-sample t-tests and calculated effect size. table 1 south carolina school-based agricultural education (sbae) teacher preparedness prior to and during the covid-19 pandemic (n = 72) itema pre-covid current i am prepared to m sd m sd t p d deliver relevant classroom instruction (in-person) 3.94 .31 3.39 .77 4.88 .001** .69 teach students virtually 2.24 1.1 3.04 .69 -4.68 .001** .66 supervise students' saeb projects 3.72 .60 2.76 1.1 5.50 .001** .78 advise ffa members 3.72 .61 3.00 .87 5.68 .001** .80 train cde/lde teamsc 3.70 .68 2.73 .94 6.61 .001** .94 note. aitem stem – i was (pre-covid) / am (current) prepared to; bsae = supervised agricultural experience; ffa = national ffa organization; ccareer and leadership development events [cde/lde] teams. *p < .05 or ** p < .01. each of the five items related to the preparedness of sbae teachers in sc resulted in a statistically significant (p < .01) difference prior to and during the pandemic, with a decrease in preparedness on all the items expect teaching student virtually, which resulted in a statically significant increase in preparedness. to further understand these differences effect sizes were calculated using cohen’s d, resulting in medium effect sizes (.50 < d < .80) for preparedness to deliver relevant classroom instruction, teach students virtually, and supervise students’ sae eck advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.117 30 projects, while a large effect size (d > .80) was found for advising ffa members and training cde/lde teams. findings for research question two: establish perceived levels of self-efficacy prior to and during the pandemic sbae teachers in sc varied based on their self-perceived levels of efficacy related to a completed sbae program (i.e., classroom/laboratory instruction, sae supervision, ffa advisement) prior to and during the pandemic. self-efficacy was measured on a sliding scale from 0 (low self-efficacy) to 100 (high self-efficacy) for each of the three components. scores ranged from a low self-efficacy of 5 for ffa advisement during the pandemic to a high selfefficacy of 100 for classroom and laboratory instruction pre-covid. table 2 provides the mean and standard deviation for each of the three components prior to and during the pandemic along with the results of the paired-sample t-tests and calculated effect size. table 2 self-efficacy of school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers in south carolina prior to and during the covid-19 pandemic (n = 72) item pre-covid current t p d m sd m sd classroom/laboratory instruction 88.43 10.54 74.21 19.58 5.70 .001** .82 saea supervision 76.19 17.86 50.02 26.66 7.20 .001** 1.06 ffab advisement 88.38 11.84 61.56 24.12 7.04 .001** 1.01 note. asae = supervised agricultural experience; bffa = national ffa organization. *p < .05 or ** p < .01. participants experienced a decrease in perceived self-efficacy across the three components, as shown by statistically significant decreases (p < .01) and large effect sizes (d > .80). additionally, 51.4% (n = 37) of respondents felt prepared (probably yes of definitely yes) to deliver online instruction during the pandemic, while the remaining 48.6% felt that they were probably not or definitely not prepared for the change in instructional delivery. only 19.4% (n = 14) of sbae teachers in sc that responded had experience prior to the pandemic in delivering online instruction. these factors lead to some of the greatest challenges’ respondents faced teaching during the pandemic, including “a lack of hands-on teaching in a virtual environment” which leads to the challenge of making the course “exciting and fun”, ultimately impacting student motivation. findings for research question three: determine the work-life balance and satisfaction of sbae teachers prior to and during the pandemic participants were asked to input their approximate hours worked during an average week on five work related items including, lesson planning, teaching class, grading assignments, sae eck advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.117 31 supervision, and ffa advisement, along with the amount of time dedicated to personal and/or family time. hours reported ranged from a low of one hour a week spent grading pre-covid to 11.1% (n = 8) of respondents indicating over 90 hours a week dedicated to family time during the covid-19 pandemic. table 3 outlines the mean and standard deviation for hours spent precovid and during covid-19 (current) for each of the six items along with the results of the paired-sample t-tests and effect size. table 3 average hours spent by south carolina school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers prior to and during the covid-19 pandemic (n = 72) hours spent pre-covid current t p d m sd m sd lesson planning 11.00 11.79 18.18 17.52 -3.86 .001** .61 teaching 34.60 17.69 31.85 13.80 1.90 .070 .30 grading 8.98 10.56 11.57 11.85 -2.71 .010* .43 saea supervision 10.34 12.41 8.23 13.69 1.24 .220 .21 ffab advisement 18.05 19.24 13.38 20.07 3.52 .010* .56 personal/family time 30.62 25.35 32.62 27.46 -1.22 .230 .19 note. asae = supervised agricultural experience; bffa = national ffa organization. *p < .05 or ** p < .01. the sample of responding sbae teachers reported an increase in hours spent lesson planning (p < .01), grading (p < .01), and personal/family time (p > .05), while they indicated a decrease in time spent teaching (p > .05), sae supervision (p > .05), and ffa advisement (p < .01). in addition, a medium effect size (.50 < d < .80) was calculated for lesson planning and ffa advisement, while the other four areas resulted in a small effect size (d < .50). to further understand the work-life balance of sbae teachers, two questions were asked to address their career satisfaction and life satisfaction pre-covid and currently (during covid). each item was ranked on a five-point likert-type scale of agreement, where 1 = extremely dissatisfied and 5 = extremely satisfied. sixty-one (84.7%) participants were either satisfied or extremely satisfied with their career prior to the pandemic, which was then reduced to only 48.6% (n = 35) of sbae teachers being satisfied or extremely satisfied with their career during the pandemic. similarly, 81.9% (n = 59) of respondents were satisfied or extremely satisfied with their life prior to covid-19, while only 68.1% (n = 49) reported to be satisfied or extremely satisfied during the pandemic. table 4 provides the mean scores and standard deviations for career and life satisfaction prior to and during the covid-19 pandemic along with the results of the paired-sample t-tests and effect sizes. eck advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.117 32 table 4 satisfaction of south carolina school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers prior to and during the covid-19 pandemic (n = 72) satisfaction pre-covid current t p d m sd m sd career 4.15 1.01 3.10 1.25 4.53 .001* .72 life 4.24 .97 3.84 1.10 2.07 .050 .34 *p < .05 or ** p < .01. both career and life satisfaction were reported to be lower during the covid-19 pandemic than before by sbae teachers in sc. career satisfaction resulted in a statistically significant difference (p < .01) with a medium (.50 < d < .80) effect size. life satisfaction was also statistically significant (p = .05) but had a small effect size (d < .50), making the difference negligible. findings for research question four: identify the motivational factors driving sbae teachers in their careers when sc sbae teachers were asked to rank potential factors that motivate them to teach, 72.2% (n = 52) reported teaching agriculture as the motivating factor. advising ffa members was the second highest with 25.0% (n = 18) of teachers selecting it as the top factor and another 47.2% (n = 34 ) identifying it as the second factor. preparing cde/lde teams was only ranked first by one teacher (1.4%) but was ranked third by 45.8% (n = 33). no teachers indicated working with students sae projects as being the top motivating factor, instead 41 (56.9%) identified it as being the least motivating of the four potential factors. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations sbae teachers in sc feel less prepared to deliver relevant classroom instruction, supervise students’ sae projects, advise ffa members, and train cde/lde teams know then they did prior to the covid-19 pandemic, while they feel more prepared to teach student virtually than ever before. this aligns with previous research identifying teachers and their school districts as not being prepared for the shift to online or hybrid instructional models (daniel, 2020). although the more teachers interacted with learning management systems and virtual teaching platforms (i.e., zoom or google meets) the more prepared they felt, unfortunately, in most cases this was taking away from their time and preparedness in other areas (bushweller, 2020). when evaluating sbae teachers’ self-efficacy of a complete sbae program (i.e., classroom/laboratory instruction, ffa, and sae), statistically significant decreases (p < .01) and large effect sizes (d > .80) were found across all three components. the pandemic forced a shift in many of the traditional roles of an sbae teacher, as identified by terry and briers (2010), as these roles morphed, teachers felt less efficacy than before, which brought about many challenges for the teachers. thus, teachers began to question what they were doing and how effective they were in their chosen career. the human capital including the education, skills, eck advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.117 33 experiences, and trainings (becker, 1964; little, 2003; schultz, 1971; smith, 2010; smylie, 1996) they have received over the years that was essential for their daily job functions, was perhaps, no longer adequate. these sudden changes in the job duties impacted the preparedness and self-efficacy of sbae teachers, impacting both their career and personal life satisfaction. career satisfaction experienced the greatest impact and resulted in a statistically significant difference (p < .01) with a medium effect size. this aligns with the recent work of mckim and sorenson (2020) who found a significant decrease in sbae teaching satisfaction because of the covid-19 pandemic. conceivably this relates to the increase in time needed to lesson plan and grade student work during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic and the reduction in time spent teaching, which was found to be the primary reason participants selected a career as an sbae teacher. life satisfaction on the other hand resulted in a negligible difference (p = .05, small effect size), which perhaps can be related to the reduced time spent teaching, conducting sae visits, and advising the ffa chapter along with the additional time reported for personal/family time. for many, teaching sbae is life, linking the impact on both work and life satisfaction found in this study. the covid-19 pandemic has impacted sbae teachers in sc in a variety of ways, from their instructional delivery methods and ffa and sae responsibilities to time spent teaching versus time spent with family. sbae teachers look forward to returning to a sense of normalcy with inperson teaching and ffa events, but this is also a time to reflect on potential positive outcomes from the pandemic (i.e., reduced weekly workload and increased personal/family time). moving forward sbae teachers should evaluate their roles and responsibilities associated with their career and determine how to best bring balance into their lives, as the environmental factors (see figure 1), including the covid-19 pandemic caused a disruption in the status quo of the necessary human capital required for their career. therefore, sbae teacher educators, agricultural education state staff, and school administrators should consider the demands placed on sbae teachers and determine how to best support them, preparing teachers for longevity in a successful career. additionally, functions that became essential during the pandemic (i.e., virtual program delivery, effective online instruction, hosting virtual meetings, and operating learning management systems), should become an integral part of teacher preparation programs in the future to better prepare future teachers for an ever-changing educational climate. additional research on the roles and responsibilities of sbae teachers post-pandemic should be conducted to better understand the impact of covid-19 on the profession. online instruction was immediately implemented for teachers across the country, therefore, further investigation into effective online delivery for sbae programs is essential. finally, this study should be adapted to evaluate teachers post-pandemic through a then-now design, allowing participants to reflect on their experiences during the covid-19 pandemic (then), while also reporting their current experiences teaching sbae post-pandemic (now) on the same items. eck advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.117 34 references banerjee, n., stearns, e., moller, s., & mickelson, r. a. 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(2020). coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) situation report– 51. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situationreports/20200311-sitrep-51-covid-19.pdf’sfvrsn=1ba62e57_10 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). chowdhury_a_promotion&tenure young et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 2, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. heather l. young, graduate assistant, university of florida, 310 rolfs hall. po box 110540, gainesville. fl 32611, heather.young@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2236-5054 2. bradley m. coleman, graduate assistant, university of florida, 310 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, bradleycoleman@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 3. carla b. jagger, assistant professor, university of florida, 307b rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, carlajagger@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9796-6271 4. peyton e. sweet moore, graduate student, university of florida, 408 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, psweetmoore@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9974-1698 5. j. c. bunch, associate professor, university of florida, 307a rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 97 exploring the preferred learning style of preservice teachers and how this influences their philosophy of teaching h. young1, b. coleman2, c. jagger3, p. sweet moore4, j.c. bunch5 abstract the purpose of this mixed methods study was to address how preservice teachers’ preferred learning style influences their philosophy of teaching agricultural education. a convergent parallel mixed methods design was used in which quantitative and qualitative data were collected simultaneously, analyzed separately, and then merged for combined analysis. in this study, we identified 17 preservice teachers’ learning style and then assessed how their learning style influenced their philosophy statement. we found 59% of the teaching philosophy statements were similar to the preservice teachers’ learning style, 18% were different, and 23% were deemed inconclusive. it appears the preferred learning style of preservice teachers does carry through into their teaching philosophy. the percentage of inconclusive statements show that teachers will incorporate multiple learning styles to meet the diverse learning needs of their students. when the various learning styles of a class are met, it is suggested that the learning experience will be more effective and beneficial for the learners. based on the findings of this study, we recommend implementing professional development sessions to help teachers blend their preferred learning style with the needs of their learners. additionally, further research is needed to compare teachers’ actual practice with their teaching philosophies. keywords teaching philosophies, agricultural education, kolb lsi, mixed methods young et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.131 98 introduction and problem statement novice middle and high school teachers often teach how they were taught or how the individual teacher prefers to learn (brown, 2003). however, the way teachers were taught may often times be different than the learning preferences found in a classroom of diverse learners. recognizing students learn in different ways, middle and high school teachers have adjusted their pedagogical approaches by using multiple teaching methods to help meet the needs of their diverse learners (brown, 2003; delahoussaye, 2002; heimlich & norland, 2002; hernandez et al., 2020; hydrie & naqvi, 2021; kolb & kolb, 2006; loewenberg ball & forzani, 2009; miller, 2001; seaman & fellenz, 1990). typically, novice teachers have developed a teaching philosophy as part of their teacher preparation program to assist novice teachers in guiding their practice (caukin & brinthaupt, 2017). schönwetter et al. (2002) purported that an effective teaching philosophy statement includes characteristics of one’s teaching strategies, rationale for teaching, guiding teaching behaviors, organizing evaluation of teaching, promoting personal and professional development, and encouraging the sharing of effective teaching. a teaching philosophy should specifically state one’s definition of teaching, definition of learning, the view of the learner, the goals and expectations of the student teacher relationship, a discussion of teaching methods, as well as a discussion of evaluation (schönwetter et al., 2002). literature supports the idea of novice teachers teaching how they were taught (beegle & coffee, 1991; oleson & hora, 2014). further, positive results are achieved when agriscience students are taught using their preferred learning style (baker & robinson, 2019; smith & rayfield, 2019). therefore, there is a need to investigate how preservice teachers’ learning styles influence their initial teaching philosophies, which could influence their pedagogical preferences as a novice teacher. theoretical and conceptual framework the conceptual framework used for this study was kolb’s (2017) learning style inventory (lsi). the lsi is founded upon the principles of kolb’s (1984) model of experiential learning. kolb (2017) revised the lsi to include nine different learning styles instead of the original four, including, initiating, experiencing, imagining, reflecting, analyzing, thinking, deciding, acting, and balancing. the initiating learning style is identified by initiating action to deal with varying experiences and situations. experiencing learning style is identified by finding meaning from being deeply involved in experiences. individuals with an imagining learning style can imagine the possibilities based on what they have observed and reflected upon. they are aware of people’s feelings and values by listening and having an open mind. someone with a reflecting learning style understands others’ point of view and can grasp what is happening in a situation, while being able to explain it in detail. individuals with an analyzing learning style are seen as logical and typically excel in organizing varying information in a concise form, creating conceptual models, and rational thinking (kolb, 2017). young et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.131 99 the thinking learning style is identified by the ability for logical reasoning and rational decision making, as well as strong data analysis skills. goal setting, decision making, problem-solving, and evaluating solutions are all strengths of those with a deciding learning style. the acting learning style is described as a combination of technical knowledge, personal relationships, and getting projects completed. individuals with the acting learning style are focused on setting goals to help them get tasks accomplished by testing their ideas with experiences in the area and concepts they have created to complete the task. balancing learning style individuals typically have the ability to be flexible and work well within diverse groups. since they do well with balancing between all types of learning, they are often seen as being indecisive and having their ‘hands in too many pots’, where they are not able to focus on the topic at hand (kolb, 2017). purpose the purpose of this mixed methods study was to address how preservice teachers’ preferred learning style influences their philosophy of teaching agricultural education. a convergent parallel mixed methods design was used in which quantitative and qualitative data were collected simultaneously, analyzed separately, and then merged for combined analysis (creswell & plano clark, 2018). descriptive, quantitative data were used to describe the preservice teachers’ preferred learning style category. qualitative data, in the form of preservice teachers’ teaching philosophy statements, were used in comparison with their preferred learning style. the data were then merged in a data matrix and analyzed to address the following research questions: 1. what are the preservice teachers’ preferred learning styles as defined by the kolb lsi instrument? 2. how do preservice teachers’ preferred learning style influence their teaching philosophy statements? methods a convergent parallel mixed method design was used (creswell & plano clark, 2018). all data were collected from preservice teachers enrolled in, aec 4224: special methods in teaching agricultural education, which is the student teaching preparation block course in the department of agricultural education and communication at the university of florida. the first strand of data was quantitative and measured the preservice teachers’ preferred learning style. the qualitative strand of data included the preservice teachers’ teaching philosophy statements. in total, nineteen teaching philosophy statements (n = 19) were submitted, however, only 17 philosophies (n = 17) were analyzed due to incomplete data. participant demographics included 16 females and one male. there were 16 preservice teachers who identified as white, and one preservice teacher identified as hispanic. researchers’ biases and perspectives are potentially influential of the research process and should be addressed to help in reducing bias (patton, 2002). of the five researchers, two are young et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.131 100 university agricultural teacher education faculty. one faculty member currently serves as the teacher certification program coordinator and the lead instructor of the student teacher preparation block course. three of the researchers are graduate students in agricultural education. weekly meetings were held among the authorship team to reduce bias and share perspectives. data collection and instrumentation each preservice teacher completed kolb’s lsi questionnaire. this instrument consists of 12items which describe learning situations where participants rank themselves from one to four, with 1 = least like you and 4 = most like you. in addition to the lsi, preservice teachers were asked to compose their teaching philosophies based on the following questions: (a) what do you teach? (b) why do you teach? (c) how do you view your students? (d) how do you teach? (e) how do you know if you have been successful? data analysis for the quantitative strand of data, preservice teachers’ lsi scores were calculated following the lsi grid design to establish their score and learning style. to analyze the qualitative data strand, each philosophy statement was analyzed deductively for congruent and discrepant statements according to their calculated learning style. for example, a philosophy statement from a preservice teacher with an initiating learning style was analyzed, keeping those characteristics in mind, to determine if their philosophy statement reflected that learning style. congruent statements were those closely related to the learning style characteristics, as described in the lsi workbook (kolb, 2017). additionally, lsi scores that reflected one learning style and a philosophy statement that reflected another learning style in the same quadrant were considered similar and analyzed as congruent. discrepant statements were identified as being related to any other learning style outside of the participant’s learning style quadrant on the lsi scoring grid. in other words, if their lsi score fell in the top left quadrant (initiating) but had mostly statements clearly reflecting a learning style from another quadrant (e.g., imaging, reflecting, analyzing, thinking, deciding) they were analyzed as discrepant. finally, if 50% or more of the philosophy statement did not align with a specific learning style, it was considered an inconclusive case. while analyzing the philosophy statements each participant’s learning style was recorded at the top of their work and annotated notes were recorded throughout to identify congruent or discrepant statements to specific learning styles. additionally, each philosophy statement was reanalyzed multiple times to validate the annotated analysis. these steps helped to establish the validity of the reported findings. finally, the results of the two strands of data were integrated through the comparison of data across learning style groups (creswell & plano clark, 2018; bazeley, 2009). this integration was situated into a data matrix which featured the quantitative results and a summary of qualitative findings. young et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.131 101 findings research question one: what are the preservice teachers’ preferred learning styles as defined by the kolb lsi instrument? descriptive statistics were calculated to describe the learning styles of each preservice teacher based on the kolb lsi instrument. within the sample (n = 17), 41.2% (ƒ = 7) of the preservice teachers had an acting learning style, 29.4% (ƒ = 5) had an initiating learning style, 11.8% (ƒ = 2) had a balancing learning style, 5.9% (ƒ = 1) had an experiencing learning style, 5.9% (ƒ = 1) had a reflecting learning style, and 5.9% (ƒ = 1) had a thinking learning style. there were no imagining, deciding, or analyzing learning styles among the preservice teachers. the individual participants’ learning styles are reported in table 1. table 1 summary of participants’ individual kolb lsi learning styles kolb learning style participant acting teacher 1, teacher 2, teacher 5, teacher 7, teacher 8, teacher 9, teacher 15 initiating teacher 3, teacher 4, teacher 10, teacher 13, teacher 16 balancing teacher 14, teacher 17 reflecting teacher 6 thinking teacher 11 experiencing teacher 12 research question two: how do preservice teachers’ preferred learning style influence their teaching philosophy statements? qualitative data were collected on the preservice teachers’ philosophy statements and were analyzed based on the preservice teachers’ developed teaching philosophy statement. the objective was to determine whether or not the personal learning style of the preservice teachers had an influence on their teaching philosophy statements. there were ten teachers (1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17) who were congruent regarding their philosophy statements and their lsi scores. three teachers (7, 14, 16) had discrepant statements within their philosophy statement compared to their lsi scores. there were four preservice teachers (3, 4, 5, 11) who had multiple learning styles present in their teaching philosophy statement and were reported as inconclusive. acting the most frequently occurring learning style within the teaching philosophies was the acting learning style. acting learners do well with combining tasks, teammate needs, and addressing questions and problems, while still being personable and responsible. they learn best when they are involved in conversations with co-workers and within teams. acting learners prefer to young et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.131 102 work with a teacher who has practical real-life experience students can learn from. teachers 1, 2, 8, 9, 14, and 15 were identified as acting style based upon their teaching statements. all of these teachers, except for 14, had statements which aligned with their lsi scores, as acting, while teacher 14 was discrepant to their lsi score of balancing. participants within this learning style had the following congruent statements within their philosophies, “a quality sae is one where students go beyond the classroom and take their learning into their own hands and into the real world…to develop their own interests so the skills they acquire may be useful” (teacher 9). teacher 15 believes “the [students’] responsibilities are to understand and demonstrate their knowledge of all subjects…in an agriculture-based classroom…the student should engage in classroom activities and discussions…learning how to apply the things they’ve learned in class.” teacher 8 similarly mentioned “i will provide them knowledge for specified courses, which they will be able to apply in real life scenarios. students will be advised to [participate] in a supervised agriculture experience (sae) of their interest.” initiating the next learning style from the teaching philosophies was the initiating learning style, which teachers 10 and 13 were identified as and were congruent with their lsi score. characteristics of this learning style are preferring a hands-on, real-life learning situation; willingness to try out new and challenging experiences; volunteering for leadership positions; starting new projects, taking risks, identifying new strategies for completion; learners often act on ‘gut’ feelings, spontaneity, energetic, persuasion, and courage. initiating learners usually excel in learning environments where they can work together in groups to try out different ways to complete the assignment. teacher 10 presents the desire to serve as a mentor to students by “leading by example and [using] my agricultural experiences to guide and direct them. i will make it a priority to help students find their passion through supervised agriculture experiences.” teacher 13 “strongly believes in the educational power of immersing children into the realworld application of the lesson at hand.” reflecting the third learning style, which included teacher 6 and 7; 6 being congruent with reflecting and 7 being discrepant of their lsi score of acting, was the reflecting learning style. these preservice teachers connect experiences and ideas through sustained reflection. reflective learners are able to organize information in a way to aid reflection. they enjoy being able to come up with various solutions or approaches to a problem and offering detailed insight. since reflective learners are quiet, sensitive, and thorough, interjecting in a group conversation or being the one to take action is often difficult for them. a couple congruent statements include, “i know [i have accomplished my purpose] if they walk out of my classroom knowing more than they did before and fostering a passion for the agricultural industry” (teacher 7). teacher 6 stated “teaching styles have a great impact on the audience you are trying to reach. i will teach to accommodate different learning styles to the best of my ability.” young et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.131 103 experiencing the fourth learning style was experiencing. teacher 12’s philosophy statement similarly identified with the experiencing learning style. experiencing learners will feed off constructive feedback in both their professional and personal lives, as well as desiring to build personal relationships with their teachers. they enjoy working in groups but need time to work alone to finalize a project; they prefer learning by meaningful interactions and continuing conversations with friends and co-workers; they are open minded, accepting, helpful, empathetic, sensitive to others’ feelings, innovative, and take unique approaches to problem solving. this particular preservice teacher found meaning from deep involvement in experiences. “i incorporate exploration and hands-on learning. i listen to the desires of students while meeting it with the expectations of the world they are going into.” balancing the fifth learning style was the balancing learning style, in which teacher 17’s philosophy statement identified with and was aligned to their lsi score. this preservice teacher adapted by weighing the pros and cons of acting versus reflecting and experiencing versus thinking. “each student is unique and has their own experiences that will inspire them to make a change…i teach my students while they are in groups so that they can learn to communicate and help one another.” in reference to individuals with a balancing learning style, they can easily change from thinking to feeling and reflecting to acting, all depending on the situation, allowing them to fill in the missing learning style within the team. considering their ability to adapt and fit whatever style is needed, they often switch careers due to their changing interests, consequently leading them in a different direction. imagining the sixth learning style was the imagining learning style, which included teacher 16 who was discrepant from their lsi score of initiating. observing and reflecting on experiences and individual’s feelings aid in their learning, as well as allowing them to connect differences within the group. they are open to different thoughts and opinions due to their ability to look at things with multiple points of view. observation leads action with this learning style which allows learners to think through cause-and-effect situations for a certain action and helps to create alternative solutions to the problem. this preservice teacher discussed imagining the possibilities by observing and reflecting on experiences. “i believe it is my job to learn about my students and try to understand them.” inconclusive teachers 3, 4, 5, and 11 had philosophy statements which aligned with multiple learning styles and did not fully connect back to their identified learning style. teachers 3 and 4 had lsi scores that were initiating, teacher 5 had an lsi score that was acting, and teacher 11 had an lsi score of thinking. these preservice teachers’ philosophy statements did not specifically fit into one particular learning style. examples from these teachers’ philosophy statements are presented in table 2 under both the congruent and discrepant columns highlighting several quotes from each preservice teacher representing multiple learning styles. young et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.131 104 table 2 comparing teaching philosophy statements of preservice teachers and their preferred learning styles congruent statements discrepant statements acting style. a strong motivation for goal directed action that integrates people and tasks (f = 7 teachers) “i will have…surveys at the beginning and end of the year…students write down what they wish to accomplish during the class and then follow with what they believe should be improved in the program at the end of the class” (teacher 1). “…you cannot learn everything from a powerpoint and lecture, a lot of things in agriculture needs to be experienced by the student in order for them to fully understand how things work” (teacher 2). “my agriculture program stems from the idea of creating skilled, agriculturally literate people who will be lifelong learners” (teacher 8). “i believe that using group projects, discussions, and debate in my classroom allows students to build interpersonal skills and learn from each other” (teacher 9). “my students will be taught how to speak in front of others… [and] dress professionally. there is no specific class to give students simple lessons for necessary parts of life, such as job interview skills” (teacher 15). “i plan to rely on various teaching methods to ensure i equip each student with the materials needed for achievement” (teacher 5). “…benefits of blending various teaching methods throughout a lesson is vital for learning and retaining the information” (teacher 5). “learning is the first requirement, but most important is retaining and that is the true necessity for success. being open about receiving feedback is essential, i value my students’ opinion and appreciate their honest criticisms” (teacher 5). “my students reflect myself and my teaching. if i do my job well…students will be knowledgeable, informed, and able to go into the world confidently; sharing the knowledge they have gained through my teaching” (teacher 7). initiating style. initiating action to deal with experiences and situations (f = 5 teachers) “…technology should not replace the physical experience that students receive in a land lab. students will have the opportunity to get their hands dirty and follow the ffa motto by ‘doing to learn” (teacher 4). “i will…readjust my lessons based on the community needs and new knowledge i have gained over my last year” (teacher 3). young et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.131 105 “my teaching style is unique to itself in that it reflects not only how i learn but also how i was previously taught. a combination of lectures, labs, practicums, and group and independent work will be included in my teaching. i believe students learn best when they are presented content in a variety of ways” (teacher 10). “hands-on and investigative learning techniques will be utilized to encourage students to explore and discover new concepts on their own” (teacher 13). “…my students are a team; i see the value and determination in the individuals that i am helping them become” (teacher 3). “i encourage constructive criticism and feedback because i owe it to my students to be the teacher they deserve” (teacher 3). “...important to chart student progress as they move through the program...tested on information before, during, and after... success can be viewed in the land lab as they will apply what they learn in class” (teacher 4). “i will ask for honest feedback and make sure all students that wish to speak, have a chance to do so…students should be encouraged to be their true authentic self, it is our difference that brings us together” (teacher 4). “i am always working on bettering myself, to better serve my students. i constantly look to improve myself…through reflection and professional development” (teacher 16). balancing style. adapting by weighing the pros and cons of acting versus reflecting, and experiencing versus thinking (f = 2 teachers) “i teach agriculture…[but]…i also teach life lessons [to] help prepare and guide my students for their future…i teach beneficial skills such as communication, leadership, public speaking, record management, how to work together, and help others” (teacher 17). “my goal as an agriculture teacher is to teach any course needed in the community or desired by students, to prepare them for the [future]. my objective is to produce knowledgeable, skilled, lifelong learners who are inspired to continue ag ed” (teacher 14). experiencing style. finding meaning from deep involvement in experience (f = 1 teacher) “i teach to inspire…to be passionate…i teach because these were all things my teacher taught me, and i don’t want students to go through the entire school system without knowing what it’s like to have someone rooting for you” (teacher 12). young et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.131 106 reflecting style. connecting experience and ideas through sustained reflection (f = 1 teacher) “group style learning encompassing “thinkpair-share” techniques will be used to allow students the ability to connect their ideas with others” (teacher 6). “i will record [my] lectures and observe these to find areas of improvement and will openly ask for the other educators’ observations…attend [professional development] to meet [student] needs …” (teacher 6). thinking style. disciplined involvement in abstract reasoning and logical reasoning (f = 1 teacher) “i vow as a teacher to always be respectful and prepared for class. i hope that i am seen as a resource to students not only in the classroom, but in real-life setting” (teacher 11). “i count myself as successful if students exit the program as informed, skilled, productive citizens…program’s growth can be measured through certification exams, student feedback, community support, student career choices” (teacher 11). “much of an agriculture program’s best resources are found outside of the classroom…farmers, agribusinessmen, grocery store managers, florists, and others all have skills that can showcase the career opportunities in agriculture” (teacher 11). “auditory, kinesthetic, visual learners will find project-based assignments engaging and applicable to life” (teacher 11). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the purpose of this study was to determine if a preservice teachers’ learning style transfers to their teaching philosophy statement. the first aim of the study was to identify preservice teachers’ learning styles through kolb’s (2017) lsi. the majority (n = 12) of preservice teachers identified with the acting or initiating learning styles. appearing side-by-side on the lsi grid and connecting strongly to active experimentation and concrete experiences within experiential learning, these learners are focused on creating a plan and implementing it. as described by kolb (2017), both of these learning styles have strong connections to real-world and hands-on experiences, which tend to be key teaching approaches within agricultural education. additionally, five of the preservice teachers were split across the balancing (n = 2), thinking (n = 1), reflecting (n = 1), and experiencing (n = 1) learning styles, all of which appear across the central axis of the lsi grid, representing how learners work from determining what is a problem and how they can carry out the solution for that problem. imagining, deciding, and analyzing young et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.131 107 learning styles were not among the learning styles with which this group of preservice teachers identified. each of these learning styles fall in three of the four corners on the lsi grid, which would require an individual to have strong preferences towards characteristics of that style, such as choosing a solution, recognizing problems with that solution, and considering any alternative solutions. the second part of the study was to analyze the preservice teachers’ philosophy statements and deductively align data to their calculated learning style, as defined by their lsi score. ten (59%) preservice teachers’ teaching philosophies appeared to align with their assigned style from the lsi. it should be noted, while analyzing preservice teachers’ philosophy statements from the acting and initiating styles, if there were elements that resembled the inclusion of real-world applications, they were coded as being congruent to their respective learning style since these two styles are so closely related. from this trend, it appears that the preferred learning style does translate into their teaching philosophy potentially linking back to the way they were taught (beegle & coffee, 1991; oleson & hora, 2014). additionally, three (18%) philosophies were different from the teachers preferred learning styles and there were four (23%) philosophies which were deemed inconclusive when compared to their preferred learning style. these differences from the teachers’ preferred learning style aligns more with the notion by sankey and foster (2012) and kolb (1984) that teachers often incorporate multiple learning styles to match the diverse learning preferences of their students. since the inconclusive philosophy statements reflect multiple learning styles, this could be an indicator that teachers may incorporate multiple learning styles within classroom instruction (brown, 2003; delahoussaye, 2002; heimlich & norland, 2002; hernandez et al., 2020; hydrie & naqvi, 2021; kolb & kolb, 2006; loewenberg ball & forzani, 2009; miller, 2001; seaman & fellenz, 1990). based on these findings it could be beneficial for teacher educators to implement class sessions in their teacher preparation courses to help preservice teachers add to their teacher toolbox, while learning how to blend their preferred learning style with the diverse learning needs of their students, to allow for an effective educational environment. the researchers recognize these findings only apply to this specific population. therefore, further research should be conducted regarding how learning styles transfer to teaching philosophy statements and to actual teaching behaviors. for example, observations of participating teachers could be conducted to determine if their philosophy statements and lsi scores translate to their actual teaching practices. additionally, teachers could be tracked over time for longitudinal analysis of their teaching style compared to their philosophy statements. references baker, m. a., & robinson, j. s. 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(2002). teaching philosophies reconsidered: a conceptual model for the development and evaluation of teaching philosophy statements. the international journal for academic development, 7(1), 83– 97. https://doi.org/10.1080/13601440210156501 seaman, d. f., & fellenz, r. a. (1990). effective strategies for teaching adults. merrill. smith, k. l., & rayfield, j. (2019). stem knowledge, learning disabilities and experiential learning: influences of sequencing instruction. journal of agricultural education, 60(2), 222–236. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2019.02222 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 35-manuscript-321-1-11-20200417 narine and meier advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 2, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. lendel k. narine, extension assistant professor and evaluation specialist, utah state university 4900 old main hill, logan, ut 84322 lendel.narine@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-2770 2. cristian meier, assistant professor and extension community resource and economic development specialist, utah state university 0730 old main hill, logan, ut 8431 cris.meier@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6328-4272 12 responding in a time of crisis: assessing extension efforts during covid-19 l. narine1, c. meier2 abstract extension was forced to rapidly adjust its efforts and program delivery methods to respond to clientele needs during the covid-19 pandemic of 2020. the pandemic presents a range of unique challenges to extension including revisions to resource allocations and shifts in programmatic focus. guided by a needs assessment framework, this paper assesses the rapid response of utah state university (usu) extension to meet residents needs during covid-19. this correlational study gathered data from 199 extension professionals (n = 199) at usu extension. findings show extension professionals had good capacity to implement outreach activities related to online education, engaging residents, and external partnerships. further, extension took rapid actions in several areas in response to covid-19, including providing online learning activities for youth, and conducting online classes in place of traditional face-to-face classes. findings show professionals’ outreach capacity was positively related to the total number of actions taken in response to covid-19. extension professionals addressed covid-19 topics such as telehealth, temporary homeschooling kids, and stress management. this study demonstrates the adaptability of extension to an unpredictable event and provides a framework to assess response. findings are geared towards effective resource allocation to support extension’s role in meeting residents’ needs during covid19. keywords organizational capacity; emergency response; needs assessment narine and meier advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 13 introduction and problem statement cooperative extension is an important resource for communities to access evidence-based information and programming (dunifon et al., 2004). extension typically focuses on three main programmatic areas: (a) family and consumer sciences, (b) 4-h and youth development, and (c) agriculture and natural resources. some states have expanded their programming focus to address emerging issues such as personal health and wellbeing (walsh et al., 2018). countylevel programs facilitated by extension professionals are often a trusted source of information for community members (settle et al., 2017). as the landscape of both rural and urban communities evolve, extension has sought to remain relevant and meet the needs of communities through periodical needs assessments and timely programmatic adaption. however, in february of 2020, the needs of communities rapidly changed due to the emergence of a global pandemic. the novel coronavirus disease, covid-19, has drastically impacted the lives of people internationally and locally in the united states (u.s.). covid-19 is highly infectious and is spread from person to person via droplets from sneezes or coughs (heymann & shindo, 2020). to slow the spread of covid-19, municipalities, counties, and states have instituted measures to improve social distancing, including closing schools and encouraging people to work remotely. during this time of uncertainty, extension can act as an important resource to help people adapt to new life circumstances such as home schooling and unemployment. notably, there has not been a global public health event to this scale since the 1918 influenza pandemic, and the ability and readiness of extension to act rapidly in such an event is unknown. therefore, this paper assesses the rapid response of utah state university (usu) extension to meet residents needs during covid-19. theoretical and conceptual framework the framework guiding this study is a needs assessment (boyle, 1981; kaufman & english, 1979; kaufman & guerra-lopez, 2013; kaufman et al., 1993; leigh et al., 2000; witkin & altschuld, 1995). a need is commonly described as the difference or gap between “what is” and “what should be” (witkin & altschuld, 1995, p. 9). needs assessments are widely used across fields and its use has been well-documented as a starting point for intervention at all levels – macro and micro (baker et al., 2012; forrest et al., 2004; loscalzo et al., 2017; moreland et al., 2009). witkin and altschuld (1995) defined three levels of a need that exist either within a system or external to a system. at level 1, needs of the service receivers or primary end-users are of focus. in extension, a level 1 needs assessment examines the needs of clientele. level 2 focuses on needs of service providers and administrators. at a secondary level, it considers the ability of service providers to perform functions related to serving primary end-users. in extension, a level 2 needs assessment may focus on the needs of extension educators. a level 3 needs assessment considers organizational resources and conditions such as technology infrastructure narine and meier advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 14 and facilities. a level 3 needs assessment in extension might focus on gaps in education and information technology for program delivery. based on witkin and altschuld’s description of levels of needs, we focus on level 2 needs by assessing the capacity of extension professionals to serve clientele during covid-19 pandemic of 2020. as a level 2 assessment, findings provide information to identify and prioritize professional development needs. this framework is a systematic approach to assessing the needs of an organization to inform priorities, decision making, and improvement of allocation of resources at an organizational or system-wide level (witkin & altschuld, 1995). needs assessment is a common starting point for organizations to make data-informed decisions to prioritize problems and identify unmet needs (leigh et al., 2000). a comprehensive needs assessment is conceptualized as a three-phase process (a) pre-assessment, (b) assessment, and (c) post-assessment (witkin & altschuld, 1995). during the pre-assessment phase, areas of concern are identified often using secondary data. this helps delineate the purpose of the needs assessment. in the assessment phase, primary data is gathered and analyzed to reveal priorities. finally, during the post-assessment actions plans are formulated based on findings from the assessment phase. in the current study we utilized the three phases to assess organizational response to covid-19 and provide recommendations to improve or sustain existing efforts. purpose the purpose of this study was to assess usu extension’s response to the covid-19 pandemic of 2020. to accomplish this purpose, four research objectives guided this study: 1. assess extension professionals’ capacity to implement outreach activities during covid-19. 2. describe changes in outreach actions taken by extension in response to covid-19. 3. determine the relationship between professional capacity and overall outreach actions taken at the beginning of covid-19. 4. describe extension professionals’ access to knowledge resources on topics directly related to covid-19. methods this correlational study gathered data from extension professionals at usu extension. the study was deemed exempt by the irb at usu. the target population was all university professionals with an active extension appointment (fy 2020), including specialists, program coordinators, program leaders, county faculty, and snap-ed employees (n = 275). a census was attempted using an internal sampling frame of extension employees. with a response rate of 72%, the final sample size was 199 faculty (n = 199). data were collected in march of 2020 using a researcher-developed questionnaire administered through qualtrics. a limitation of the methodology is the use of cross-sectional data since covid-19 is evolving at a rapid rate. narine and meier advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 15 however, our findings provide a snapshot of extension’s immediate response during the early stages of the 2020 covid-19 pandemic in the u.s. instrumentation questionnaire development followed dillman et al. (2014) tailored design approach with respect to crafting close-ended questions. two extension specialists, three extension directors, and the associate vice president for extension reviewed the questionnaire for validity. further, a post-assessment of reliability was assessed through the cronbach’s alpha. the final questionnaire consisted of three sections: (a) individual capacity – extension professionals’ perception towards their capacity to meet residents’ needs, (b) actions – outreach actions in response to covid-19, and (c) knowledge resources – professionals’ access to knowledge resources on covid-19 topics. to assess capacity in section 1, respondents were presented with a brief description of organizational capacity: capacity relates to existing human, financial, technological, and administrative resources (cox et al., 2018). after, they were asked to rate their own capacity to perform 10 action items (e.g., conduct effective online classes, and partner with other governmental organizations to coordinate efforts) on a five-point scale: 1 = terrible, 2 = poor, 3 = average, 4 = good, and 5 = excellent. in section 2, respondents were asked to indicate if they implemented 10 outreach activities aligned to capacity items in section one during covid-19 on a three-point scale; 1 = i do not plan to, 2 = i plan to, and 3 = yes. they were also asked if they implemented these strategies before covid-19 using a three-point scale as follows: 1 = no, 2 = sometimes, 3 = yes. in section 3, extension professionals were asked if they had the knowledge resources needed to address 20 educational topics (e.g., remote work, mental health, selfdistancing) related to covid-19 (1 = no, 2 = yes). knowledge resources referred to credible educational material on the topic for use in extension programming. in addition, respondents were asked if they were currently addressing the topic in their programming (1 = i do not plan to, 2 = i plan to, 3 = yes, 0 = not applicable). data analysis data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, principal component analysis (pca), and bivariate correlations. first, the list of items for outreach capacity was reduced into orthogonal constructs using a pca. items were organized and presented by construct in the results. for objective 1, descriptive analysis was used to measure professionals’ capacity to implement outreach actions. a point-score (ps) was calculated from each item’s frequency distribution to allow inter-item rankings. ps was calculated as follows: ps = [(1 * % terrible) + (2 * % poor) + (3 * % average) + (4 * % good) + (5 * % excellent)]. the ps was standardized between 0 and 1, with values approaching 1 signaling higher capacity to implement an outreach action. interpretation of the ps were based on an even distribution of the original five-point scale; 0 – 0.20 = terrible; 0.21 – 0.40 = poor; 0.41 – 0.60 = average; 0.61 – 0.80 = good; 0.81 – 1 = excellent. for objective 2, the net change in outreach actions was calculated as a percentage change in implementation before and during covid-19. spearman’s rho was used to determine exiting narine and meier advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 16 relationships between capacity areas and overall outreach actions for objective 3. the null hypothesis for the spearman’s test was rejected at p < 0.05*. objective 4 was addressed using descriptive statistics. further, a sharing gap percentage score was calculated to show the difference in knowledge resources for respondents who were already addressing covid-19 topics (a) and those who planned to address (p) these topics in future programming (sharing gap = p – a). findings a descriptive analysis of the sample revealed respondents mostly identified as county faculty (45%, n = 90). others were specialists (23%, n = 46), staff, which includes snap-ed employees, program coordinators (21%, n = 42), and program leaders (11%, n = 21). about 36% of respondents indicated their major programming area was agriculture and natural resources, 20% stated 4-h and youth development, 19% indicated family and consumer sciences, and 25% of respondents selected “other” for their primary programming area. an assessment of the open-ended text response to “other” indicated many respondents split their times across the three major programmatic areas. further, internal data indicated approximately 80% of extension-funded employees at usu perform some level of programming related to 4-h and youth development. objective 1: capacity for outreach during covid-19 a pca was used to reduce 10 outreach capacity items into latent constructs. using an orthogonal rotation, three factors had eigen values greater than one, and the scree plot confirmed all three factors explained enough variance for extraction. the pca was valid since the kaiser-meyer-olkin measure of sampling adequacy (kmo) was 0.83 and the bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (x2 = 950.76, p < 0.001**). together, the three factors explained 72% of variance in the original list of capacity items. the extracted factors were referred to as factors of outreach capacity and described as follows; (a) online education, (b) engaging residents, and (c) external partnerships. as shown in table 1, all factors of outreach capacity had acceptable internal consistency based on the cronbach’s alpha (α). online education refers to actions taken to create online learning courses in extension. engaging residents relate to delivering educational content to extension audiences. external partnerships refer to working with non-extension agencies for information delivery and coordinating efforts. table 1 shows a descriptive summary of respondents’ self-assessed capacity to implement outreach actions grouped by factors of outreach capacity. results indicated extension professionals had good capacity to implement tasks related to online education (ps = 0.63). descriptive frequencies indicated about 20% of respondents had excellent capacity to conduct effective online classes, and 15% had excellent capacity to convert face-to-face classes to online classes. extension professionals also had good capacity to implement task related to engaging residents (ps = 0.69). about 42% of respondents had excellent capacity to provide residents with updates via email, text, or other methods, and 33% had excellent capacity to connect narine and meier advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 17 frequently with residents through social media. finally, results indicated professionals had good capacity to perform tasks for external partnerships (ps = 0.70). descriptive results indicated 33% of respondents had excellent capacity to partner with other governmental organizations to coordinate efforts, and 29% had excellent capacity to communicate with local leaders about addressing the needs of residents. table 1 professionals’ capacity to implement factors of outreach capacity task % (n = 199)* ps^ t p a g e online education (α = .92) 0.63 conduct effective online classes 1 11 32 36 20 0.66 convert traditional face-to-face classes to online classes 2 10 39 35 15 0.64 creating new online classes 2 15 37 29 17 0.61 engaging residents (α = .74) 0.69 contact residents to provide updates (via email, text, or other methods) 2 4 12 40 42 0.79 connect frequently with residents through social media 6 11 24 27 33 0.68 provide online learning activities for youth 5 18 33 26 18 0.59 external partnerships (α = .71) 0.70 partner with other governmental organizations to coordinate efforts 2 4 24 37 33 0.74 communicate with local leaders about how your office/team can support or address the needs of residents 1 3 29 37 29 0.72 partner with nongovernmental emergency response organizations 3 10 27 35 26 0.69 provide information to news and media outlets 2 10 33 32 23 0.66 *note. t = terrible, p = poor, a = average, g = good, e = excellent objective 2: rapid actions in extension during covid-19 table 2 provides a description of rapid actions taken by extension within the first two weeks of covid-19 in utah. retrospective before-and-after comparisons were made to highlight changes in actions before and during covid-19. the net change in actions represents the responsiveness of extension to the initial pandemic outbreak in utah. results indicated substantial changes to youth programming; 29% of professionals provided online learning activities for youth during covid-19 compared to only 9% of respondents before covid-19. this signals a 222% increase in online learning activities for youth before and during covid-19. in addition, substantial changes were recorded for conducting online classes in place of traditional face-to-face classes (207% increase) and learning how to conduct online classes (125% increase). narine and meier advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 18 table 2 main actions taken by extension in response to covid-19 action % (n = 199) % net change* yes – before yes – during providing online learning activities for youth 9 29 222 conducting online classes in place of traditional face-to-face classes 14 43 207 learning how to conduct online classes 24 54 125 connecting frequently with residents through social media 45 56 24 creating new online classes 22 26 18 partnering with non-governmental emergency response organizations 22 26 18 contacting residents to provide updates (via email, text, or other methods) 58 58 0 communicating with local leaders about how your office/team can support or address the needs of residents 51 48 -6 providing information to news and media outlets 31 28 -10 partnering with other governmental organizations to coordinate efforts 52 47 -10 *note. net change is the percentage change in activities before and during covid 19 while results indicated substantial changes in most items, there were minor changes in some areas such as the creation of new online classes and partnerships with non-governmental emergency response organizations. further, compared to before covid-19, there were decreases in communicating with local leaders about supporting or addressing the needs of residents (-6%), providing information to news and media outlets (-10%), and partnering with other governmental organizations to coordinate efforts (-10%) during covid-19. objective 3: role of factors of outreach capacity on rapid actions bivariate correlations between factors of outreach capacity and rapid actions were assessed using the spearman’s rho coefficient (ρ). this analysis indicated how changes in factors of outreach capacity (i = 3) corelated to the total number of rapid actions (i = 10) taken by extension in response to covid-19. results indicated online education was weakly, but significantly correlated to the total number of actions taken by extension (ρ = .35, p < 0.001**). also, there were moderate and significant correlations between the total number of actions taken, engaging residents (ρ = .45, p < 0.001**), and external partnerships (ρ = .49**, p < 0.001**). based on the correlation coefficients, all factors of outreach capacity were positively related to the total number of rapid actions taken by extension. this indicates as extension professionals’ capacity to conduct online education, engage with residents, and form external partnerships increased, there was an increase in the total number of actions taken by extension during covid-19 in march of 2020. narine and meier advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 19 objective 4: knowledge resources table 3 provides a descriptive summary of the availability of knowledge resources to address topics directly related to covid-19. results indicated all respondents (100%) who were already addressing mental health, grocery shopping during covid-19, self-distancing, sheltering in place, self-quarantine, disinfecting surfaces, emergency preparedness, 72-hour kits and finding reliable information on covid-19 in their programming had access to the necessary knowledge resources. overall, findings in table 3 demonstrates most respondents (> 94%) who were already addressing covid-19 topics in their programming had access to the necessary knowledge resources on the topics. in contrast, there were less knowledge resources among professionals who planned to address covid-19 topics in their extension programming. for example, while 96% of respondents who were already addressing telehealth had access to the necessary knowledge resources on the topic, only 68% of those who planned to address it had access to the knowledge resource. similarly, 94% of those already addressing temporary homeschooling had access to the knowledge resources, but only 70% of respondents who planned to address the topic had access the knowledge resource for the topic. this highlights a gap in knowledge resources; the sharing gap in table 3 shows a discrepancy in knowledge resources between those who were already addressing covid-19 topics (a) and those who planned to address the topic (p). while this gap existed for most topic areas, the widest discrepancies were telehealth (-28%), temporary homeschooling kids (-24%), stress management (-15%), and remote work (-15%). narine and meier advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 20 table 3 knowledge resources for covid-19 educational programming topic knowledge resources [%, (n)] sharing gap (p – a) already addressing (a) plan to address (p) telehealth 96 (26) 68 (15) -28 temporary homeschooling kids 94 (31) 70 (19) -24 stress management 98 (55) 83 (35) -15 remote work 98 (77) 83 (20) -15 mental health 100 (53) 88 (29) -12 grocery shopping during covid-19 100 (29) 89 (23) -11 financial management during covid-19 96 (25) 86 (25) -10 self-distancing 100 (86) 91 (19) -9 sheltering in place 100 (52) 92 (35) -8 steps to slow infections 99 (64) 93 (26) -6 self-quarantine 100 (56) 94 (31) -6 spread of covid-19 97 (60) 92 (22) -5 disinfecting surfaces 100 (67) 96 (24) -4 handwashing 99 (77) 96 (24) -3 personal hygiene 99 (69) 96 (25) -3 emergency preparedness 100 (37) 97 (36) -3 72-hour kits 100 (22) 97 (32) -3 looking for online learning opportunities 99 (81) 97 (38) -2 finding reliable information on covid-19 100 (49) 100 (35) 0 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations covid-19 is actively affecting residents across the nation. extension’s response to the everevolving situation is dependent on its ability to rapidly adapt to meet residents’ needs. while it is unclear how other land grant institutions are responding to covid-19, this paper provides a snapshot of the actions taken by usu extension to meet residents needs during the covid-19 pandemic. guided by the three-phase needs assessment framework (witkin & altschuld, 1995), we examined usu extension’s capacity, actions, and knowledge resources in response to the covid-19 pandemic. these priority areas were defined by organization leadership during the pre-assessment phase. overall, results found in the assessment phase showed extension professionals in utah had good outreach capacity, they rapidly implemented several actions in response to covid-19, and their self-assessed outreach capacity was positively related to total number of rapid actions taken. further, findings highlighted a gap in knowledge resources between professionals who were actively engaged in covid-19 related programming and those who planned to implement such programming. narine and meier advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 21 the assessment results provide actionable steps that could be taken by usu extension during the post-assessment phase (witkin & altschuld, 1995) and describes implications for the larger cooperative extension system’s response to covid-19. first, extension’s capacity to act in the time of crisis or during an emergency is dependent on its existing employees and their willingness to adapt to changing situations. in this study, we found that extension professionals reported adequate capacity to create online education, engage and communicate with residents, and work with external partnerships to coordinate efforts and disseminate information in response to covid-19. capacity is important to helping organizations achieve their mission (connolly & lukas, 2002), and increasing capacity can help organizations improve the work they already do, contribute to expansion efforts, and to meet the changing needs of residents (letts et al., 1999). while self-assessed capacity was generally good, we suggest usu extension use the results of our study to develop a professional development plan to further improve extension professional capacity to respond and adapt programming during a crisis. other extension institutions could utilize a similar factor analysis (abdi & williams, 2010) process to identify key capacity areas and utilize point scores to inform and prioritize professional development opportunities to quickly build extension professional capacity to improve response to covid-19. as extension faculty work to adapt to meet the local needs of community members, having the knowledge necessary to address these needs is vital for rapid response. in our study we found that there was a sharing gap; most extension professionals who were already addressing a topic had enough knowledge resources on the topic, while far fewer extension professionals that planned to address to topic had the knowledge resources. this sharing gap was most prominent in two topic areas, telehealth and temporary homeschooling kids. to facilitate resource sharing, we recommend that extension leadership encourage internal and external sharing and access to knowledge resources especially in topic areas where a sharing gap is found. a cloud-based knowledge resource depository could be developed to streamline information sharing while improving extension professional competencies to address priority topics (demidova et al., 2007). by taking active steps to improve knowledge resource sharing, extension could improve rapid response to the current crisis, while also be prepared for future emergency situations. extension’s mission to provide evidence-based information and programming that meet the needs of communities suggests that extension can plan a role in helping community members adapt daily living to follow the local, county, and state directives (e.g., social distancing) and orders (e.g., stay home) they are presented with in a time of crisis. at the state level, the results of this study can be used to improve coordinated state response and inform professional development opportunities needed to help extension professionals effectively respond and adapt to residents’ needs. extension institutions across the u.s. can use these results to guide future actions to tackle gaps in emergency response and inform strategies for educational outreach actions during crisis situations. we suggest extension institutions conduct their own covid-19 response assessment to inform their delivery efforts and future responses to crisis and emergency situations. narine and meier advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 22 references abdi, h., & williams, l. j. 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(1995). planning and conducting needs assessments: a practical guide. sage. © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 139-manuscript-1663-1-11-20210903.docx strong et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 3, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. robert strong, associate professor, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx. 77843-2116, robert.strongjr@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5279-4808 2. kim dooley, professor, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx. 77843-2116, kim.dooley@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5654-5988 3. theresa murphrey, professor, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx. 77843-2116, theresa.murphrey@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4996-6087 4. jen strong, associate professor, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx. 77843-2116, jennifer.strong@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6718-6434 5. chanda elbert, associate professor, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx. 77843-2116, celbert@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6115-6410 6. matt baker, professor and head, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx. 77843-2116, mathew.baker@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0556-744x 1 the eval framework: developing impact evaluation scholars r. strong1, k. dooley2, t. murphrey3, j. strong4, c. elbert5, m. baker6 abstract the complexities of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (fanh) programs and projects require faculty to write and secure funding in addition to mastering skills such as evaluation competencies that integrate abilities in quantitative and qualitative research methods and evaluation theory and practice. the eval framework was developed to advance skill development among fanh graduates to include these competencies and increase the pipeline of students who have the essential skills needed to advance fanh initiatives and priorities. the eval framework includes four primary constructs: (a) evaluation, (b) value, (c) active and experiential learning, and (d) leadership. the purpose of eval is to build relationships with untapped fanh fields to develop a pipeline for graduates to become evaluation leaders for advancing food and agricultural sciences. this experiential learning and development model focuses on foundational and enrichment experiences, through formal coursework, project-based learning, and contextually rich environments. mentoring, individualized development plans, scholarly learning communities, collaboration, transferable skills, and career planning and guidance activities are integrated into the eval framework to enhance skill development among eval scholars. keywords individual values, active and experiential learning, leadership, career preparation, evaluation framework strong et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.139 2 introduction and problem statement the complexities of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (fanh) programs and projects require scholars to not only master the ability to write and secure funding but also to develop mastery of evaluation competencies that integrate abilities in quantitative and qualitative research methods, evaluation theory, and practice. the united states department of agriculture (2018) recommended scholars and practitioners should be better prepared to administer quality program evaluations to assist policymakers in constructing the bestinformed decisions. however, these skills alone do not provide meaningful approaches for continuous improvement given the complexities of interdisciplinary issues in fanh. analysis, cultural adaptability, life-long learning, ethical decision making, creativity, teamwork, communication, and leadership are essential skills needed for post-graduate success (succi & canovi, 2020). fostering effective essential skills in graduate education holds the promise of developing graduates who are able to thrive in a world in which teamwork and collaboration are omnipresent (britton et al., 2017). these essential competencies, coupled with evaluation competencies, create evaluation scholars and practitioners who will help fill the identified gaps in the food and agricultural sciences. eval framework the authors created the eval framework to develop students’ competencies to be effective food, agriculture, natural resources, human sciences, and public health evaluators in addition to content experts in their disciplines. the eval framework includes four primary constructs: (a) evaluation, (b) value, (c) active and experiential learning, and (d) leadership. the purpose of the eval framework is to connect scholars within a variety of fanh fields and further develop a pipeline for graduates to become leaders capable of advancing food and agricultural sciences. this experiential learning and development model focuses on foundational and enrichment experiences through formal coursework, project-based learning, and contextually rich environments. the purpose of this article is to describe in detail (see figure 1) the eval framework juxtaposed to the authors’ experiences in implementing the framework within the context of a doctoral degree program in agricultural leadership, education, and communication disciplines. the article concludes with a vignette in the conclusion that highlights seminal takeaways from implementing the eval framework. strong et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.139 3 figure 1 eval framework: an experiential approach evaluation eval’s inclusion of evaluation methodologies are central to the framework. evaluation is a process that critically examines a project or program in terms of outcomes, outputs, and impacts. it involves collecting and analyzing information about a program’s activities, characteristics, and outcomes. the purpose of evaluation is to make judgments about a program, to improve its effectiveness, and/or to inform programming decisions (patton, 2014). evaluation studies may take place in both formal and informal settings, ranging in size and scope from a pilot study to a complex project that addresses different topics, involves hundreds of individuals, and includes a variety of methodologies (ibarra-sáiz et al., 2020). the eval students gain knowledge and skills in a variety of assessment and evaluation methods for social and behavioral science within fanh disciplines. evaluation skill development includes formative, summative, and process assessment. formative assessment results are used in the formation and revision process of a social or mentoring career planning & guidance individualized development plans transferable skills scholarly learning communities collaboration eval fellow approach: a combination of foundational courses supplemented with enrichment activities, executed using the tools indicated, ensures that eval students gain competencies to be effective in fanh evaluation. strong et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.139 4 behavioral phenomenon for continuous improvement (rossi et al., 2019). summative assessment is used for the purpose of documenting outcomes and judging value, such as providing feedback about the quality of a program, reporting to stakeholders, and granting agencies, producing reports for accreditation, and marketing the attributes of a program (rossi et al., 2019). most fanh projects are rarely exclusively summative in practice, and usually contain some aspects of formative assessment. process assessment begins with the identification of project milestones to be achieved, activities to be undertaken, products to be delivered, and/or projected costs likely to be incurred while attaining the project goals. rossi et al. (2019) indicated a process assessment determines whether the project has been on schedule, deliverables produced, and cost effectiveness. the degree of difference from the expected process is used to evaluate success. in addition to the aforementioned skill set, eval students learn about theoretical and practical ethical practices for conducting evaluative research for building/maintaining community trust. rather than the “giver” or “gatherer” of information (expert), the role of an eval practitioner is to share facilitation roles to equally value local knowledge (empowerment). from expert to empowerment is manifested through interactive data collection techniques, like transect walks, group discussion, matrices for ranking needs and other active ways of engaging the community. it parallels the qualitative/action research paradigm (guba & lincoln, 1981) and the empowerment of local communities with learners as co-creators of knowledge (freire, 1970). eval is a credible tool for needs assessment and evaluation research in communities with low numeration and literacy skills. the specific skills to develop evaluation plans, strategies and tools builds upon the foundation coursework and active/experiential learning aspects of the eval model. values eval aligns with identified approaches to ensure individual value and equity. according to stufflebeam (2001), evaluations are grounded in clear and appropriate values, principles, attributes, or qualities held to be intrinsically good, desirable, important, and of general worth. ensuring the next generation of evaluation scholars can apply competences in diverse settings within communities requires the ability to create, communicate, and disseminate culturally relevant results, while simultaneously considering societal values and equity. aligning individual values and realizing potential bias is at the core of program evaluation practice (patton, 2021). eval students can investigate their personal values and learn how their values have the ability to impact evaluations. eval students learn strategies to minimize bias in evaluations through active and experiential learning methods. the american evaluation association’s (aea’s) (2018) guiding principles emphasize the importance of an evaluators’ obligation to not only become knowledgeable about other cultures, but also have the competence to evaluate the context in which the evaluator operates. as the u.s. continues to become more diverse, the field of evaluation has not yet followed. the lack of familiarity with other cultures affects the ability for an evaluator to effectively guide, conceptualize, analyze, and interpret an evaluation (fitzpatrick et al., 2011). eval students engage and learn culturally responsive pedagogical teaching practices in the classroom. culturally responsive teaching strong et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.139 5 (crt) is a learning centered pedagogy that recognizes students’ cultural background, along with their past and current experiences (ladson-billings, 1994). the eval students take courses in which teaching strategies of crt are taught and subsequently utilize these transferable skills in other settings. students engage in critical classroom discussions, dialogue, and are provided multiple enrichment experiences enabling them to utilize the skills and experiences they have learned to become culturally competent individuals. while becoming experts and leaders in the field, crt will not only meet, but exceed the expectations of the aea through the facilitation of constructive and culturally responsive feedback while conducting an evaluation. in this regard, the eval students can move the field forward and have a better understanding from multiple perspectives within the agricultural sciences, the field of evaluation, while immersing student in the discipline’s values. active and experiential learning eval involves active and experimental learning opportunities for impact scholars. active learning involves fostering attitudes, developing and practicing skills, and promoting understanding of the concepts and models within the subject (silberman, 2006). the eval framework is imbibed with experiences that provide active learning environments for graduate students, mentorship, formal courses, non-formal education programs, and faculty development academies. a foundation of active learning involves the implementation of experiential learning opportunities to enhance knowledge (silberman, 2006). experiential learning has been identified as a tenet of agricultural education (roberts, 2006). kolb’s (2014) experiential learning has four elements that indicate students learn best when actively engaged in the content versus merely observing. the first element is concrete experience and refers to students being involved in new experiences. the eval framework provides these new experiences to students by examining evaluation methodologies and instruments used by the eval team on current projects. concrete experiences are also given, formally, in classroom settings via andragogical methods as well as informally during mentoring and individual development plans. the second element is reflective observation. this refers to students being provided opportunities to reflect and critically think about what they learned in the concrete experience stage. authors address this stage with eval students with pre and post reflections to mentor students as they develop valid instruments and strengthen transferable skills in a scholarly learning community. eval students also engage in reflection and critical thinking during their time in the scholarly learning communities. the third stage focuses on abstract conceptualization and indicates the importance of students connecting increased knowledge to other situations (kolb, 2014). the authors mentor eval students in applying information gained from reviewing evaluations by guiding students in building evaluation instruments for new assessments. crt also enhances eval students’ ability to connect values and cultural representation to the evaluation measures learned and applied strong et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.139 6 through the program. the fourth stage of kolb’s (2014) model is active experimentation. this stage focuses on using theories and models to solve problems. the authors address active experimentation by collaborating with eval students in developing evaluation plans based on models learned during the concrete experience stage. these active and experiential learning strategies align with the project objective to increase skills to promote a culture of learning for evaluation within an organization, to engage users and beneficiaries in evaluation processes and to broaden the use of evidence in decision-making. leadership eval utilizes brungardt’s (1996) model of leadership development as the leadership construct. this model incorporates leadership trainings and workshops (specific skills), leadership education (formalized leadership theoretical knowledge), and leadership development (active learning application and reflection) to construct knowledge and make meaning from the formal and informal aspects of the program related to their role as a leader. by understanding the theoretical basis of leadership practice through formalized leadership education, then applying theory to practice, the eval framework engages scholars in sustainable leadership development. specific leadership trainings and workshops where eval students can increase leadership skills include individualized development plans, leadership roles and teamwork seminars, and workshops within learning communities. foundational eval courses integrate active and experiential learning with leadership theories using cultural competencies. leadership theory and application (leadership development) creates scholars who not only demonstrate evaluation competence but know how to apply and lead in settings where complex problems need to be addressed (hitt & tucker, 2016). this requires the ability to work in teams, ethical decision-making, and intra and interpersonal communication. eval students are encouraged to attend seminars that bring in international and diverse experts in emerging agricultural issues. ethical decision making and problem solving is introduced in the leadership in organizational culture and ethics course and practiced by the students through case studies, evaluation projects with their principal investigator mentors, and experiential activities, including simulations (boyd & strong, 2020). enrichment activities the eval framework involves a rigorous course sequence of practical experiences for hands-on evaluative research. students gain leadership and ethical competency with graduate coursework: foundations of leadership theory and leadership in organizational culture and ethics. doctoral students have a required research sequence including: instrumentation and survey research methods, advanced analysis and research design, theory of agricultural education research, and qualitative research methods. securing grant funding is covered in developing funded research projects, while survey of evaluation strategies for agriculture and program evaluation and organizational accountability provides the theory and practice of strong et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.139 7 proper evaluation strategies for agricultural projects and programming. this coursework serves as the foundation for eval. academic advising, research training, and mentoring occur formally using the kram (1985) model of mentorship as well as informally through synergistic activities. the following activities underpin eval: individualized development plans (idps), scholarly learning communities (slcs), mentoring, institutional and international collaborations, transferable skill development, and career planning and guidance. the idp serves as the center of the experiential learning experiences by allowing benchmarking for each eval student to guide their progression of knowledge and skill attainment. the center for teaching excellence at [university] provides access to an idp education process model. the idp encourages students to engage in critical reflection to enhance their experience. scholarly learning communities (slcs) serve to create community among eval students, faculty, and fellow graduate students and provide a venue for professional development. this prevents isolation and builds collaboration. monthly sessions focus on topics identified as needs during orientation and through the idp. mentoring has been proven to be critical in the development of graduate students as it encourages networking, provides support, and ensures proper guidance (curtin et al., 2016). each eval student is matched with a mentor who reflects their interests and long-term goals. institutional and international collaborations allow graduate students to see their work across multiple contexts to extend their networks. application of essential skills, within varying contexts and with multiple collaborators, strengthens students’ competencies (jackson, 2010). therefore, eval students are encouraged and supported in the attendance of relevant conferences and institutional visits. collaboration is also encouraged during the engagement of students in the writing and implementation of evaluation plans. transferable skill development allows eval students to take the essential skills learned through formal and informal instruction and utilize them in their personalized contexts. transferable skill development is accomplished via workshops targeted to meet students’ needs. these workshops occur across the duration of the program are based upon the idps. career planning and guidance is critical for eval students to be successful upon graduation. individual consultations take place between each eval student and appropriate faculty members. in addition, the texas a&m university’s career center is accessed for resources for further career development. competency domains using the aea competency domains, the authors aligned the eval learning outcomes with the aea competencies and the planned foundational and enrichment experiences (aea, 2018). the first aea competency domain is professional practice. the competent evaluator acts ethically through evaluation practice that demonstrate integrity, respects people from different cultural strong et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.139 8 backgrounds and indigenous groups, selects evaluation approaches and theories appropriately, uses systematic evidence to make evaluative judgments, reflects on evaluation formally or informally to improve practice, identifies personal areas of professional competence and needs for growth, pursues ongoing professional development to deepen reflective practice, identifies how evaluation practice can promote social justice and the public good, and advocates for the field of evaluation (aea, 2018). the second aea (2018) domain is methodology. the competent evaluator identifies evaluation purposes and needs, determines evaluation questions, designs credible and feasible evaluations that address identified purposes and questions, determines and justifies appropriate methods to answer evaluation questions (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods). evaluators identify assumptions that underlie methodologies and program logic, conducts reviews of the literature, identifies relevant sources of evidence and sampling procedures. stakeholders are collaborators in evaluation design, implementation, interpretation, and reporting evaluation results. the evaluator, in the methodology domain, uses program logic and program theory as appropriate, collects and analyzes data using credible, feasible, and culturally appropriate procedures (aea, 2018). lastly, the evaluator identifies strengths and limitations of the evaluation design and methods, interprets findings/results in context, uses evidence and interpretations to draw conclusions, make judgments and provide recommendations. the third domain is context. this domain focuses on understanding the unique circumstances, multiple perspectives, and programs being evaluated and their users/stakeholders (aea, 2018). context involves the program’s site/location/environment, participants/stakeholders, organization/structure, culture/diversity, history/traditions, values/beliefs, politics/economics, power/privilege, and other characteristics. domain four is planning and management. this domain focuses on determining and monitoring work plans, timelines, resources, and other components needed to complete and deliver an evaluation study. planning and management include networking, developing proposals, contracting, determining work assignments, monitoring progress, and fostering use of evaluation findings (aea, 2018). the final domain is interpersonal. this domain focuses on human relations and social interactions that ground evaluator effectiveness for professional practice throughout the evaluation (aea, 2018). interpersonal skills include cultural competence, communication, facilitation, and conflict resolution. faculty mentors for eval students create competencybased behavioral anchors as authentication tools to measure learning outcomes based upon observable knowledge, skills, and abilities through the foundational and enrichment experiences (see table 1). strong et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.139 9 table 1 outcomes and competency domains outcomes eval students will: american evaluation association competency domain 1. increase knowledge of leadership roles, ethics, professionalism and working in teams professional practice context interpersonal 2. increase knowledge in quantitative and qualitative research methods for data collection, analysis, and dissemination professional practice methodology context planning and management 3. act ethically through evaluation practice that demonstrates integrity and respects people from different cultural backgrounds and indigenous groups professional practice methodology context planning and management interpersonal 4. increase skills to promote a culture of learning for evaluation within an organization, to engage users and beneficiaries in evaluation processes and to broaden the use of evidence in decision-making professional practice methodology context planning and management interpersonal 5. demonstrate the ability to develop evaluation plans to assess project objectives professional practice methodology context planning and management interpersonal 6. report more favorable attitudes about pursuing careers and graduate studies in the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences professional practice methodology context planning and management interpersonal courses: foundations of leadership theory; leadership in organizational culture and ethics; instrumentation and survey research methods; advanced analysis and research design; theory of agricultural education research; qualitative research methods in agricultural education; developing funded research projects; survey of evaluation strategies for agriculture; program evaluation and organizational accountability enrichment experiences: mentoring; individual development plans; scholarly learning communities; collaboration; transferable skills; career planning and guidance strong et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.139 10 vignette the eval framework can be used to as a guide to frame a student’s experience from admission into a program to graduation, enabling them to be prepared for employment in the field of evaluation. successful implementation of the eval framework includes a combination of traditional courses, enrichment activities and purposeful interactions. for example, sally applies to the department and expresses an interest in the field of evaluation. instead of sending the student to visit with faculty about career opportunities and how coursework might support her interests, the program leader pulls out a copy of the eval framework and proceeds to explain the importance and relevance of each of the areas and then talks through how topics will be covered through the approaches illustrated. the program leader explains how the scholarly learning communities are organized, how mentors are assigned, and how the department will encourage collaboration activities. the program leader connects sally to a faculty member who is currently involved in a grant-funded project and encourages sally to volunteer to work with the faculty member on the evaluation aspect of the project. sally’s engagement in the project is specifically focused on her developing competencies within the aea domains. the program leader provides a copy of the outcomes and competency domains associated with evaluation so that sally can readily see how the courses she takes as a student connect with her experience on the project. articulating the eval framework’s evaluation, values, active and experiential learning, and leadership elements to sally at the beginning of her program allows her to make connections across the concepts, see the importance of the activities and opportunities for engagement, and provides a foundation for critical competencies to be obtained. eval framework impact eval can increase the number of competent evaluators for food, agriculture, natural resources, human sciences, and public health programs. eval students participate in mentoring, individualized development plans, scholarly learning communities, collaboration, transferable skills, and career guidance to increase the institutional completion rate. our team utilized students individualized development plans as a point of analysis to understand their progression plan to graduation. eval students have access to texas a&m university’s office for student assisted services and career center to improve career learning and development. both offices offer extensive individualized support services for underrepresented students. the authors measure student’s technical competence through outcomes on a core content exam, qualifying exam, dissertation defense rubric, and career placement. we collect, analyze, and report scholarly contribution data through eval students reflective writing exercises, and coauthorship on refereed publications. implementation of the eval framework using an experiential approach ensures development of intellectual capital that will benefit the fanh sciences by contributing to the workforce and society. the authors are developers and implementers of united states department of agriculture, national institute of food and agriculture, united states agency for international strong et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.139 11 development, national science foundation, and other grants. eval students are provided opportunities to collaborate with these projects to apply their eval knowledge. holistic concepts and analytical tools from a variety of fanh disciplines have been used previously to train graduate students as researchers and evaluators in the food and agricultural sciences. the authors have relationships with the private sector, k-12 school districts, consulting organizations, and universities and non-governmental organizations across the globe. eval students experience, apply, and reflect on leadership, management, and communication experiences through purposefully developed and executed experiences within and across the funded projects. mentoring between and among the authorship team and students is developed using kram’s (1985) mentoring phase model. this model ensures protege professional and interpersonal skills growth. each student leads within a project, develop teamwork strategies, manages a project, and works in the field with principal investigators collecting data. taking the lead on project dissemination efforts, while being mentored, will give students the experience of managing a proposal team while developing professional communication skills. these linkages enable the authorship team to craft meaningful learning experiences for eval students and improve the future impact of food and agricultural sciences programs. preparing students as evaluation scholars using the eval framework is a novel approach. simply knowing evaluation theory and practice does not prepare students to evaluate complex, community-based, multidisciplinary projects. impact evaluation is increasingly important and required for project teams. the incorporation of cultural values, active and experiential learning, with leadership development provides a broader array of abilities for stakeholder and beneficiary impacts at the local level. it is recommended that this model be tested in a variety of contexts to determine transferability and sustainability of projects. eval scholars will be able to approach evaluation with the ability to work in teams, make ethical decisions, and empower local opinion leaders to promote community engagement and continuous improvement. references american evaluation association [aea]. 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(2020). soft skills to enhance graduate employability: comparing students and employers’ perceptions. studies in higher education, 45(9), 1834–1837. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1585420 united states department of agriculture. (2018). usda strategic plan fy 2018-2022. https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/usda-strategic-plan-20182022.pdf © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 159 curriculum+design+in+an+agricultural+education+program+in+nigeria_+towards+advancing+career+readiness.docx ajao et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 2, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. helen ajao, phd candidate, virginia tech, 801 university city boulevard, ste 21, blacksburg, va 24060, helen2@vt.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0966-1986 2. i. damilola alegbeleye, assistant professor, university of southern maine, 18 captain way unit 203, brunswick me 04011, ibukun.alegbeleye@maine.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8894-1256 3. donna westfall-rudd, associate professor, virginia tech, 175 west campus dr., mc 0343 214 litton-reaves hall, blacksburg, virginia 24061, mooredm@vt.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2401-4023 17 curriculum design in an agricultural education program in nigeria: towards advancing career readiness h. ajao1, i. d. alegbeleye2, d. westfall-rudd3 abstract this research explores the effective curriculum design for higher-ed in preparing agricultural education graduates for nigeria’s labor market. the continuing professional education program planning theory serves as the framework guiding this study. the study involves a phenomenological inquiry into the conscientious meaning experience of the faculty and alumni in an agricultural education department. a purposeful sampling method of 14 participants (four professors and 10 alumni) was used to select participants since the study relied on individuals close to the phenomenon. data was collected using a standardized open-ended questionnaire and the department’s handbook. three themes emerged: the department's curriculum design/development; stakeholder’s consultation; and principles considered while designing the curriculum. recommendations were made for the department to continuously review and update the curriculum to reflect the current needs of the industry and students. lastly, the current study was recommended to be replicated in other main agricultural institutions in nigeria. keywords caffarella’s interactive model, curriculum planning, multidisciplinary model approach ajao et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.159 18 introduction and problem statement agricultural education in nigeria lacks an effective curriculum despite the belief that nigerian tertiary institutions possess adequate curricular to teach agriculture (ibrahim, 2014). a major root of this problem is that many instructional materials originated from developed countries during colonization, which applies to many african countries (anderson et al. (2019); ibrahim, 2014). the nigerian curricula are argued to be non-effective and not meeting the demands of the nigerian industry, thus resulting in the absence of employable skills to integrate graduates into agricultural career paths in the nigerian agrarian workforce (ajufo, 2013). these adopted curricula are ineffective because they fail to consider the culture of the nigerian people (okoroma, 2006). as a result, employers perceive that graduates are not fully prepared for work and believe that academic standards have depreciated over the past decades (dabalem et al., 2004; offorma & onyia, 2011). it is now assumed that having a university degree is synonymous with technical incompetency. the agricultural education curriculum has been described as inadequate in preparing students for the workforce, as it fails to meet the needs of the industry (ibrahim, 2014). given this, many college graduates in agriculture are conceived as “half-baked” (dabalem et al., 2004, p. 3). therefore, there is a need for “the curriculum and the methodology to be restructured and reformed, which means designing the curriculum in alignment with the principles of production and training for self-dependency” (ibrahim, 2014, p. 7). although there are many aspects of the agricultural industry, the agricultural sector in this study refers to agro-based public/private firms with various segments that include human resource management, administration, and production (egun, 2010). theoretical and conceptual framework the theoretical framework guiding this study is the program planning theory by caffarella (2002). caffarella (2002) stated that the curriculum is a program that involves many people, and the curriculum planner or developer must involve all these stakeholders in the decision-making of the curriculum. however, the involvement of stakeholders requires the negotiation of power among everyone (e.g., educators, learners, organizations) who bring their beliefs to the planning table (caffarella, 2002; cervero & wilson, 2006). according to cervero and wilson (2006), designing a curriculum requires some planning process, which includes: “assessing the learning needs; developing learning objectives from assessed needs; designing learning content and the instruction format to meet the learning objectives; and evaluating the learning outcomes in terms of whether the objectives were achieved (p. 243)”. they termed this planning process as a conventional planning theory, which is also supported by finch and crunkilton (1993); these authors emphasized the need for decision-making regarding the content of the curriculum. caffarella (2002) combines all these concepts into planning a program with an interactive model that explicitly reveals the various stages of planning a program or curriculum, known as a ‘guiding map’ in the planning process of a program. the model is interactive because it has no beginning or end, and it is made up of ajao et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.159 19 various components and tasks useful for negotiating power (caffarella, 2002). the interactive model comprises twelve components arranged circularly (see figure 1). figure 1 caffarella’s interactive model of program planning note. cafarella’s interactive model of program planning. reprinted from planning programs for adult learners: a practical guide for educators, trainers and staff developers (p. 21) by r. s. cafarella, 2002, jossey-bass. copyright 2002 by john wiley & sons, inc. reprinted with permission. depending on the program, planners may elect to work with components simultaneously instead of working with everything at once or following a particular order (caffarella, 2002). for instance, the needs assessment is the starting point in some programs, followed by the context and objectives. in contrast, other programs may prefer to start with coordinating facilities and on-site events. according to caffarella (2002), in identifying the program, the planners should first identify the stakeholders who influence the curriculum. also, the planner should determine their interest and finally make a judgment about their needs concerning their interest. however, in deciding whose interests’ matter, the planner should invite as many stakeholders as possible to the table to assess the educational requirements (caffarella, 2002). also, some stakeholders might not necessarily be at the table formally but informally (cervero & wilson, 2006). ajao et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.159 20 educational situation in nigeria the nigerian curriculum, particularly in the learning delivery, is predicated on a teachercentered approach, which does not consider the students' needs and, therefore, needs to be restructured (faboya & adamu, 2017). the curriculum model used was adopted from the british, and when reconstructed, the essential stakeholders were not usually included in determining what not to adopt (offorma & onyia, 2011; ohiwerei, 2019). according to offorma and onyia (2011), selecting a well-rounded strategy for teaching and learning is one of the essential parts of designing a curriculum, which includes a teacher-centered strategy and a student-centered teaching strategy. the university selected in the current study was one of the three main agricultural universities established by the nigeria federal government in 1988. these three universities were mandated to carry out teaching, research, and extension in agriculture (fapojuwo, 2015). each university underwent the approval process of the national union commission (nuc), which is a government body under the federal ministry of education (fme) and a regulatory agency that works with the nigerian universities in achieving full accreditation status, providing curriculum benchmarks for all the courses offered by universities as well as fostering a partnership between the nigerian universities system and the private sector (national universities commission, 2022). purpose the purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences of agricultural education professors who participated in designing the curriculum and alumni who were trained with the curriculum to understand the process involved in designing the curriculum and whether such a process considers the needs of the industry. the following research questions were asked: 1. how were the course descriptions and objectives determined? 2. how did the faculty members develop the instructional plans to address the course descriptions and objectives? 3. what was the role of the industry needs in the planning process? methods this study used a phenomenological inquiry into the professors' conscientious meaning experience and that of the alumni on the design of the curriculum (patton, 2002, p. 104). to study this phenomenon, we selected samples from the population of professors and alumni in an agriculture department in a large-sized federal university in the south-western region of nigeria. the researchers chose this population because it is the foremost and pioneer department of agricultural education in nigeria. as a pioneer, the department had an established curriculum that has been in use since 2009, which made it suitable for collecting rich data. moreover, researchers selected the department because it has produced alumni from 2015. we used a purposive and snowball sampling method to select participants. we ajao et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.159 21 needed individuals close to the phenomenon (i.e., professors involved in designing the curriculum and alumni trained with the curriculum). the inclusion criteria required professors who: (1) were members of the department since its inception in 2009, and (2) participated in the design of the curriculum. as a result, only five professors who met these criteria were invited to participate in the study. of those five, four professors agreed to participate in the study. the head of the department was among the four professors that participated in the study. the department’s alumni, who were the first cohort of the department, were also invited to participate in the study. the alumni’s email addresses were retrieved from the department’s directory. ten alumni were invited, and they agreed to participate in the study. the final sample comprised 14 participants (n = 14), including four professors and 10 alumni. seventy-five percent of the professors were males, while 25% were females. the age of the professors ranged from 45-60. all the professors had an organizational tenure of 10 years since the inclusion criteria required members of the department since its establishment in 2009. within the qualitative phenomenology method, data were collected through an open-ended questionnaire. in addition, the department’s curriculum (which was contained in the department’s handbook) was used as a secondary source of data. an open-ended questionnaire, rather than interviews, was used to get in-depth information from the professors as well as the alumni of the department. this is due to the cost that would have been incurred in traveling to the school and the inability of the participants to access stable wifi or electricity in nigeria to participate in an online video or audio call (patton, 2015). moreover, a standardized open-ended questionnaire is sometimes used to replace an interview to avoid biases (gafni et al., 2003). the construction of the questionnaire was based on an apriori table created to include the research questions, propositions, and relevant literature. an experienced faculty member on the research team reviewed the questionnaires, and the final questionnaires included 14 questions each for both professors and alumni. data were analyzed using a form of text analysis that includes a line-by-line analysis of data to identify excerpts from the text that constitute a complete thought (corbin & strauss, 2015), using a software known as atlas. ti; these excerpts were then translated into codes. the analysis from the professors’ data yielded 94 codes, while that of alumni yielded 54 codes. the codes from the open-ended questionnaires were triangulated with the department’s curriculum (gotten from the department handbook) and condensed into themes for further analysis and discussion (constas, 1992; creswell, 2013). the researchers were reflexive about their perspectives and biases while presenting participants' meanings of the phenomenon as accurately as possible (creswell, 2014). to further reduce subjective interpretations, the researchers engaged in intercoder reliability by selecting a “blind” review coder who checked for consistency between code definitions and the data (marshall & rossman, 2016). we also asked some of the participants to review and confirm the generated themes to make sure it was in line with their response (marshall & rossman, 2016). participants’ names were represented with pseudonyms for confidentiality. ajao et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.159 22 findings three themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) the department's curriculum design/development.; (b) stakeholder’s consultation; and (c) principles considered while designing the curriculum. furthermore, the third theme (i.e., the principles considered while designing the curriculum) was divided into 3 sub-themes: learning objectives, student learning needs, and industrial needs. table 1 summary of themes and sub-themes themes/sub-themes sample quotes 1. the department's curriculum design/development “the department also has a mandate in conducting cutting-edge research in agricultural management…” 2. stakeholder’s consultation “the curriculum initially undergoes the review of the curriculum development committee before it is sent to the nuc for approval …” 3. principles considered while designing the curriculum 3a. learning objectives “the focus and scope of the discipline [i.e., department] are obtained from other similar departments …” 3b. student learning needs “the administrative needs of graduates were considered in developing the instructional plan…" 3c. industrial needs. “the department determined the needs of the industries by interacting with the industries in 2012…” the department curriculum design/development the department’s curriculum was contained in the department’s handbook by fapojuwo (2015). the department’s curriculum showed that the department was established in 2009. it offers a bachelor of science degree (b.sc.) and a master’s degree (msc.) in agricultural administration (a branch of agricultural education) (fapojuwo, 2015). the department’s curriculum stated that the university was the first university to establish the department of agricultural administration in nigeria, and it is the only university in africa that runs this program both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels (fapojuwo, 2015). however, the postgraduate level was not established until the 2014/2015 session. the department is known for its research and instruction in agricultural management, administration, and gender studies (fapojuwo, 2015). as mentioned by professor sodiq, “the department also has a mandate in conducting cutting-edge research in agricultural management, administration, and gender studies and makes such knowledge available for relevant stakeholders in making managerial and policy decisions.” ajao et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.159 23 the establishment of the department was due to the need for administrative skills in the agricultural sector in nigeria, recognized as a skill gap that the department intends to bridge (fapojuwo, 2015). according to one of the alumni, joe, “it is a unique department with the core values of training students and helps bridge the gaps of organizational challenges in human resources, program planning, and training and development.” another alumnus, nelson, echoed this point: “this is a department with the core value to bridge the gap of human resources aspect of agriculture in terms of training and development, conflict resolution in the organization, monitoring, and evaluation, to mention a few.” also, the department collaborated with other agriculture departments to engage students in a one-year farming practice organized by the community-based farming scheme. as stated by professor sodiq: [the program involves] a farm year practical called the community-based farming scheme where they [i.e., students] are attached to different agricultural farms to gain practical experience for 12 months, after which examinations are taken to test their skills and practical knowledge. these farms are not public industries and are owned by the school in different rural locations as opportunities for students to engage in agriculture experiential learning. the annual farm practicum was established to prepare students for farm activities in the crop and livestock section of the university. the findings also revealed that all the professors responded to only one aspect of the curriculum: the syllabus. according to prideaux (2003), several believed the curriculum to be just a syllabus. however, the curriculum covers beyond just the syllabus. the curriculum comprises the content, the evaluation process, the teaching and learning strategies, and the assessment process (prideaux 2003). the stakeholders consultation findings revealed that there was a detailed process followed when designing the curriculum. there was a university committee in charge of the curriculum design. in describing the process of designing the curriculum, professor obi stated: there are processes involved in the university to develop a curriculum. the university has a curriculum development committee which the curriculum has to pass through before approval. after approval, the university senate gave the final approval before the implementation took off. the nigerian university commission also had input in ensuring the relevance of the curriculum before accrediting the department. the professors explained in detail the input of the nigerian government in the process of designing the department's curriculum. they mentioned that the national university commission (nuc), established in 1962 by the nigerian government, was mandated to promote and ensure quality higher education in nigeria. also, professor afonja claimed that after certifying the curriculum, the nuc's accreditation team reviews it every five years, using the benchmark academic standard (usually known as b-mark). every five years, the nuc ajao et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.159 24 compares the implemented curriculum of the department against the benchmark academic standard to see if the department has achieved its goals. however, the curriculum initially undergoes the review of the curriculum development committee before it is sent to the nuc for approval. all the professors also claimed to be involved in gathering information on the curriculum content for the courses offered. however, the development of the curriculum was not limited to the professors, as many alumni claimed to have been involved in various parts of the development of the curriculum. one of the pioneering alumni, luke, stated: "as a stakeholder in the department, i advocated for an all-inclusive administrative course to enrich the delivery of courses to students, which was implemented about four years after." the same alumnus also reported participating in organizing seminars to showcase the department’s role in bridging the skill gap between agricultural graduates and managerial demands in the nigerian workforce. these findings reveal that both the professors and the students were involved in the design of the curriculum. principles considered while designing the curriculum three sub-themes, which represented the principles considered while designing the curriculum, emerged from the data. these included the learning objectives, student learning needs, and industrial needs. the learning objectives many of the professors revealed that the curriculum was designed based on the department’s learning objectives, which were developed in line with the department’s vision and purpose. however, the learning objectives were not limited to the department but were modeled upon other universities across africa. professors afonja captured this, who stated: “the focus and scope of the discipline [i.e., department] are obtained from other similar departments in universities across africa.” in line with this, one of the professors mentioned that the "department engages in exchange programs with a university in ghana.” professor afonja further emphasized this point: the development of the learning objectives was further fine-tuned with the aid of an exchange program between the [university] and the university from ghana (the latter runs a postgraduate program in agricultural administration) in 2012 with the sponsorship of the international association of universities (iau) in france. also, some professors stated that some of the learning objectives were developed from the literature. professor sodiq mentioned that the learning objectives were developed to promote “the capacity building [of students, to] provide a satisfactory service to the public and private organization." many professors also reported that learning objectives had improved their teaching. as explained by one of the professors, obi: "the objectives have helped to influence my teaching style to some extent, changing my style from being teacher-centered to student-centered." moreover, professors reported a change in research due to utilizing learning objectives. ajao et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.159 25 according to professor obi: "my research focus was greatly influenced, [changing] from research on rural sociology to management and human resource focus area." another professor, afonja stated: "my internalization of the department's objectives has given me the impetus to consistently stick to the teaching styles and maintain research focus that is in tandem with the objective.” student learning needs many of the professors reportedly stated that the department put the learning needs of the students into consideration when designing the curriculum. according to professor obi: the student’s learning needs to make them employable are group dynamics, psychology, ict, conflict management, gender mainstreaming, human resource management, leadership, e.t.c. all these were considered in the development of instructional materials at all levels, especially at the final year stage. another professor, otenaike, added that "the administrative needs of graduates were considered in developing the instructional plan." when asked how the learning needs of the students were accessed, professor sodiq reported that the learning needs of the students were accessed "through seminars, interactions, tests, examinations." another professor, afonja stated, "the needs of the graduates are determined by the filling of needs assessment form every semester." moreover, one of the professors, otenaike mentioned that the department goes beyond the school by using "records of graduates who left the department to get feedback from them, which are useful information on needs." professors were also asked how often they review their syllabus. all the professors reported that the syllabus is reviewed every five years to reflect the current learning needs of students. however, according to finch and crunkilton (1993), the syllabus review should be done on both a short-term and long-term basis. meanwhile, when alumni were asked about the syllabus meeting their learning needs, their response was not totally in line with the professors. while some stated that the syllabus met their learning needs well, others were less positive in their remarks. one of the alumni, luke stated it met his needs "averagely well." another alumnus, rachel said: "it meets my needs to an appreciable length. though i started my department course in my final year (500 level)." this statement suggests that alumni needs were not adequately met because they are only allowed to take courses designed by the department's curriculum in their final year. industry needs the professors identified various ways the department attempts to determine industry needs. some professors noted that the department has an ongoing working relationship with industry partners. one of the professors, sodiq, stated: [it is a] constant interaction with the industries through student attachments and practical training at the 400 level. this helps to determine the needs of the industries ajao et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.159 26 and equally dovetail with the modification of the curriculum to meet the changing needs of the industries and produce graduates that will be employable. moreover, professor afonja echoed this point: [the industry’s needs were determined] by going on a familiarization tour of all the major agricultural establishments in the southwest of nigeria with the underlying intent of determining the needs of the industries and consequently accommodating such needs to gear the department curriculum towards addressing them. however, professor afonja did not describe this relationship as ongoing but rather as an event that took place in 2012. he stated: “the department determined the needs of the industries by interacting with the industries in 2012 as part of the exchange program between the [university], and the university from ghana.” many professors mentioned that the practical farm program was instrumental to learning about the needs of the industry. the farm practical year is an internship program where students are assigned to farms for one year in their final year at the department. in addition to learning about the industry needs, this internship program serves as a work experience for students. however, as one of the professors, otenaike, mentioned, this program does not provide sufficient work experience. the farms do not adequately reflect the wide range of potential industries that graduates are to work on after graduation. findings revealed that professors generally favored increased industry partnership despite the farm practical program. one of the professors, sodiq stated: “there is a curriculum review going on now to ensure that the students spend about three months in the industry.” another professor, afonja, while echoing the need for increased industry partnership, stated: “the university is putting an arrangement in place to incorporate more industry visits into the existing farm practical period.” findings also revealed that professors determined industry needs through personal research. moreover, findings showed that partnership with the industry might have an unintended outcome of maintaining students’ interest in the program. according to professor afonja: “they are also exposed to excursions to the industries once in a year at least to sustain their interest in the course.” professors also mentioned that the department adopts the college curriculum for the first four years of the five-year bachelor’s degree. the department’s curriculum becomes effective only in year five (final year). as a result, the curriculum does not fully meet the needs of the students, and it is difficult for students to be specialists in their field. moreover, the current study explored how the curriculum might have helped alumni in their respective jobs. to begin, alumni were asked if they worked in the agriculture industry. surprisingly, all the alumni indicated they currently work in non-agricultural sectors, except for one, alex whose work contains some elements of agriculture. when asked if he works in an ajao et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.159 27 agriculture-related organization, alex stated: "not fully, but there is an aspect of the organization that deals with agriculture." also, all alumni, when asked whether the skills they gained from the department were useful in their current jobs, all answered ‘no.’ when asked what skills they wished had been taught in their programs, one of them, luke, stated: "industrial relations and nigerian labor law." another alumnus, daniel, stated: "i would have the desire that the department could include enterprise management and the inclusion of leadership as a separate course with a focus on sustainable development of the nation and africa as a whole." these findings showed that students’ learning needs were not fully met. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations one of the major purposes of this study was to determine whether the curriculum aligns with the needs of the industry. first, we found that the main reason for establishing the department was to fill the administrative skill gap in the agriculture industry, which is the program idea upon which the objectives are based (cafarella, 2002). however, from the findings, there was no mention of the direct involvement of industry stakeholders in the planning of the curriculum. this is surprising since the department’s purpose revolves around meeting the needs of the industry. including the industry stakeholders in the negotiation process might have been beneficial. also, the findings revealed a discrepancy between the response of the professors and that of the alumni. while professors believed that students’ learning needs were considered and met, the alumni maintained that the department did not meet their learning needs adequately. the alumni proposed new courses that would have helped in their current jobs, including industrial relations and nigerian labor law, enterprise management, and leadership. the most interesting part of these findings is that all the desired courses mentioned by the alumni are simply not agricultural-related. this shortcoming supports offorma and onyia’s (2011) argument about the nigerian institution lacking a multidisciplinary model approach to curriculum that prepares the students for the needs of the industry. the alumni desired to have the specialized courses in the curriculum available from the first year rather than the final year of their program. the current structure of offering technical courses only in the last year means that students can only take departmental courses for two semesters. the following recommendations are based on the finding of this phenomenological study: • continuous careful review and update of the curriculum with the current industry needs (chugh et al., 2017). • further replication of the study should be done in other major agricultural institutions in nigeria to investigate the degree to which the curriculum meets the needs of the students and industries. moreover, future studies should explore the extent to which professors’ teaching and learning strategies prepare the students for the labor force. ajao et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.159 28 in conclusion, the alumni learning needs are not being met, as most of the alumni still wished that they had taken some courses that would have better prepared them for their current jobs. from the findings, the professors are fully aware of the skill gap between the industry and the educational system by mentioning an ongoing curriculum review. however, the professors did not share the full details of the review. it is a five-year program; therefore, the courses offered by the department must be spread out across the entire duration of the program (i.e., five years, as opposed to only the final year). taking the department’s courses in only one year (i.e., two semesters) is not enough time for the student to develop the administrative skills needed for the workforce. there is a need for the student to be intensively taught practical ways to use the managerial skills in the labor force (offorma & onyia, 2011). author contribution helen ajao: contributed to writing, collection of data, analysis of data, interpretation of the result, design of the study, the conceptualization of the research, and draft manuscript preparation. dr. dami alegbeleye: contributed to the study's conceptualization, proofreading, analysis of the data and design of the study, and draft manuscript preparation. dr. donna westfall-rudd: supervised and proofread the research, reviewed the literature, and designed the study. all authors approved the final version of the manuscript. references ajufo, b. i. 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(2003) curriculum design: abc of learning and teaching in medicine. bmj 326(7383), 268–270. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.326.7383.268 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 49-manuscript-663-1-11-20200903.docx conner et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 3, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. nathan w. conner, associate professor, university of nebraska-lincoln, 236 filley hall, lincoln, ne 68583-0947, nconner2@unl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0063-4110 2. christopher t. stripling, associate professor, the university of tennessee, 320 morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn, 37996-4511, cstripli@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5045-3492 3. jamie loizzo, assistant professor, university of florida, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611, jloizzo@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5575-2918 1 preservice teachers’ perceptions of science integration into secondary agriculture classrooms n. conner1, c. stripling2, j. loizzo3 abstract after completing a 40-hour field experience course, 26 preservice teachers participated in interviews about their experiences observing science integration in secondary agriculture classrooms. based on bandura’s social cognitive theory, researchers analyzed interview transcripts for preservice teachers’ descriptions of perceived preparedness to integrate science into agricultural education programs based on personal, environmental, and behavioral determinants. findings indicated the integration of science concepts were reliant upon participants’ perceived integration ability, importance of science knowledge, consequences of science integration, application of hands-on learning, practical application of science in agriculture, and the influence of colleague collaboration on the learning environment. from their observations, preservice teachers cited specific instances of academic science concepts relating to agriculture, which they perceived as an applied science. while natural ties to biology and chemistry appeared in classroom lessons, preservice teachers held a belief that agricultural education is a unique practical context for learning and integration of science, but too much science integration is seen as a threat to agricultural education. many preservice teachers noted the environment surrounding their future agricultural classrooms will play a large role in how they integrate science. future research should further investigate how behavioral, personal, and environmental factors influence science integration. keywords agricultural education; teacher preparation; social cognitive theory, field experience conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.49 2 introduction and problem statement educational reform movements have increased pressure to improve student performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem; national academies of sciences, engineering, and medicine, 2017; sanders, 2009). however, agriculture’s relationship with the biological and physical sciences has well-positioned agricultural education as a platform for enhancing scientific skills and knowledge (balschweid & thompson, 2002; conroy & walker, 2000; enderlin, 1992). mercier (2015) stated the relationship between science and agriculture is a “seemingly natural connection” (p.11) and agriculture provides students and teachers with a concrete context for stem concepts (association for career and technical education, 2006; dailey et al., 2001). science integration in the school-based agriculture classroom gained momentum when the national research council (1988) recommended updating agricultural education curricula to include scientific principles and concepts. today, the american association for agricultural education calls for effective integration of stem content into agricultural curricula through the adequate preparation of teachers to facilitate the process (roberts et al., 2016). prior works have indicated agriculture teachers feel equipped and qualified to integrate science into their curriculum (osborne & dyer, 1998; thompson & balschweid, 1999). however, houck and kitchel (2010) found a large variance in agricultural content preparation for preservice teachers. floden and meniketti (2005) found preservice teachers’ coursework led to basic knowledge, but it did not provide an adequate understanding of content and scientific process. a deep understanding of content is essential, not only for effective science integration (phipps et al., 2008), but effective teaching in general (darling-hammond & bransford, 2005). to that end, ryu et al. (2019) found preservice teachers foresaw future stem integration challenges and attributed the expected challenges to “school culture and structure, limited knowledge in stem fields, and an absence of role models” (p. 508). as a result, we seek to understand preservice teachers’ perceptions of science integration in secondary agricultural education after observing teacher instruction as part of a field experience course. this information should allow teacher educators to address preservice teachers’ perceived knowledge or skill deficiencies, concerns, and misconceptions. theoretical and conceptual framework in order to better understand preservice agricultural education teachers’ preparedness to integrate science concepts and processes in an agricultural context, it is necessary to examine factors that influence their abilities to do so. bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory guided the development and implementation of this study. bandura (1986) described behavior through the framework of triadic reciprocality or reciprocal interactions among behavior, environmental influences, and personal factors. the interacting determinants influence each other bidirectionally, but they do not necessarily interact in a uniformly balanced relationship (bandura, 1986). according to bandura (1997), reciprocal interactions are not of equal strength, and one determinant may demonstrate dominance over the others. for instance, personal conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.49 3 factors in the triad might outweigh environmental events or vice versa. although, in most situations, the determinants are vastly interdependent. furthermore, time is needed for causal factors to exercise their influence, and that time makes it possible for researchers to study or understand the reciprocal causations (bandura, 1997). when considering science integration into secondary agriculture courses, the desired behavior would be successful and meaningful teacher instruction. personal factors may include outcome expectations, self-efficacy (smith et al., 2015), and perceptions of science integration. examples of environmental factors that may influence the social environment are interaction and collaboration with peers or other educators, length of teaching career, and certification area(s) (smith et al., 2015). according to bandura (1989), individuals have some level of control over their environment. examining the relationship between perceived future behaviors, personal inclinations and perceptions, and environmental factors influencing preservice teachers could provide insight into preservice teachers’ practices related to science integration. purpose the purpose of this study was to explore preservice teachers’ perceptions of science integration in secondary agriculture classrooms. specifically, the following question was investigated: what are preservice teachers’ perceptions of science integration in secondary agriculture classrooms after observing teacher instruction as part of a field experience course? methods the epistemological perspective for this study was constructionism in which the preservice teachers construct their own knowledge and meaning (crotty, 2003). people construct meaning based on their experiences and perceptions, and their constructed meaning may change over time (crotty, 2003). the theoretical perspective for this study was social constructionism. preservice teachers construct reality through social interactions. in order to understand reality, individuals must socially interpret and make sense of the phenomenon that already exists (crotty, 2003). we used a qualitative approach to interpret the participants’ perceptions (denzin & lincoln, 1994) and allow for the analysis of feelings and opinions (creswell, 1998). merriam’s (1988) description of general qualitative methodology informed our study design. merriam stated qualitative research “simply seeks to discover and understand a phenomenon, a process of the perspectives and worldviews of the people involved” (p. 11). according to merriam, the generic methodology has become a method of choice in the field of educational research because the method allows for flexibility without confinement to a specific procedure. we recruited undergraduate agricultural education students enrolled in an early field experience course for preservice educators at the university of nebraska, lincoln to participate in this study. the course included a 40-hour early field experience practicum in a secondary conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.49 4 agriculture program, in which preservice teachers observed teacher instruction and the classroom learning environment. during the field experience, preservice teachers viewed instruction and environment through borich’s (2015) eight lenses of teacher observation: (a) learning climate, (b) classroom management, (c) lesson clarity, (d) instructional variety, (e) task orientation, (f) student engagement in the learning process, (g) student success, and (h) performance outcomes and higher thoughts processes. each preservice teacher was required to write two reflective journal entries that included four lenses. entry one reflected upon lenses ad, and entry two reflected upon lenses e-h. a combination of university and school learning experiences are commonly incorporated into teacher preparation programs (childs & mcnicholl, 2007). the practicums were conducted throughout nebraska in rural, suburban, and urban programs. twenty-six preservice agricultural education students enrolled in the course, and all 26 (24 females; 2 males) voluntarily participated in the study and were freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. we collected data through two focus groups to bring multiple participants together for collective interviewing and discussion (berg, 2001). a graduate student external to the research team and with an understanding of agricultural education facilitated the focus groups. we randomly assigned participants to focus groups. each focus group lasted approximately one hour and was digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. data were also collected in the form of the focus group facilitator’s observational notes recorded by hand during the sessions. the thematic analysis method was used to “focus on repeated words or phrases in order to reduce data and to allow themes to emerge” (grbich, 2007, p. 32). the block and file method was used to reduce the data (grbich, 2007). the data were color-coded, then grouped into categories, and then chunked into themes. titles were then developed for each theme, and the data were used as evidence to support the themes. we followed lincoln and guba’s (1985) suggested procedures to enhance trustworthiness (credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability). triangulation procedures included comparing data from observation notes to the two focus group transcripts and comparing researchers’ codes to enhance credibility. the focus group facilitator verbally member checked understanding and interpretations throughout each focus group to verify the interpretation and meaning of the data and to establish credibility. a description of the early field experience was provided and allows readers to determine the transferability of the findings to another situation (lincoln & guba, 1985; merriam, 1988). additionally, methodological journaling in the margins of the transcripts helped to link the findings to the data and to increase the dependability and confirmability of this study. findings the following themes were identified: (a) agriculture as a context for science education, (b) hands-on learning experiences are ideal for engaging students and deeper learning, (c) the agricultural education program is a context for practical applications, and (d) colleague conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.49 5 collaboration influences the learning environment. these major themes and their sub-themes are presented in the following section and are linked to bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory from the perspective of a future agriculture teacher and bandura’s three determinates. participants’ names are not used in order to protect identities. the designations of p1-p26 are used as participant identifiers. agriculture as a context for science education (behavioral, personal, and environmental) integration ability (behavioral) after completing classroom observations, many preservice teachers recognized the ease of which science was integrated into the classroom. related concepts such as animal husbandry and genetics provided “a natural way to tie [science] in [to agriculture]” (p16). p14 stated agriculture contained a lot of “science-based curriculum.” when reflecting in the interview, p15 recognized that “there [are] a lot of opportunities for crossover.” p5 stated there are “a variety of different sciences within agriculture” that can be integrated. science needs to be emphasized in courses because of its direct impact on the entire agricultural industry (p9). others saw agricultural courses as providing “hands-on experience” (p2), making it “easier to learn” (p2), because the science concepts become “something they can apply everyday” (p3). on utilizing agriculture as a context for science, many participants were able to pull specific instances of agriculture being used to formulate concrete experiences to strengthen scientific concepts. p11 noted lessons on photosynthesis and plant pathogens occurring in the greenhouse. p2 observed scientific energy concepts integrated by linking them to ethanol creation from corn. p9 related the artificial insemination of a cow directly to biology. p1 noted science concepts were observed through “plant science and soils and genetics and animal science.” p8 commented on how agriculture teachers were able to “reinforce those science concepts to further [the students’] understanding of the agricultural concept.” preservice teachers noted these concepts could be integrated into their future classrooms easily. importance of science knowledge (personal) preservice teachers professed the importance of teachers’ knowledge in core science areas. the necessity of having “a broad understanding of all the sciences” in order to teach agriculture was recognized by p8. because of the bigger role science is playing in the agriculture classroom, p3 stressed how “important [it is] to just have a common background [in the sciences]” to fulfill this demand. p11 noted awareness before classroom observations, stating “i knew i needed to know the basics [of scientific principles].” p10 made note of the importance of understanding science to be able to teach it confidently. in addition, p8 recognized “there’s concepts you can’t explain without having… at least the core concepts of science and sometimes those don’t get covered in the regular science classroom the way they need to, so you need to reinforce those science concepts.” that included the general scientific method for p6 who stated, “students know how to set up this stuff for future reference,” in reference to scientific experiments. in addition to having a foundation of knowledge, p15 noted the importance of also knowing how to research scientific concepts that might not be retrieved or remembered off hand. conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.49 6 many of the preservice teachers saw themselves as a resource for potential careers. p1 described this opportunity by stating that agricultural educators could provide a platform for students to “get interested in science” by “making it interesting.” the participant continued by stating that “it’s important those kids even learn the basic knowledge on that… before… deciding on what they want to pursue” because agriculture is “a huge industry.” p3 also believed agriculture classrooms “are so successful because they spark an interest while they are still learning…common things.” p5 backed up these ideals by stating that agricultural educators can spark a broader group of students’ interests. the benefit of a foundational science course for preservice teachers was apparent to participants, and some went even further to mention that a more detailed education would be beneficial. one participant brought up the idea of obtaining endorsements in biology to aid in agricultural education teaching (p13). other participants referenced the curriculum for agricultural science education (case) program. p1 recommended not only covering science content in a foundational course, but also including how to connect science concepts to agriculture stating, “the problem is… knowing how to take that and [put] it into [an agricultural context] and teaching it all together” (p1). p3 raised concern for the need for teacher preparation programs to better teach preservice teachers how to integrate scientific concepts into agricultural education courses. “one thing… that will help me to integrate the science concepts is to use the case curriculum” (p8). p11 stated the case training “[gives] you a deeper background… in the science and better ways to integrate it.” p7 was able to see case in action and felt that it could aid in development of scientific integration. p1 noted that they would love to utilize some case curriculum in their future classroom. the case curriculum, endorsements, and the ability to learn how to integrate concepts into agriculture courses gave preservice teachers a feeling of confidence in their ability to effectively cover science topics. perceived consequences of science integration (environmental) participants voiced concerns that agriculture teaching positions will focus too greatly on integrating science concepts and lose the aspects of what makes secondary agricultural education so important. p12 observed a teacher who taught both science and agriculture courses and saw that “more time and energy [was spent] teaching the core [sciences].” the participant believed that it was going to be a challenge to defend the importance of agriculture classes in secondary schools if it became too focused on meeting scientific standards (p12). p1 noted that it may be difficult for secondary agriculture programs to develop and support additional lab space and equipment needed to integrate more and more general science concepts. additionally, the participant expressed concern in being able to keep the integrated science interesting and engaging, citing soil specifically (p1). p10 explained secondary agriculture courses are important because they are “an applied science” and their ability to “get kids more active” and stressed students “need to see the agriculture aspect.” p3 observed this phenomenon occurring during their observations. the participant stated “their animal science courses and…the genetic courses and things like that ended up being more like science actual courses instead of…hands-on ag courses. despite the connections between science and conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.49 7 agriculture, participants were worried agricultural education would mimic traditional science courses and budget cuts would lead to the exclusion of agricultural concepts and hands-on learning. hands-on learning experiences are ideal for engaging students and deeper learning (behavioral) within the observed agriculture classrooms, hands-on instruction in the form of projects and labs were frequently observed. for many preservice teachers, hands-on activities were an aspect of agricultural education curriculum that made it stand out and different from other classes (p1, p9, p15, & p12). p2 noted they are a hands-on learner and personally understood the importance of labs and activities which engage students in the learning process “rather than just reading about it in a textbook. p2 also noted “in ag-sized classes you get more handson” and “it is easier to learn something when [you are] working and doing it [yourself].” p7 detailed a project observed that allowed students to build a mock production facility, which had to include breeding and genetic information for the species they were breeding. p2 observed test plots that utilized local farmers to teach topics in farm management and plant sciences. because of the engaging nature of these activities, secondary students seemed to enjoy the learning process and were more excited to learn. participants noted the importance of handson instruction in agricultural concepts and made a distinction between observed courses that were more engaging because of the hands-on aspects and those that were less interesting because the content was taught in a more teacher-centered manner (p17, p3, & p10). in one observed classroom, p4 saw students “[were] really excited to learn” and that they “want to be in [the teacher’s] class.” p1 shared that sentiment, stating it’s “very beneficial that a student comes into a class excited to learn about it.” this excitement transcends agriculture – p9 reasoned, “if [students] are excited about their agriculture, they are going to be excited about learning science.” building off that mindset, p11 connected excitement to deeper learning by stating that “they were…excited to apply it and delve into it a little bit more.” preservice teachers believed integrating scientific concepts into an agriculture course through hands-on activities made students more active and intentional in the learning process. the agricultural education program is a context for practical applications (environmental) a recurrent strategy preservice teachers observed in the agriculture classroom was the application of science in the total program. the interaction between class and laboratory work, supervised agricultural experiences (sae), and ffa (agricultural education youth organization) activities proved beneficial to student understanding of the importance of foundational science knowledge. agricultural education, as noted by p11, provides “a way to apply what you are learning” and helps solidify “why it’s important in an area outside of just the typical science structure.” witnessing science’s applicability to their personal interests “helps [students] with the relevance of it” (p11). preservice teachers observed that providing students with classroom instruction accompanied by hands-on laboratory exercises allowed the students to build deeper connections to science concepts. p3 explained that during a teacher observation the teacher spent one day in the conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.49 8 classroom going over material and the next day the class would do a lab experiment pertaining to what they had learned. p17 saw similar scenarios play out, stating “they got like a packet at the beginning… then they were supposed to go through and do their reading and then their lab and then fill out their homework on it.” p18 experienced the opposite. p18 observed students collecting leaves outside on school grounds before working in the classroom. upon return to the classroom, p18 noted the class discussed their leaves with prompted questions such as “what leaf do you think this is, why do you think, which tree does it come from?” (p18). the preservice teachers recognized the importance of bringing context to the agriculture standards. ffa provided an outlet to develop scientific skills that aided in career development. p2 reflected on a fundraiser where students grew poinsettias. students were responsible for “tak[ing] care of them, and they [got] to… apply the hormones and fertilizers” (p2). prior to the hands-on fundraiser, students learned about the processes in the classroom (p2). p1 and p3 observed ph tests and land judging during career development event practices, which provided the students with experience for competing as well as general knowledge that p1 called “beneficial.” the ability for students to apply concepts learned in agriculture courses at home or in their sae program was a perceived advantage of integration of science standards. “i’d say genetics is important and a lot of these kids come from farms and stuff and they need to know maybe more in-depth than what they just learn at home,” stated p4. p2 also observed a linkage between the application of scientific, agricultural concepts being used every day stating “they could apply it to something they do every day” referring to their family farming operation. p1 also noted the concepts of soil testing and ph learned in agricultural education classes could be brought home to the students’ farm. by teaching scientific standards in the context of agriculture, preservice teachers found value in the application of those standards on students’ farms. colleague collaboration influences the learning environment (environmental) participants recognized working with colleagues to effectively coordinate lesson plans would greatly enhance the student experience, interest, and understanding. p10 reasoned “if you can work with the science teacher” and “had classes paired together or you could co-teach in class… it would be beneficial for all the kids to see.” p7 agreed, noting it would also be important to “coordinate with other teachers [to] know exactly what level the students are on” so that you “don’t backtrack too much or are way over their heads,” which would make lessons “the most effective.” p7 noted that with collaboration efforts “students get excited that they can actually apply a real-life example that they learned in a different class to like their biology with another teacher so it’s kind of like a realization that what they’re learning in another class matters too.” p1 made note of the strong connection between agriculture and science and noted that students would benefit by being exposed to the information in more than one way. p10 discussed future plans to coordinate with the science teachers to develop lesson plans that incorporate science and agriculture in both courses. the participant believed, if they collaborated with the biology teacher in coordinating lessons, students would see the conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.49 9 connection between science and agriculture. p10 stated the “kids who might hate that biology class would see how it connects to the applied science and that it can be fun.” while some preservice teachers witnessed the benefits of collaboration, others noticed the challenges of facilitating this communication, which one preservice teacher called “kind of a balancing act” (p3). p3 observed a miscommunication between the agriculture teacher and science teacher because students in the science courses had already learned a concept being introduced in the agriculture classroom. “[the teacher] said it’s just hard,” noting some students had also already covered topics that were being taught in the agriculture course. the participant continued to voice concern “for the struggle it could be to sit down with other teachers and go through their lessons without bugging them or overloading the students” (p3). p1 stated “it’s definitely going to be a struggle to try [to] talk to the other teachers because sometimes they might take it as offensive,” but that is also reliant on the personality of teachers in the school. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations in the context of preservice teacher preparation, the emergent themes can be used by teacher educators to enhance courses and curriculum to better prepare preservice agricultural education teachers. interactions between behavioral, personal, and environmental factors (bandura, 1986) play a role in how a teacher chooses to perceive their future integration of science into agriculture courses. behavioral determinants (bandura, 1986) manifested themselves in preservice teachers’ perceived abilities to integrate scientific concepts into their future classrooms and the value held in believing the integration of hands-on learning was a natural occurrence that sets agricultural education apart from core academic science courses. participants were able to cite specific instances and opportunities to integrate scientific standards into secondary agriculture courses highlighting the potentially engaging nature of teaching an applied science. similar to mercier’s (2015) assertion, many felt as if integrating science standards with hands-on learning made for an exciting and engaging environment that they would like to recreate in their future classrooms. the one personal determinant (bandura, 1986) preservice teachers described was their belief in the importance of possessing and being capable of expressing a broad understanding of science. darling-hammond and bransford (2005) recommended preservice teacher preparation should cover the basics in various sciences. results similarly indicated preservice teachers believed they are capable of being a resource for their students for a wide range of scientific concepts. preservice teachers perceived a need to be able to teach multiple sciences. the belief in their ability to integrate science concepts and procedures into agriculture classrooms is consistent with prior research (osborne & dyer, 1998; thompson & balschweid, 1999). environmental determinants (bandura, 1986) appeared more frequently in the conversations with preservice teachers. they held ideas that a lot of what they did in their classroom, as it pertained to integrating science, would be heavily influenced by outside factors. those factors included the practical applications of agricultural education, perceived consequences of science conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.49 10 integration, and colleague collaboration. in indirect ways, preservice teachers made references to the three-circle model of agricultural education, noting that science integration could be influential in the classroom and laboratory, in ffa experiences, and at the student’s own farm. the actual design of agricultural education programs and the environment created influences every aspect of a student’s education; and holds potential for science to be integrated and applied in various ways. however, despite the ease and naturally occurring instances for science integration, preservice teachers feared that aligning too closely to core academic science classrooms would make it easier for administrative leaders to alleviate budget concerns by cutting agricultural education programs. in order to better prepare preservice teachers, these observed themes should be considered and addressed through curriculum development for teacher preparation programs. as a result, curriculum should be designed to provide basic understanding of biological and physical sciences (balschweid & thompson, 2002) and should have a strong emphasis on connecting science concepts to agriculture (stripling & barrick, 2013). we recommend course development should include both the agricultural teacher educator and a representative from the biological and physical sciences. collaboration would help to ensure quality and rigor, meaningful instruction, and demonstrate positive collaboration that could serve as a model of collaboration for the preservice teacher. additionally, agricultural teacher preparation programs should create/modify courses to seamlessly integrate secondary science standards into teacher preparation courses. science integration could occur in stand-alone courses or could be in existing courses that include teaching methods and curriculum design courses. integrated stem teaching methods courses such as those proposed by ryu et al. (2019) and science methods courses should be further explored and studied as potential editions to teacher preparation programs of study. efforts taken to incorporate science and science teaching methods should improve preservice teachers’ abilities to explicitly and intentionally blend science and agriculture into a learning experience that deepens the learner’s understanding of each subject (ryu et al., 2019). in practice, this study served as a formative assessment of preservice teachers’ perceptions of science integration after observing secondary agriculture teachers’ instruction as part of a field experience course. based on the information learned, we recommend future research identify effective agricultural teacher preparation formative assessment strategies, such as the reflective journaling use in this investigation, for science integration to aid in addressing preservice teachers’ perceived knowledge or skill deficiencies, concerns and misconceptions. future research should also continue to examine perceived future behaviors, personal inclinations and perceptions, and environmental factors influencing science integration and seek to determine the most effective way of assessing and preparing preservice teachers to integrate science into their agriculture teaching. conner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.49 11 references association for career and technical education. 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(1999). attitudes of oregon agricultural science and technology teachers toward integrating science. journal of agricultural education, 40(3), 21-29. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.1999.03021 © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 13-manuscript-255-3-11-20200213 denny and hardman advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 1, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. marina d’abreau denny, assistant professor, mississippi state university p.o. box 9745, mississippi state, ms 39762 mdd269@msstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7391-3204 2. alisha marie hardman, assistant professor, mississippi state university p.o. box 9745, mississippi state, ms 39762 a.hardman@msstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7558-5822 86 mississippi extension undergraduate apprenticeship program: a model for critical reflection through community-engaged research and outreach m. d. denny1, a. m. hardman2 abstract the mississippi state university extension undergraduate apprenticeship program was implemented in 2017 to give undergraduate juniors and seniors the opportunity to work one-on-one with an extension mentor and explore careers in agriculture, natural resources, family and consumer sciences, community resource development, or youth development, while participating in research and outreach activities that directly benefit extension programs and community stakeholders. the program is rooted in the principles of mentoring adult learners in an organizational context. kolb’s experiential learning model and the deal model for critical reflection serve as the conceptual framework, whereby students engage in critical reflection to enhance their integrated research-andoutreach learning experience. an evaluation of the first two student cohorts (n=19) revealed a significant production of scholarship, an increase in discipline-specific knowledge, enhanced critical thinking and problem-solving skills, a greater understanding and appreciation for extension, and a desire to pursue related graduate studies. keywords undergraduate, apprenticeship, mentoring, integrated research, extension denny and hardman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.13 87 introduction and problem statement there is a need for extension personnel qualified in the subject-matter most relevant to the identified needs of respective stakeholders in a county or region (cooper & graham, 2001). very little research on training costs for non-profit and educational organizations exists, but studies in the for-profit sector indicate it may cost as much as six to nine months of a new employee’s salary -entry-level equivalent of $30,000 to $40,000 -for orientation and training (bliss, n.d.). these costs include on-the-job training costs by supervisors and colleagues, lost productivity costs over the first few months of employment, and several intangible costs. although subject matter may be taught on the job, the cost to an extension organization to train an employee to a level at which he/she can most effectively address clientele needs is extensive and can be reduced simply by hiring employees that already have a technical background in a particular programmatic area. extension has not done a good job of marketing itself as a career opportunity to undergraduate students earning technical degrees, and there is steep competition from the private job sector, which often can afford to offer higher starting salaries and other attractive amenities. the mississippi extension undergraduate apprenticeship program was implemented in 2017. participating students gain direct experience conducting research and assisting in the analysis and translation of that research into a related extension process or product, such as an extension publication, presentation, or educational curriculum. additionally, they learn more about the mission of extension and have the opportunity to consider the possibilities of applying their undergraduate degree to an extension career upon graduation. finally, students are exposed to additional opportunities for graduate studies and ongoing research. this paper seeks to briefly summarize the existing research supporting the need for undergraduate experiential opportunities such as this one and review the literature regarding mentoring of adult learners and critical thinking and problem-solving skills for college-educated young adults entering the workforce. next the mississippi extension undergraduate apprenticeship program model and how it is based on the deal model for critical reflection is described. finally, lessons learned from the first two years of this program are provided, with implications that may be informative for other extension systems or institutions of higher learning interested in implementing a similar model. theoretical and conceptual framework this apprenticeship program attempts to bridge the perceived research-practice divide by engaging the student in a fully integrated research and outreach experiential learning experience. it is rooted in the principles of mentoring adult learners in an organizational context. kolb’s (1984) experiential learning model and the deal model for critical reflection (ash & clayton, 2009) serve as the conceptual framework for the program. kolb’s theory utilizes a holistic perspective on learning which incorporates experience, perception, cognition, and behavior. the deal model for critical reflection promotes and assesses student learning in denny and hardman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.13 88 applied and experiential learning approaches such as service-learning, internships, practica, and study abroad courses. the deal model is a process that scaffolds learners as they describe, examine, and articulate learning. figure 1 is an adaptation of ash and clayton’s (2009) deal model for critical reflection to the mississippi extension apprenticeship program and illustrates the collective framework for this program. this three stage critical reflection model provides programmatic structure and guidance to both the students and mentors to help them engage in a meaningful experience. description of this conceptual model is woven into the description of the program model to follow. figure 1. alignment of the deal model to the mississippi extension apprenticeship program each apprentice has a faculty specialist or extension associate mentor who facilitates the student’s opportunity to experience the research process and its extension application at a county, regional, and/or statewide level. the student’s experience with the extension mentor is an intense, research-to-extension process over the summer months. the student travels extensively, actively participates with the mentor in field visits, consultations, camps, workshops/presentations, etc., and assists with new or ongoing research (e.g. field trials, surveys), while interacting with and assisting county extension agents in their roles with a diversity of stakeholders and clientele. students interact with multiple extension personnel and denny and hardman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.13 89 industry stakeholders during this process so that they receive a broad, diverse experience of extension, rather than a single, and possibly biased, perspective. the extension mentors are expected to conduct periodic guided reflective conversations with their apprentices. it is recommended that these conversations occur at regular intervals throughout the summer. these reflective conversations incorporate the first two stages of the deal model. the first stage of the model, describe, requires students to provide an objective and detailed description of the learning experience. to capture this, the mentors ask their apprentice to describe what main project(s) they have been working on and to identify their primary activities and responsibilities. the second stage, examine, requires that the students analyze the experience in such a way as to generate important learnings across three reflection domains (i.e. cognitive, affective, and process). each domain includes multiple questions which were adapted from ryerson university (2009). the cognitive reflection prompts the student to examine what new knowledge or skills he/she has gained during the apprenticeship. the primary cognitive reflection question is “what new knowledge or skills did you learn as a result of these activities and/or responsibilities?” the affective reflection questions encourage the student to examine how they feel as a result of the apprenticeship experiences. for instance, students are asked “how do you feel you have grown as a result of these activities and/or responsibilities?” finally, the process reflection requires the student to consider what he/she has learned from the process itself. a sample process reflection question is “how were the activities and/or responsibilities similar to or different from your expectations?” the third stage of the model, articulate learning, encourages students to set goals for future action that will allow them to apply this learning in future situations. the articulate learning stage is structured according to four guiding questions: (a) what did i learn? (b) how, specifically, did i learn it? (c) why does this learning matter, or why is it significant? and (d) in what ways will i use this learning or what goals will i set in accordance with what i have learned in order to improve myself, the quality of my learning, or the quality of my future experience? (ash, clayton, & atkinson, 2005). this stage of the critical reflection was captured through a weekly apprenticeship reflective journal that each student was required to complete. responses to these questions or corresponding prompts (i.e. “i learned that…”, “i learned this when…”, “this learning matters because…” and “in light of this learning…”), can be compiled into articulated learning statements. the articulated learning process allows students to recognize what they have learned through reflection on the experience, place it in context, and express it concisely supporting them in thinking critically about their own learning (ash & clayton, 2004). the articulated learning statements are used for both formative and summative assessment of the apprenticeship program. the four guiding questions and corresponding writing prompts from the articulate learning stage of the deal model were mapped to kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle of action and reflection. initially when we mapped kolb’s four stages to the four questions/writing prompts of the articulate learning stage of the deal model, we mapped the first stage in kolb’s denny and hardman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.13 90 model (i.e. concrete experience) with the first prompt in the deal model (“i learned this when…”), the second stage of kolb’s model (i.e. reflective observation) to the second prompt in the deal model (“i learned that…”), and so on. however, upon analysis of the first cohort of apprentice journals, we recognized that the “i learned this when…” prompt elicited descriptions of the learning experience whereas the “i learned that…” prompt evoked an interpretation of what was learned during the experience. therefore table 1 provides an overview of how kolb’s stages were mapped to the deal model reflective writing prompts. although the reflective writing prompts are presented in the table in the order in which they align with kolb’s stages, the first two prompts are presented to the students in reverse order when the students access their online reflection journals. table 1 kolb’s experiential learning cycle stages mapped to deal model reflective prompts kolb’s experiential learning cycle stages description of stage deal model reflective writing prompt application of deal reflective prompts to kolb’s model concrete experience doing/having an experience 2. i learned this when… description of the concrete learning experience. reflective observation reviewing/reflecting on experience 1. i learned that… interpretation of what was learned during the concrete experience. abstract conceptualization concluding/learning from the experience 3. this learning matters because… initiation or modification of an existing abstract concept that has been learned through the concrete experience. active experimentation planning/trying out what you have learned 4. in light of this learning… application of this learning to other situations and/or contexts. purpose undergraduates are paired with an extension faculty or associate for approximately ten to twelve weeks in the summer months. the faculty or associate serves as a professional mentor for the student apprentice. together, the mentor and apprentice establish learning objectives, set anticipated project outcomes, and lay out a plan of action for the direction of the apprenticeship. additionally, the pairs identify potential academic conferences or industry meetings at which the apprentice can present their research as a poster or oral presentation. there are several goals of the mississippi extension apprenticeship program: 1) raise students’ awareness of extension and extension careers; 2) positively influence students’ decision to pursue graduate studies and/or enter a career field that ultimately benefits extension and one or more of the us department of agriculture’s (usda) priority areas; denny and hardman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.13 91 3) enhance students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills; and 4) garner support for extension’s mission as a non-biased, researchand evidence-based source of information. methods the first step for this apprenticeship program is an invitation to extension specialists and associates to submit an apprenticeship proposal. proposals must meet specific criteria, including discreet learning objectives and demonstration of benefit to the extension personnel’s research and/or extension efforts. apprenticeship opportunities are chosen based on the quality of the proposals and final approval by the program director and mississippi extension administration. extension personnel whose proposals are accepted are required to submit a letter of commitment as a mentor to the undergraduate apprentice. students electronically submit an application packet to the program director via qualtrics. applicants identify for which project(s) they are applying. extension mentors select the final applicant(s) for their respective integrated project. prior to the start of the summer apprenticeships, extension mentors complete an assessment to determine their perceived level of efficacy as a mentor (denny, 2017). the assessment was developed for use with extension faculty, agents, and other personnel as part of a professional development curriculum on mentoring based on six constructs, or functions — relationship building, information delivery, facilitation, confrontation, modeling, and vision (denny, 2016). the adult mentoring assessment for extension professionals helps mentors develop an accurate profile of their mentoring style with adult learners (denny, 2017). the scores on the various constructs help mentors identify specific proficiencies to maintain or strengthen and deficiencies to overcome. the overall score on the assessment is a general indicator of competence as a mentor of adult learners. by completing the assessment prior to starting a formal mentoring relationship, mentors should have a better understanding of how they can best contribute to the success of their mentees. in spite of difference among mentors and mentees, a structured mentoring plan was developed to provide the necessary training and guidance to both parties. this also helps ensure consistency in how apprentices were being mentored. findings since the summer of 2017, the mississippi extension apprenticeship program has provided undergraduate juniors and seniors the opportunity to explore extension-related careers in agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, community resource development, or 4-h youth development, while participating in research and experiential learning opportunities that directly benefit extension outreach to local communities. there were eight (8) paid apprenticeship opportunities in 2017 and nine (9) more in 2018. the primary mentor for each apprentice is a faculty member or staff with an extension appointment, selected based on project proposals submitted to a review panel each year. the selected extension personnel offered an integrated research and extension experience for the denny and hardman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.13 92 apprentices and mentored the apprentices to conduct new or ongoing research, assist in extension activities at the county or regional level, and develop a related process, program or training tool. in 2017 and 2018, the apprenticeship program ran for twelve (12) weeks during the summer semester, paid a weekly stipend of $500, and provided a budget for travel and other material costs on the part of both the students and mentor. regardless of the extension programmatic area or the research in which the students will participate as part of the apprenticeship experience, all apprentices are expected to achieve certain student-centered learning outcomes. as a result of participating in this program, students will be able to (a) summarize the significance of research-based outreach and education; (b) give examples of how their work contributed to the extension mission; (c) demonstrate the way(s) in which target clientele can use/benefit from the research conducted during their apprenticeship experience; and (d) evaluate the effectiveness of a particular educational activity or tool as part of a larger extension program. table 2 describes the various assessment methodologies identified for each student-centered outcome. table 2 assessment methodologies employed for targeted student-centered outcomes student-centered outcomes assessment methodology summarize the significance of researchbased outreach and education periodic reflective discussions between the student and his mentor; analysis of the students’ reflective journals give examples of how their work contributed to the cooperative extension mission demonstrate the way(s) in which target clientele can use/benefit from the research conducted during their apprenticeship experience student poster or oral presentation at a professional meeting/conference; contribution to development of extension publication(s) evaluate the effectiveness of a particular educational activity or tool as part of a larger extension program development of an evaluation tool and/or analyzing and interpreting data in order to complete the requirements of the program, each apprentice must: a) successfully meet the learning objectives identified by and with the extension mentor for their specific apprenticeship experience; b) maintain and submit a weekly electronic critical reflection journal; and c) develop and present a poster or presentation at an industry-related conference or meeting identified by the extension mentor. additionally, the apprentices are expected to work with extension personnel to coordinate research and implement related outreach activities; participate in meetings where local issues are identified and prioritized, and program denny and hardman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.13 93 results and plans are discussed; assist in preparations for planned events and activities; and conduct teaching, training or other extension program presentations, as appropriate. as the apprentices travel with their mentor and other extension personnel, they will inevitably interact with individuals that represent the industries, commodities or communities that extension research and outreach are intended to impact. observational visits, as part of an apprenticeship -to existing or potential clientele -can stimulate innovative ideas through the sharing of tacit knowledge (leonard & sensiper, 1998). while these types of interactions are not tracked formally through this program, it is expected that the students contemplate and write about them in their reflection journals as meaningful experiences. additionally, the program director regularly monitors student progress through site visits, observations, and informal discussions with the faculty mentors. although this process is limited because of its potential subjectivity, the lack of formality may encourage more honest and open feedback that will contribute to strengthening the program for the future. in order to determine the long-term impacts and possible correlations between the apprenticeship experience and career and/or graduate school decisions, student participants are contacted up to a year after completion of their apprenticeship to track their current job and/or educational status and future plans. the mississippi institutional review board deemed an evaluation of the 2017 and 2018 cohorts to be exempt from review. an analysis of the first two years of the program revealed the following positive outputs and outcomes (denny & hardman, 2018). in collaboration with their respective mentors, apprentices produced fourteen poster presentations and six extension publications, gave eight oral presentations at professional conferences – one international, and co-authored two journal manuscripts. fifty-three percent (n=9) will “likely” pursue an extension career as a result of their experience as an apprentice. sixty-eight percent (n=13) reported that they are “likely” or "extremely likely" to pursue a graduate degree related to agriculture, natural resources, family and consumer science, youth development, community resource development, or human sciences as a result of the apprenticeship. students agreed or strongly agreed they had an increase in: knowledge of their discipline of study (74%, n=14), ability to interact and work with people of different disciplines (79%, n=15), and skills in critical (63%, n=12), problem-solving (84%, n=16), teamwork (74%, n=14), written (63%, n=12) and oral (74%, n=14) communication. to date, three (38%) of the seventeen students have chosen to pursue an agricultureor extension-related graduate degree as a direct result of their apprenticeship experience. all but one student said they would share their experience with others. mentors reported a positive experience with their respective undergraduate apprentice. six of the eight extension mentors in 2017 submitted applications for 2018. of those, four were again selected to mentor students in 2018. total mississippi faculty submissions of applications for the 2018 round of undergraduate apprenticeships increased by 16%. denny and hardman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.13 94 based on faculty and student feedback to date and a process evaluation of the overall program after year 1, minor changes were made for the 2018 cohort to enhance the efficacy of the program and the students’ and mentors’ experience. these include moving the reflective journals to an online, qualtrics-based survey format; providing more guidance to faculty about their roles and expectations as mentors to the students throughout the summer, rather than just at the beginning; and providing more opportunities for the students and faculty to communicate and share ideas as a true cohort throughout the summer, rather than function as separate mentor-mentee pairs. an additional bank of questions aimed at determining the students’ perceptions of their mentor’s effectiveness on several key criteria were added to the follow-up surveys administered to the nine students that participated in year 2, the summer of 2018. the students reported that their mentors were either “very effective” or “extremely effective” at helping them: find and understand information (56%, n=5); understand the relationship between extension and research (89%, n=8); think critically (89%, n=8); solve problems (89%, n=8); articulate their learning (89%, n=8); work independently (89%, n=8); engage in teamwork (78%, n=7); take strategic risks in their learning (67%, n=6); and take responsibility for their learning (89%, n=8). from this, the authors determine that the mentor relationship with the student apprentices are generally effective, though there is always room for improvement via additional mentor training and formative evaluations of the mentor-mentee relationship. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations as this program continues, there will be some major changes to the program process. first, in light of complications with 2017 and 2018 students’ academic schedules and issues with nonmississippi students’ ability to obtain housing after july, the apprenticeships will be reduced from 12 weeks to 10 weeks, starting after may 1st (to accommodate students’ various spring semester schedules) and ending by july 31st of each year. second, rather than send a blanket request for proposals from all specialists and associates with extension appointments, the program director will communicate with mississippi extension administration to identify specific personnel with extension research and education programs that are critical to the needs of mississippi stakeholders but are at risk of ending because of retirements, attrition, reduced budgets and resources, and/or limited staff. these individuals will be asked to submit integrated research and extension project proposals that can start the process to train students in their area(s) of specialization, in the hopes that these students will carry on these extension research and outreach programs and/or pursue graduate studies in support of them in the future. finally, selected individuals will be allowed to mentor more than one student at a time, if desired. this hopefully will encourage the students to learn from and build relationships with not just the mentor, but each other. when asked what they would change about the program, the apprentices commented that opportunities to work more cohesively as a student cohort, denny and hardman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.13 95 rather than solely with individual mentors, would have enhanced their overall experience. allowing a single extension personnel to mentor multiple students simultaneously will allow students the opportunity to work with one another. from a practical perspective, the integrated approach of the mississippi extension undergraduate program of engaging students in the various aspects of extension research, program planning and development, implementation via outreach, and evaluation embody nancy franz’s (2009) engaged scholarship model. extension administrators expressed a desire to improve awareness of extension and recruitment of potential candidates for extension careers in mississippi, after noticing a growing trend of higher turnover and fewer applicants for open positions. the initial design of the overall program was proposed with the intent to address this issue, or discovery of new knowledge. a u.s. department of agriculture (usda) national institute of food and agriculture (nifa) education and literacy initiative (eli) research and extension experiences for undergraduates (reeu) fellowship program grant enabled the development of new knowledge via the implementation of the apprenticeship program for two years. the tangible outputs developed by the students in the form of journal manuscripts, scientific posters, extension publications, and direct teaching based on related research represent a dissemination of new knowledge. finally, the program evaluation data has revealed a significant change in learning and behavior. since the authors received a five-year renewal grant to continue this program through 2023, there is the expectation of evidence of a change in condition, such as sustained administrative support and funding beyond the grant period, buy-in from extension faculty and other personnel to support and engage students in undergraduate research, and a broader audience of stakeholders that understand and value the cooperative extension system. acknowledgements this research was supported by the fy16 usda nifa afri eli reeu fellowships program of the nifa, usda, grant #2017-67033-26015. denny and hardman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i1.13 96 references ash, s. l., & clayton, p. h. (2004). the articulated learning: an approach to guided reflection and assessment. innovative higher education, 29(2), 137-154. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:ihie.0000048795.84634.4a ash, s. l. & clayton, p. h. (2009). generating, deepening, and documenting learning: the power of critical reflection in applied learning. journal of applied learning in higher education, 1(1), 25-48. ash, s. l., clayton, p. h., & atkinson, m. p. (2005). integrating reflection and assessment to capture and improve student learning. michigan journal of community service learning, 11(2), 49-60. bliss, w.g. (). cost of employee turnover. chartec. retrieved from https://chartec.net/cost-ofemployee-turnover/ cooper, a.w., & graham, d.l. (2001). competencies needed to be successful county agents and county supervisors. journal of extension, 39(1). denny, m. d. (2016). mentoring adult learners: implications for the cooperative extension system as a learning organization. journal of extension, 54(3). retrieved from http://joe.org/joe/2016june/a2.php denny, m. d. (2017). reliability analysis of the adult mentoring assessment for extension professionals. journal of extension, 55(6). retrieved from http://www.joe.org/joe/2017december/tt4.php denny, m. d. & hardman, a. m. (2018). mississippi extension undergraduate apprenticeship program year one report. usda nifa eli reeu fellowships program, grant 201767033-26015. unpublished report. franz, n. 2009. a holistic model of engaged scholarship: telling the story across higher education’s missions. journal of higher education outreach and engagement, 13(4). 3150. kolb, david a. (1984). experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. prentice-hall, inc., englewood cliffs, n.j. ryerson university. (2009). critical reflection—an integral component to experiential learning. experiential learning office. © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 85-manuscript-1059-1-11-20210325.docx worley et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 1, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. barbara worley, graduate research assistant, university of georgia, 405 college station rd., athens, ga 30602, bworley@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8490-2743 2. nick fuhrman, professor, university of georgia, 405 college station rd., athens, ga 30602, fuhrman@uga.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0969-0541 3. jason peake, professor, university of georgia, 405 college station rd., athens, ga 30602, jpeake@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1431-5447 83 a quantitative approach to identifying turfgrass key players b. worley1, n. fuhrman2, j. peake3 abstract the purpose of this study was to systematically identify key players and media channels within the turf industry to constitute the diffusion of innovations in emerging turf research and technologies. online survey questions were structured using borgatti’s work developing the keyplayer™ (tm analytic technologies) software to determine individual contribution to a network and thus network cohesion. turf industry professionals were asked to identify who they trust when they have questions regarding turfgrass. researchers directly contacted 282 participants via email, collecting 239 responses. the top 25 key players, the number of distinct persons reached in the network, and the percent of the network reached were calculated for the entire sample and each strata of the sample (including golf course superintendents, landscapers, turf producers, extension, and others— including extension specialists, turfgrass faculty, and sales representatives. of the 422 unique names mentioned in the survey, key player data showed that the top 25 key players were 1 or 2 steps away from 305 distinct persons in the network (72.3% of the network). with their influence on the larger network, these individuals will now be enlisted to aid in the diffusion of emerging new turf research and technologies. keywords diffusion of innovations, elaboration likelihood model, link-tracing network sampling, network identification, decision-making model worley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.85 84 introduction and problem statement in science communication an “opinion leader” is “influential because others in the organization listen to them for advice or information” regarding an innovation (stone et al., 1999, pp. 135, 138). the identification of a list of opinion leaders or key players – those with influence in a community – is a clear concept that is difficult to manifest in a real-world, diffusion of innovation scenario. agriculture development and diffusion of innovation models thus far have primarily focused on the importance of engaging key players in efforts to disseminate researchbased information (ruth et al., 2018). however, less work has been published on how to identify those key players. science is communicated in a variety of channels to the public, and how the receiver decodes the message depends on outside noise and the source from which the information is being disseminated. a range of issues regarding the source of scientific news include “(1) scientists as sources and resources, (2) journalists and their role in utilizing sources and resources, (3) public information officials as sources and resources, and (4) the science policy climate under which scientists, journalists, and public information officials work” (logan, 2001, p. 144). considering the increased availability of pseudo-science and misinformation about emerging and new technologies, it is of paramount importance to ensure that accurate information reaches the intended audience using the relevant channels (schiele, 2020). when new agricultural technologies are released into the market, there are important shifts in outreach efforts needed to reach broader audiences focused on key players and media channels to constitute the diffusion of innovation (schwartz et al., 2020). determining who is best suited to disseminate information throughout the network via social engagement can only be understood by knowing who within the network garners trust and is regarded as a leader. theoretical and conceptual framework turfgrass is an agricultural and natural resource (anr) commodity with a distinct population of stakeholders, gate keepers, and communication preferences and channels. this research is phase one of an effort to test a decision-making model (dmm) for anr (ruth et al., 2018) that has yet to be applied the turfgrass industry. when planning how turfgrass advancements can be most effectively disseminated, a model is needed that reveals a path for information flow (ruth et al., 2018). to apply this model, key players must be identified. previous studies of the golf course superintendent stratum identified perceived transformational leadership traits as well as their position as “frontline decision makers in the industry’s response to environmental issues” (lenhardt et. al, 2011; millington & wilson, 2013, p. 456). this work utilizes rogers (2003) diffusion of innovations theory (doi), where rogers defines the process of diffusion as “1) an innovation 2) communicated through certain channels 3) over time 4) among members of a social system” (p. 12). rogers (2003) states that communication is “a process in which participants create and share information with one another in order to worley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.85 85 reach a mutual understanding” (p. 5). the innovation of new turfgrass cultivars must be communicated using various channels over time (dynamic) among various strata within the turfgrass industry. individuals go through different stages when deciding whether or not to adopt new innovations (masambuka-kanchewa, 2020, p. 118). these five stages of the doi, as outlined by rogers (2003), are “knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation” (p. 20). in order to acquire knowledge about the innovation they must be aware of the innovation’s existence and then have knowledge about the innovation (rogers, 2003, p. 173). rogers (2003) refers to this as “awareness knowledge” (p. 173). “the effectiveness of communication channels in diffusing innovations depends on which stage a person is in during the decisionmaking process” (masambuka-kanchewa, 2020, p. 118). therefore, the manner by which awareness is created about an innovation is determined by the communication channel that is used in delivering information regarding the innovation. as such, tailored and intentional messaging for target audiences is critical (lamm et al., 2019). though the role of the innovator in roger’s theory is creating new ideas and, in this case, those developing new cultivars, it is the opinion leader – those that have been identified as key players that have the most influence on communicating the new research to various industry strata. the persuasion stage of diffusion is thus salient to this research as clients must have an active cognitive need for seeking new information, leading to either a desirable or undesirable opinion of the innovation (rogers, 2003, pp. 174–175). as illustrated in the dmm (ruth et al., 2018), the doi outlines the “perceived characteristics of innovation” having an impact on the persuasion stage as “relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability” (rogers, 2003, p. 170). key players have the potentiality of becoming change agents if the communication they disseminate leads to the adoption of the innovation (rogers, 2003, p. 175). knowing the key players in the southeastern turfgrass industry will ensure more efficient communication and potential adoption of new innovations. the elaboration likelihood model (elm) (petty & cacioppo, 1980) purports that people make decisions about new innovations based on central route processing where they listen to and evaluate the message pros and cons; or peripheral route processing where they listen to social norms, rule of thumb, and cues. the elm tests the “motivation to process a message and the “ability to process the message”, thus overlapping with rogers’ idea of persuasion to determine motivation and ability to process the communication (stone, 1999, pp. 194–195). purpose the overall purpose for the larger study is to refine and focus a dmm for anr science and technology, that could later be adopted by other fields, by integrating the theories of diffusion of innovations and the elaboration likelihood model with our findings from link-tracing network sampling and keyplayer™ computer software (borgatti, 2008; petty & cacioppo, 1980; rogers, 2003). in order to accomplish that, the purpose of this study is to identify key players in worley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.85 86 the southeastern turf industry and determine their preferred communication preferences. knowing their communication preferences will be important in order to determine the best route for dissemination of communications regarding new turfgrass technologies. as such, the objectives for this study are to: 1. identify influential individuals of the turf industry, referred to as “key players,” by professional affiliation. 2. describe the relationship between key players by professional affiliation and their communication preference. methods this quantitative study aimed to target turf producers, extension agents, golf course superintendents, landscapers, and home builders as part of a larger study to determine a communication and decision-making model for innovations in turfgrass. an online survey was distributed in four rounds beginning spring 2020 to the sample using the tailored design method (dillman et al., 2014), and data were collected using qualtrics. online survey questions, presented to the sample through an introductory email that provided a link to the instrument, were structured using borgatti’s work developing the keyplayer™ software to determine “the contribution of a set of actors to the cohesion of the network” (borgatti, 2006, p. 21). a panel of agricultural leadership, education and communication faculty were used to review the questions as well as provide feedback on the content, criterion, and content validity. respondents (n = 239) were asked which of the roles (strata) they most closely identified with in the turf industry. options for response included extension agent, turf producer, golf course superintendent, landscaper, home builder, researcher, and other. when “other” was selected respondents were given a textbox to self-identify their role; for example, responses included extension specialist, turfgrass faculty, and sales representative. quantitative descriptive research questions included in the instrument were demographic and solicited participants to identify who they trust when they have questions regarding turfgrass. additionally, as part of a larger study, respondents were asked questions regarding the format they preferred receiving communication regarding turfgrass, how often they preferred receiving information, and what time of year (season) is best to receive information. the researchers used a variant of respondent-driven sampling known as link-tracing sampling to reach individuals across various parts of the turfgrass industry (gile & handcock, 2010, p. 285). the initial sample for round 1 was selected from prior contacts in the population of interest from team members of the five universities that are part of a turfgrass specialty crop research initiative grant. throughout four rounds of inquiry, researchers directly contacted 282 participants via email, collecting 239 responses. in round 2, researchers utilized professional organizations for turfgrass producers and golf course superintendents. these organizations would not allow researchers access to the membership listservs; however, they would send emails on behalf of the researchers. from this, a population frame of 712 for round 2 could be determined. table 1 details each of the four rounds of data collection, including response rate. worley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.85 87 table 1 response rates for each round of data collection round 1 round 2 round 3 round 4 sample 45 712 116 42 responses 37 172 19 11 response rate 82.20% 24.60% 16.40% 26.20% limitations of the research were confounded by the global pandemic of covid-19 that limited data collection to being electronically based. identifying which strata to survey was limited to the researchers’ knowledge of contacts. determining where to start the sampling may have skewed the proportion of respondents in certain professional segments of the industry or strata. kirchherr and charles (2018) refer to using prior personal or professional contacts in the absence of a sampling frame to serve as the seeds of the sample (p. 4). because of this and the utilization of a non-probability sampling methodology, bias may have occurred. to address these limitations, data collection continued until a redundancy of responses of the same subjects was seen (s. borgatti, personal communication, january 8, 2020). an additional limitation is that strata was self-reported by the subjects given the option to select only one choice. some subjects may have difficulty identifying themselves within a single stratum, when in reality they play different roles in different strata yet were only allowed to select a single stratum in the instrument. data were analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 26 and excel, and social network analysis was performed. respondents were assigned a unique identifier as were those that they listed as trusted individuals. four hundred and twenty-two unique names were identified. this data was placed into the keyplayer™ to create a statistical and graphical representation of the nodes (points of contact within the network) represented. findings the findings are presented respective to the objectives of this study. identification of key players in strata of the turfgrass industry table 2 details the top 25 key players, the number of distinct persons reached in the network, and the percent of the network reached. of the 422 unique names mentioned in the survey, key player data showed that the top 25 key players were 1 or 2 steps away from 305 distinct persons (72.3% of the network). in other words, the node that is most central, within 1 or 2 nodes from others, provides a larger reach over the network. worley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.85 88 table 2 top 25 key players in the turfgrass network number key playera influencedb % of network 1 5 90 21.3 2 6 126 29.9 3 23 157 37.2 4 27 176 41.7 5 30 190 45.0 6 36 213 50.5 7 61 198 46.9 8 65 206 48.8 9 69 220 52.1 10 102 227 53.8 11 195 234 55.5 12 202 240 56.9 13 225 246 58.3 14 232 252 59.7 15 246 258 61.1 16 249 263 62.3 17 252 268 63.5 18 261 273 64.7 19 264 278 65.9 20 266 283 67.1 21 274 288 68.2 22 300 293 69.4 23 324 297 70.4 24 332 301 71.3 25 349 305 72.3 a number assigned to each individual b number of persons influenced by increase in reach. to graphically display the key player data results, pajek (mrvar & batagelj, 2016) analysis and visualization software was used. pajek creates various 2-d and 3-d visualization outputs; our study used a 2-d svg format with the kamada-kawai optimization network layout. in the 2-d pajek model, seen in figure 2, the more connected the node under this model, the more centrally located. single outliers are shown for reasons including that data collection ended at round four or that those nodes were included as unique persons but their data of those they trust was not collected for the model. worley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.85 89 figure 1 pajek 2-d of turfgrass network note. key players are indicated by their corresponding numerical identifier. we were able determine the key players within each stratum (as indicated in the instrument), by segmenting the sample into the five strata (golf course superintendent, extension agent, turf producer, landscaper, and other) as identified by respondents from the instrument and running a keyplayer™ analysis to determine bi-directional trust (i.e., who is influenced by the strata, and who the strata influences). as shown in table 3 and table 4, golf course superintendents and other emerged as the strata with the most influence over the network, with a total combined influence of all five strata equally greater than 100.0% due to cross-strata influence. further, cross-strata influence is revealed indicating that key players emerge within individual strata to which they do not necessarily identify. for example, respondent 2 is the top key player within their strata (turf producer), as well as the landscaper strata. likewise, respondent 6 is the top key player within their strata (other), as well as the extension strata. respondent 6 identified themselves as “extension specialist” in the text box that was provided for the other strata. the level of influence increases with the person identified as being closer to the top of the list. moving down the list, the strength of influence decreases. these findings ultimately reveal the key players in the turf industry who can impact the maximum amount of the network through unique connections, as a whole, and within and between each stratum. pajek 5 6 23 27 30 36 61 65 69 102 195 202 225 232 246 249 252 261 264 266 274 300 324 332 349 worley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.85 90 table 3 top 25 key players within each stratum golf course superintendent landscaper other turf producer extension 5 2 6 2 6 61 3 20 24 9 69 4 23 36 18 102 5 27 60 21 113 8 36 78 40 182 9 44 112 46 200 10 48 120 71 202 11 50 123 94 233 12 137 132 109 243 13 170 153 148 249 14 197 165 154 252 20 205 207 164 264 23 220 213 179 266 24 224 265 195 268 25 231 274 202 274 27 261 316 207 281 29 268 324 244 300 31 325 330 264 303 33 346 337 277 315 35 368 338 287 332 36 387 339 293 349 37 395 352 346 358 196 396 354 364 372 204 398 382 398 385 228 410 410 399 worley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.85 91 table 4 network reach, influence, and identification golf course superintendents landscapers other turf producers extension % of network reacheda 48.6 9.2 31.5 14.2 12.3 # of persons influencedb 205 39 133 60 52 # within stratum identifiedc 6 2 12 4 2 a the % of the entire turfgrass network reached, by which each strata were influenced or influential. b the number of persons influenced, within 1 or 2 steps, by the top 25 key players of each strata. c the number of key players that emerged within each stratum, possessing the same identity, is indicated by number, having influence on their own stratum. relationship between key players by stratum and their communication preference the preferred method of communication was established across all strata and within each stratum, in relation to the second objective. as shown in table 5, the findings revealed that the preferred communication channel across all strata was “face to face conversations with professionals” (interpersonal communication) at 51.4%. table 5 top communication channel by strata strata preferred communication channel percent of strata extension agents email correspondence with professionals 38.9 turf producers communication with peers 42.1 golf course superintendents face to face conversations with professionals 62.0 landscapers face to face conversations with professionals longer (more than 1 full day) conferences 50.0 othera face to face conversations with professionals research articles 43.2 note. an equal proportion of the landscapers and other strata had preference for two channels. a other included those who self-reported as being anything other than the strata listed in the instrument. worley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.85 92 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations through the use of the keyplayer™ (tm analytic technologies) program (borgatti, 2008), we identified key players in the turfgrass industry to maximize diffusion of innovation and increase adoption rates of new cultivars and turf technologies. this study found that there are key players that exist within the southeastern turfgrass network that can be targeted to disseminate communications of new turf industry technologies and research throughout the network. social network analysis through the use of keyplayer™ and the concept of group centrality, as used in this study, can be used as an “identifier of opinion leaders” (abdel-ghany, 2012, p. 12–13). a primary finding from this study was that the top 25 key players in the network are 1 to 2 steps away from 72.3% of the network. thus, these top key players have the potential to serve as opinion leaders due to their central positioning within the network and established relationships among others in the industry. when considering rogers (2003) diffusion of innovations theory where 16.0% to 50.0% of the population represents the early majority adopters, identifying 25 individuals who influence 72.3% of the network as opinion leaders should diffuse the emerging technology and research well into the early majority if not the late majority (50.0% to 84.0%) of subjects. now that key players and who the key players trust have been identified within the turfgrass network it is possible to trace which key players trust which members of the research team. the members of the research team will reach out to keyplayers who trust them to solicit their participation in a steering committee to disseminate new turfgrass innovations. recommendations associated with future research are outlined addressing demographics, strata selection and response, and communication channels. respondents were asked to selfidentify in the demographics section, but were not asked to provide the stratum of those they listed they “trust” when answering “who do you trust when you have questions regarding turfgrass?” by providing this information in the future, if those individuals are not captured in subsequent rounds of query, their stratum will still be noted. this will provide a more detailed analysis of the communication preferences of the strata represented in the network. a recommendation to address the strata indicated as other is to eliminate the option of providing that selection in the instrument, thereby guiding individuals to identify with one of the strata defined. a recommendation for determining generational differences among respondents is in line with the literature. lamm et. al (2019) suggested identifying characteristics of the target audiences and developing targeted communication based on specified needs and interests. perhaps greater variation exists between contextual variables (age, gender, etc.) of subjects than between strata. further, we did not seek to determine change agents, but rather to identify key players based on level of trust within the network. as flynn et. al (1996) noted in their study, opinion leaders and opinion seekers are distinct groups (p. 2). however, in this study we sought worley et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.85 93 to determine the trusted individuals within the network. future research on determining how key players act as change agents is recommended. preference in communication channels should be more closely examined in conjunction with examining adoption rates of new technologies. determining why face to face communication is preferred will give researchers insight in to how turfgrass information can be more effectively disseminated. additionally, alternative to face-to-face communication should be explored and discussed across strata due to the implications of this form of interpersonal communication during a global pandemic. the model for decision-making by each stratum of the turfgrass industry should be refined with each iteration and the decision-making model should be revised to increase adoption rates. we are now building a customized training and diffusion plan for new turfgrass technology and research. this systematic approach to communication in the turfgrass industry can be implemented and will enable opinion leaders to disseminate information 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[conference session]. crop science society of america. phoenix, az, united states. © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 141-initial+social+network+analysis+of+producers+working+towards+sustainability+suggests+weak+ties+and+potential+fragmentation+edits+1-3-22+ac.docx stofer et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 1, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. kathryn stofer, research associate professor, stem education and outreach, university of florida, po box 110540 university of florida, gainesville, fl 32611, stofer@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3659-490x 2. james c. fulton, graduate research assistant, university of florida, pcvgt@ufl.edu 3. heather r. nesbitt, graduate research assistant, university of florida, po box 110540 university of florida, gainesville, fl 32611, heather.nesbitt@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5339-8516 4. anna prizzia, academic program specialist; program director and campus food systems coordinator, university of florida, aprizzia@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3028-4062 5. karen a. garrett, preeminent professor, university of florida, karengarrett@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6578-1616 6. jhon jarome rosario, undergraduate research assistant, university of florida, jhonrosario@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7619-7909 4 initial social network analysis of producers working towards sustainability suggests weak ties and potential fragmentation k. stofer1, j. fulton2, h. nesbitt3, a. prizzia4, k. garrett5, j. rosario6 abstract for farmers to adopt and maintain sustainable farming practices, they must have the resources and network to succeed with this work and must realize a positive impact on their business model. as a food system is ultimately made up of the people, organizations, and institutions that grow, move, buy and sell food, we must understand who is at the center of this network, who is well-connected, and who is peripheral. within a particular regional food system in a highly productive southeastern u.s. state, the network of local producers interested in sustainable production, including environmental and economic components, seems to be growing. however, it is unclear who benefits from this system and whether this system is growing in a way that encourages and enhances the benefits for sustainable agriculture. existing evidence for the network size and its vulnerabilities has been anecdotal, from extension agents and their contacts with individual producers, rather than based on systematic research. we used social network analysis to understand the status of the system and its constituents. connections between producers appear to be weak overall with potential fragmentation, suggesting a fragility that could easily derail efforts to increase sustainable production in the region. keywords regional food system, sustainable agriculture, sustainable production, resource sharing stofer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.xxxxxxxx 5 introduction and problem statement sustainable agriculture (gold, 2012) is key to feeding the 21st century’s growing population. sustainability on a regional scale in turn is vital to global efforts. for producers to adopt and maintain sustainable practices, they must have necessary resources and realize a positive impact on their business model (sustainable agriculture research & education, 2010). sustainable agriculture cannot move forward if the people in a regional food system, especially producers, are not talking to each other, working together, and sharing resources. within a regional food system in a highly productive southeastern u.s. state, the network of producers interested in sustainable production seems to be growing. sustainability is of particular importance to diversifying agricultural and rural communities who have a growing interest in local food (gorham et al., 2015) and direct market channels. in our region, most producers still sell through brokers and focus on national and multi-national markets. despite a trend toward larger farms, in our state, 90% of farms are considered small, with up to $250,000 in annual sales (small farms and alternative enterprises, n.d.). at the same time, consumer demand for local food is increasing (giovannucci et al., 2010), though definitions of local may vary and include regional and state areas (adams & salois, 2010; aprile et al., 2016; giovannucci et al., 2010; martinez, 2010). direct to consumer sales and marketing primarily happens from smaller operations; demand for these buying options is also increasing as consumers seek to support producers close to home (martinez, 2010). however, small local producers face challenges to supplying local markets, some of which can be overcome by pooling resources (martinez, 2010) through cooperation in a regional network. therefore, we must understand the current status of the system of available and well-used human and organizational resources to frame future support and research for our regional network. theoretical and conceptual framework previous evidence for the size and strength of the network has been anecdotal from extension agents rather than based on systematic research. to provide effective and efficient clientele programs, we must understand who is well-connected, what producers ask of others in the network, and who may not be in the network (doerfert, 2011). therefore, we used social network analysis (christensen & o’sullivan, 2015; scott & carrington, 2011) as a framework as part of a larger study to support flow of sustainable agricultural practices throughout our producer network of extension clientele (kumar chaudhary & warner, 2015). this study represents the first step in gathering information about central players in the network through focus groups in order to perform a full social network analysis (zack, 2000). ultimately we want to promote diffusion of sustainable agricultural practices throughout the network (rogers, 2003). stofer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.xxxxxxxx 6 developing land for human habitation reduces land for production (lubell et al., 2014). the pressures of increased yield per acre may lead to environmental degradation, countering efforts to continue land’s productivity (cassman, 1999; tilman et al., 2002, 2011). smaller producers in particular struggle against shrinking profit margins (bunge, 2017; united states department of agriculture economic research service, 2018), making costly improvements and investments in measures to move toward environmental sustainability or income diversification (meert et al., 2005) more and more precarious if not altogether out of reach. food systems are social structures comprised of a connected network of people, such as producers and organizations (brass et al., 2004). producers are one part of the larger u.s. and global food system. we use the food system definition of goetz (2016), “the networked set of input suppliers, farmers, processors, distributors, and consumers” (p. 420), although for the purposes of this paper we ignore the rules that make the system work. producers in previous modern food systems models (1986) only interact with processors, and consumers buy only from food service firms or grocery retailers and wholesalers (goetz, 2016). today, that model is more complicated. examining regional networks for their self-reliance and ability to provide for their local residents has become paramount as production has also become increasingly geographically concentrated (griffin et al., 2015). social network analysis has shown how networks promote sustainability in regional agroecological systems by supporting social ties and allowing for diffusion of innovations (levy & lubell, 2018; lubell et al., 2014). previous social network analysis for agricultural groups has often focused on a single crop (levy & lubell, 2018). egocentric network analysis in particular can be used to study diffusion of information as well as identify the most important sources of information (haythornthwaite, 1996). when we know the structure of a communication network, we can consider implications of structure for outcomes such as sustainability. we can identify which nodes may play particularly important roles in the system. when there are problems, such as the need for sustainable disease management, specific nodes may be key to sampling and mitigation because of their role in communication networks and/or their role in epidemic networks (andersen et al., 2019; buddenhagen et al., 2017). particular knowledge brokers may play key roles within networks (cvitanovic et al., 2017) and in linking networks to other aspects of the environment (klerkx et al., 2010). people with strong network links for access to information have been associated with transformational change (dowd et al., 2014). in the context of improving the well-being of agricultural regions, understanding which people are not well served by networks of communication or technology spread can support the design of better systems (garrett et al., 2018; henry & vollan, 2014). network structure may determine whether producers are exposed needed information (xu et al., 2018) and convinced to make changes to practices. purpose the first objective of this study was to describe the network of self-selected sustainable or emerging sustainable producers in the region to determine a baseline for strengthening the stofer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.xxxxxxxx 7 network. our second objective was to determine how often producers sought particular assistance on sustainability and from whom. therefore, we had the following research questions: 1. what are the self-identified characteristics of producers and sustainable and emerging sustainable operations in the region? 2. what are the current number and strengths of relationships in the region among selfreported sustainable or emerging sustainable producers and supporting organizations? 3. what is the relationship of self-reported level of sustainability and network centrality? methods we defined our regional network as encompassing 17 counties in the northeastern portion of an agriculturally intensive u.s. state. the region included one major metropolitan area and one regional metropolitan area, home to a land-grant university. each county in the region has a staffed extension office associated with the university. we recruited survey participants from those counties through extension agents identified by prizzia, who is both a program director in the university’s college of agriculture as well as a community activist in local food systems. we asked those key extension figures to distribute the survey to their local producer contacts. additionally, we emailed a recruitment list developed in a related study of sustainable producers in the region (stofer et. al., 2021) and collected emails from producers at local farmer’s markets in early 2016. we encouraged all participants to share the survey with other producers not on the direct email lists to use snowball sampling. we limited participation to people at least 18 and offered a nominal monetary incentive to every 25th survey participant. we asked two focus groups of purposively recruited sustainable producers in two metropolitan areas in our region to identify the key contacts on sustainable production in our region (stofer et. al., 2021). the survey for all aspiring or sustainable producers in the region asked about which human or organizational resources in the network they use and with whom they collaborate most often (scott & carrington, 2011; zack, 2000). we listed personnel identified as key contacts by the focus group participants as explicit choices for contact in the survey. in addition, participants could write-in other contacts they consulted about sustainable production within the last two years. after identifying individuals with whom they had contact, we asked participants to indicate which county offices of extension and any other outside groups they had contacted about sustainability in the past two years. for each contact indicated, we asked participants about the topic and frequency of the consultation(s): frequently (multiple times monthly), semi-frequently (multiple times annually) or emergency only (once or twice annually). we also asked for basic demographic information; self-identified level of production from considering sustainability, to partly sustainable, to almost totally sustainable; county or counties of operation and products sales; approximate annual gross sales; how their operation sells; the type of products their operation sells; and how long their operation has been in the stofer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.xxxxxxxx 8 region. see supplemental material at https://bit.ly/3q4psnm for full survey questions and choices. we hosted the survey in qualtrics and sent invitations via three emails in summer 2016, one initial email and two reminder emails (dillman et al., 2009). we checked data points and included respondents who gave consent and provided a name. in some cases, when we asked about the level of communication with another person or organization, the respondent failed to list a communication frequency. in those cases, we imputed the frequency as emergency. while we knew some individuals were representatives of listed organizations, such as an extension agent for a particular county, if respondents listed both the individual extension agent and the county extension office as separate contacts, then we maintained those ratings separately. if the county extension office was not listed but an individual extension agent from that county had been, then we added the county extension office and gave it a frequency rating of emergency for those topics selected for the individual agent. we converted communication frequencies into numerical values, summed them, and aggregated them by topics of communication (e.g. animals, cultivation, tools). fulton organized and imported survey data into the r programming environment and used igraph, maps, and dplyr packages for network structure analysis and scoring. we used ordinal logistic regression to analyze relationships between network centrality measures and self-reported sustainability levels, using mass, ordinal, and erer r packages.1 findings research question 1 – participant and operation characteristics there were 41 complete and usable survey responses, including four duplicates. stofer reviewed the duplicated entries and found most were exact copies of the original responses. we collated cases where respondents provided additional information in a duplicate. no instances resulted in any conflicting information between original and subsequent responses. one additional respondent completed the information about their production and sales types and locations but neither communication partners nor individual demographics; we retained this participant in the network as an isolate. therefore, we had a final total of 38 respondents. our estimated response rate based on available data ranges from 4–100% (see supplemental material at https://bit.ly/3q4psnm for response rate calculation). prizzia’s involvement in the network leads her to believe our respondents were representative of the network at that time. respondents varied in their age, ranging from 25–74; ethnicity, though most were white; and level of education, though most had either a bachelor’s or master’s degree, as shown in table 1. thirty-one respondents were owner/operators, eight were managers, and two were employees, including two respondents who indicated they fulfilled all three roles. 1 r packages are available at: https://iviagraph.org/r/, stofer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.xxxxxxxx 9 table 1 survey respondent demographics production demographics in their self-assessment, 15 participants listed their farms as having “at least some” production currently sustainable and 18 as having “virtually all” production sustainable. one respondent was in the process of becoming sustainable and two were considering sustainability, with one final participant not answering this question. however, some participants in each of these levels of sustainability were disconnected from other participants in the network, meaning that they did not list any contacts within the past two years related to sustainability. we had 11 isolates in the network who did not list any contacts; we discuss their role in the analysis further below. seven isolates reported that their production was virtually all sustainable, three listed their production as at least somewhat sustainable, and one reported they were in the process of becoming sustainable. the final participant who did not list a level for the sustainability of their production also was an isolate. however, all these participants did complete demographics at the very end of the survey, suggesting they deliberately skipped these questions rather than exiting the survey without completing it. most respondents reported under $250,000 gross annual sales2, with only two reporting $250,000–$500,000 and four reporting more than $500,000 annual gross. all but six reported selling at least some directly to consumers, and fourteen report selling at least some to wholesalers. other ways producers sell their products include to restaurants, as on-site edible landscaping, through community-supported agriculture (csa), via livestock markets, to other farmers, and through buying clubs. 2 we defined sales categories deliberately broadly to preserve participant anonymity and encourage participation based on our knowledge of the producers in the region to categorize productions as small, medium, and large. age total race/ethnicity total level of education total 18–24 0 asian/pacific islander 1 high school graduate, diploma or equivalent 3 25–34 5 black/african american 1 some college credit, no degree 5 35–44 6 native american/ american indian 0 trade/technical/ vocational training 2 45–54 6 hispanic/ latino 2 associate’s degree 3 55–64 15 white 28 bachelor’s degree 9 65–74 5 other 1 master’s degree 13 75 or older 0 multi-ethnic 1 doctorate/ professional degree 2 no response 1 white-hispanic 1 no response 1 no response 3 stofer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.xxxxxxxx 10 the vast majority of growers reported their operation base as located in either one of two north-central florida counties which contained the major metropolitan areas. respondents also stated that the majority of their sales occurred in either of these two counties with limited sales in other counties throughout the state (figure 1). figure 1 county of production and sales locations listed by respondents note. the county reported with the highest number of locations for both production (left) and sales (right) was alachua county (n = 17 and 23, respectively). research questions 2 and 3 – network characterization four groups comprise the overall network: producers, extension, outside organizations, and non-producers. the summed communication frequencies and aggregated communication topics provide the network’s general model of communication among actors (see figure 2). figure 2 summed network diagram of communication among actors note. shape size depicts number of actors per group. line width indicates number of contacts. stofer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.xxxxxxxx 11 most of the identified network was of either producers or extension entities, including both extension offices (counties) and individual extension agents named. participants reported the largest number of communication links between extension and producers. producers also reported relationships with the three other groups, and each group except non-producers reported relationships within their own group, shown as self-loops in figure 2. table 2 shows network centrality indicators per group. given the ego-centric nature, producers were the center of the network with the highest centrality indicators, and the other groups had low levels of centrality. people who acted as bridges were primarily individual producers. in the disaggregated network, it was apparent that there was significant network structure, with most producers connected to other individuals/entities. however, several producers were apparently isolated (see figure 3). approximately five percent of the total number of possible links between entities were present in the complete network (see figure 4). figure 3 complete disaggregated network with isolates table 2 centrality measurements for aggregated participant groups participant group degree closeness betweenness eigenvector producer 5 .33 3 1.00 organization 3 .20 0 0.62 non-producer 1 .20 0 0.38 extension 3 .20 0 0.62 note. this information is most complete for producers, who were the primary respondents to the survey. stofer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.xxxxxxxx 12 figure 4 network density of complete and individual networks the sub-networks based on production types and information requests were significantly less integrated than the overall network, with approximately 0.5 percent of links present on average (see figure 5). figure 5 individual sub-networks based on topics of sustainability conversation stofer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.xxxxxxxx 13 the sub-networks were similar with edge density ranging from 0.002 to 0.01 as shown below in table 3. interestingly, the sustainability sub-network, regarding contacts with others about sustainability issues, appeared to have more network structure with a few important central entities. we found only weak evidence for a correlation between centrality and self-reported sustainability (p < 0.2) as shown in supplemental figure 11a-d at https://bit.ly/3q4psnm. table 3 characteristics for the complete network based on communication about at least one topic, and for sub-networks based on communication about individual topics conclusions, discussion, and recommendations we set out to describe the communication network of potentially sustainable producers in our regional food system and its implications for regional sustainability. our producers show some diversity in their production schemes, particularly in the ways they sell beyond directly to consumers. by and large, they manage small operations with limited annual sales, and only about half of the respondents consider their operations nearly completely sustainable. while the respondents report a variety of educational backgrounds, they are also otherwise older and of primarily white race and ethnicity. this is similar to the racial/ethnic makeup of the region overall and the age range of producers more broadly. the age of the group could mean that their knowledge could be lost as these producers retire or pass away. our regional producers seem to be highly reliant on one-on-one interactions with other producers that they know. they do rely on cooperative extension, similar to other producer groups (silvert et al., 2021) but again, may be working with particular individuals in extension more so than the service as a co m pl et e ve gg ie s su st ai na bi lit y an im al to ol m an ag em en t m ar ke tin g cu lti va tio n fr ui t fi na nc ia l edges 151 61 66 27 25 31 23 37 45 10 density 0.020 0.010 0.010 0.004 0.004 0.005 0.004 0.010 0.010 0.002 average node degree 2.700 1.100 1.180 0.480 0.450 0.550 0.410 0.660 0.800 0.180 diameter 8 9 11 6 6 8 8 5 9 2 transitivity 0.05 0.05 0 0 0.17 0 0 0 0 0 average betweenness 91.72 17.60 53.00 6.05 1.27 9.67 3.76 1.45 11.30 0.08 average closeness 0.0002 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 note. number of entities for all networks is 112. stofer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.xxxxxxxx 14 whole. reliance on particular personnel could add to the fragility of the network and potential knowledge loss due to retirement or job changes. sub-networks based on particular products or topics, particularly finances, have room for strengthening. a large percentage of isolates also indicates fragility of the network. however, the isolates are not completely disconnected from the network, as they received the survey through participation with local extension offices, other producers or organizations, or through sales at farmer’s markets. they may not be taking advantage of the resources the network has to offer particularly on sustainability, as evidenced by their failure to list communication about sustainability with the network members within the previous two years. the reported networks for some topics and individuals appear substantially better developed than others. the analysis of a relationship between a person’s role in the network and their reported farm sustainability was inconclusive, but weak evidence suggests that producers do not necessarily need to communicate with others in the region to consider themselves sustainable. understanding and supporting people who both implement sustainable practices and have important roles in the communication networks (cvitanovic et al., 2017; klerkx et al., 2010) could support sustainability efforts. if people in networks tend to be linked with others similar to themselves, the resulting segregation can pose challenges for system-wide improvements to sustainability (barnes et al., 2016). our study helps understand the regional system, including how to better integrate those underserved by the network and necessary rates of adoption of sustainable production for regional sustainability (garrett et al., 2018; henry & vollan, 2014). sharing these gaps in the network and resource base with service providers can enhance their support for sustainable agriculture (christensen & o’sullivan, 2015). this research faces some typical limitations. we did not have a complete picture of the network to begin with and could not define the boundaries. producers may have received our survey but been reluctant to participate and disclose their name (penuel et al., 2006). finally, while we attempted to attend farmer’s markets and reach people not already connected to extension, we may have not adequately reached or sampled those producers. future research will involve conducting follow-up social network analysis over time as extension and other groups continue to connect producers in the region. re-design of our survey will also allow us to probe the directionality of the network, that is, do some producers serve primarily as purveyors of knowledge and less as recipients, or are members of the network sharing more equally? future studies could ask in more detail about the frequency of contacts with other producers and organizations. we highlight an existing repository of knowledge of sustainability amongst our responding producers and extension and other local organizations. specifically, those producers that also attended our focus groups are already implementing a number of sustainable practices and may be able to serve as resources for other producers interested in implementing these stofer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.xxxxxxxx 15 practices (stofer et al., 2021). however, the network amongst these various entities with such knowledge seems highly fragile and susceptible to breakdown and knowledge loss. acknowledgements we thank our producers for their time in participating in the study as well as for 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(2000). researching organizational systems using social network analysis. 33rd annual hawaii international conference on system sciences, 1, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1109/hicss.2000.926933 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 77-manuscript-1049-1-11-20210324.docx lamiño jaramillo et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 1, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. pablo lamiño jaramillo, graduate assistant, department of agricultural education & communications, texas tech university, box 42131, lubbock, tx 79409-2131, pablo.lamino@ttu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3941-4935 2. amy boren alpízar, associate professor, department of agricultural education & communications, texas tech university, box 42131, lubbock, tx 79409-2131, amy.boren-alpizar@ttu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9002-4855 3. carla millares-forno, phd, university of nevada, reno, 8050 paradise road, las vegas, nv, 89123, cmillares@unr.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0482-9847 4. rafael quijada landaverde, gradate associate, department of agricultural communication, education, and leadership, 200 fyffe road, columbus, ohio, 43210-6909, quijadalandaverde.1@buckeyemail.osu.edu https://orcid.org/00000001-6489-0477 70 agricultural education and migration: the cases of el salvador and honduras p. lamiño jaramillo1, a. alpízar2, c. millares-forno3 , r. quijada landaverde4 abstract youth is defined as a period of transition from childhood to adulthood that ranges between the ages of 15 and 24, and it is the most mobile social group in the world. youth migration in el salvador and honduras is a well-known problem; however, limited research has focused on the causes of migration and the impact of agricultural education programs on the decision to migrate. this study aims to identify and compare students' migration intentions in agricultural and non-agricultural programs of two rural communities of el salvador and honduras. for this quantitative study, a twogroup model was used; the target population (n = 209) was composed of high school students with similar socioeconomic characteristics. overall, the comparison between el salvador and honduras showed a significant difference between countries regarding their migration intentions (p < 0.05). salvadorian students presented a stronger willingness to migrate. moreover, students' intention of migration was evaluated based on their educational background. youth who were not part of a formal agricultural program have a higher intention of migrating (p < 0.05). finally, the main and interaction effects of intention to migrate, country of origin, and academic program based on the different migration drivers were analyzed. keywords youth migration, agricultural education programs, el salvador, honduras, rural lamiño jaramillo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.77 71 introduction and problem statement according to the united nations (un, 2019), youth is defined as a period of transition from the dependence of childhood to adulthood's independence that ranges from 15 and 24 years old. it is expected that by 2030, the number of youth will grow from 1.2 billion to nearly 1.3 billion globally. moreover, this age group is the most mobile social group in the world (global migration group, 2014). this growth and mobility add pressure to governments because of the need to provide youth with the necessary services (un, 2018). for instance, approximately 47% of salvadorans and 52% of hondurans are under the age of 25, and most of them are unemployed with little opportunity for gainful employment, forcing them to seek other options to make a living, such as migration (congressional research service, 2019). in 2015, the number of international migrants reached 244 million; this number is small compared to the noticeably higher number of migrants (740 million) who move inside their countries, mainly from rural to urban areas or from one rural area to another (food and agriculture organization [fao], 2016). the decision to stay in their home communities or migrate to other areas holds great economic, social, and emotional consequences, especially for rural students (theodori & theodori, 2014). the impact of youth's decision to migrate is important for rural communities because of the potential loss of labor force, community leaders, volunteers, and parents of future generations (demi et al., 2009). youth migration in el salvador and honduras is a recognized problem, and several reasons such as poverty, violence, insecurity, and family reunification in the cities have been identified as potential drivers of this phenomenon (warren & kerwin, 2017). education is often a driver of rural-to-urban migration; rural people who want to pursue a higher education level are more willing to leave their communities to seek educational opportunities (corbettm, 2007; kodzycki, 2001). however, this is not the case with all the educational programs. agricultural education programs teach students better agricultural practices and motivate them to replicate new techniques on their lands, which can reduce migration (rhoda, 1983). youth migration is a subject of significance in these countries; unfortunately, limited studies have been developed in central america to determine the impact of agricultural education programs on the decision to migrate (roth & hartnett, 2018). theoretical and conceptual framework the theory of planned behavior (tpb) by ajzen (1991) was used to guide this study. the tpb aims to predict behavioral intention based on three primary constructs: attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. the first construct of the theory is the attitude toward the behavior, which is the favorable or unfavorable evaluation of a given behavior. the second construct is subjective norms that are social pressure to execute or not execute a given behavior. perceived behavioral control is the third construct and refers to people's perception of the ease or difficulty of performing the behavior of interest. the combination of the three constructs allows predicting future intentions (ajzen, 1991). lamiño jaramillo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.77 72 although the tpb has been recognized for its facility of predicting behavior, the theory continues to evolve, and other variables might increase the model's utility (burton, 2004; whitmarsh & o'neill, 2010). ajzen (1991, p.179) argued the following regarding adaptations "in principle, open to the inclusion of additional predictors if it can be shown that they capture a significant proportion of the variation in intention or behavior." therefore, for this study, the migration drivers were selected using previous literature and research experience, and it has been designed to match with the tpb (castelli, 2018; foroughi et al., 2001; ramos-vidal et al., 2019; yazdan-panah et al., 2017; yazdan-panah & zobeidi, 2017). thus, subjective norms, the ideas that other community members have regarding migration, are composed of subjective expectations, interpersonal ties, social support, and disputes. the perceived migration behavioral control, the perceived level of difficulty regarding migration, was composed of access to extension activities and residential satisfaction. the attitude toward migration, the positive or negative idea of migration, comprises environmental impacts (ajzen, 1985; yazdan-panah et al., 2017). figure 1 shows how selected migration drivers were added to tpb variables. figure 1 theory of planned behavior note. this figure shows the relationship that each component has with the predictable behavior. adapted from the study (ajzen, 1991) attitude toward migration subjective norms migration behavior perceived migration behavioral control actual behavioral control social support interpersonal ties subjective expectations disputes access to extension activities residential satisfaction environmental impacts intention to migrate lamiño jaramillo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.77 73 purpose the study aims to identify and compare the migration intentions of high school students in agricultural and non-agricultural programs from two rural communities, one from el salvador and one from honduras. the following objectives guided the study: 1. compare students' intention to migrate by country of origin. 2. compare students' intention to migrate by academic program. 3. determine the main and interaction effects of intention to migrate, country of origin, and academic program based on the different migration drivers. 4. calculate the results managing missing data with two techniques, pairwise deletion and mean imputation. methods for this quantitative study, a two-group model was used. the target population (n = 209) was composed of high school students with similar economic and social characteristics from two communities, chalatenango, el salvador (n = 104), and jesus de otoro, honduras (n = 105). two groups from each community were recruited, one group participated in a formal agricultural education program (aep), and the other group was part of a non-agricultural education program (non-aep). data were collected using a paper-pencil instrument that explored salvadorian and honduran youth's intention to migrate. the survey had five sections and 50 questions: demographic information, participants' academic and agricultural background, migration drivers, residential satisfaction, and intention to migrate. for the "migration drivers" section, 34 5-point likerttype questions were created by the researchers, ranging from 1 (completely disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (neither agree nor disagree agree), 4 (agree), 5 (completely agree). scales containing multiple items were developed to measure the following migration drivers: social participation, social support, access to extension activities, environmental impacts, interpersonal ties, disputes, residential satisfaction, and subjective expectations (ajzen, 1985 & yazdan-panah et al., 2017). the drivers were selected based on previous literature and under experts' criteria (castelli, 2018; foroughi et al., 2001; ramos-vidal et al., 2019; yazdan-panah et al., 2017). the instrument was pilot tested to determine its reliability and validity. a panel of experts confirmed the questionnaire's face validity and field-tested in a pilot study that included 20 young people from both countries. cronbach's alpha was calculated to measure constructs' reliabilities. for social participation, the reliability was .74, social support .73, access to extension activities .89, environmental impact .75, interpersonal ties .74, disputes .77, residential satisfaction .73, and subjective expectations .73. results ranged from .73 to .89, which means that they were acceptable (rubin & babbie, 2009). lamiño jaramillo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.77 74 the surveys with more than 10% of missing values (six surveys) were deleted from the data analysis (raaijmakers, 1999). missing values were between 2 and 8% for each likert-type per statement. therefore, data analyses were conducted independently, first using the pairwise deletion technique (pdt) and then using mean imputation technique (mit) for the missing data. the pdt is used in missing data that are independent and all the missing cases to be used in the analysis (field, 2013, p.231; shi et al., 2020). the mit allows using the mean value of the variable in place of the missing data point. field (2013, p.231) suggested replacing the missing score with the average score when there is a large sample and a small number of missing values. the data collected were analyzed based on the objectives. descriptive statistics were used to understand the participants of the study. different independent chi-square was conducted to compare migration intention depending on the country of origin and academic program. finally, a 2 x 3 x 2 factorial multiple analysis of variance (manova) was conducted to examine the main effects and interactions effects of independent variables of country of origin ("el salvador" vs. "honduras"), academic program ("aep" vs. "non-aep"), and intention to migrate ("yes" vs" i don't know" vs "no") on migration drivers, including social participation, access to extension activities, social support, interpersonal ties, disputes, subjective expectations, environmental impacts, and residential satisfaction. findings the study aimed to identify and compare the migration intentions of high school students in agricultural and non-agricultural programs from el salvador and honduras. the sample consisted of 104 youth in aep and 105 in a non-aep. in el salvador, more participants were from aep (n = 54, 51.92%), than non-aep (n = 50, 48.08%) programs. on the other hand, in honduras, more participants were in a non-aep (n = 55, 52.38%) than an aep (n = 50, 47.62%) program. in total, 106 males and 103 females participated in this study. in el salvador, the majority of participants were male (n = 65, 62.50%), while in honduras, most of the participants were female (n = 64, 61.95%). one hundred and twenty-three participants considered the father as the family head, and 86 considered the mother as the family head. in el salvador, the majority considered men as the family head (n = 71, 68.27%), whereas in honduras, women were considered the family head (n = 53, 50.48%). concerning students' access to land, honduras had a greater number of students from families that own land (n = 78, 74.29%) than the participants from el salvador (n = 39, 37.50%). table 1 shows the general and specific distribution by academic program, gender, family head, and access to land. lamiño jaramillo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.77 75 table 1 summary of sociodemographic information characteristics total (n = 209) el salvador (n = 104) honduras (n = 105) f % f % f % academic program aep 104 49.76 54 51.92 50 47.62 non-aep 105 50.24 50 48.08 55 52.38 gender male 106 50.72 65 62.50 41 39.05 female 103 49.28 39 37.50 64 61.95 family head male 123 58.85 71 68.27 52 49.52 female 86 41.15 33 31.73 53 50.48 access to land landowners 117 55.98 39 37.50 78 74.29 non-landowners 87 41.63 65 62.50 22 20.95 prefer not to say 5 2.39 5 4.76 to answer objective one, a chi-square test of independence was calculated comparing the intention to migrate (yes = 1, i do not know = 2, and no = 3) and country of origin ("el salvador," and "honduras"). table 2 shows the results of pdt and mit methods. results were the same and showed a significant relationship between intention to migrate and country of origin (c2 (2) = 17.77, p < .001). in total, 206 youth participated in the intention to migrate section. overall, 56.73% of salvadorian youth considered migration as an option, while 25.96% said no, and 17.30% were undecided. in honduras, 36.27% of the youth have no intention to migrate, followed by 35.29% undecided, and 28.43% have the intention to migrate. cramer's value was used to determine the association's strength; results showed a value of .29, considered as medium effect size (cohen, 1988). table 2 chi-square results for intention to migrate based on country of origin (n = 206) intention to migrate el salvador (n =104) honduras (n = 102) c2 (2) cramer's v n % n % yes 59 56.73 29 28.43 17.77* .29 i don't know 18 17.30 36 35.29 no 27 25.96 37 36.27 note. *p < .05 for objective two, a chi-square test of independence was calculated comparing the intention to migrate (yes = 1, i don't know = 2, and no = 3) and academic program ("aep," and "non-aep"). table 3 shows the results of the chi-square using pdt and mit. results show a significant lamiño jaramillo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.77 76 relationship between intention to migrate and academic program (c2 (2) = 27.67, p < .001). overall, 39.81% of the youth in the agricultural program do not have the intention to migrate, while 30.10% said yes, and 30.10% were undecided; 55.34% of students in non-aep considered migration as a good option, followed by 23.33% undecided, and 23.33% do not have the intention to migrate. the cramer's value for the strength of the association was .37, considered a medium effect size (cohen, 1988). table 3 chi-square results for intention to migrate based on academic program (n = 206) intention to migrate aep (n =104) non-aep (n = 102) c2 (2) cramer's v n % n % yes 26 25.00 62 60.80 27.67* .37 i don't know 38 36.50 16 15.70 no 40 38.50 24 23.50 note. *p < .05 for objective three, a 2 x 3 x 2 factorial manova was conducted to examine the main effects and interactions effects of independent variables of the country of origin ("el salvador" vs. "honduras"), academic program ("aep" vs. "non-aep"), and intention to migrate ("yes" vs." i don't know vs. "no") have on the migration drivers, including social participation, access to extension activities, social support, interpersonal ties, disputes, subjective expectations, environmental impacts, and residential satisfaction. the assumption of normality was met because skewness and kurtosis levels were in the range of +/2, and a histogram showed a normal distribution. according to levene's test, the homogeneity of variance was no accomplished in the study. therefore, pillai's trace was used to interpret the results to guarantee the robustness of the findings, despite the assumption violation. finally, the homogeneity of variance was calculated using box's test. results show a box's m value of 349.24 with a p-value of .03 for pdt and a box’s m value of 469.56 with a pvalue of 0.04 for mit, which represents a violation of the assumption. however, field (2013) argues that box's test findings are sensitive to large sample sizes, and the significant value could be the result of the sample. table 4 shows the results of the sources that were significant. for intention to migrate, and using pdt, there was a significant medium effect, v = .26, f(16,270) = 2.47, p = .02, partial η2 =.13; for mit there was reported a significant small effect ,v = .19, f(16,354) = 2.29, p = .03, partial η2 = .09. using pdt and mit, a significant medium effect was found on country of origin, v = .28, f(8,134) = 6.44, p < .001, partial η2 = .28); v = .21, f(8,176) = 5.76, p < .001, partial η2 = .21). for academic program, a significant large effect was found for both methods, pdt, v = .49, f(8,134) = 16.09, p < .001, partial η2 = .49, and mit , v = .45, f(8,176) = 18.38, p < .001, partial η2 = .46. finally, for the interaction country of origin and academic program a significant medium effect size was found, using pdt, v =.32, f(8,134) = 7.93, p < .001,partial η2 = .32, and mit, v =.27, f(8,176) = 8.15, p < .001, partial η2 = .27 (cohen, 1988). lamiño jaramillo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.77 77 table 4 multivariate analysis of variance for migration intentions method source pdt mit f p partial η2 f p partial η2 academic program (1) 16.09 < .001* .49 18.38 < .001* .46 country of origin (2) 6.44 < .001* .28 5.76 < .001* .21 intention to migrate (3) 2.47 .02* .13 2.29 .03* .09 interaction 1 x 2 7.93 < .001* .32 8.15 < .001* .27 interaction 1 x 3 1.35 .16 .07 1.05 .40 .05 interaction 2 x 3 .85 .62 .48 1.02 .43 .04 interaction 1 x 2 x 3 .89 .52 .50 1.26 .26 .05 note. *p < .05; pdt = pairwise deletion technique; mit = mean imputation technique as complementary tests for the significant manova, univariate analysis of variance (anovas) were implemented to understand the interaction effects of the independent variables on the eight migration drivers. therefore, the anova revealed a significant main effect for country of origin, pdt, f(1,141) = 9.97, p = .01, partial η2 = .06; mit, f(1,183) = 9.34, p = .01, partial η2 = .05, on the migration driver, “social participation.” for the access to extension activities construct, the anovas revealed a significant effect, for country of origin, pdt, f(1,141) = 10.20, p = .01, partial η2 =.07; mit, f(1,183) = 10.93, p = .01, partial η2 =.06, and academic program, pdt, f(1,141) = 89.82, p < .001, partial η2 = .39, and mit, f(1,183) = 83.18, p < .001, partial η2 = .31. besides, it was found a significant effect in the interaction of country of origin and academic program using pdt, f(1,141) = 4.67, p = .03, partial η2 = .03; mit, f(1,183) = 3.21, p = .07, partial η2 = .01. for the social support construct, a significant effect was observed in country of origin, pdt, f(1,141) = 15.57, p < .001,partial η2 = .10; mit, f(1,183) = 16.91, p < .001,partial η2 = .09. interpersonal ties construct had a significant effect for country of origin, using the pdt, f(1,141) = 6.65, p = .01, partial η2 = .05; mit, f(1,183) = 6.25, p = .01, partial η2 = .03. moreover, it was found a significant effect for intention to migrate, using mit, f(2,183) = 3.40, p = .03, partial η2 = .04; but not found significant effect for pdt, f(2,141) = 2.38, p = .09, partial η2 = .03. for the dispute construct, a significant effect was found for academic program, pdt, f(1,141) = 42.85, p < .001, partial η2 = .23; mit, f(1,183) = 34.64, p < .001, partial η2 = .16, and the interaction between of country of origin and academic program, pdf, f(1,141) = 37.26, p < .001, partial η2 = .21; mit, f(1,183) = 35.30, p < .001, partial η2 = .16. country of origin was significant only using the pdt method, f(1,141) = 11.67, p = .01, partial η2 = .08, mit, f(1,183) = 3.50, p = .06, partial η2 = .02. finally, for environmental impacts construct, anovas revealed a significant effect on intention to migrate, pdt, f(2,141) = 7.35, p = .01, partial η2 = .09, and mit, lamiño jaramillo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.77 78 f(2,183) = 8.16, p < .001, partial η2 = .08. table 5 summarizes the anovas that are significant, depending on each migration driver, and using the two processes to manage missing data. table 5 univariate analysis of variance for social participation, access to extension activities, social support, interpersonal ties, disputes, and environmental impacts as a function of main and interaction effects of the intention to migrate, country of origin, academic program source method pdt mit f p partial η2 f p partial η2 social participation country of origin (2) 9.97 .01* .06 9.34 .01* 0.5 access to extension activities country of origin 10.20 .01* .07 10.93 .01* .06 academic program (1) 89.82 < .001* .39 83.18 < .001* .31 interaction 1 x 2 4.67 .03* .03 3.21 .07 .01 social support country of origin 15.57 < .001* .10 16.91 < .001* .09 interpersonal ties country of origin 6.65 .01* .05 6.25 .01* .03 intention to migrate (3) 2.38 .09 .03 3.40 .03* .04 disputes academic program 42.85 < .001* .23 34.64 < .001* .16 country of origin 11.67 .01* .08 3.50 .06 .02 interaction 1 x 2 37.26 < .001* .21 35.30 < .001* .16 environmental impact intention to migrate 7.35 .01* .09 8.16 < .001* .08 note. *p < .05; pdt = pairwise detention technique; mit = mean imputation technique; the variables subjective expectations and residential satisfaction was not significant for any source. post-hoc test was conducted for the intention to migrate variable because it was the only independent variable that had more than two levels. the researchers assumed that the sample sizes per condition were equal; therefore, the bonferroni was implemented; this test is wellknown for being conservative and has strong statistical power (field, 2011, p.374). table 6 shows the post-hoc test used as a follow-up test to determine the differences between the means of intention to migrate. findings from the pdt shows that for the construct of environmental impacts, the migration option “i don’t know” (m = 3.21, sd = .77) received a higher score than the migration options “no” (m = 2.69, sd = .77) and “yes” (m = 2.60, sd = 0.61). for the mit, the results were similar for the construct, the migration option “i don’t know” (m = 3.23, sd = .84) received a higher score than the migration options “yes” (m = 2.72, sd = 0.70) and “no” (m = 2.70, sd = .78). anova result using mit, showed significance on the ties construct; however, further analysis did not confirm the previous results. lamiño jaramillo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.77 79 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations results of this research study are supported by previous studies that established an increased willingness to migrate from salvadorian youth than honduran youth (congressional research service, 2019; rodriguez et al., 2019). the comparison of youth from aep and non-aep showed that investing in agricultural education programs reduces youth's intention to migrate. these results match with findings from rhoda (1983), whose research indicated that agricultural program interventions might reduce migration intentions. the 17 % of salvadorian and 35 % of honduras youth are indecisive about migrating. since this group is still undecided, the tpb suggests that this group's members can be influenced in one direction or the other. as such, it would be beneficial for programs to increase youth's involvement in community activities to increase their sense of belonging and social participation. the perception of the environment was significantly different in the intention to migrate variable and bonferroni post-hoc confirmed the results. consequently, future studies should explore the effect that the perception of the environment has on youth intentions to migrate and explore if other variables can affect this interaction. furthermore, future studies could examine young people's perspectives in agricultural and other technical education programs in rural areas in other countries to create country profiles for rural agricultural education. understanding the young people's ideas of their opportunities at home in agriculture and other areas will be important in rural development initiatives. future research exploring rural youth's intention to migrate should examine the youth migration issue in more depth. ethnographic qualitative studies would shed much needed light on the migration intentions of youth. additional studies could be developed evaluating youth in other countries and the impact that other variables have on migration intention, such as access to inputs. replicating this study in other regions besides el salvador and honduras could also strengthen the results and provide more robust data. it is important to evaluate the pros and cons of using different missing data techniques. for this study, the use of pdt and mit displayed the same result for the chi-square; 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(2017). determinate of factors influencing intention to stay and reside in rural among rural students. journal of research and rural planning, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.22067/jrrp.v6i3.60560 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 69-manuscript-765-1-11-20200930.docx gorter et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 3, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. erin k. gorter, lecturer, cal poly state university san luis obispo, 1 grand avenue san luis obispo, ca 93407, ekthomps@calpoly.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3001-2251 2. tyson j. sorensen, assistant professor, utah state university, 2300 old main hill logan, ut 84322, tyson.sorensen@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2103-1669 3. jana russell, graduate student, the pennsylvania state university, armsby building university park, pa 16802, jlr896@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9869-5397 4. sierra taylor, graduate student, cal poly state university san luis obispo, , 1 grand avenue san luis obispo, ca 93407, sitaylor@calpoly.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8546-3666 5. thomas m. henderson, assistant professor, california state university chico, 400 west first street chico, ca 95929, tmhenderson@csuchico.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8191-7256 68 perceived changes among second-stage agricultural teachers following a professional development experience in ecuador e. gorter1, t. sorensen2, j. russell3, s. taylor4 , t. henderson5 abstract this qualitative case study sought to explore changes in the perceptions of second stage (years 4-10) school based agricultural education teachers (sbae) following a professional development experience in ecuador. experiential learning was utilized as a theoretical lens and the model of teacher change as an operationalized conceptual framework. semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted, and transcripts analyzed for thematic content. findings elucidated three emergent themes: change in classroom practices; change in personal and professional pursuits; and change in perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes. as a result of the experience, misconceptions were dispelled, new understandings of agriculture and natural resources were developed, confidence was increased, and a desire for more global engagement was communicated. teachers expressed their desire to be more inclusive, encourage global engagement and citizenship among their students, and integrate more global concepts within their teaching practices. the findings have implications for the importance of holistic approaches to teacher development through international experiential learning, rather than just a focus on classroom teaching practices. to add to our findings, similar research with other teachers beyond second stage should be conducted. also, research exploring the influence of international development activities on career commitment should be conducted. keywords experiential learning, international, teacher change, training gorter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.69 69 introduction and problem statement passel and cohn (2008) estimated one in five people in the united states will be an immigrant by the year 2050. this demographic shift could impact school-based agricultural education (sbae) in the united states, creating a need for global perspectives and cultural awareness within these educational settings. additionally, in order to prepare a workforce able to tackle complex global issues agriculture will face, students must have contextualized global experiences (applied development economics, 2019; braskamp, 2008). teachers therefore need to possess the knowledge necessary to teach global concepts to their students. one way is through global professional development opportunities. despite few opportunities for teachers to travel internationally (hurst et al., 2015; thuemmel & welton, 1983), studies show international experiences can reinvigorate teachers in their career, augment their cultural awareness, and increase their confidence and autonomy (sandlin et al., 2013; stephens & little, 2008). although international professional development experiences may provide benefits to teachers (e.g., bruening et al., 2002; oh & nussli, 2014), little is known about these type of experiences on second stage teachers (i.e., years four-10) (kirkpatrick, 2007). while second stage teachers across all disciplines are characterized as autonomous, competent, and desiring professional growth opportunities (conway & eros, 2016; draves, 2012; eros, 2009), they also exit the profession at a rate of 6.8% per year (goldring et al., 2014). within sbae, mid-career sbae teachers have been identified as being less committed than other teachers (mckim et al., 2017). smalley and smith (2017) called for calculated professional development opportunities for sbae teachers in this mid-career phase. understanding the influence of international professional development experiences on second stage sbae teachers can be important in addressing teacher attrition issues as well as ensuring a well-trained, globally competent scientific workforce in the future. theoretical and conceptual framework this study of the influences of an international teacher professional development experience on teachers was viewed through the theoretical lens of experiential learning (kolb, 1984). based on the work of dewey (1938) and others, experiential learning focusses on specific lived experiences upon which learners reflect and then act (e.g., change behavior) as a result of their reflections on the lived experience (kolb, 1984). research clearly supports the theoretical underpinnings of experiential learning in providing professional development activities to teachers that involve active learning experiences and reflection (e.g., desimone, 2011). with this theoretical perspective in mind, teacher professional development should be viewed as a process of change that is unique to each teacher as they connect their own past experiences with their newly acquired professional development experiences. viewed through the lens of experiential learning, research supports the notion that teacher change is a gradual process. research suggests that effective professional development gorter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.69 70 experiences should employ collaborative and active learning strategies that expose teachers to actual practices and curriculum, provides them opportunities to practice, and enables them to reflect on their own teaching practices (adey 2004; guskey, 1985). furthermore, other studies suggest that effective professional development programs should consist of more than just a one-time event with no follow-up or prolonged reflection (guskey, 2000). to operationalize the theory of experiential learning in the context of teacher professional development as a process of teacher change, we utilized the model of teacher change (guskey, 2002) as a conceptual framework for this qualitative study. guskey (2002) proposed a linear model for teacher change, explaining that teacher attitudes and beliefs ultimately change from professional development activities after reflecting upon improvements in student learning and implementing changes to their teaching practice (see figure 1). according to guskey (2002), meaningful teacher development should be developed with the target audience in mind. this study focused on a professional development event designed specifically for sbae teachers, thus guskey’s (2002) framework was deemed an appropriate model to explore teacher change in the context of an international teacher professional development experience. figure 1 the model of teacher change (guskey, 2002) as a conceptual framework for the study purpose the purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore changes in second stage teachers of sbae from two western states who participated in an international experience specifically designed for the professional development of sbae teachers. the following question drove this exploration: what changes occur in second stage sbae teachers as a result of an international professional development experience? methods this qualitative bounded case study was utilized to explore second stage teacher change as a result of a 10-day professional development program in ecuador. we recruited sbae teachers from california and utah to participate in the professional development program. participants were purposively selected for the study based on the criteria that they were sbae teachers who gorter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.69 71 had between four and 10 years of teaching experience and who were participants in the 2018 professional development program in ecuador. teachers who met the criteria were invited via email to participate in the study. ultimately, six sbae teachers agreed to participate. one of the participants in the study was of latino heritage while the other five were white. five of the participants were female and one was male. three participants had completed four years of teaching, two had completed six, and one had completed seven years of teaching. each participant’s school varied greatly in the percentage of hispanic or latino students, ranging from 11% to 94% with a mean of 55%. two of the participants had never travelled outside of the united states, one participant had extensive travel experience to latin america where his family lived, and three participants had minimal travel experience outside of the united states. none of the participants had ever travelled internationally for work-related purposes. the 10-day professional development program in ecuador consisted of various agriculture and natural resources-based tours, cultural presentations, traditional and non-traditional educational presentations, curriculum development activities, home stays with local families, and reflection activities. learning outcomes for the professional development program in ecuador included: self-evaluation of local and global perceptions towards education, agriculture, natural resources, and culture; identify major social, political, food, environmental, educational, and agricultural issues and concerns facing ecuador and ecuadorian agriculture; develop goals and an action plan related to global education improvement; reflect on teaching practices regarding ell students and integration of global concepts; and expand teaching skills and resources related to global agricultural, food, and the environment. data collection consisted primarily of one-on-one semi-structured interviews. the questions utilized in the semi-structured interviews were guided by various sources including the global perspectives inventory (research institute for studies in education, 2017), pulse of a teacher scale (swan, 2005), and the career commitment scale (carson & bedein, 1994). six different interviews lasting about 50 minutes each were conducted via telephone by the first two authors and transcribed verbatim for data analysis. the interviewing researchers also took hand-written notes on each interview guide during each interview and kept a research journal to record reactions, thoughts, and feelings. we used constant comparative analysis to analyze the data (merriam & tisdell, 2016; saldaña, 2016). we analyzed and coded the data for thematic content using coding protocols outlined by auerbach and silverstein (2003). two separate researchers performed the coding process separately with constant checks for accuracy and reliability in coding. also, individual transcriptions were sent to the corresponding participants for informant feedback. multiple sources of input in the form of field notes, journals, and interview transcriptions reinforced trustworthiness. researchers worked together in reviewing notes, audio recording, observations, and transcripts, and reflecting on the research process to support credibility and confirmability. additionally, two of the researchers added credibility and confirmability through familiarity of the participants as they participated and provided leadership in the international gorter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.69 72 experience themselves. to bolster transferability, we present multiple direct quotations that support the emergent themes (schwandt et al., 2007). findings utilizing the model of teacher change (guskey, 2002) as a framework for analysis, this study aimed at understanding what changes might occur in sbae teachers as a result of an international professional development experience. three major themes emerged with multiple sub-themes: (a) change in classroom practices (three subthemes); (b) change in personal and professional pursuits (three subthemes); and (c) change in perceptions, beliefs and attitudes (three subthemes); pseudonyms were assigned to protect participant identity in reported findings. theme 1: change in classroom practices as a result of their international experience, the participants in this study expressed their desire to implement changes in their classroom practices; specifically: a) to be more inclusive of all students; b) to encourage students to engage in global opportunities and become better citizens; and c) to integrate more global agriculture and natural resources concepts including sharing their experiences from the ecuador professional development program. most of the participants discussed how the experience made them want to increase inclusion and diversity within their teaching practice. cara stated, “it has increased my desire to, to diversify the kind of students we have in our program.” mary mentioned how the experience has made her want to change her practice to be more inclusive. she said, “…especially for my students that come from different backgrounds, it made me want to try and cultivate different ways to be able to really help them and make my class the best experience possible for them.” for some of the participants, the experience helped them understand their own students’ backgrounds better to better meet their needs. kelly said, i think it has increased my awareness of others…their backgrounds and things that they value compared to my own…i'm more aware of how i approach certain situations or how i address certain questions or tone even when addressing, students of different cultures. the ecuador professional development experience enabled the participants to engage with the local people in their homes, which for some, seemed to be a humbling experience. many of the participants expressed how it helped them gain a deeper appreciation for the values the ecuadorian people cherished. as a result, participants expressed their desire to teach their own students about these values. kelly stated, i just felt like the things that the people in ecuador valued was just, like, family, friendship, um, and i just felt like that experience is something that i can share with my own kids. like, ‘keep your word, be good to each other, be nice.’ gorter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.69 73 molly discussed how she has more confidence talking to her middle-class students about being grateful and realizing what they have. she said, it has definitely made me more comfortable to talk about topics that might be a little bit more uncomfortable for people, in regards to how people live. a lot of my students are white, kind of middle-class students. so, they don't realize how lucky they are to live the life that they do. so, it's definitely opened up doors for me to talk to them about it. participants also expressed their desire for their own students to have global experiences. mary and rose both talked about the benefit of international experiences and how it would benefit their students, just like it benefited them. mary said, “i definitely would encourage any of my students that have the opportunity to go on an international experience…to take the opportunity and try to share my own experience and how it impacted me and my career and my life.” some participants talked about international experiences for students as a way to get them out of their comfort zone and how they wish they could provide similar experiences for their students as they had. cara said, i want my students to have the same experience somehow. i want them to take a trip outside of their comfort zone and see someplace new outside of the united states. one of the things i would love is just actually take a group of students on a trip like this. a trip to another country where they see agricultural being done in a way they hadn't imagined. participants in this study expressed their desire to integrate global concepts into their curriculum as a result of their experience in ecuador. john stated, “our students do need to be taught a global perspective. i really need to infuse global economies in my economics class, i need to infuse a global view of agriculture all around, and not just focus solely on the us.” similarly, cara stated: “i've definitely been inspired to incorporate more of a global perspective in my classroom tremendously since then.” the participants also shared how they connected global concepts from their ecuador experience to their own curriculum by sharing pictures, personal experiences and stories. rose said, “i reference it because i teach floral now. i wasn't previously, but i'm doing it this year. so, we visited a lot of the carnation farms, and roses and so i've used that experience in class.” john talked about integrating pictures: for about a week, we looked at the pictures, and we talked about my experience, um, and it's definitely inspired some of the students to try to, not necessarily go to ecuador, but just expand their mindset, that there is no one way of doing things…that yes, in the us we do it this way, but it doesn't mean that it's the only way. kelly also talked about sharing pictures: it has allowed me to share my experience with my students by showing them images or telling them stories and they seem rather interested because they feel like a lot of it they can relate back to because they've seen it, you know, when they've traveled in mexico. gorter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.69 74 theme 2: change in personal and professional pursuits as a result of their international experience, the participants in this study expressed changes in their personal and professional pursuits; specifically: a) re-evaluating their career choices; b) increased desire for additional international experiences; and c) gaining confidence to try new and uncomfortable things. the participants expressed great satisfaction and growth as a result of the ecuador professional development experience. some of the participants referred to it as “life changing” and “eye opening.” as a result of the experience, some of the participants began questioning their career choice, wondering if a different career would enable them to have more international exposure. john stated, it definitely has fulfilled a satisfaction, it also has inspired me to think about, ‘should i do something else to continue this path of growth?’ but i definitely have not made that decision final. it has instilled a passion and a satisfaction…it did start for me to wonder. participants also discussed their changes in attitudes towards international travel and how they want to do more of it in the future. talking about international experiences, mary stated, “it is definitely something that i want to experience more of and be able to see more.” molly talked about the desire to have international experiences, not as a tourist, but as one integrated into the local culture. she stated, it has definitely made me really want to travel to a lot of different places, and instead of just go and travel and get the tourist experience, it really makes me want to emerge more in other people's culture and way of life, and not just walk around where maybe other people live, but to get the real experience, and you know, get to stay with the host family, it's definitely something that's really eye opening. rose discussed how she wanted to have additional international experiences with her students. she stated, “i want to travel more and try to bring that experience to the kids even maybe, to have them go abroad, like i've had other teachers say they've taken students abroad.” the participants frequently discussed how the ecuador experience increased their confidence and comfort level to face some of their challenges and do difficult things. when asked about how the experience changed her, kelly said, “i feel like i'm more open to try new things…i feel like i'm more eager and more comfortable with asking veteran teachers for help or learning from others.” similarly, mary talked about how she feels more comfortable talking with others about culture. she said, “i feel more comfortable after going through the experience and especially sharing my culture with other people and encouraging my students to share experiences that they have with their own culture that may be unique or different.” theme 3: change in perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes the participants in this study expressed how their perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs changed as a result of their experience; specifically a) how misconceptions were dispelled; b) how agriculture and natural resource management was re-conceptualized; and c) how they gained a new perspective for teaching. a few of the participants discussed how the ecuador experience helped them realize some of the misconceptions they had about other nations and people, particularly misconceptions derived from the media. mary stated, gorter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.69 75 it was a very eye-opening experience. you have a perspective of what the media portrays of what life looks like in other countries, and what you think it's going to be like. and actually, experiencing that and being able to see that it is a completely different picture, it was very interesting. similarly, molly stated, i think that watching the news or reading articles about other countries, my perspectives have definitely changed in the way i think about making decisions or making assumptions about other countries and other cultures…so i think it makes you take a step back and maybe not believe everything you hear. the participants also expressed how their perceptions changed about agriculture and natural resources as a result of the ecuador experience. cara talked about this change in perspective: it helped me redefine what i call sustainable. before i went on that trip, if you asked me what was sustainable agriculture, i would have told you that it had to be economically stable, environmentally stable, and produce enough for it to be viable. after the trip i added a fourth thing, in order to be sustainable, it also has to be social, the cultural part of the community has to be sustainable. if you are not honoring the local social and cultural practices, whatever you're doing will not be stable in that area. mary talked about her shift in thinking in relation to how important it is to teach about global agriculture. she stated, “i realized how much more important it really is…you realize the importance of it, especially with sharing, teaching our students about global agriculture…” the ecuador experience seemed to change the participants’ perceptions about life and teaching. they seemed to see life in a bigger picture and not get caught up in the little things. cara said, “it just puts things into perspective, and i’m not going to sweat the small stuff.” molly discussed how the ecuador experience helped her gain an appreciation for what she has and the country she lives in. she stated, i think it's just a really great experience and it opens your eyes, and it's definitely life changing. maybe not, in the way that everybody thinks it's going to be, but it just makes you really appreciate what you have, and it makes you appreciate the country we live in. kelly discussed a change in thinking about her lifestyle choices as a result of the experience. she said, i think it's an eye opener and it has really made me evaluate my own lifestyles. i feel like i'm spoiled with all of the necessities and items and, you know, the convenience that i have here in america versus in other countries. so, it has made me really step back and look at the way i live my own daily life. in summary, the findings of this study parallel the changes as described in the model of teacher change (guskey, 2002). the ecuador experience yielded changes in teachers’ classroom practices, and changes in teachers’ perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes. it also yielded changes in teachers’ personal and professional pursuits and behaviors (see figure 2). gorter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.69 76 figure 2 visual summary of findings conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the ecuador professional development experience-initiated changes in participants. two of the three emergent themes aligned with the model of teacher change (guskey, 2002), specifically, changes in classroom practices as well as changes in attitudes and beliefs. while the themes from this study in large part aligned with the model of teacher change, the theme related to change in personal and professional pursuits did not seem to align. guskey’s (2002) model of teacher change focused primarily on teachers’ professional practice, yet as a result of the international experiential learning event, the participants clearly communicated a broader sense of personal and professional development (e.g., reconceptualization of agriculture concepts, examination of personal core values and lifestyle) not related to classroom teaching. this finding has implications for the importance of more holistic approaches to second stage teacher development, rather than just a focus on classroom teaching practices. with agriculture and natural resources challenges at the center of an ever-changing global economy, the participants in this study expressed a new understanding of agriculture and people in a global context. they expressed their desire to engage students and teach about agriculture and natural resource topics in a global context as well teaching students about the core values of life that should transcend borders. this finding suggests that international experiential learning events for second-stage teachers can be valuable for dispelling misconceptions and increasing knowledge, confidence, and resources related to global agriculture concepts. based on these findings, we suggest state and national leaders examine the feasibility of conducting experiential learning opportunities (e.g., international agriculture ecuador professional development experience change in classroom practices 1more inclusive of all students 2encourage global engagement, gratitude, and citizenship 3integrate global concepts and share global experiences change in personal and professional pursuits 1reevaluation of career choices 2desire for additional international experiences 3confidence to try new and uncomfortable things. change in perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes 1misconceptions dispelled 2agriculture and natural resources reconceptualized 3different perspective on life and teaching gorter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.69 77 tours) with a holistic approach to development (e.g., personal and professional development) and focused on global agriculture and natural resources issues for teachers. while the ecuador teacher professional development program seemed to elicit positive changes in teachers, it also seemed to expand their world view and sense of adventure. participants expressed their desire to engage in other future international travel opportunities while also expressing their increased confidence to try new things and step outside their comfort zone more. while these are positive outcomes, it was somewhat concerning that the sense of adventure also caused some to re-evaluate teaching as a career choice. the participants perhaps struggled to reconcile international travel opportunities and teaching agriculture as mutually compatible activities. it is possible that international teacher professional development experiences do not actually increase second stage teacher’s sense of career commitment. further research should be conducted exploring these questions. the participants in this study did not explicitly discuss changes in student learning outcomes. a limitation to this study was the inability to determine if participant changes made as a result of the international experience actually led to student learning gains. future research should be conducted exploring this. additionally, we recommend program leaders provide opportunities for continued reflection and observation to identify impacts through student learning outcomes. this study was focus solely on second stage educators from only two states. with variations in classroom demographics, norms, and career cycle stage, we recommend further research with teachers from different states as well as teachers beyond the second stage. overall, this study sought to determine changes in second stage teachers as a result of an international professional development program. participants clearly expressed changes in classroom teaching practices, perceptions, beliefs, 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(1983). teacher education activity in international agriculture: a national assessment. journal of the american association of teacher educators in agriculture, 24(2), 40–52. https://doi.org/10.5032/jaatea.1983.02040 © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 3, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. natalie k. ferand, assistant professor, virginia tech university, 330 sterrett dr., suite 201, blacksburg, va 24061, nferand@vt.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9505-1764 2. bradley m. coleman, assistant professor, oklahoma state university, 445 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok, 74078, b.coleman@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 note – check the last published article to get starting page number) 3. j. c. bunch, associate professor, university of florida, 307a rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 14 student teachers’ perceptions of motivation, independence, and supervision preferences: an exploratory study n. ferand1, b. coleman2, j. bunch3 abstract the student teaching experience is one of the most impactful capstone experiences for the preparation of preservice teachers. the supervisor, either a cooperating teacher or university supervisor, plays a critically important role in the student teaching experience. the purpose of this study was to explore preservice teachers' perceived motivation and independence throughout their student teaching experience. it is recommended that early in the student teaching experience, a directive supervision style should be utilized. then, as motivation starts to decline in the middle of the student teaching experience, the focus of supervision should shift to providing moral support and encouraging commitment to the profession of teaching. recommendations for future research include replication of this study with future cohorts of student teachers across multiple institutions so data trends can be analyzed longitudinally. additionally, it is recommended that future iterations of this study should administer a post-then version of the quantitative plotting instrument to control response shift bias. keywords mixed methods, internship, support, supervision, university supervisor mailto:nferand@vt.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9505-1764 mailto:b.coleman@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 mailto:bunchj@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 15 introduction and problem statement the student teaching experience is one of the most impactful capstone experiences for the preparation of preservice teachers (coleman et al., 2021; miller & wilson, 2010). the supervisor (i.e. the cooperating teacher or university faculty supervisor) plays a critically important role in the student teaching experience (roberts, 2006). the relationship between the supervisor and student teacher has been ranked as one of the most critical components of the student teaching experience (clark et al., 2015; harlin et al., 2002; kasperbauer & roberts, 2007; young & edwards, 2006). the vicarious experiences and modeling provided are essential elements for student teachers to build stronger self-efficacy to perform instructional tasks (clark et al., 2015). however, supervising a student teacher can be a challenging role. the supervisor must step into a passive mentorship role in which they analyze teaching behaviors, evaluate student learning, prompt reflection, foster problem-solving skills, and provide formative, constructive feedback to the student teacher (henry & weber, 2010; roberts, 2006). furthermore, supervision of student teachers is not a one size fits all approach. determining the best approach for supervision depends on the individual development of the student teacher and their desires for a style of supervision (henry & weber, 2010; glickman, 1995). such development is posited to occur in phases throughout the student teaching experience (henry & weber, 2010; sorensen et al., 2018). further, for supervision to be effective, teachers are to be included in the developmental process (danielson, 1996). understanding the student teaching experience, and preservice teachers' perceived phases of development, could help to improve the preparation of cooperating teachers and lead to more impactful student teaching experiences. theoretical and conceptual framework henry's (1995) paradigm for supervision of student teachers was the conceptual frame utilized for this study. henry (1995) proposed that the supervision style utilized during the student teaching internship should be unique depending on the supervised person. the style to be utilized can be determined based on analyzing a student teacher's level of commitment and abstraction (henry, 1995; henry & weber, 2010). henry (1995) expounds on glickman's (1990) description of supervision styles by offering a four-quadrant model specifically for supervision of student teachers based on different combinations of abstraction and commitment (see table 1). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 16 table 1 henry’s (1995) modified four quadrants model for supervising student teachers motivation & independence characteristics supervision style recommended quadrant 1 low motivation, low independence difficulty identifying & responding to problems; unimaginative teaching; low amounts of preparation directive control with specific instructions and expectations quadrant 2 high motivation, low independence eager to teach, but lacks a sense of direction; will devote time and energy but without a sense of purpose; may have ideas but lack ability to bring ideas to fruition directive information with choices presented by supervisor quadrant 3 low motivation, high independence highly intelligent, but is not dedicated to teaching as a profession; low or absent levels of progress towards effective teaching a collaborative style where supervisor and teacher negotiate ideas and solutions with both parties agreeing on course of action quadrant 4 high motivation, high independence high intellectual capacity; aware of teaching strategies and methods; will try things that involve risk; likely to take advantage of every opportunity during the student teaching experience indirect approach with focus on creativity and reflection; mostly need support and encouragement supervisors should make efforts to classify student teachers through several avenues such as student portfolios, previous academic performance, written statements by the preservice teacher, one-to-one conversations, as well as observations (henry & weber, 2010). it is expected that the quadrant the student teacher is classified within will change over the course of the student teaching internship. however, the ultimate goal for supervision is for all preservice teachers to be in quadrant four, high abstraction and high commitment, the end of the student teaching experience (henry, 1995). while henry (1995) proposed examining developmental levels of commitment and abstraction, these words were operationalized for the purpose of this study. commitment was operationalized as motivation based on the descriptions of effort put forth towards their internship experience by preservice teachers and their desire to continue with teaching as a profession (henry & weber, 2010). abstraction, or a preservice teacher's conceptual ability to problem solve or plan creative lessons (henry & weber, 2010), was operationalized as independence. the four quadrants presented by glickman (1990), henry (1995), and henry and weber (2010) were to be utilized by the supervisor, based only on the supervisor's perceptions of the student https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 17 teacher's level of development. however, the student teacher's perceptions of their development and their desires for a specific style of supervision are imperative to a positive supervision relationship (henry & weber, 2010; glickman, 1995). structured time for student teachers to self-reflect in a non-evaluative environment has been shown to benefit their growth during the student teaching experience (snead & freidberg, 2019). understanding preservice teachers' perceptions of their development and any impact on supervision could lead to a more positive student teaching experience as it is almost impossible for any supervisor to know precisely what has happened while student teachers are in the school (wilkens et al., 2015). purpose the purpose of this study was to explore preservice teachers' perceived motivation and independence over the course of their student teaching experience. the following questions guided the research: 1. what are preservice teachers' perceived developmental classifications? 2. what are preservice teachers' perceived levels of motivation and independence? 3. what were the experiences and support preservice teachers received during their student teaching experience? 4. to what extent do preservice teachers’ perceived levels of motivation and independence align with their described desires for supervision style by cooperating teachers and university supervisors? methods a convergent mixed-methods design was used for this study (quan + qual). this design was chosen because we collected both quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously during the research process. even though data were collected simultaneously, we analyzed the quantitative and qualitative data separately, then compared the results to determine congruency and discrepancy (creswell & creswell, 2018). researchers' biases potentially influence the interpretation of data (patton, 2002). when the data were collected, two of the researchers were graduate students and teaching assistants for the course in which the data were collected. one researcher was the instructor of record for the course where the data were collected and the teacher education coordinator. all three researchers were university supervisors for the cohort of preservice teachers during the time in which the data were collected. the researchers attempted to limit their biases by using bracketing (creswell, 2013; tufford & newman, 2010). specifically, the researchers met bi-weekly to discuss and reflect upon data collection and analysis procedures (tufford & newman, 2010). this study's population consisted of all preservice teachers (n = 7) enrolled in the student teaching experience during the spring semester of 2021. eighty-six percent of the participating preservice teachers were white, mostly female (86%; n = 6), and had a mean age of 21 years. data were collected using a questionnaire via qualtrics in four intervals during the student teaching experience. data collection intervals were spaced every four weeks for the entirety of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 18 the 16-week student teaching experience and are noted as observations one through four. a total of 28 questionnaires were collected for a census completion rate of 100%. the questionnaire used in this study was a researcher developed instrument based off of henry’s (1995) paradigm for supervision. face and content validity were established through a panel of three faculty and one doctoral graduate student in agricultural education at a land grant university. the panel was considered experts based on their experiences in secondary and post-secondary teaching and learning and research design. several comments were recommended by the reviewers and implemented. comments included adjustments to instructions for clarity, grammatical errors, writing style, and word choice to ensure content validity. the instrument consisted of two sections. in the first section, students were presented with a four-quadrant graph. they were asked to plot their perceived level of development across their student teaching semester at four different periods. the qualtrics "heat map" function was utilized to collect this data. the x-axis of the displayed graph represented motivation, with the y-axis being independence. the first section of the instrument also included four additional open-ended questions. two questions asked the student teachers to reflect on the thoughts, feelings, and specific experiences that led them to plot their point such as providing specific examples or experiences that led them to select the plot point they did and what support they needed from their supervisor. qualitative questions one and two related to preservice teachers' motivation, while questions three and four associated with independence. the second section of the instrument consisted of eight items to collect personal and professional data. quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (i.e., means, standard deviations, frequencies, and percentages). additionally, data from the points were plotted using the microsoft excel graphing function. qualitative data were analyzed deductively by the three researchers for congruent and discrepant statements according to their plotted perceived motivation and independence levels. considerations by lincoln and guba (1985) were used to establish trustworthiness of the qualitative analysis. specific practices included multiple researcher and mixed methods triangulation (creswell, 2013; denzin, 2012), bracketing to reduce bias (tufford & newman, 2010), reflexive discussions by the research team, and achieving inter-coder agreement among the researchers (ary et al., 2009). following the analysis of the qualitative data, both sources of data were re-analyzed in comparison (creswell & creswell, 2018). limitations this study’s population consisted of students from a single cohort of an agriscience teacher preparation program. therefore, the findings of this study are not generalizable beyond the population. further, the authors recognize the exploratory nature of the study due to this being the first time the instrument was utilized. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 19 findings figure 1 illustrates preservice teachers’ developmental classifications across the four observation dates. during observation 1, the majority of the preservice teachers’ plot points classified them as a quadrant 2 student teacher. preservice teacher three was classified as a quadrant 4 student teacher, while preservice teacher two was classified as a quadrant 3 student teacher. the majority of the preservice teachers’ plot points classified them as a quadrant 4 student teacher during observation 2, while preservice teacher seven was classified as a quadrant 2 student teacher. during observation 3, the majority of the preservice teachers’ plot points classified them as a quadrant 4 student teacher. preservice teacher six was classified as a quadrant 3 student teacher. finally, during observation 4, all preservice teachers’ plot points classified them as a quadrant 4 student teacher. figure 1 preservice teachers’ developmental classifications https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 20 figure 2 displays preservice teachers’ perceived mean levels of motivation and independence across the observation periods. we observed that the mean perceived motivation level at observation one (jan 12th) was 4.71 (sd = 3.04) and slightly declined by observation two (feb 17th; m = 4.57, sd = 1.99). at the third observation on march 24th, the preservice teachers’ motivation level had a noticeable decline (m = 2.57, sd = 3.10), and then sharply increased by observation four (apr 26th; m = 6.43, sd = 2.07). related to preservice teachers’ independence, the mean level at observation one was –1.29 (sd = 4.23), and sharply increased across the next three observations with the largest increase being from observation one to observation two (m = 3.29, sd = 3.09), a difference of 4.58 points. figure 2 preservice teachers perceived mean levels of motivation across observations table 2 displays quotes describing the student teacher’s perceived motivation. congruent statements aligned with henry’s (1995) characteristics for the student teachers’ selfdetermined plot point. incongruent statements did not align with the characteristics provided for the corresponding quadrant. table 2 also displays quotes describing the student teacher’s perceived independence. congruent statements aligned with henry’s (1995) characteristics for the student teachers’ self-determined plot point. incongruent statements did not align with the characteristics provided for the corresponding quadrant. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 21 table 2 comparing preservice teachers’ descriptions of motivation and independence with their selfdesignated quadrant quadrant placement motivation independence congruent discrepant congruent discrepant observation one q2 (n = 5) i feel prepared for this internship but i know that things are going to be different than my other experiences within a program and classroom. my biggest reservation is the fact that i have not had experience with the vet assisting curriculum but yet i have to teach it. (participant 5) i am excited for this opportunity but not really sure what i am doing, so i think i will need a lot of help. (participant 1) i don't want to let someone down. i also can be shy and easily intimidated and i don't want my students to get the best of me. (participant 9) i have visited with my teacher twice, and she is giving me a lot of freedom on what to teach. i have also always been a very confident public speaker. (participant 6) i think i would need lesson ideas for topics i'm not comfortable with and assistance answering student questions in these topics. (participant 7) i mostly need resources and ideas for how to teach the content, and then feedback on how lessons went. (participant 1) i need a lot of help with structure in the beginning.. (participant 9) i will need support through guidance because i know that i can be hard on myself, but i also want to improve so i will need the corrections just in a way that gives me specific ways to be better next time. (participant 5) feedback! i love learning from my mistakes. (participant 6) q3 (n = 1) i am having trouble thinking of iterative ways to teach this anatomy and the functions of the different muscle groups. (participant 2) i am negative one on the motivation scale because i am feeling anxious to start student teaching which is causing more stress in my life. i chose a one for independence because i feel that i do not have adequate teaching resources to be successful. (participant 2) more resources i am sure {cooperating teacher} would be more than happy to help! (participant 2) a chance to run plans by my supervisor and additional teaching resources. (participant 2) https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 22 quadrant placement motivation independence congruent discrepant congruent discrepant q4 (n = 1) i am super motivated to start my internship! i get along with my cooperating teacher very well and she has helped continue to motivate me…i just hope that my university supervisor is there for me to bounce ideas off of and ask advice too. (participant 3) i am not prepared to take over horticulture i am very much the animal science aspect of agriculture education. however, {cooperating teaching} has assured me that if i get stuck or need help she will be more than willing to guide and jump in to help. (participant 3) the biggest thing is resources for supplemental materials… i hope that {cooperating teacher} is willing to share the years of materials she has from her experience. … i put a 6 for independence just based on her classes that i will be taking over and i am still learning myself. (participant 3) observation two q4 (n = 6) i am really motivated to get better at teaching and engaging with students (participant 1) i was really challenged when my cooperating teacher requested that i teach the estrous cycle in livestock because i know very little about that topic, so i felt very dependent on others to help me figure out how to teach that. but that further motivated me because i want to be able to figure that stuff out on my own. (participant 1) i feel extremely independent and i really like teaching… i am motivated to keep doing better and getting better!! (participant 9) the students attitudes towards learning mainly. it can be discouraging if you do not properly engage them. (participant 6) student disrespect and disruptions. finding fun and engaging lessons and activities. working with students sae programs and getting involved with the ffa. (participant 2) ..it seems that no matter how much i put in lately, a lot or not, i don't really see much in return (in the form of student involvement/interest) so it is really disheartening…it is still discouraging when nothing i do really gets them excited.. (participant 5) advice on presenting information, directions, and lectures. (participant 2) i think the advice and personal experiences of what worked for her is very helpful...new ideas of how to improve and make my life easier. (participant 9) she has been so helpful, but she has found this year to be really hard too. we are learning together on the best ways to approach different situations. (participant 5) i don't really think i need more resources or anything, i really just need to find ways to motivate myself even when the students make it hard. (participant 5) i think i need some more ideas for lessons .. instead of {my cooperating teacher] saying “we need to teach animal nutrition,” {i want them to} say what exactly the kids need to know. (participant 9) resources and more ideas about how he wants specific lessons taught would be a great help… more structured guidance in looking ahead at how the current topic will connect to the next topic. (participant 1) https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 23 quadrant placement motivation independence congruent discrepant congruent discrepant q2 (n = 1) i feel motivated to teach but sometimes it can be hard when i know the students aren't dedicated and i hear crickets when i teach. on the other hand, i like to collaborate with {cooperating teacher} on lesson ideas which helps me when creating ideas (participant 7) students are great they just don't want to work bell to bell which is understandable considering the way the world is right now. so the must challenging aspect would be the participation on classwork and in discussions. (participant 7) my co-op is very supportive when i am teaching. she will jump in when kids ask a question, i don't know which helps me not look lost. she also helps me create lesson ideas and gives me realistic feedback. (participant 7) {university supervisor} is great. he has helped me realize that i am overthinking things and to not stress myself out on the little things. (participant 7) observation three q4 (n = 6) i feel like this point is where i am at because at this point in my internship, i am almost completely independent…i would say i am about a 4 in motivation because i enjoy it and i am motivated to be the best i can be (participant 5) i am very independent with my teaching and lesson planning, but i second guess my lessons and just need that reassurance from time to time. (participant 7) i believe that i am even more motivated than i was before i started my student teaching. i am motivated to be finished and have my own classroom. i feel completely independent on the teaching aspect of things... (participant 9) i am feeling little motivation, i find myself extremely exhausted and a little beat down from the critiques i receive from my cooperating teacher. (participant 2) although i am feeling a lot more comfortable with my students, i am starting to count down the days until its over because i am tired. (participant 7) i get to the point that i am going all of the time and constantly doing something, that when it's time to wind down, i end up just stressing over everything that i still need to get done so i feel like i never have a break to recuperate. (participant 5) my [cooperating teacher] is very helpful…she gives me a lot of freedom to do whatever in the classroom as a learning tool of trial and error. (participant 7) i feel prepared and supported. i think i am just excited to see how the last few weeks will go. (participant 5) the biggest support from my university supervisor was advice and guidance. (participant 3) i would like more lesson planning ideas from my university supervisor for when i am stuck. (participant 9) i think more support from my co-op teacher could be guidance in aspects that are not specifically teaching. (participant 9) i would like more support in terms of feedback after lessons and ideas for teaching certain topics of information. (participant 1) https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 24 quadrant placement motivation independence congruent discrepant congruent discrepant q3 (n = 1) well the kids look forward to seeing me now and i have fixed up the shade house and the greenhouse. (participant 6) pretty good but also pretty sad that i will be losing everything i have worked at pretty soon. (participant 6) information on steps after internship (participant 6) more information on how to give the class back (participant 6) observation four q4 (n = 7) i am so ready to start my own program and do my own thing! i am going in early this summer to set up my classroom!!! (participant 9) as i ended the internship, i am more motivated to have my own classroom and begin my own journey with ag education. (participant 7) i feel like i grew a lot in my internship in leadership, teaching methods, and confidence as a teacher. (participant 5) i have been very independent during my teaching internship. i have been lacking motivation especially towards the end. (participant 2) i am highly motivated due to finishing my internship successfully and moving towards graduation, but i feel like i would still need a lot of help in my own classroom. (participant 1) advice and mentoring (participant 6) just a colleague and someone i could go to for advice or inspiration. (participant 9) {my cooperating teacher} gave me freedom and flexibility in the classroom. she also had the same mindset as i did. she hated lectures and focused more on student discovery, so i never was afraid of what she would say about my lessons. (participant 7) someone who i can go to for advice or inspiration. (participant 9) resources, classroom management, and ideas for professional development (participant 2) information for larger teaching techniques (participant 6) resources on classroom management (participant 2) note. q = quadrant conclusions, discussion, and recommendations according to glickman (1995), university supervisors can classify student teachers into four quadrants based on specific characteristics. based on the teachers ' developmental classification, detailed recommendations on supervising student teachers are then provided (glickman, 1995). however, levels of independence and motivation can vary widely within the quadrants, as seen in the mean levels displayed in figure 6. most of the student teachers https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 25 plotted themselves in quadrant 2 on the first observation (see figure 2). according to henry (1995), teachers in quadrant two have high motivation and low independence. these teachers are eager to teach but lack a sense of direction. quadrant 2 teachers prefer a direct supervision style, with choices provided by their supervisor. two student teachers were not in quadrant two quantitatively; however, their qualitative responses aligned with quadrant 2 characteristics of high motivation and low independence. when student teachers were asked to describe their perceptions about their internship at this observation point, they were excited but desired resources and specific lesson ideas. incongruently, student teachers reported an abundance of autonomy over their classroom and lesson topics. they also discussed the feeling of intimidation as they began their internship (see table 2). at the second and third observations, the majority of student teachers plotted themselves in quadrant 4 (see figure 2). all student teachers aligned themselves in quadrant 4 for the last observation. according to henry (1995), quadrant 4 teachers have high levels of motivation and independence. these teachers know teaching strategies and methods and are willing to try new teaching approaches. quadrant 4 teachers should be supervised indirectly, including encouraging them to be creative, prompting self-reflection, and providing moral support (henry, 1995). while a majority of student teachers were quantitatively in quadrant 4 on observation two, their qualitative responses do not align with the characteristics of quadrant 4. this could be due to a lack of motivation, as indicated by their qualitative responses. for example, many student teachers continued to request resources, lesson ideas, and materials instead of seeking these resources independently (see table 2). on the other hand, during observation 3, both the quantitative scores and the qualitative responses align with quadrant 4. student teachers shared a need for moral support, advice, and feelings of being stressed and tired (see table 2). therefore, it is recommended that early in the student teaching experience, a directive supervision style should be utilized by providing choices, resources, and lesson ideas, in addition to focusing on support and encouragement congruent with quadrant 4. then, as motivation starts to decline in the middle of the student teaching experience, the focus of supervision should shift to providing moral support and encouraging commitment to the profession of teaching. as the student teaching experience approaches the third quarter, those who are responsible for supervising student teachers (i.e., cooperating teachers, university supervisors, etc.) might consider providing more moral support than targeted performance feedback originally recommended by henry and weber (2010) and roberts (2006). recommendations for future research include replication of this study with future cohorts of student teachers across multiple institutions so data trends can be analyzed longitudinally. additionally, it is recommended that future iterations of this study should administer a postthen-pre version of the quantitative plotting instrument to control response shift bias. however, qualitative data could still be collected throughout the student teaching experience to provide a real-time description of students' perceptions about their experiences. lastly, the authors recommend following up with the cohort from this study during their first year of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 ferand et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 26 teaching to compare their results from student teaching to their in-service experiences and perspectives. acknowledgements fees for publication were generously covered by the virginia tech open access subvention fund. the three authors equally contributed to conceptualizing the study, writing the manuscript, and collecting and analyzing the data. references ary, d., jacobs, l. c., & sorensen, c. 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(2006). a comparison of student teachers' perceptions of important elements of the student teaching experience before and after a 12-week field experience. journal of agricultural education, 47(3), 47–57. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2006.03045 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.195 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2006.03045 microsoft word 293-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 1, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. rafael landaverde, assistant professor, texas a&m university, 600 john kimbrough blvd, tamu 2116, college station, tx 77843, rafael.q@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6489-04773 2. mary t. rodriguez, associate professor, the ohio state university, 200e agricultural administration building, 2120 fyffe road, columbus, ohio 43210, rodriguez.746@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8716-2787 3. jera e. niewoehner-green, assistant professor, the ohio state university, 200e agricultural administration building, 2120 fyffe road, columbus, ohio 43210, niewoehner-green.1@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0340-1956 4. tracy kitchel, professor, the ohio state university, 200e agricultural administration building, 2120 fyffe road, columbus, ohio 43210, kitchel.2@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7563-5874 5. jaqueline chuquillanqui, graduate student, postgraduate department, zamorano university, valle del yeguare, tegucigalpa, honduras, 11101, jaqueline.gomez@est.zamorano.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8535-0429 75 local-scale factors and dynamics in climate adaptability among subsistence farmers r. landaverde1, m. t. rodriguez2, j. e. niewoehner-green3, t. kitchel4, j. chuquillanqui5 article history received: january 19, 2023 accepted: march 2, 2023 published: march 23, 2023 keywords agricultural development, food security, poverty, rural livelihoods, sustainability abstract climate change is the primary environmental threat to subsistence farmers’ productivity in peru. adaptation is promoted as the best mechanism to cope with climate change in subsistence agricultural livelihoods. however, climatic adaptability depends on the resources the farmer has access to or can use, which are not always adequate to respond effectively to the speed and aggressiveness of climate change. this study explored the local factors and dynamics (assets) influencing the climate adaptability processes of subsistence farmers in huayhuay, peru. twenty subsistence farmers participated in semi-structured interviews within a basic qualitative design. the results brought to light 18 local factors and dynamics that influence the coping mechanisms of climate adaptability. these findings support other investigations that demonstrate the difficulty of climate change adaptation agricultural communities face. the difficulty of climate change adaptation has rooted the interrelationships of assets of different natures within the same adaptive process. future research and interventions should encourage the active participation of farmers in local climate action and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of farmers' adaptability mechanisms, considering the role of each local-scale factor and dynamic. landaverde et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.293 76 introduction and problem statement climate change (cc) is the most critical environmental challenge humanity has to solve; however, according to recent studies, cc is so severe it may be irreversible (arora, 2019; united nations environment programme, 2022). cc severity in latin america and the caribbean is documented by increasingly frequent high temperatures, droughts, and extreme weather events (núñez collado & wang, 2020; reyer et al., 2017). although cc affects all economic activities, some, such as agriculture, are even more sensitive to climate variability (dong et al., 2015). peru, along with other developing countries, relies primarily on agriculture by subsistence farmers (world bank group, 2017). subsistence agriculture is the top peruvian economic development priority due to its dominance over other forms of agricultural production (world bank group, 2017). cc affects the vulnerability of subsistence agricultural livelihoods with implications for food security, food price inflation, and livelihood resilience leading to a need for understanding factors impacting climate adaptability (baiphethi & jacobs, 2009). according to the food and agriculture organization [fao] (2018), it is no longer feasible for subsistence farmers to mitigate the impacts of cc. the scope and speed of progress of cc impacts exceed the response capacities of most developing agricultural communities (fao, 2018). while mitigation should still be promoted among subsistence farmers, adaptation seems the best alternative to maintain livelihoods (shaffril et al., 2018). cc adaptation is a place-based process incorporating local perspectives, beliefs, and contexts (murtagh & lane, 2022). smit and pilifosova (2001) stated, “adaptation varies according to the system in which it occurs, who performs it, the climatic stimuli that cause it, and its timing, functions, and effects” (p. 881). therefore, this study aimed to inform local climate action by exploring the local factors and dynamics (assets) farmers considered when implementing cc adaptability strategies. theoretical and conceptual framework the livelihoods of interest for this study were those of subsistence farmers in huayhuay, peru. therefore, the integrated sustainable livelihoods framework (i-slf) was adapted from department for international development [dfid] (1999) to guide this study. the i-slf “emphasizes the importance of the livelihood assets [local factors and dynamics] that people have access to, or draw on, and the context within which they devise livelihood strategies so has to attain greater livelihoods outcomes” (yohannis et al., 2017, p. 6). due to its flexibility to collect and present livelihood contextual factors and dynamics, particularly from poor populations in developing countries, the i-slf has been widely implemented to study the stress of climate variability on local agricultural livelihoods (dfid, 1999). for example, yohannis et al. (2017) used the i-slf to evaluate the integration of climate-related information into ghanaian farmers’ livelihoods using information and communication technologies, and aboye et al. (2022) used the i-slf to investigate farmers’ experiences derived from major cc impacts in southern ethiopia. employing the i-slf (figure 1) as the conceptual framework for this study provided a lens to explain how local factors and dynamics (assets) within the five capitals landaverde et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.293 77 (human, natural, social, physical, and financial) influence livelihood strategies implemented to adapt to climate variability (vulnerability context), and thus, influence livelihood outcomes. cc and its variability in peru negatively influence the country’s vulnerability context of subsistence farmers (aboye et al., 2022; lozano-poviz et al., 2021). official reports state that cc impacts the quality and availability of natural resources in peru (e.g., water, soil, biodiversity) and reduces the productivity of agricultural systems (lozano-poviz et al., 2021; u.s. agency for international development [usaid], 2017). the impacts of cc on agricultural systems indicate the need for changes in agricultural practices. however, other non-climatic context components, such as human relations and migration patterns, also play a role in determining farmers’ adaptability efforts (lópez et al., 2017). figure 1 integrated sustainable livelihoods framework (i-slf) note: adapted from the department for international development (1999). achieving positive livelihood outcomes for farmers requires identifying the local factors and dynamics farmers consider in their climate vulnerability context (dfid, 1999; lópez et al., 2017). sometimes, managing the climatic adaptability of subsistence farmers requires transformations of local structures and processes for which normative and regulatory changes are needed that farmers cannot enforce (dfid, 1999). therefore, improving farmers’ adaptability potential is the best option. the united nations (n.d.) defined adaptation as “adjustments in ecological, social, or economic systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli and their effects or impacts and refers to changes in processes, practices, and structures to moderate potential damage or benefit from climate change opportunities” (p. 1). therefore, local asset availability variation modifies individuals’ ability to deal effectively with local climatic variations (dfid, 1999; scoones, 2015). climate change landaverde et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.293 78 purpose this study aimed to describe local factors and dynamics (i.e., physical, human, financial, social, natural) subsistence farmers consider when engaging in agricultural climate adaptability strategies to improve their livelihood outcomes. due to the increase in potential risks and vulnerability in peru resulting from cc, the national government has fostered adaptability at all socioeconomic and production levels. therefore, this study was part of a series of research projects designed to engage agricultural stakeholders in local climate action planning in rural peru. the results will inform cc adaptability initiatives and climate-related public policies implemented by local and central authorities. the research question guiding this study was: what local factors and dynamics (assets) influence peruvian subsistence farmers’ agricultural climate adaptability strategies? methods this basic qualitative research study was grounded in social constructivism (creswell, 2007; flick, 2019), which seeks individuals’ understanding of the world around them through their own experiences (creswell, 2007). twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with subsistence farmers from huayhuay, peru. participation criteria included: producing on less than two hectares yearly and primary self-consumption of agricultural production. the interview guide was structured using the climate adaptability available literature (sarkar et al., 2014; schattman et al., 2016 rojas-downing et al., 2017). five professionals (researchers, practitioners, and policymakers) validated the content and structure of the interview guide (usry et al., 2018). participants were recruited through a personal visit from a huayhuay agricultural and environmental affairs office member. during the visit, participants received verbal and written information about the study, including future use of the results. therefore, participants had space to ask questions and then voluntarily share their intention to participate by agreeing with the researcher on a convenient date and time to schedule the semi-structured interview. most participants self-identified as male (70%, n = 14) and were between the ages of 29 and 72, with an average age of 52. participants produced various crops, including potatoes, ulluco, barley, and corn, and raised livestock, including goats, sheep, and llamas. each participant was assigned a pseudonym to protect their privacy. to participate in the semi-structured interviews, participants traveled to the huayhuay agricultural and environmental affairs office facilities located at the municipality offices. upon arrival, they were directed to a private room with audio and video equipment and an internet connection. following ortiz’s (2015) privacy recommendations for anonymous human research and to establish trust, only the interviewer (first author) and interviewee were present during the interview. the interviewer addressed cultural and power dynamics implicit in the interview process and incentivized rapport with the interviewers by approaching them with a curious attitude, following the recommendations of mcgrath et al. (2019). with an interview protocol landaverde et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.293 79 of 16 guiding questions, interviews lasted an average of 45 minutes and were conducted in spanish, recorded, and transcribed. the following are examples of two guiding interview questions: are you receiving any type of support to adapt your agricultural production to climate variability? and have you noticed changes in the climate? if so, how have these changes affected your farm? a structural coding scheme based on dfid’s (1999) five capitals of sustainable livelihoods was implemented to analyze the data using nvivo 12. coding followed a hybrid approach, incorporating newly emerged themes into pre-established categories. data were translated during the interpretation of the results by members of the research team who are sociolinguistically competent in spanish and english (squires, 2008). each farmer was given a code name beginning with f and followed by a number 1-20 to anonymously report the findings. trustworthiness and rigor were established in several ways. first, credibility was achieved by triangulating the data using detailed observations and the interviewer’s reflective memos (creswell, 2007). second, transferability was achieved by providing readers with a thick and rich description of the study’s information sources and findings (creswell & creswell, 2018; lincoln & guba, 1985). third, confirmability was achieved through researchers’ self-critical attitude and openness, accounting for their experiences, feelings, and biases in reflective memos (thomas & magilvy, 2011). fourth, reflexivity was achieved through researchers’ self-recognition and written self-reflection. finally, the principal researcher was born and raised in a developing country with similar socioeconomic and environmental conditions to peru. he has previous experience in research and extension with subsistence farmers in low and middle-income countries. his interest in this community is rooted in a collaborative partnership with local authorities. four researchers were fluent in spanish and had previous experience with climate adaptability among agricultural communities in developing countries. finally, one researcher knew participants before the study was conducted and had professional responsibilities addressing their livelihood needs. findings eighteen local-scale factors and dynamics influencing climate adaptability were identified and categorized using the five capitals of sustainable livelihoods (human (n = 3), natural (n = 3), social (n = 4), physical (n = 2), and financial (n = 6)). human local factors and dynamics climate-related knowledge farmers know that their limited knowledge of climate adaptability prevents them from making sound decisions (f3, f5, f13). this was echoed by f16, who said, "you do what you can. i try to keep the animals [llamas] healthy, but i notice that the heat affects them, but i do not know what else to do." failure was the most common result of climate adaptability strategies implemented by farmers because they needed to be more adequate and appropriately landaverde et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.293 80 implemented. f10 commented that he perceived the climate changes and implemented strategies to cope with them but got discouraged when those strategies failed. labor demand climate adaptability strategies require higher agricultural labor investment. farmers are aware of the increment in labor investment they must make to produce under the new climatic scenario (f4, f11, f17). for example, farmers affirmed that practices like irrigation, pest and disease control, and weed demand more time than before, not just because these agricultural treats have become more resistant but because it is harder to perform them with the increase in local temperatures (f4, f9, f14, f19, f20). a common trend among farmers was that they needed help to meet the increasing demand for labor in their agricultural production. f6 commented, “i am old, and the plot demands more work than before. so sometimes, if my son has time, he helps me, and if he doesn’t, i look for someone to work with me for a couple of days.” food consumption patterns local food consumption patterns limited farmers’ climate adaptability. f6 affirmed that customers were looking for more sustainable and environmentally friendly food that is very difficult to produce because of cc. farmers, especially men in charge of agricultural marketing, commented on how changes in consumer preferences interfered with their climate adaptability processes (f6, f14). f1 mentioned, “when i want to sell quinoa, they [customer] ask me if i applied fertilizers…and of course, i had to. otherwise, the production will not survive. when i explain that to them, they do not want to buy it anymore.” household eating patterns followed a similar trend. foods preferred by household members usually do not yield adequately in the field due to the climatic variability of the area. for example, f7 said, “we used to eat oats; everyone liked them, and is nutritious and good for children. however, they do not yield, so it is not worth planting them…the heat really affects the oats plants. so, we are now planting grass.” natural factors and dynamics water water resource availability for domestic and agricultural uses was essential for climate adaptability among participants. farmers expressed concern about available water to maintain their agricultural production effectively (f1, f16, f19). f11 shared, “it is risky for me to start planting because i don’t know how much water will be available… the rain doesn’t fall as often anymore, and everyone risks losing everything invested.” while most farmers relied entirely on rainwater, others used water from the community water system, opening up competition between domestic and agricultural water use. f6 mentioned: we get water daily [from the community supply system]. but that water is for our house... but, if i want to produce, i have to irrigate the crops, so i try to make good use of the water that i get… i always wonder if i’ll have enough water for the next crop season. landaverde et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.293 81 farmers also highlighted that constantly decreasing water availability prevented them from implementing an irrigation system as an adaptation strategy (f1, f4, f17). f1 affirmed that installing an irrigation system was a big investment that did not bring the expected benefits because “ there wasn’t enough water to use it.” local weather patterns the instability of precipitation and temperature made it challenging to implement adaptation strategies such as crop diversification and changes in agricultural production practices (f4, f9, f15). for example, f12 commented, “we changed crops and planting schedules, trying to produce more. however, it doesn’t work because it’s so hot. i keep thinking it will rain, and it doesn’t. so even if i try, it only sometimes works out for me.” local climate variation was described as unpredictable (f3, f17, f20), and farmers acknowledge its influence on climate adaptability strategies' effectiveness. soil fertility faced with infertile soil, farmers chose not to implement climatic adaptability strategies for soil conservation and protection due to their self-perception of inefficiency grounded in previous experiences (f4, f13). other farmers lost interest in other adaptability strategies due to their infertile soil. for example, f20 said, “when i know that i am producing on infertile land, then i don’t worry about investing in irrigation or other products that can help me produce more... if the soil is not good, there is not much to do.” social factors and dynamics knowledge generation although not all farmers were interested in generating knowledge related to cc, all explained how their limited ability to access productive and educational resources was a hindrance (f3, f17). for example, f11 shared, “every year, they give me a different plot. everything i implemented and learned last year no longer served me this year. the soil fertility, water availability, and everything were different because i worked in a different plot." others stated that they decide whether or not to implement an adaptability strategy based on the potential to learn either in practice or from interactions with other farmers (f2, f7, f11). finally, farmers noted difficulties associated with needing to have records of their implemented efforts to compare and contrast the effectiveness of the strategies (f12, f18) and with their inability to identify strategies that responded to the characteristics of their agricultural production (f8). agricultural exchange an informal agricultural exchange system operated among farmers in huayhuay, peru, who acknowledged its beneficial influence on climate adaptability (f7, f16). although most of the transactions only involved agricultural products, some farmers participated in exchanges of non-agricultural goods, labor, and knowledge (f4, f8, f11, f19). for example, f16 mentioned, “we exchanged food with relatives to have a greater variety…my husband also helps them install irrigation systems on their plots; sometimes, they pay him with money, and when it is landaverde et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.293 82 not possible, they pay with something from the harvest.” additionally, farmers claimed to benefit from the exchange of knowledge they maintain with other farmers they perceive as successful in their climate adaptability processes (f2, f7, f11, f16). for example, f13 shared, “i knew very little about mixing crops. but mr. [name] had already done it before. so, i asked him, and he helped me do it, and thank god we have improved our production, even when it does not rain.” farmers association mutual support, access to agricultural products and food, and technical assistance were incentives for farmers’ climate adaptability, and they received these through a local farmers’ association (f16, f17, f5). f4 commented, “i have been able to have access to an agricultural plot as a member of a community association. we meet at least once a month, and, in that meeting, you can always learn from what others are doing.” farmers prioritize the knowledge and supplies they receive from the association, as they perceive them to be of superior quality (f6, f10, f19). migration farmers noted how human migration increased and thus interfered with their ability to cope with cc. f3 shared that her husband emigrated, and she could not continue with the family's agricultural production because the changes she had to make due to climate changes were not feasible to do on her own. in addition, migration was more common among men, causing women to assume more responsibilities in family agricultural production. f16 said, "i help my husband with the fieldwork; i do not think i could do it alone. i admire several women in the community whose husbands leave, and they keep working in the plots. for me, it was impossible.” farmers perceived migration as the nonstop flight of knowledge and the best labor force for agricultural production (f2, f9, f13). physical factors and dynamics land tenure land access and ownership were critical to promoting local climate adaptability. in huayhuay, peru, most of the agricultural land belongs to the municipality. therefore, at the discretion of a farmers’ association, each farmer received a plot for one year, for which they pay a fee and must abide by the association’s regulations. f2 shared, “they assign us a plot each year, and we must do what we can in the space they have assigned us. there is no possibility of making changes or asking for more land. it is what it is.” the annual allocation of agricultural land prevents farmers from implementing cc adaptation strategies. this land governance practice adversely affects farmers’ implementation capacities because they encounter climate variability and constant change in production settings. f11 mentioned, "every year, i am assigned a different plot. so, i must wait to find out where it is to start deciding what and how i will produce it.” f10 supported that trend and said, “i was very lucky two years ago because they gave me a plot with very good soil. so, i combined crops and produced several foods. this last year, the plot was fertile, but there was no water to irrigate.” landaverde et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.293 83 technical assistance farmers have limited access to and a perceived rising need for climate-related technical assistance (f1, f3, f8, f11, f19, f20). besides what they receive through the farmers’ association, they could not identify any other training source. f19 shared, “in other communities, we have seen that they train people on how to improve [agricultural production]; here, we have no support from anyone.” farmers recognized that needing more technical support has obligated them to rely on improvising to adapt to climate variability. farmers expressed their interest and motivation to participate in climate adaptability training to potentially build capacities (f9). financial factors and dynamics agricultural income and investment although farmers were implementing climate adaptability strategies that required economic investment, their agricultural production did not generate enough income to meet household needs or allow for investment (f20, f13, f11). farmers named low productivity, higher prices, and inflation as factors connected to the family income that prevented them from investing in agricultural climate adaptability. f2 commented how in his household, they must prioritize money for essential needs, leaving him with no money to obtain any product or service to improve his agricultural productivity. economic diversification faced with economic deficiencies, farmers had to explore other areas of employment. as a result, many farmers earned income through economic sectors other than agriculture (f3, f14). f7, who has worked in agriculture since childhood, recently began working at a local goldmine due to his increasingly negative farm results and perceived inability to meet household needs. this type of economic diversification has led to reduced farmer interest in agricultural climatic adaptation. participants affirmed that other economic sectors have higher salary or income generation rates and farmers acknowledged reducing the emphasis on productivity when they work outside agriculture (f7, f11). f8 commented: before, my children and i worked together on the plot, but since they wanted to earn more money, they went to try out the mine… they give me money every month, so, no reason for me to keep trying to produce when the weather is not on our side. agricultural credits agricultural credits helped support climate adaptability investments. f3 affirmed that agricultural credits were the only financial mechanism to invest in farming inputs and enhance adaptability practices. however, several community members did not qualify for them. f2 commented, “we tried to get a credit to buy an irrigation system, but they did not give it to us; they said we did not qualify for it.” farmers who mentioned having accessed agricultural credits did so through a financial assistance program implemented by an international aid entity, now defunct it due to long-term sustainability issues. landaverde et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.293 84 agricultural supplies cost farmers reported rising prices for farm inputs, including tools, chemicals, and seeds. the high cost of agricultural inputs reduced farmers’ purchasing power and, consequently, their ability to implement adaptation strategies. in addition, farmers stated that the cost of farm supplies discourages them from engaging in climate resiliency practices, as they cannot guarantee future purchasing power. for example, f5 shared, “every year, i apply more and more fertilizer to have production, and the difficulty is not in the extra work required to do it, but in that the products are more and more expensive.” agricultural product prices farmers identified a trend of increasing variability in the marketing prices of their agricultural production, which prevents them from having a reliable and secure income that meets their financial needs and allows them to invest in climate adaptation practices. according to f2, “[products] change value quickly, i'm producing quinoa, and if i'm not mistaken, it costs 300 soles a quintal, but it goes up or down. so, it’s impossible to maintain a price that ensures i will recover everything i invested.” market quality standards farmers often found it challenging to sell their products due to non-compliance with visual and organoleptic market standards. they face poor physiological development of crops and vegetables due to climate change. f4 said: "the potatoes are so small that i cannot sell them, so we eat them, so they don't go to waste.” f9 shared: “the vegetables were not fully developed; they are super crooked, so no one buys them.” farmers were reluctant to implement adaptability strategies without market acceptance for their products because they did not perceive a reason to improve their production quality (f6, f14). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations peruvian subsistence farmers identified diverse factors and local dynamics influencing their cc adaptation. these findings support literature that has shown how the challenges of adaptability to cc lie in the multitude of interrelationships between factors and dynamics from socioenvironmental and economic conditions (hopkins, 2014; naylor et al., 2020). although each local factor or dynamic identified in the current study was classified within a single capital, the literature indicates that livelihoods are not linear and, therefore, many factors and dynamics have concurrent implications (dfid, 1999). for example, migration is a dynamic of social capital due to the experiences of social change it promotes. however, studies have found an improvement in the rural family economy (e.g., financial capital) resulting from migration (richerson & boyd, 2008; rocca, 2020). while one trend may negatively affect one capital, it could improve another (scoones, 2015). the local factors and dynamics described in this study highlight many implications of adaptability in the connectivity between vulnerability context and livelihood transformation processes. these transformations are aimed at positive livelihood outcomes, such as increased landaverde et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.293 85 food diversity and availability, stable income, and human capacities (dfid, 1999). for example, factors and dynamics related to farmers’ participation in agricultural markets and their buying and selling power will impact income generation. on the other hand, regarding agricultural productivity, the factors and dynamics could favor the reduction of vulnerability and the assurance of nutritious food in households (dfid, 1999). the i-slf suggests a discussion of priority-setting actions to support the adaptation processes of subsistence farmers (dfid, 1999). the current study captured farmers’ perspectives regarding what is relevant to them when adapting their livelihoods to cc, and the findings lead to several important implications for practitioners and policymakers. first, farmers’ perceptions of and experiences with local factors and dynamics relevant to climate adaptability should be at the center of the climate action discussion. practitioners, researchers, and funding agencies must view farmers as protagonists in the climate adaptability debate rather than passive information recipients, especially when planning, implementing, and evaluating initiatives focused on improving agricultural livelihoods (menconi et al., 2017). second, the spaces and mechanisms for farmers’ participation must be created by those in leadership positions that can improve the dynamics associated with climate adaptability (ariti et al., 2018). finally, engaging farmers in local climate action reduces participation gaps among stakeholder groups in climate planning. although the study revealed numerous local-scale factors and dynamics important to subsistence farmers’ climate adaptability in peru, these may not be exhaustive. climate adaptability research has identified an extensive list of influential factors and dynamics, several of which did not emerge in this study. for example, women’s participation, traditional practices, and cultural identities are other local factors and dynamics that influence climate adaptability in communities similar to huayhuay (intergovernmental panel on climate change [ipcc], 2022). although this study supports the recommendations of murtagh and lane (2022) on the importance of promoting people and place-based climate adaptability practices and considering the particularities of the locality and target population, the results revealed local factors and dynamics of high interest among developing countries. thus, although preliminary, these results offer valuable insights for individuals and organizations to set priorities for research and action to strengthen climate adaptability and improve the livelihoods of subsistence farmers in peru and similar communities elsewhere. for example, local and regional governments should consider paying farmers for their productive services, ensuring them a source of income and strengthening their livelihoods. landaverde et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.293 86 acknowledgements we thank the local authorities of huayhuay for their instrumental support in recruiting participants and collecting data. author contributions: r. landaverde conceptualization, methodology, validation, investigation, data curation, analysis, writing-original draft, review & editing; 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(2019). enhancing access and use of climate information through icts. journal of climate change and sustainability, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.20987/jccs.1.03.2019 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 83-manuscript-867-1-11-20201214.docx baker et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 1, issue 3, 2020 agdevresearch.org 1. lauri m. baker, associate professor, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, po box 110126, gainesville, fl 32611, lauri.m.baker@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-6077 2. michaela kandzer, graduate student, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, po box 110126, gainesville, fl 32611, michaelashaw@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7488-4246 3. shelli d. rampold, research coordinator, center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, po box 110126, gainesville, fl 32611, srampold@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4815-7157 4. christy c. chiarelli, assistant extension scientist, university of florida, 121-b bryant hall, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611, ccw@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4839-5932 5. hikaru hanawa peterson, professor, university of minnesota, 1194 buford ave, st. paul, mn 55108, hhp@umn.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5190-0015 6. ashley mcleod-morin, communications coordinator, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, po box 110126, gainesville, fl 32611, ashleynmcleod@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-9783 95 agriculture and natural resources business owners’ economic and communication concerns early in the covid-19 pandemic l. baker1, m. kandzer2, s. rampold3, c. chiarelli4, h. peterson5, a. mcleod-morin6 abstract the purpose of this study was to describe agriculture and natural resource (anr) leader business owners’ initial concerns and feelings about the impacts of the 2019 novel coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic. based on the theories of opinion leadership and bounded rationality, researchers analyzed survey findings to identify and describe anr business owners’ (a) business and economic concerns associated with covid-19, (b) communication concerns associated with covid-19, and (c) any other concerns or impacts experienced due to covid-19. findings indicated that the majority of respondents were concerned about their bottom lines, employees missing work, and their abilities to provide employees a safe workplace. additionally, respondents were concerned about the impact of covid-19 on the u.s. economy. regarding communication concerns, respondents were concerned about others sharing inaccurate covid-19 information. when asked about additional concerns related to covid-19, many respondents noted their concerns about economic impacts, personal and business finances, and canceled events causing them to become unable to interact with customers. overall, the biggest concerns were related to economic impacts and misinformation. recommendations for future research are to continue to assess this population as the pandemic continues, and again when the health crisis ends to understand the recovery process for anr leader business owners. keywords bounded rationality, opinion leadership, survey baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 96 introduction and problem statement the 2019 novel coronavirus (covid-19) emerged in late 2019 as an infectious disease caused by a novel strand of the coronavirus (world health organization [who], 2020). covid-19 was first announced by who on january 9, 2020 (the american journal of managed care staff [amjc], 2020). the united states (us) had its first confirmed case on january 21, 2020 and declared a national emergency in early march. by march 20, 2020, many states had enacted stay-at-home orders, which shut down businesses, economies, and made nearly 10 million americans jobless (taylor, 2020). by may 28, 2020, the us had surpassed a total of 100,000 covid-19 related deaths. the impacts of covid-19 were significant across the agricultural industry (duvall, 2020). while the demand for farm labor remained unchanged, the availability of skilled workers was reduced due to factors such as school closures and childcare needs, sick workers, and uncertainty surrounding the h-2a migrant worker program (beatty et al., 2020). process changes also occurred as drastic declines in restaurant dining required farmers to redirect products from restaurants to retailers or market directly to consumers. communication issues surrounding lack of effective broadband among prominent farm communities in rural areas were also exacerbated as people relied on the internet for economic opportunities, informational updates, and telehealth (nelson, 2020). state-level agriculture and natural resources (anr) leadership programs were established to increase rural leadership (miller, 1976). today there are 42 state anr leadership programs that seek to help leaders gain new perspectives on local, regional, and global issues (waldrum, n.d.). the present study is focused on the felt concerns of anr business owner leaders during the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic to help identify how to support these leaders throughout and following the era of covid-19. theoretical and conceptual framework in an effort to understand the economic impacts of covid-19 on the anr industry early in the pandemic, two theoretical frameworks guided this study: opinion leadership and bounded rationality. together, these frameworks offer insight into anr leaders’ perceptions and opinions on the economic impacts of covid-19. lazarsfeld et al. (1948) first named opinion leaders in 1948. over time, other scholars have added to the original framework of opinion leaders to define opinion leaders as those who are (a) more involved in activities relating to their specialty area; (b) more informed about innovations because of more media exposure related to their specialty area; (c) having similar demographics as non-leaders with the exception of a higher socio-economic status (corey, 1971; rogers, 2003); and (d) more active in speaking, volunteering, and engaging in events and discussions within their community (weimann, 1994). opinion leaders can be identified through a variety of ways, including selfidentification, staff selection, or the position they hold in their organization (valente & pumpuang, 2007). within anr, alumni of anr leadership development programs are baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 97 considered opinion leaders within their communities and can forecast trends for their communities (chiarelli et al., 2009; lamm et al., 2014; lamm & lamm, 2019). the theory of bounded rationality (simon, 1957) accounted for an individual’s cognitive limitations, information imperfection, and time constraints in the decision-making process, departing from the idea that humans are generally rational (simon, 1997). cognitive limitations refer to the mental limits of humans to process the infinite amount of information available (gigerenzer & selton, 2001), but opinion leaders can serve as those who read and interpret multiple media for people around them (corey, 1971; rogers, 2003). information imperfection occurs whenever an individual is unable to possess, recall, and understand all available information. time constraints occur whenever individuals must operate within a specified deadline to make a decision (gigerenzer & selton, 2001). in addition to his idea of bounded rationality, simon (1957; 1977) coined the term satisficing. satisficing is the strategy of weighing all available options of choice until an option is chosen that either meets or exceeds a predetermined threshold of satisfaction (gigerenzer & selton, 2001; wheeler, 2020). satisficing can occur during a time of crisis when a decision is needed quickly and is a result of bounded rationality. purpose the purpose of this study was to describe concerns and perceived impacts of the covid-19 pandemic at its onset among business-owning anr leaders. the lens of opinion leadership helped define the population of interest for the study purpose. the theory of bounded rationality guided the development of the purpose and shaped the study objectives for a focus on understanding the economic impacts and communication concerns that may have bound anr business owners’ decision making during the early stage of the covid-19 pandemic. three objectives specific to anr leader business owners guided this study: 1. describe business and economic concerns associated with covid-19. 2. describe communication concerns associated with covid-19. 3. identify other concerns and impacts of covid-19. methods data were collected from march 16 to april 21, 2020 using an online survey distributed via listserv by program directors for anr leadership programs. the international association of programs for agricultural leadership (iapal) served as the initial recruitment organization. leadership program directors who agreed to participate sent an initial announcement of the upcoming study, an invitation to participate that included informed consent and the link to the online survey, and three follow-up reminder emails. the lack of direct contact between researchers and the population of this study may have posed limitations to the effectiveness of the data collection efforts. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 98 sample and target population the targeted population for this study was active listserv members of u.s. anr leadership programs who were business owners. eight of the 40 u.s. leadership programs agreed to participate, including arizona project centrl, lead delaware, california agricultural leadership foundation, wedgworth leadership institute, leadership idaho agriculture, indiana agricultural leadership program, lead new york, and palmetto leadership for the environment, agriculture and forestry (leaf). from 3,172 individuals contacted, 225 useable responses were obtained for a 14.9% response rate. the focus of this paper is on a subsample of the anr leaders who identified as business owners (n = 125). instrument an original, researcher-designed questionnaire served as the instrument. it was reviewed for face and content validity by a panel that consisted of the director, faculty, and staff members at the university of florida one health center of excellence who have expertise in research pertaining to infectious diseases and public health initiatives and by faculty in agricultural economics at two large land-grant universities. the instrument was reviewed by the panel for content accuracy, clarity of wording, readability, and survey flow (colton & covert, 2007). three sections of the questionnaire were used to meet the objectives of this study: (a) business and economic concerns; (b) communication concerns; and (c) other concerns and impacts. to assess objectives one and two, respondents were first asked to indicate if they had specific concerns related to covid-19 impacts on economic and communication concerns (1 = yes; 2 = no). respondents who reported having concern for an item were then asked to indicate how concerned they were about this item on a 5-point ordinal scale from 1 = only slightly concerned to 5 = extremely concerned. to assess objective three, an open-ended question was asked: what other concerns and impacts have you experienced from covid-19? data analysis for objectives one and two, data were analyzed using the spss26 software package. analyses consisted of descriptive statistics (e.g., means, standard deviations, frequencies, and percentages). to address objective three, open-ended responses of other concerns and impacts of covid-19 experienced by anr business owners were collected. data were analyzed using glaser’s constant comparative method (glaser, 1965) to identify emerging themes. the researchers then grouped emerging themes according to the frequency of response. findings respondents were primarily white (f = 110, 88.0%), male (f = 77, 61.6%), and ranged from 25 to 74 years old. more respondents fell within the income ranges of $75,000 to $149,999 (f = 42, 33.6%) and $150,000 to $249,999 (f = 30, 24.0%) than any other bracket, and most respondents held a 4-year college degree or higher level of education (f = 106, 84.8%). further, respondents represented 10 states, 8 leadership organizations, and more than 14 sectors of the anr industry (see table 1). baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 99 table 1 demographic characteristics of respondents (n = 125) variable f % sex male 77 61.6 female 48 38.4 age category a 20 to 29 9 7.2 30 to 39 30 24.0 40 to 49 27 21.6 50 to 59 26 20.8 60 to 69 27 21.6 70 to 79 4 3.2 race b white 110 88.0 asian or pacific islander 1 0.8 hispanic 6 4.8 other 5 4.0 income c $24,999 or less 1 0.8 $25,000 to $49,999 5 4.0 $50,000 to $74,999 19 15.2 $75,000 to $149,999 42 33.6 $150,000 to $249,999 30 24.0 $250,000 or more 23 18.4 education d high school graduate (includes ged) or less than 12th grade 0 0.0 some college, no degree 9 7.2 2-year college degree (associates, technical, etc.) 9 7.2 4-year college degree (bachelor’s, etc.) 74 59.2 graduate or professional degree 32 25.6 leadership organization affiliation arizona project centrl, the center for rural leadership 4 3.2 california agricultural leadership foundation 19 15.2 lead delaware 5 4.0 wedgworth leadership institute 35 28.0 leadership idaho agriculture 6 4.8 indiana agricultural leadership program 1 0.8 lead new york 50 40.0 palmetto leadership for the environment, agriculture and forestry (leaf) 6 4.8 current state of residence baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 100 arizona 6 4.8 california 19 15.2 delaware 5 4.0 florida 32 25.6 idaho 6 4.8 indiana 1 0.8 montana 1 0.8 new york 50 40.0 north carolina 1 0.8 south carolina 4 3.2 type of residence a farm in a rural area 60 48.0 rural area, not a farm 29 23.2 subdivision in a town or city 13 10.4 urban or suburban area outside of the city limits 19 15.2 downtown area in a city or town 4 3.2 industry sector agricultural communication (e.g., writing, public relations, etc.) 5 4.0 agricultural direct-to-consumer sales 7 5.6 agricultural finance 2 1.6 agricultural processors (e.g., citrus processing, milling, etc.) 6 4.8 agricultural services (e.g., irrigation, insurance, etc.) 11 8.8 animal agriculture 23 18.4 forestry production (e.g., timber production) 4 3.2 fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop production 27 21.6 landscape 2 1.6 membership-based industries/services (e.g., farm bureau, grower associations, etc.) 6 4.8 nursery growers 7 5.6 public and/or government agency 3 2.4 row crop production 13 10.4 other 9 7.2 industry sector 5 4.0 agricultural communication (e.g., writing, public relations, etc.) 7 5.6 agricultural direct-to-consumer sales 2 1.6 agricultural finance 6 4.8 agricultural processors (e.g., citrus processing, milling, etc.) 11 8.8 agricultural services (e.g., irrigation, insurance, etc.) 23 18.4 animal agriculture 4 3.2 forestry production (e.g., timber production) 27 21.6 fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop production 2 1.6 landscape 6 4.8 number of employees e none 8 6.4 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 101 less than 10 44 35.2 10 to 19 16 12.8 20 to 49 22 17.6 50 to 99 10 8.0 100 to 249 10 8..0 250 to 499 9 7.2 500 to 999 1 0.8 1,000 or more 1 0.8 a responses missing from 2 participants b responses missing from 3 participants c responses missing from 5 participants d responses missing from 1 participant e responses missing from 4 participants objective one: business and economic concerns regarding businessand economic-related concerns associated with covid-19, the majority of respondents were concerned about the impacts of covid-19 on their bottom line (f = 113, 90.4%), about employees missing work (f = 84, 67.2%), and their ability to provide a safe workplace for employees (f = 72, 56.6%; see table 2). table 2 anr leader business owners’ business concerns associated with covid-19 concern yes sd no f % f % i am concerned about the impacts of covid-19 on my bottom line. 113 90.4 12 9.6 i am concerned about my employees missing work because of covid-19. 84 67.2 41 32.8 i am concerned about my ability to provide a safe workplace for my employees because of covid-19. 72 57.6 53 42.4 i am concerned about my ability to provide a safe environment for my customers/clients because of covid-19. 62 49.6 63 50.4 i am concerned about the impacts of covid-19 on people’s willingness to travel to visit my business or natural resource location. 54 43.2 71 56.8 respondents who indicated concern about an item were then asked to rate how concerned they were about that item on a 5-point scale. table 3 lists the items in the order of average scores (m) in a descending order. respondents were relatively more concerned about impacts of covid-19 on their bottom line (m = 4.38, sd = .78) and their ability to provide a safe workplace for their employees (m = 4.27, sd = .79) than other business-related items. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 102 table 3 degree of concern for business-related items business concern item m sd n i am concerned about the impacts of covid-19 on my bottom line. 4.38 .78 113 i am concerned about my ability to provide a safe workplace for my employees because of covid-19. 4.27 .79 72 i am concerned about impacts of covid-19 on people’s willingness to travel to visit my business or natural resource location. 4.11 .88 54 i am concerned about my ability to provide a safe environment for my customers/clients because of covid-19. 4.08 .87 62 i am concerned about my employees missing work because of covid-19. 4.04 .98 83 the majority of anr leader business owners were concerned about all economic-related concern items, with the most expressing concerns for the impact of covid-19 on the u.s. economy (f = 123, 98.4%) and the fewest for increased cost of food due to covid-19 (f = 58, 46.4%; see table 4). table 4 anr leader business owners’ economic concerns economic concern item yes sd no f % f % i am concerned about the impact of covid-19 on the u.s. economy 123 98.4 2 1.6 i am concerned about the impact of covid-19 on my state’s economy. 122 97.6 3 2.4 i am concerned about the impact of covid-19 on the global economy. 119 95.2 6 4.8 i am concerned about potential labor shortages in agriculture and natural resources sectors due to covid19. 112 89.6 13 10.4 i am concerned about the financial impact of covid-19 on me personally. 107 85.6 18 14.4 i am concerned about an increased cost of food because of covid-19. 58 46.4 67 53.6 table 5 summarizes the follow-up ranking of concerns, which mirrored the number of respondents indicating these as concerns. compared to the other economic-related items, respondents indicated the most concern for the impacts of covid-19 on the u.s. economy (m = baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 103 4.62, sd = .68) and the lowest degree of concern for the increased cost of food (m = 3.86, sd = 1.03; see table 5). table 5 degree of concern for economy-related items item m sd n i am concerned about the impact of covid-19 on the u.s. economy 4.62 .68 123 i am concerned about the impact of covid-19 on my state’s economy. 4.42 .73 121 i am concerned about potential labor shortages in agriculture and natural resources sectors due to covid19. 4.41 .78 112 i am concerned about the impact of covid-19 on the global economy. 4.33 .81 119 i am concerned about the financial impact of covid-19 on me personally. 4.14 .98 107 i am concerned about an increased cost of food because of covid-19. 3.86 1.03 58 objective two: communication concerns the majority of business owner anr leaders were concerned with all communication items (see table 6) with the largest number being concerned about members of the public sharing inaccurate information about covid-19 (f = 108, 86.4%) and the smallest number being concerned about not personally getting accurate information related to covid-19 (f = 70, 56%). table 6 anr leader business owners’ communication concerns associated with covid-19 communication concern item yes sd no f % f % i am concerned members of the public are sharing inaccurate information about covid-19. 108 86.4 17 13.6 i am concerned media and news outlets are sharing inaccurate information about covid-19. 99 79.2 26 20.8 i am concerned members of the general public are not getting accurate information about covid-19. 98 78.4 27 21.6 i am concerned agricultural/farm laborers are not getting accurate information about covid-19. 82 65.6 43 34.4 i am concerned my loved ones are not getting accurate information about covid-19. 76 60.8 49 39.2 i am concerned i am not getting accurate information about covid-19. 70 56.0 55 44.0 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 104 similar to the economic-related concerns, the rankings of communication concerns mirrored the number of respondents expressing them (see table 7). anr leader business owners indicated the most concern for members of the public sharing inaccurate information related to covid-19 (m = 4.06, sd = 1.00) and the lowest degree of concern for not getting accurate information themselves (m = 3.73, sd = 1.20). table 7 degree of concern for communication-related items item m sd n i am concerned members of the public are sharing inaccurate information about covid-19. 4.06 1.00 108 i am concerned members of the general public are not getting accurate information about covid-19. 4.01 0.96 98 i am concerned media and news outlets are sharing inaccurate information about covid-19. 3.93 1.08 99 i am concerned agricultural/farm laborers are not getting accurate information about covid-19. 3.88 1.36 82 i am concerned my loved ones are not getting accurate information about covid-19. 3.82 1.12 76 i am concerned i am not getting accurate information about covid-19. 3.73 1.20 70 objective 3: other concerns and impacts experienced by anr business owners respondents were asked to answer an open-ended question asking what other concerns and impacts of covid-19 they had experienced as anr business owners (f = 119). responses to this question were analyzed to identify key emerging themes (see table 8). the top four themes that emerged were a form of concern for economic impact with the top being economic impact (f = 42) followed by concern for personal and business finances (f = 19), concerns for cancelled events and being unable to interact with customers (f = 13), concerns for shutdowns and being unable to move products (f = 11), and concerns for not having access to workers and employees (f = 11). economic impact was defined as general concern for economics. this could be general statements made by respondents that related directly to the economy, pricing, supply, and demand, or loosely related to finances. concern for personal/business finances was directly related to finances and being unable to make ends meet. shutdowns/unable to move product was specifically related to being unable to conduct business due to forced shutdowns related to covid-19, which was particularly relevant at the time of data collection as this was when people were starting to quarantine, and non-essential businesses were not allowed to operate in some states. some of the least frequently occurring themes were concern for working remotely (f = 1), work related travel (f = 1), and personal sanity (f = 1). full results are in table 8. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 105 table 8 other concerns and impacts of covid-19 experienced by anr business owners (f = 119) response category examples of answers f (%) economic impact businesses have to close, financial impact, long term economic impact, commodity prices, economic health, consumer confidence, decrease in demand, unable to engage in commerce, economic recovery, marker erosion, supply chain disruptions, trade restrictions, long term impacts, small business impact, local economy impacts 42 (35.3) concern for person/business finances maintaining admin functions, cattle and dairy market decline, customers unable to purchase products, fewer transactions than normal, financial instability, loss of income, effect to bottom line, lack of demand for products 19 (16.0) canceled events/unable to interact with customers canceled professional development events, unable to interact with stakeholders, reliance on face to face relationships, expenses associated with canceled events, customers not coming to business 13 (11.0) shutdowns/unable to move products milk processing plants shutdown, products not reaching market, forestry work being shutdown, resource availability 11 (9.2) worker/employee availability availability of harvest personnel, ability to get h2a workers, employees unable to work when sick 11 (9.2) health and safety of workforce not enough cleaning/protection materials available, customers not cooperating and causing unsafe workplace, employee’s financial situations, employee stress level, employees feeling scared 10 (8.4) concern for others senior students missing out on graduation, older family members, people not taking it seriously, people utilizing domestic food supply, phycological effect on children, children not being able to go to school, people without insurance, overall health and wellbeing of farmers 10 (8.4) shortages shortages in grocery stores, overall food shortages, shortages of household items 2 (1.7) baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 106 response category examples of answers f (%) health insurance increased price of health insurance, no access to health insurance 2 (1.7) improper actions politically nonessential workers need to be compensated, inaccurate information 2 (1.7) policy responses policy is switching its focus from agriculture, policy is flourishing 2 (1.7) working remotely working remotely, ability to keep projects going 1 (0.8) traveling for job patronage to hotels and restaurants due to forced work travel 1 (0.8) personal sanity my sanity 1 (0.8) conclusions, discussion, and recommendations anr leader business owners who participated in this study expressed high levels of concern about covid-19 impacts related to business, economics, and information and communication. the greatest business-related concern felt by respondents was the impacts of covid-19 on their business bottom line. they were less concerned about things within their control, e.g., providing a safe workplace and safe environment for customers. the primary economic-related concerns were those beyond anr leader business owners’ own operation. respondents were more concerned about the impacts of covid-19 on the state, national, and global economies than their personal financial situations. labor shortages and increased food costs were also of concern among respondents, but to a relatively lower degree than other economic-related items. regarding communication-related issues, respondents were comparatively most concerned about the public sharing inaccurate information. they were least concerned about personally getting inaccurate information, which may be due to the tendency for opinion leaders to be informed persons who serve as interpreters of information around them (corey, 1971; rogers, 2003; weimann, 1994). however, it should be noted that more than half of respondents indicated being concerned they are not receiving accurate information. the results of the present work indicate anr leader business owners may indeed be bound by available information when making business decisions in the early stages of the pandemic. when this study was conducted, march 16 to april 21, 2020, much was still unknown about covid-19, and information was changing daily. such an environment made the theory of bounded rationality especially applicable to this research at the time when this study was conducted, especially considering the new and unique challenges anr business owners faced when making decisions during uncertain times (gigerenzer & selton, 2001). while these business owners have had more time to assess how their decisions at the onset of the pandemic have fared (gigerenzer & selton, 2001; wheeler, 2020), larger picture concerns are baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 107 expected to remain prevalent until a clear medical breakthrough is announced. more specific concerns, such as employees missing work because of covid-19, have likely fluctuated in accordance with the rate of new cases in the communities. it is recommended that this study be conducted later in the pandemic. additionally, future research should be conducted to understand the recovery process for anr leader business owners when the covid-19 health crisis has passed. programming recommendations anr leadership programs should include programming based on factors seemingly outside of opinion leaders’ control. one recommendation is to continue providing or begin providing programming related to the development of a crisis communication plan. even though this study focused on a fairly short time frame, an initial disruption to business activities had changed the economic landscape for many business owners. this type of significant disruption to business activities is a reminder of the value of having a crisis communication plan in place prior to a business disruption or other crisis. anr leadership programs should ensure each participant, especially business owners, are adept at crisis planning. while programs may be limited in their curriculum offerings due to program time constraints, if participants lose their businesses due to an inability to manage a crisis, then the remainder of the leadership skills they learn are less meaningful. through equipping business owners with crisis communication plans, concerns related to securing supply chain issues, ensuring consumer confidence, and planning for economic impacts may be mitigated. further, considering the critical role of opinion leaders in implementing community-based health efforts (valente et al., 2007), developing train-the-trainer programs for anr leader business owners may be beneficial in equipping other business owners in the anr sector with the information and skills needed to mitigate the impacts of covid-19. anr leadership programs should be overt in teaching program participants about their influence as opinion leaders. anr business leaders’ highest levels of communication-related concerns involved members of the public not sharing or receiving accurate information. according to opinion leadership theory, anr business leaders are important links in the information channel distribution chain and can serve as an effective vehicle for communication between their surrounding communities and anr leadership agencies (valente et al., 2007). agricultural leadership programs could also act as a hub of reliable information during widespread crisis by connecting information from various agricultural opinion leaders into one online repository. as individual industries receive information from unique sources, having a hub of cross-industry information would be a value-added resource for participants and alumni of leadership programs. limitations it should be noted that this study is limited to one point in time, march 16 to april 21, 2020. it is also limited by a low response rate, likely due to the population dealing with the impacts of covid-19 during the data collection period. a large majority of responses came from three out baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 108 of 40 u.s. state anr leadership programs. the sampling method was also limited by a lack of direct access to the population by study researchers. acknowledgements this work was supported by the uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources (pie center), https://piecenter.com. references beatty, t., hill, a., martin, p. l., & rutledge, z. (2020). covid-19 and farm workers: challenges facing california agriculture. are update, 23(5), 2–4. https://s.giannini.ucop.edu/uploads/giannini_public/91/cc/91cc19a8-21b2-45bf-a7d2f4e17e8009c4/v23n5.pdf center for disease control and prevention. (2020). what you should know about covid-19 to protect yourself and others. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/preventgetting-sick/prevention.html chiarelli, c., stedman, n., carter, h., & telg, r. (2010). the impact of organizational source and credibility and the factors that contribute to opinion leaders' decisions to diffuse information. journal of southern agricultural education research, 60(1), 104type equation here.117. http://jsaer.org/pdf/vol60whole.pdf#page=107 colton, d., & covert, r. (2007). designing and constructing instruments for social research and evaluation. jossey-bass. corey, l. g. (1971). people who claim to be opinion leaders: identifying their characteristics by self-report. journal of marketing, 35(4), 48–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224297103500409 duvall, z. (2020). impact of covid-19 on agriculture: lessons from covid-19. american farm bureau federation. https://www.fb.org/viewpoints/lessons-from-covid-19 gigerenzer, g., & selton, r. (2001). bounded rationality: the adaptive toolbox. mit press. glaser, b. (1965). the constant comparative method of qualitative analysis. social problems, 12(4), 436–445. https://doi.org/10.2307/798843 lamm, k. w., & lamm, a. j. (2019). a multi-level evaluation of the relationship between leadership program satisfaction, opinion leadership, and intent to participate in an alumni program. journal of leadership education, 18(4), 40–46. https://doi.org/10.12806/v18/i4/r4 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 109 lamm, k. w., lamm, a. j., & carter, h. s. (2012). opinion leadership development: context and audience characteristics count. journal of agricultural education, 55(2), 91–105. https://https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2014.02091 lazarsfeld, p., berelson, b., & gaudet, h. (1948). the people's choice (2nd ed.). columbia university press. miller, h. l. (1976). the kellogg farmers’ study program: an experience in rural leadership development. the w. k. kellogg foundation. https://www.canr.msu.edu/afre/uploads/files/hepp_/kellogg_farmers_study_program _final_report_1976_v2.pdf nelson, m. (2020). keeping rural communities connected while socially distanced. american farm bureau federation. https://www.fb.org/market-intel/keeping-rural-communitiesconnected-while-socially-distanced rogers, e. m. (2003). diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). free press. simon, h. a. (1957). models of man: social and rational. john wiley & sons, inc. simon, h. a. (1997). models of bounded rationality: empirically grounded economic reason (3rd ed.). mit press. taylor, d. b. (2020). how the coronavirus pandemic unfolded: a timeline. new york times. https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-timeline.html the american journal of managed care staff. (2020, july 3). a timeline of covid-19 developments in 2020. the american journal of managed care. https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid19-developments-in-2020 valente, t. w., & pumpuang, p. (2007). identifying opinion leaders to promote behavior change. health education & behavior, 34(6), 881-896. http://doi.org/10.1177/1090198106297855 waldrum, j. (n.d.). iapal directory. karl legendary rural leaders. retrieved september 8, 2020, from http://karlprogram.com/about-us/iapal-directory/ weimann, g. (1994). the influentials: people who influence people. state university of new york press. wheeler, g. (2020). bounded rationality. in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (spring 2020 edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/boundedrationality/ baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i3.83 110 world health organization. (2020). coronavirus. https://www.who.int/healthtopics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1 © 2020 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 191-report+of+the+journal+2022.docx roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 1, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. grady roberts, university of florida, 220 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611 groberts@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-7850 2. amy harder, university of florida 117b bryant hall, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611, amharder@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-2028 3. jimmy lindner, auburn university, 5058 haley center, auburn, al 36849, jrl0039@auburn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-3846 state of the journal report g. roberts1, editor-in-chief; a. harder2, senior editor; j. lindner3, senior editor advancements in agricultural development (aad) was started to address a need for a scholarly journal focused on the practical outcomes of research in agricultural development research. we have just concluded our second year of operation at aad and want to share some reflections on the past and goals for the future. we wish to thank the authors and reviewers who have contributed to aad over this time (see the reviewer list at the end of this report). we also wish to acknowledge and thank the department of curriculum and teaching at auburn university for their financial support of aad. we also wish to thank our editorial assistants (katrina alford, olivia caillouet, andy chaparro, & alexandria mcleod) who work behind the scenes to make things run smoothly. articles and authorship issues in agriculture are often time-sensitive, so we sought from the beginning of aad to develop a timely review/publication process to allow quicker dissemination of research. the number of published articles in aad has slightly increased while the number of submissions is increasing (see table 1). we anticipate a 25% increase in the number of published articles in 2022. consequently, we will be adding a fourth issue beginning in volume 3. we have also recently recruited dr. robert strong from texas a&m university as an editor to assist with the review process, who brings prior experience as the executive editor of the journal of international agricultural and extension education to the aad team. the breadth of contributing authors to aad continues to expand. for volumes 1 and 2 (50 articles), there were 135 unique authors from 33 universities and 5 countries. table 1 published articles in aad volume (year) issue number of articles published 1 (2020) 1 8 2 7 3 8 2 (2021) 1 8 2 10 3 9 roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.191 2 consumption and usage the number of people consuming research published in aad is expanding. the number of views for articles has been trending upwards (see figure 1). the number of citations for articles in aad is also increasing. the cited by and plum x analytics features we installed on our web platform allow authors see how their research is being used. to further expand how research published in aad is disseminated, we have launched facebook (@agdevresearch) and twitter (@agdevresearch) accounts to announce newly published research and to highlight previous research published in aad. figure 1 article views in aad metadata and indexing we are continually working to make research in aad more discoverable by the larger scientific community. we submit the complete metadata to crossref, which includes the full abstract, references, and funding information for each article. including the references means that articles published in aad are linked with the articles they cited and will show up in the cited by sections on other publisher’s pages. indexing is an important part of making research in aad even more discoverable. aad is currently indexed in the directory of open access journals (doaj), google scholar, road, and ulrichs. our goal is to be indexed in scopus and the web of science, both of which require a documented history of the impacts of the journal. we proactively taking steps to position aad for inclusion in these prestigious indices to increase visibility of research published in aad. roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.191 3 looking ahead the editorial team at aad continually works to meet the needs of researchers in our field. as we look into 2022 and beyond, our goals are to: 1. continually refine our editorial process to meet researcher needs; 2. attract research from the global agricultural development community; 3. add features to our web-platform to enhance the author and reader experience; and 4. position aad for inclusion in scopus and the web of science. 2020 and 2021 reviewers david agole, kyambogo university, uganda lauri baker, university of florida, usa matt baker, texas a&m university, usa anna ball, university of illinois, usa mark balschweid, university of nebraska-lincoln, usa debra barry, university of florida, usa matt benge, university of florida, usa amanda bowling, the ohio state university, usa gary briers, texas a&m university, usa amy brown, university of florida, usa james bunch, university of florida, usa chris clemons, auburn university, usa nathan conner, university of nebraska-lincoln, usa marina d'abreau denny, mississippi state university, usa john diaz, university of florida, usa david doerfert, texas tech university, usa kim dooley, texas a&m university, usa christopher eck, clemson university, usa craig edwards, oklahoma state university, usa nick fuhrman, university of georgia, usa raphael gikunda, chuka university, kenya erin gorter, california polytechnic state university, usa carla jagger, university of florida, usa jay jayaratne, north carolina state university, usa donald johnson, university of arkansas, usa kathleen kelsey, university of florida, usa james kinsella, university college dublin, ireland neil knobloch, purdue university, usa vikram koundinya, university of california, davis, usa alexa lamm, university of georgia, usa angela lindsey, university of florida, usa jamie loizzo, university of florida, usa juma magogo, texas tech university, usa adam marx, north dakota state university robert mckendree, michigan state university jason mckibben, auburn university, usa aaron mckim, michigan state university, usa ashley mcleod-morin, university of florida, usa brian myers, university of florida, usa lendel narine, utah state university, usa jera niewoehner-green, the ohio state university, usa jason peake, university of georgia, usa absalon pierre, university of florida, usa shelli rampold, university of florida, usa matt raven, michigan state university, usa bryan reiling, university of nebraska-lincoln, usa richie roberts, louisiana state university, usa mary rodriguez, the ohio state university, usa taylor ruth, university of nebraska-lincoln, usa scott scheer, the ohio state university, usa tyson j. sorensen, utah state university, usa matthew sowcik, university of florida, usa stacey stearns, university of connecticut, usa nicole stedman, university of florida, usa carrie stephens, the university of tennessee, usa christopher stripling, the university of tennessee, usa jennifer strong, texas a&m university, usa ricky telg, university of florida, usa © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 241-final.docx king et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 4, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. audrey e. h. king, assistant professor, oklahoma state university, 439 ag hall, stillwater, ok 74078, audrey.king@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6150-0223 2. j. shane robinson, professor, oklahoma state university, 100 itle, stillwater, ok 74078, shane.robinson@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9506-5752 3. tyson e. ochsner, professor, oklahoma state university, 368 ag hall, stillwater, ok 74078, tyson.ochsner@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0875-4491 4. paul weckler, professor, oklahoma state university, 111 ag hall, stillwater, ok 74078, paul.weckler@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0676-2925 5. mark woodring, assistant dean, oklahoma state university, center for rural health, tulsa, ok 74107, mark.woodring@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0195-4231 17 residents’ perceptions of the need and potential for rural renewal in two farming-dependent counties a. e. h. king1, j. s. robinson2, t. e. ochsner3, p. weckler4, m. woodring5 abstract many rural counties in the u.s. are struggling, particularly farming-dependent counties experiencing persistent poverty. this rapid rural appraisal study focused on two farming-dependent counties in rural oklahoma experiencing persistent poverty, population declines, and related stressors. in a series of open forums, rural community members most frequently referenced built capital (i.e., infrastructure) as the major reason that prevented the growth of new businesses and suppressed pride in the community. in comparison, community members expressed their greatest accomplishments and sources of hope which involved human capital, in the way of the school systems, teachers, and students, and social capital, in the way of their athletic teams, churches, and relationships with each other. although these counties rely heavily on agriculture as a major contributor to their economy, residents expressed challenges and concerns related to high concentrations of nitrate in the drinking water and seasonal air pollution related to agricultural processing facilities. recommendations include encouraging residents in these two counties to rally together around their perceived strengths—human and social capital—to actively solve the problems identified during the open forums. keywords community capitals framework, community development, sustainable livelihoods king et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.241 18 introduction and problem statement numerous rural communities are threatened by declines in their built, human, and natural capital (crowe, 2006; renkow, 2003). rural residents around the world face major challenges in maintaining and developing infrastructure systems, mitigating poverty, and slowing the outward migration of its population in a pursuit to sustain local quality of life (rodríguez-pose & hardy, 2015). in oklahoma, nearly one-third of its residents live in rural, non-metro, areas (usda ers, 2021) with populations less than 2,500 (u.s. census, 2016); 19 of its counties are farming-dependent, indicating that farming accounted for at least 25% of the county’s earnings, or 16% of its employment (united states department of agriculture, economic resource service, 2017). when canvasing the >3,000 counties and county-equivalents in the u.s., only 38 are categorized by the usda ers (2017) as having low levels of education, low employment, sustained population loss, persistent poverty, and persistent child poverty. two of those counties are the focus of this study. research has noted that farming communities frequently experience low population density, accessibility, and economic resources (argent, 2020). even in farming-dependent communities, many rural farming families require at least one member to earn income outside of the farm (beach & kulcsár, 2015). as such, population growth has been slow in farming-dependent counties across the u.s., with many such counties in the great plains region experiencing pronounced population declines (johnson, 2012). although numerous challenges are present, rural communities also have an abundance of assets. people in rural counties need to work together to identify and resolve community needs and shortcomings (rivera & alex, 2007). to do so, residents should “align their diverse attitudes, motivations and values into a shared knowledge pool and collective or concerted action” (tisenkopfs et al., 2015, p. 15) so they might realize greater community outputs (bertin et al., 2014). theoretical and conceptual framework our study was underpinned by the sustainable livelihoods approach of the institute for development studies (chambers & conway, 1992; scoones, 1998), which considers five capitals—natural, built, human, social, and financial—an emphasis of the rural renewal initiative (rri) at oklahoma state university. that list was expanded for this study by also considering cultural and political capitals, following the community capitals framework of emery’s and flora’s (2006) model (see figure 1). the rural renewal through sustainable livelihoods and community capitals (rr-slcc) framework allows researchers to assess a community’s assets and evaluate its current situation (gutierrez-montes et al., 2009) through action-based research (pigg et al., 2013) by analyzing its “efforts from a systems perspective by identifying assets in each capital . . . the interaction among capitals, and the resulting impacts across capitals” (emery & flora, 2006, p. 20). king et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.241 19 figure 1 increasing rural renewal through sustainable livelihoods and community capitals (rr-slcc) framework rural communities are vulnerable to both long-term trends (i.e., population decline, drought, and poverty) and immediate shocks (i.e., loss of industry, severe weather, and funding cuts). these vulnerabilities can impact one or more community capitals. when these community capitals are impacted, they can directly influence, and are influenced by, institutions, policies, and processes, which can cause or contribute to additional vulnerabilities facing rural communities. all these components and interactions can affect livelihood strategies and outcomes, which ultimately impacts a community’s various capitals (see figure 1). king et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.241 20 purpose the purpose of the study was twofold: (a) explore residents’ perceptions of their rural communities, and (b) apply these findings to the rr-slcc framework. the research question guiding the study was: how do rural residents perceive the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats affecting their communities? methods two farming-dependent counties in oklahoma were selected as the focus communities for this study because they were categorized as having prolonged population decline, low education, low employment, and persistent poverty and childhood poverty (united states department of agriculture, economic resource service [usda ers], 2017). further, these two counties rank at the bottom in oklahoma in economic indicators, specifically people in poverty (24% and 20%, respectively) and children in poverty (35% and 30%, respectively; usda ers, 2021). clearly, these two counties exhibit a need for development and renewal. we conducted a rapid rural appraisal (rra) (chambers, 1981) of residents living in two target communities. an rra is a “systematic but semi-structured activity out in the field by a multidisciplinary team and is designed to obtain new information” (crawford, 1997, p. 86). rra uses a variety of methods to learn about rural conditions in a cost-effective way, but the most distinctive part of this method is the team-based approach. rra team members should represent a variety of technical backgrounds and possess varying skill sets and research expertise (crawford, 1997). we conducted our rra through six community forums with approximately 120 participants in two counties in oklahoma in 2019. the forums were open format, conducted in public spaces, and offered in various towns of the two target counties to promote attendance and accessibility. each forum included an opening session with introductions, handouts with openended questions related to participants’ hopes and dreams for their county, and blank post-it posters for community members to record their perceived strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to their respective county. community members were encouraged to contribute thoughts to and engage with each other in a collaborative and comprehensive community analysis. each forum concluded with a rich discussion among facilitators and community members where major ideas were summarized and research opportunities identified. each forum lasted roughly two hours. four types of data were collected at the community forums: focus group interviews, individual reflection documents, group posters, and observations of physical facilities. researchers also journaled and compiled field notes during data collection. all data were compiled digitally and input into maxqda2020. glaser’s (1965) constant comparative method was used to conduct a multistage analysis consisting of open, axial, and selective coding. codes were developed to categorize the data in two distinct ways. first, data king et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.241 21 were aligned with the seven community capital categories (emery & flora, 2006). next, they were sorted into perceived strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. we used lincoln’s and guba’s (1985) four standards of qualitative quality to guide our decisions. specifically, credibility was achieved through persistent and intentional observations and triangulation of the data across participants in both target counties. triangulation was ensured through observations and reflection. outside researchers reviewed the instrument and research process prior to the study, as well as the findings after the study, to establish dependability. finally, confirmability was achieved through an audit trail established from our journaling of notes taken during each open forum. following these standards enhanced the rigor and trustworthiness of the data and subsequent interpretations. findings in all, 440 unique codes were identified (see table 1). of the seven forms of community capitals, residents mentioned built capital (f = 175) more than any other followed by human capital (f = 92). the total mentions of strengths and weaknesses were nearly equal (f = 154 and 157, respectively). moreover, community members mentioned relatively the same number of opportunities as they did threats (f = 61 and 68, respectively). table 1 frequency of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats by community capitals community capitals strengths weaknesses opportunities threats total built 67 52 24 32 175 human 30 40 13 9 92 social 25 15 10 15 65 financial 10 24 7 3 44 natural 20 5 2 2 29 cultural 1 18 2 4 25 political 1 3 3 3 10 total 154 157 61 68 440 built capital the built capital of communities was the most frequently mentioned source of concern for their residents. although there had been a few recent improvements in both counties’ infrastructure, residents had numerous concerns. three themes emerged in built capital: roads, water, and buildings. specifically, a frequent complaint among residents was the poor condition of roads in the communities. regarding roads, one resident stated, “i would like to see new things built, especially new roads.” this finding aligned with researcher notes. while driving through the various towns in these two counties, it was obvious that the roads were in major need of repair, with most roads riddled with substantial potholes. king et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.241 22 water infrastructure was another major theme that emerged in the built capital category. one resident stated: “we need to rebuild our physical infrastructure, specifically sewer and drainage.” another stated gravely: “our drinking water is not suitable for children under six months old.” numerous public notices hung on storefronts in one focus town warned residents that pregnant women and infants should not drink the water due to its high nitrate levels. buildings and housing also were major concerns, both the lack of housing and the poor condition of existing homes and commercial buildings. although local civic groups had achieved some cosmetic improvements in downtown areas, many residents desired further improvements to buildings. “what can we do with all the dilapidated homes? no money to haul off [contaminated refuse]. can’t buy them. we need a solution!” explained one resident emphatically. another community member asked, “how do we address fallen down homes legally?” demolishing such structures was deemed infeasible due to uncooperative or absentee owners, restrictive environmental regulations, and high costs. residents perceived improvements to built capital would enhance the community’s attractiveness to new businesses and residents. on the other hand, each community had its share of historic sites, which were identified as strengths by residents. numerous residents mentioned their admiration for their local museums and theaters. in addition, community members referenced with pride the new benches, trees, and paint that had been recently added to improve their downtown areas. “new trees were planted on broadway as part of the broadway initiative cleanup,” said one proud resident. another added: “fourteen facades [i.e., store fronts] were improved in downtown.” such improvements were perceived as a source of optimism and pride for the entire community. the topic of high-speed internet emerged as an opportunity for improvement in both counties. most notably, residents recognized the need to increase educational access as well as opportunities for people to work remotely. one resident claimed, “free public internet access would allow for distance learning,” which could open venues for all residents. participants were also hopeful that additional opportunities for recreation, specifically for youth, might be created in their communities. they were especially interested in creating a walking trail or fitness area and developing community meeting spaces. one resident stated: “we need reasons for people to stay here. we need places that entertain youth [such as] arcades, movies, sports, coffee house, etc.” another asked pointedly, “why isn’t [sic.] there more things available for our youth to do?” residents acknowledged threats to their optimism. the recently closed hospital was a point of concern for residents in one of the focus counties. although many were interested in reviving it, others wanted to see the building repurposed and used in a different way. during the discussion, one participant asked if it might be “possible to convert the closed hospital to a cancer or diabetes facility.” in general, the revitalization of buildings, schools, and housing were king et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.241 23 a high priority for several residents. one stated, “i hope we begin to invest in our infrastructure to ensure opportunities in the future.” human capital healthcare, education, and employment were frequent discussion topics among the residents of these rural communities. access and improvement to healthcare were deemed as opportunities in both counties. a strong desire exists to have access to an emergency room or urgent care facility in their counties. participants advocated for mental health services, equitable access, and improved health care options. residents were equally optimistic and concerned about education. a new library, involvement in the area career tech center, and recent achievements in competitive robotics teams were some highlights. however, stabilizing the statewide education system, creating more diverse education opportunities for youth, and attracting high-quality educators were concerns for participants. in addition, residents noted that there were limited opportunities for educated people to find employment and too few people to fill current job openings, particularly for farm labor. one resident stated: “competitive wages are needed to keep current residents [from leaving the community].” what is more, the community identified a lack of childcare, after school care, and elderly care, as well as their ability to retain youth in the community. “we have high achieving students, but most leave for ‘greener pastures,’” explained one resident. another suggested the need to find ways “to change the atmosphere for young adults so they can see hope.” residents spoke about the strengths of their communities being high-quality schools, including students, faculty, and new teaching hires. one resident stated pointedly: “our biggest and best natural resource is our people.” another added, “[the] system has been the highlight [of our community] the last ten years, with more improvement and things to brag about happening every year.” social capital social capital was perceived by participants as a major strength of their communities. specifically, residents were enthused about the recent successes of high school athletic teams, revived community events and organizations, and local 4-h and ffa programs. despite these strengths, many participants had questions about access to community assets and the current poverty levels in their counties. one resident asked, “how can we better integrate our community racially [and] economically?” another participant inquired, “how do we raise those in poverty to a higher quality of life?” racial inequality also showed up as a threat for residents, and some expressed concern about the perceived high number of illegal and undocumented immigrants. one participant shared his frustration with the naturalization process: “we have a high population of illegal immigrants. can we develop a program to speed up the legal process?” another mentioned offering up open-access english classes for this population. opportunities included sustaining community offerings, retaining the population, and providing drug counseling for residents in their counties. one resident stated, “my goal for my community in the next ten years is to keep people and assets in our community.” communities were anxious to create an opportunity to celebrate the community itself, continue the work of community advocacy organizations, and increase the attractiveness of the community to outsiders. one resident stated, “we need to develop a plan to celebrate the community itself.” king et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.241 24 financial capital residents desired to attract more businesses, develop existing businesses, and grow the local economy. several residents were interested in diversifying community income sources beyond city sales taxes. residents were curious about optimizing their local resources. one asked, “how do we sell what we have? energy? people? retirement location? mesquite?” some mentioned repurposing old buildings into new businesses as an opportunity, but others quickly mentioned the lack of financial capital necessary to do so. another weakness was identified as their community having extreme inequality in socio-economic status. a person stated: “we lack a middle class [because] it is difficult to attract new industries and businesses to our community.” utility costs were also mentioned as being prohibitive to new business startups. the threats to financial capital identified by residents included their apprehension about the state government’s willingness to continue to provide equitable funding to rural areas. another threat to the financial stability of the counties involved the death of its residents. in many cases, their wealth left the community by being transferred to family members who no longer lived in the area, further depleting the counties’ financial resources. finally, residents boasted about a factory that had moved into the community a few years ago. they admitted that it provided numerous jobs, which equated to financial capital for the county; however, they were concerned about losing the business and the effect it would have on the community long term if they did. natural capital participants indicated innovations in agriculture, such as drip irrigation, were strengths of their communities. one resident stated, “we have had blessed crops through intensive crop management.” another added that the current cotton crop was the “largest . . . of all time.” although cotton production was deemed to be a strength by many in the audience, residents also recognized opportunities exist for improving cotton ginning procedures for cleaner air quality. “on windy days, air quality is really low,” explained one resident. additionally, one resident admitted, “i’d like to learn how to improve my crop management practices.” another advocated for improving the county’s dairy operations. at the time of data collection, the growth and sale of medical marijuana had been recently legalized in oklahoma. this was perceived as both positive and negative by community members. although it was an exciting potential revenue stream, it created concern for residents regarding water and energy conservation. “it will be interesting to see how medical marijuana affects us all long-term,” said one concerned resident. many feared that the heavy use of irrigation water for medical marijuana could negatively affect their ability to water their cotton regularly. “using our natural resources, like water, effectively will be even more important in the future,” voiced one concerned farmer. in addition to water use, residents also had concerns about the effect agricultural practices, such as applying nitrogen fertilizer to the soil, may have on their longterm health. “how does that use affect water sources and overall water quality in the area, and moreover, how does it affect our health?” asked one resident. residents were hopeful natural resources could continue to be used responsibly and that the next generation of farmers could develop new procedures through adequate mentorship and education. one established farmer king et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.241 25 stated: “let’s cultivate the next generation of farmers and ranchers by transitioning land, capital, and knowledge through mentorship opportunities.” cultural capital although cultural capital was the least commonly mentioned capital, it was also a point of disagreement for residents. for example, one resident stated emphatically that the strength of the community revolved around the recent shift in overall, progressive attitudes of community members. however, others contradicted that view by stating that there was a major lack of hope, motivation, and community pride. therefore, the cultural capital was deemed a major weakness of the community by those residents. said one individual: “this area has been driven into the ground by a ruling class. zero attention has been given to investing in the future. why are we surprised by what we look around and see today?” however, residents did not debate the strength of their churches in the community. they were quick to point out the strong working relationship of the ministerial team of preachers at each church in their counties, especially as it relates to their synergy for attending to specific community needs, like serving at the local foodbank. residents admitted to wanting to provide a better quality of life and vision for their communities. one resident stated: “i feel a lot of people have lost pride in [these small towns]. if we can get the community back together, i think that would be a great start.” political capital like cultural capital, political capital was infrequently mentioned by residents. residents identified the safety of their communities as its greatest strength relative to political capital. some, however, hinted that a lack of highly educated, progressive leaders working in city and county governance was their greatest weakness. one resident posed the question: “do we need [more] forward-thinking council members?” another responded rhetorically: “are we willing to move into uncharted territory?” these questions seemed to be met with unresolved silence. however, residents agreed their communities lacked effective representation at the state level. the enforcement of current, and implementation of new, city regulations were identified as opportunities for the communities. one resident said, “policy changes that impact the overall aesthetics of the community, such as required lawn care, leash laws, and a maximum number of household pets would benefit our community.” another opportunity identified was to create different regulations for rural places as compared to urban sectors. “having more laxed [sic] regulations may be something to bring businesses to our rural community,” stated one resident. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations it was clear that residents from both counties recognized numerous assets present in their communities. interestingly, residents noted an equal number of strengths and weaknesses present in their counties. of the 440 statements that emerged through the data, 35% were deemed strengths and 36% were deemed weaknesses. of those, residents listed built capital most frequently. these two focus counties suffer from severely dilapidated infrastructure that is in major need of revitalization. opportunities (f = 61) received the fewest statements, king et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.241 26 followed by threats (f = 68), accounting for 14% and 16% of the total statements submitted, respectively. built capital received the most statements of the four. unfortunately, the built capital has deteriorated to a point that it is prohibitively expensive to repair. specifically, many of the buildings and storefronts include walls and ceilings that have crumbled and fallen. all that remains is a frontage facade. yet, due to cost, ownership issues, and environmental regulations, residents cannot repair or deconstruct the remains, leaving them to face the ghosts of their past as they drive through their town. in addition to built capital, residents were also highly concerned with the financial capital in their counties. this conclusion is congruent with former research related to built and financial capital being the lowest among those measured in the ccf (borron et al., 2020). human capital was the second most frequently mentioned theme. it was concluded that residents believe the best part of living in their rural counties is their neighbors. they frequently mentioned people as the greatest asset to their communities. their biggest concerns are losing youth once they leave for college and having adequate health care facilities. they are proud of their school systems, teachers, and administration. the school system plays a central role in keeping these community alive, functioning, and hopeful for a better future. residents realized farming is the staple of the economy in their counties. however, farming practices have contributed to an unsafe supply of drinking water due to high nitrate concentrations and occasionally a poor quality of air from ginning cotton and tilling the soil. it is possible these practices might contribute to the demise of the overall community capital (crowe, 2006; renkow, 2003) and lead to an overall lower quality of life (rodríguez-pose & hardy, 2015) in these two counties. if so, it is incumbent on the local leadership to identify or develop other, more positive contributors to community capital and the overall wellbeing of its residents. we recommend community leaders create a strategic vision for their communities that empowers all residents (aigner et al., 2001; flora et al., 2005) by focusing on their communities’ inherent strengths rather than their deficiencies (bertin et al., 2014; rivera & alex, 2007). leaders in the two target communities should rally their residents around the needs identified in this study and create a plan for empowering them to plan out and serve on committees to address the weaknesses and threats identified. in addition, leaders should engage the youth in their communities in civic engagement and leadership training and empower them to help make decisions related to improving the long-term hope and viability of their towns, especially since these communities are concerned about their youth leaving. with strong local leadership (lamm et al., 2017), perhaps human and cultural capital can be used in tandem to solve many of the existing problems voiced during the open forums. we also recommend additional research and development in these two communities to close the gap on the weaker capitals in the community, such as built and financial capitals (emery & flora, 2006). finally, we recommend replicating this study in other rural, farming-dependent counties in oklahoma and across the u.s. to determine if the strengths and deficiencies recognized here are congruent with other, similar communities. if so, coalitions should be formed with local communities and land-grant universities to help address these pressing needs. king et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.241 27 acknowledgements a. e. h. king – formal analysis, writing-original draft; j. s. robinson – formal analysis, investigation, writing-original draft; t. e. ochsner – investigation, writing-review and editing; p. weckler – investigation; m. woodring – investigation funding for this project was provided by rri, one of the tier 1 research initiatives supported by the office of the vice president for research at 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(2016). geography area series: county business patterns by employment size class and legal form organization: 2016. annual economic surveys. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp.html united states department of agriculture, economic research service. (2017). 2015 county typology codes: documentation. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/countytypology-codes/ united states department of agriculture, economic research service. (2021). usda economic research service: state fact sheets. https://data.ers.usda.gov/reports.aspx?statefips=40&statename=oklahoma&id=17854 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 2021_trc_travel-sotl_grant_rfp agole et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 1, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. david agole, faculty of vocational studies, kyambogo university, p.o box 1 kyambogo, uganda, agoledavid@yahoo.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1297-983x 2. edgar yoder, professor, the pennsylvania state university, 002 ferguson building, university park, pa 16802, epy@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6927-9252 3. mark a. brennan, professor, the pennsylvania state university, 204 ferguson building, university park, pa 16802, unescochair@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8434-3948 4. connie baggett, associate professor, the pennsylvania state university, 207 ferguson building, university park, pa 16802, bbc@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/ 0000-0001-5597-3094 5. john ewing, associate professor, the pennsylvania state university, 215 ferguson building, university park, pa 16802, jce122@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9189-1106 6. matthew beckman, assistant research professor, the pennsylvania state university, 323f thomas building, university park, pa 16802, , mdb268@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6747-3289 7. frank biryabaho matsiko, lecturer, makerere university, p.o. box 7062, kampala, uganda, fbmatsiko@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7363-2584 26 determinants of cohesion in smallholder farmer groups in uganda d. agole1, e. yoder2, m. brennan3, c. baggett4, j. ewing5, m. beckman6, f. matsiko7 abstract cohesion is a fundamental determinant of performance in farmer groups in which collective action is pursued for the benefit of the members. the study examined the influence of individual members’ objectives, participation culture, group rewards, structure of tasks and perceived equity on cohesion of farmer groups that may promote access to agricultural extension services. quantitative data were collected via questionnaire from 180 members of 19 farmer groups using a multi-stage process that combined purposive and random sampling. qualitative data were gathered from 20 key informants in oral interviews and three focus group discussions. regression analysis indicated that there were statistically significant negative relationships between individual members’ objectives, structure of the tasks, group reward system and cohesion of farmer groups. in contrast, perceived equity had a marginally significant positive relationship with cohesion in farmer groups. we recommend that, for sustainability of group cohesion, group facilitators work with the farmer groups to enhance alignment of group and naads (national agricultural advisory services) institutions and performance indicators. a group dynamics perspective to understanding farmer group cohesion should be a helpful organizing principle. keywords naads, advisory services, community interactions agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 27 introduction and problem statement over 80% of uganda’s agricultural sector is dominated by smallholder farmers producing on less than two acres of land, with extremely low yields mostly to meet household food needs and in case of surplus it is sold. this is because most rural dwellers, where smallholder farmers are, live in the poverty level below u.s $1.90. given then a relatively high 5000 to 1 ratio of smallholder farmers per agricultural extension worker, most farmers are not reached by extension services, thus their production capacities remain low. to transform smallholder farmers that operate at a subsistence level into commercial farmers two initiatives were implemented (the plan for modernization of agriculture and national development plan three and uganda’s vision 2040) with the intent of transforming the country into a middle-income economy. uganda farmers are currently organized in groups to easily access extension services and other capacity building interventions. farmer groups are important avenues through which farmers access market and credit information as well as important agricultural information and technologies. farmer groups also represent important avenues for mobilizing farmers around common objectives, especially those relating to service delivery and policy formulation in support of agricultural development (adong et al., 2012; salifu et al., 2010). in uganda, the use of smallholder farmer groups remains central to the agricultural transformation process envisioned in the five-year agriculture sector development strategy and investment plan (dsip) (2015 – 2020). the dsip includes four pillars: i) enhancing production and productivity; ii) improving market access and value addition; iii) providing an enabling environment for the agricultural sector; and iv) strengthening of agricultural sector institutions (ministry of agriculture animal industry and fisheries -maaif, 2010). under pillar one and pillar two, the existing farmer groups are envisioned to play a key role in improving produce marketing, increasing access to financing and value addition (maaif, 2010). the national agricultural advisory services (naads), a semi-autonomous body created by a 2001 act of parliament of uganda, is charged with privately delivering publicly funded agricultural extension services to smallholder farmer groups. since its inception in 2001, naads has been promoting farmer groups as nuclear organizations for this service delivery. the farmer group approach primary goal aims to improve both the efficiency of reaching many smallholder farmers and the effectiveness of promoting farmer ownership of extension services, especially when such initiatives target smallholder, resource-poor farmers (mangheni, 2007). the farmer groups thus become centers for recruitment of farmers, selection of food security enterprises and distribution of multiple planting and stocking materials. there is limited understanding of the drivers/facilitators of cohesion in farmer groups(bukenya, 2010). this study examines the individual member’s attributes and how participation context influences group cohesion in smallholder farmer groups in uganda. it broadens the discussion by expanding the content to include group dynamics and the attendant group processes. agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 28 theoretical and conceptual framework the study on which this research is based was informed by an integration of community interactional theory (wilkinson, 1991) and social exchange theory (stolte et al., 2001). the interactional theory helps one to gain insights into the influence of interactions among individual group members on cohesion of farmer groups. the theory postulates that a community is comprised of social fields, which allow people to connect and interact with one another to form community fields (pigg, 1999; wilkinson, 1991). from this perspective, interaction of community members through the social fields allows individuals to access community resources and information. it is also an enabler and motivator for people to join farmer groups in the hope of attaining benefits that accrue to group membership. therefore, the strength or weakness of the social fields formed among individual group members is critical for accessing resources dispensed by the group. proponents of the theory argue that community fields link community members and, if strong, may influence group inclusion and cohesion. social exchange theory for its part posits that society involves interactions among individuals that are based on rewards and punishments (cropanzano & mitchell, 2005). proponents of the theory (lin et al., 2005) argue that individuals join groups on the basis of calculations that indicate that doing so enables these individuals to meet personal needs and pursue those interests alongside the collective goals of groups. theory also recognizes that individual interests are constrained by the collective group interests and processes such as norms and regulations (stolte et al., 2001). accordingly, individuals cannot invest their efforts and resources in group activities and doggedly pursue rents accruing to this investment without paying attention to potential sanctions the group may impose in the event of errant behavior. the conceptual framework is derived from interactional and social exchange theories. both interactional and social exchange theories consider community contextual factors: the community culture and individual member personal attributes that largely emanate from the community; and group processes and dynamics such as rules and regulations on allocation and tasks and rewards, and leadership structures represent the social exchange theory. an interaction between community and individual member contextual factors and the supportive/restrictive level at which an individual member meets his/her personal interests tend to influence the level of cohesion in a group representing interactional theory. purpose the primary purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence group cohesion in farmer groups that access agricultural advisory services from the national agricultural advisory services in uganda. more specifically, the study assesses the influence of individual members’ objectives, participation culture of members, structure of group tasks, reward system, and perceived equity on cohesion of farmer groups. agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 29 methods this study used a cross-sectional design to obtain the views of 200 participants selected from kyere, olio, and arapai sub-counties of soroti district. a key criterion in selecting the study district and sub-counties was to study entities whose group dynamics would ordinarily be expected to have matured. thus, the study examined 19 farmer groups that had been continuously operational in the study district between 2001 through 2011. the participant selection process adopted a multi-stage sampling strategy that combined stratified random and purposive sampling techniques. based on the decentralized operational structure followed by naads, a two-stage stratified sampling with the sub county as the first stage and the village as the second stage was used for area sampling. at the village level, the number of groups was selected proportionately basing on the number of farmer groups in a sub county. the sampling selection of members in a group was by proportional allocation with proportionately more respondents selected from farmer groups with more members. the group chairpersons as recognized by the group members (one chairperson in each selected group) were purposively selected because they were assumed to be knowledgeable about group activities and facilities within the locality. the smallholder farmers were stratified into active group members and those that had quit their groups. thirty participants were then randomly sampled for each stratum making a total of 60 participants for each sub-county and a district total of 180 participants. in addition, three sub-county naads coordinators (sncs), 12 former farmer group members and five opinion leaders were purposively selected making a total of 20 key informants. these key informants were selected for their knowledge of the context in which the farmer groups operate, and the processes used to engage the membership. while work continues with these farmer groups, specific data for this current study were gathered in october 2011. this date was approximately four to nine years after the initial group contact with the naads program. data collection was primarily done using paper questionnaire guided face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions. the questionnaire was reviewed for content validity by a panel of experts comprised of agricultural extension experts that constituted dissertation committee and naads agricultural advisors. in addition, the interviewer-administered paper survey was pilot tested by administering it to 20 members of farmer groups not included in the final study. the survey collected data regarding group member individual objectives, structure of tasks, perceived equity, and group cohesion. under individual objectives, the investigator asked questions such as what personal needs were expected to be met upon joining the group and rating those needs. structure of group tasks addressed questions such as the tasks you were involved in, rating your level of involvement, and rating the level of your competence regarding the tasks. items regarding reward focused on benefits obtained from other group members and how other group members benefited from their individual participation in the group. other agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 30 items in the reward section focused on the individual member’s contribution to overall group operation and cohesion and future intent of the individual to participate in the group. in the perceived equity section items focused on satisfaction with criteria used in allocating group tasks, satisfaction with allocation of group rewards and satisfaction with the way group members are treated. group cohesion items focused on individual member’s pride in belonging to the group and member turnover in the group. key quantitative variables were analyzed using basic descriptive statistics generated with the statistical package for social scientists (spss) version 19. cronbach’s alpha was used to assess the internal consistency of summated likert values associated with latent factors identified by the exploratory factor analysis. all cronbach alpha values were greater than 0.7 (urdan, 2010). factor analysis was completed to extract correlation coefficient matrix of factors that highly correlated (r < 0.9), that is, factors that greatly contribute to cohesion and performance subsequently. factor extraction was done to generate eigenvalues associated with each factor before (37 factors identified from the data set) and after (7 factors) extraction, as well as after rotation. the 7 factors were identified by attaching percentages to eigenvalues and accounted for 73.3% of the total variance. the rotated component matrix was extracted and factor loadings less than 0.4 were excluded, and factors were sorted by size. questions that loaded onto the same factor were identified and common themes were generated. furthermore, correlation coefficient analysis was used to determine the relationship between the various motivation factors. linear regression analysis was used to determine the relative influence of different factors on group cohesion. findings individual members objective arguably, a key force that tends to draw group members together is a commonality of individual members’ objectives. we, accordingly, were concerned with examining the major benefits that drew individuals to farmer groups in uganda. table 1 provides the descriptive results on needs that farmers expected to meet upon joining their various groups and the perceived extent to which those needs had been met. agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 31 table 1 reasons member joined groups need n m (sd) % with expectation needs met % access knowledge and skills 150 4.21 (1.28) 15.8 51.2 improved seed 138 4.06 (1.37) 14.6 19.8 improved animal breeds 127 4.02 (1.33) 13.4 9.9 food for the family 144 3.84 (1.18) 15.2 10.9 financial assistance 136 3.82 (1.44) 14.4 7.9 social interaction 127 3.60 (1.41) 13.4 0.0 support hiv/aids patients 125 3.48 (1.66) 13.2 0.0 note. ratings on a five-point likert scale: 5-very high, 4-high, 3-neutral, 2-low, and 1-very low. all reasons were rated relatively moderately (m = 3.48 to 4.21). the range of anticipated benefits suggests a multi-dimensional member self-identity. one dimension aligns with reasons related to pursuit of enhanced agricultural production. these production related reasons, namely accessing knowledge and skills, improved seed, and improved animal breeds, received the highest mean ratings (above 4.0). arguably these reasons were advanced by individuals who had a farmer membership identity. another dimension aligns with accessing food for the family and financial assistance (mean 3.84 and 3.82, respectively) suggesting an underlying household provider identity. under this identity a member sees themselves as representing broader, more diffuse domestic interests such as feeding and catering utilities. the third dimension that may be discerned from the data in table 1 relates to social interaction (m = 3.60) and support to human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (hiv/aids) affected members (m = 3.48). the two items align with the individual’s pursuit of private personal gratification. as further illustrated in column 3, there was no outstanding benefit that drew farmers to the groups. individual reasons were cited by about one in every seven respondents. a major assumption was that group cohesion would ensue from the three-way relationship between member competence to participate in the activities required of them by the group, member engagement in such activities, and member perception of benefits from such engagement. the study thus sought to describe the status of member participation and perceived benefits accruing from participation in the agricultural production activities promoted by the group (table 2 and table 3). agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 32 table 2 members’ competence and participation in agricultural tasks. agricultural activities member competence participation in tasks m (sd) m (sd) goat keeping activities 4.18 (1.81) 1.82 (0.81) crop field activities 3.38 (1.20) 1.79 (1.92) piggery related activities 3.35 (1.19) 1.98 (1.17) note. ratings on a five-point likert scale: 5-very high, 4-high, 3-neutral, 2-low, and 1-very low. a comparison of farmer competence and participation in table 2 indicates that overall, there was disparity between the self-efficacy and participation/involvement. the 3.35 to 4.18 mean ratings for self-efficacy versus 1.79 to 1.98 for participation indicate an inability or failure to translate above average levels of self-efficacy into corresponding engagement in relevant group tasks. this may be reflective of a perceived mismatch between individual effort and personal rewards. this undercurrent is somewhat borne out by the ordering of perceived benefits accruing from member participation (table 3). table 3 perceived benefits perceived benefits n rating of perceived benefit m (sd) enhanced group performance 161 4.51 (0.82) beneficial to other members 156 4.51 (2.53) beneficial to the group 167 4.43 (2.31) improved group maintenance activities 175 4.40 (0.53) enhanced level of personal motivation 164 4.38 (0.63) enhanced attachment to the group 159 4.34 (0.87) benefits from others’ participation 165 4.28 (1.80) note. ratings on a five-point likert scale: 5-very high, 4-high, 3-neutral, 2-low, and 1-very low. all the top four benefits go toward the group while the remaining lower benefits go toward the individual. this observation may be insightful in two important ways. olomola (2002) argued participation by individual members in group activities often is influenced by mode of group formation. he associated low participation with what forsyth (2006) describes as groups concocted through external influence as opposed to those founded by members on their own initiative. turner and stets (2006), for their part, emphasized that individuals tend to assess the rewards using a calculus involving balancing their own personal investments against agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 33 investments of other group members toward generating the stock of benefits as well as the equity with which rewards accrue to the contributing members. a frequently assumed facilitator of group cohesion is the perceived quality of group governance and administrative structures as summarized in table 4. table 4 group members’ assessment of governance and administrative structures equity dimension n m (sd) communication within the group 170 4.36 (1.09) distribution of leadership positions 167 4.30 (0.84) feedback to members about group performance 161 3.60 (0.61) conflict resolution 120 2.95 (0.75) participation in decision making 175 2.20 (0.81) note. ratings on a five-point likert scale: 5-very high, 4-high, 3-neutral, 2-low, and 1-very low. table 4 indicates different mechanisms established by the group for purposes of moving information up and down the group’s governance structures were rated relatively highly (m = 3.60 to 4.36). the high ratings for upward communication from individual members to the group and downward communication point to the groups’ sensitivity to ensuring that individuals or teams charged with performing tasks for or on behalf of the group have sufficient information about the groups’ dynamics to be attracted to them. this attraction to the group, the results suggest, is reinforced by the perception of equitable distribution of leadership positions that allows the members a sense of access to the groups’ resources. the above attraction apparently was undermined by the lower rating for implementation of conflict resolution processes (m = 2.95); and availability of opportunities to participate in decision making (m = 2.20). the study also examined membership turnover and group performance for the period 2004 to 2007. the results are summarized in table 5. group member’s rating of both recruitment of new members (m = 2.64) and membership attrition through voluntary departures (m = 2.61) farmer groups was moderate. these ratings correspond well with the relatively high sense of belonging to farmer groups (m = 3.96). this sense of belonging to the groups could be explained by the selective recruitment of group members by influential group members, most of whom were composed of family members and close friends to group founders. the flip side might be that departures were also partial to those who felt their conflicts with the group had not been addressed fairly and/or that their interests had not been adequately addressed due to insufficient participation in their groups’ decision making. in either scenario influential and/or founder group members with very close attraction to each other come to enjoy a special social status and may form a clique whose interests may not necessarily reflect those of the broader membership. agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 34 table 5 membership turnover and effect (2004 -2009) turnover n group turnover percentage m (sd) high very high joined group 145 2.64 (1.10) 27.6 25.5 left group 155 2.61 (1.00) 22.6 1.9 pride in belonging 170 3.96 (1.09) 23.5 43.5 note. ratings on a five-point likert scale: 5-very high, 4-high, 3-neutral, 2-low, and 1-very low. table 5 shows that there was high commitment of group members to participation in group activities (m = 4.25). the rating of the frequency of group members’ participation in group activities (m = 2.06) was, on the other hand, comparatively low. read against the rating of adequacy of mobilized resources, and timely attainment of planned targets was quite high (m = 3.03 to 3.53), this gap between commitment to and frequency of participation in activities may point to a lack of consensus on whether production activities should be centralized to the group or decentralized to sites managed by individual members. moderate ratings were registered for importance of production outputs (m = 3.01 to 3.54) attained by groups. taken together the above findings are consistent with dimock and devine (1994) and forsyth (2006) who assert that members tend to be more committed to a group’s activities when the efforts and energy invested in activities yield satisfactory output. identification of factors (dimensions) influencing group cohesion factor analysis was conducted to extract a correlation coefficient matrix of items that are correlated with group cohesion. factor extraction with rotation resulted in the 37 individual items being reduced to 7 factors/dimensions. the 7 factors accounted for 73.3 % of the total variance. the rotated component matrix was extracted and items with factor loadings less than 0.4 were excluded. items with factor loadings of ≥ ±.4 that loaded onto the same factor were identified and a common theme was developed to name the respective factor/dimension. furthermore, correlation coefficient analysis was used to determine the relationship between the various factors (table 6). the factors/dimensions were used to create summated likert type summated scale values table 7). group cohesion was defined by frequency at which members joined and left the group. individual member’s objectives were represented by individual member’s reporting joining groups to attain knowledge and skills, improved seed for planting, improved animal breeds, food for the family, financial needs, social interaction, and support for hiv/aids patients. perceptions regarding participation culture were operationalized by farmers reporting interest to work others, attaining personal benefits, interest in seeing all the members benefit, comfort working together, frequency of disagreeing with other members, sense of belonging to a group, attaining benefits without support of the group, and member's influence in decision making. agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 35 power distance was represented by rating the extent of group member’s influence in making major group decisions including frequency and venue of meetings, savings and credit schemes, enterprise to invest in and storage of produce. group participation in activities was represented by group members regularly participate in group activities and member’s commitment to group activities. group rewards was defined by farmers’ perceptions regarding six items which included satisfaction with the actual group outputs, you have benefited from other group members, your participation benefited other members, the group in general benefited from you, your participation in activities will continue in this group, and you are be proud of belonging to this group. structure of tasks was defined by farmers’ perceptions for three items which included level of involvement in tasks, level of competence and level of influence in group activities. perceived equity was defined by farmers’ perceptions for five items which included criteria used in allocating tasks, distribution of rewards to other group members, the rewards you are given in your group, the way you as an individual are treated in the group, and the way other members of your group are treated. agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 36 table 6 correlation coefficient of the factors factor equity structure of task group rewards power distance member participant individual objective participant culture group cohesion equity 1 structure of task .73** (p<.001, n=118) 1 group rewards .65** (p<.001, n=153) .66** (p<.001, n=118) 1 power distance .79** (p<.001, n=162) .76** (p<.001, n=118) .66** (p<.001, n=153) 1 member participant .83** (p<.001, n=162) .87** (p<.001, n=118) .75** (p<.001, n=153) .91** (p<.001, n=177) 1 individual objectives .91** (p<.001, n=157) .86** (p<.001, n=118) .71** (p<.001, n=153) .77** (p<.001, n=157) .84** (p<.001, n=157) 1 participant culture .65** (p<.001, n=162) .80** (p<.001, n=118) .59** (p<.001, n=153) .90** (p<.001, n=172) .87** (p<.001, n=172) 60** (p<.001, n=157) 1 group cohesion .83** (p<.001, n=148) .79** (p<.001, n=118) .68** (p<.001, n=148) .83** (p<.001, n=148) .88** (p<.001, n=148) .86** (p<.001, n=148) .79** (p<.001, n=148) 1 **correlation is significant at the< 0.01 level (2-tailed). table 6 indicates that there are statistically significant bivariate relationships between perceived equity (r=.836, p<.001), structure of tasks (r=.792, p<.001), group rewards (r=.683, p<.001), power distance (r=.838, p<.001), member participation (r=.881, p<.001), individual member objectives (r=.868, p<.001) and participation culture (r= -.792, p<.001) and group cohesion. this implies that the higher the perceptions regarding the structure of tasks performed by group members, individual member objectives of joining farmer groups, individual member’s participation in group activities, the greater is the perceived cohesion within farmer groups and vice versa. conversely, there was a negative correlation (r = -.792; p ≤.001) between participation culture and perceived group cohesion. table 7 summarizes the descriptive statistics for each of the factors/dimensions included in the regression analysis. agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 37 table 7 descriptive statistics for factors/dimensions regression analysis factors n m (sd) members’ individual objectives 135 3.86 (1.38) participation culture 160 3.77 (1.54) power distance 145 3.58 (1.15) group participation 118 1.86 (1.30) group rewards 118 4.42 (1.36) structure of tasks 118 3.64 (1.40) perceived equity 159 3.48 (0.82) group cohesion 157 3.07 (1.06) note. ratings on a five-point likert scale: 5-very high, 4-high, 3-neutral, 2-low, and 1-very low. approximately 75% (n = 135) indicated they had met their objectives of joining farmers groups, 89% (n = 160) had high collectivist participation culture, 81% (n = 145) experienced high-power distance, had low (m = 1.86) participation in group activities, attained very high group rewards (m = 4.41), were moderately involved in the structure of tasks (m = 3.64) and 87% (n = 157) experienced moderate group cohesion (m = 3.07). multiple regression was utilized to examine the relative influence of each dimension on perceived group cohesion while simultaneously controlling for the influence of the other dimensions (table 8). the adjusted r2 of 0.842 produced by the regression model (p < .001) indicates that the model explains 84.2% of the observed variation in group cohesion. table 8 group cohesion regressed on seven dimensions model a unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t p b std. error β (constant) 6.670 .976 6.833 < 0.001 individual objectives -0.368 0.107 -0.485 -3.443 < 0.001 participation culture -0.006 0.166 -0.003 -0.039 0.969 power distance 0.230 0.164 0.108 1.403 0.163 group participation 0.169 0.150 0.114 1.127 0.262 group rewards -0.310 0.085 -0.187 -3.657 < 0.001 structure of tasks -0.751 0.103 -0.691 -7.309 < 0.001 perceived equity 0.190 0.091 0.204 2.092 0.039 note. adjusted r2 = .842, p ≤.001. aregression equation: y group cohesion = 6.670 0.485 (individual objectives) 0.187 (group rewards) 0.691 (structure of tasks) + 0.204 (equity) agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 38 the regression results reveal that the nature of individual members’ objectives (β = -0.485, p < 0.001), satisfactoriness of group rewards (β = -0.187, p < 0.001), and suitability of task (β = 0.691, p < 0.001) had negative, statistically significant relationships with group cohesion. in contrast, there was a positive (β = .204, p = .039), statistically significant relationship between perceived equity of group processes and group cohesion. examination of the beta values indicates the dimension labeled structure of tasks had the greatest influence on group cohesion followed by the dimension labeled members’ individual objectives. the beta values also reveal the dimension labeled perceived equity and the dimension labeled group rewards had similar, although relatively smaller influence on group cohesion in contrast with structure of tasks and members’ individual objectives. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the new theoretical model that was generated from the findings of regression analysis found significant factors that curtailed and enhanced the cohesion of farmer groups. group rewards, individual member’s objectives, and structure of the tasks the groups engaged in curtailed (negatively influenced) group cohesion. this misalignment has strong implications for group cohesion in both the short and medium term. it is instructive that prevailing levels of group cohesion may have largely been a product of pre-group interaction which influenced recruitment criteria and the subsequent inter-member attraction. additionally, given that several of the factors that influence group cohesion tended to emanate from the community, it is important for agencies involved in farmer institutional development to deliberately map out the community for important backward and forward linkages to any group operations. it is sufficient to note that the institutional development of farmer groups supported by naads pay less attention to group cohesion and more attention to development of skills and competencies for production agriculture. effective social organization of groups for collective active that is key in groups tends to precede skill and competence development of group members, lest the groups develop cliques, factions which undermine group cohesion before the group disintegrates completely. this could explain the high rate of disintegration and collapse of farmer groups supported by naads. it is also noteworthy that members continued to rationalize their membership, in the face of unmet personal objectives, by deflecting performance failure onto the unfavorable external environment. an extension of this logic is that the groups were formed primarily to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the naads environment. essentially, the members saw themselves as being in contract with the naads rather than their own groups. given that groups supervene on the activities of the constituent individuals; it is difficult to see how group cohesion could be sustained or even enhanced if it is pegged on factors that had little to do with the group’s ability to deliver on its contract with members. the inverse relationship between group cohesion and type/nature of personal objectives is counter intuitive. in this study, one might have expected the largely unmet individual members’ objectives to have led to reduced group cohesion. one possible explanation for the observed relationship may be that the reported cohesion has more to do with attraction between agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 39 members and less to do with the de-personalized, attraction to the group (hogg, 2001). where this holds, the balance between personal and social attraction tends to be a product of pregroup experiences rather than affiliation to the group engendered by in-group experiences (forsyth, 2006). a plausible explanation for the negative relationship between cohesion and extent the group reward system was perceived as satisfactory is that the reward system was rated high because of a perceived cognitive dissonance between members’ self-concept as rational individuals and the fact that the system had not sufficiently rewarded them in terms of their initial expected objectives on joining the group. according to cognitive dissonance theory (greenwald & ronis, 1978; zanna & cooper, 1974), members who find themselves in a dissonance situation would be motivated to reduce this uncomfortable tension by rationalizing their behavior. in the circumstances, the group members would justify reward system failure by deflecting the attribution of any injustices to factors beyond the group such as supply of production agriculture inputs by the naads program. by extension, inadequate farm inputs would render group activities redundant consequently pushing members to retreat towards their personal farm activities. regarding task structure, the tasks that members apparently considered in their evaluation of group effectiveness were of kind that require all group members to participate towards achieving goal. failure to perform such tasks can be expected to translate into a low perceived collective efficacy (forsyth, 2006). based on this logic, the more conjunctive the tasks are perceived to be, the less collectively efficacious members should be expected to feel and hence the less cohesive groups would be likely to be. the positive correlation between members’ participation in group tasks and group cohesion implies that individuals can still jointly participate in group activities but may not have social attraction and positive attitudes towards one another. the only element bringing the individuals together is the task they intend to accomplish. this explains why sometimes individuals sharing a task seem to be disinterested about another. this finding is consistent with friedkin (2004) that attitudes of individuals in a group such as their desire or intention to remain or leave a group, their identification with or loyalty to the group among others determine the level of social cohesion. alternatively, individuals may behave in a way that severs, weakens, maintains, or strengthens their membership and participation in a group. loyal individuals can perform collectively in a group in which he/she is a member. collective behavior of individuals in a group is an indication of attachment to one another. membership turnover rate, absenteeism rate and proportion of members who participate in particular group activities are good indications of social cohesion. poorly performing groups tend to have a high rate of members leaving the group, and absentee from group activities. given that international and local development agencies dispense development interventions to mostly farmer groups to scale out development so that its trickle-down effects are improved, these findings come handy for use by organizations engaged in farmer group institutional development to focus on group cohesion as a fundamental driver to group performance agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.73 40 resulting to improved livelihood of groups members. therefore, this study findings could help in reorienting the institutional development programs for farmers groups towards building strong cohesive groups that can within stand individual member attritions to achieve collective actions. this 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(1974). dissonance and the pill: an attribution approach to studying the arousal properties of dissonance. journal of personality and social psychology, 29(5), 703–709. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0036651 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 315-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. joseph l. donaldson, associate professor, north carolina state university, department of agricultural and human sciences, 1 lampe drive, raleigh, nc 27695-7607, joseph_donaldson@ncsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9276-3747 2. kimberly d. gwinn, professor, university of tennessee, department of entomology and plant pathology, department of entomology and plant pathology, 2505 e. j. chapman drive, knoxville, tn 37996-4560, kgwinn@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3517-3433 3. carrie stephens, professor, university of tennessee, department of agricultural leadership, education, and communications, 2640 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996-4500, cfritz@tennessee.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5592-2377 4. stephen c. chmely, assistant professor, pennsylvania state university, department of agricultural and biological engineering, 225 ag engineering building, shortlidge road, university park, pa 16802, sc411@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2637-9974 5. tess moody, doctoral student, north carolina state university, department of forestry and environmental resources, 2820 faucette drive, raleigh, nc 27695, tmoody2@ncsu.edu 41 a summer agricultural research program enlarges community college students’ perceptions of agricultural careers j. l. donaldson1, k. d. gwinn2, c. stephens3, s. c. chmely4, t. moody5 article history received: march 24, 2023 accepted: july 17, 2023 published: july 31, 2023 keywords career development; undergraduates; program evaluation abstract this study examined the reach program, a research and extension experiences for undergraduates (reeu) program, aimed at improving agricultural literacy and career development among community college students. this study employed a one-group pretest-posttest design using the perceptions of agriculture and agricultural careers questionnaire (quantitative) and participants’ written responses to an open-ended question about agricultural career and academic plans (qualitative). data were collected on the first and last day of the program to compare benchmarks to student achievement. the scaled responses were analyzed using the wilcoxon signed-rank test, a nonparametric test. the open-ended responses were analyzed using content analysis. reach scholars developed more specific career plans and more favorable perceptions of personal job opportunities and their own capabilities in agriculture during the program. regarding occupational requirements, the scholars’ perception that many agricultural leaders had a college education significantly improved over the course of the reach program. despite these improvements, their views about agricultural occupations in general, including food processing, food inspection, forestry, and natural resources management, were not significantly different from pretest to posttest. this study demonstrated an effective evaluation strategy for evaluating undergraduate research programs in agriculture and the allied sciences. recommendations include strategies for greater outcome evaluation of reeu programs. donaldson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.315 42 introduction and problem statement community college is an empowering opportunity for many low-income, underrepresented, and marginalized populations (denning, 2017; weiss et al., 2019). community college completion is an important issue for the individual student’s financial future and the entire nation’s economic vitality (buchanan & wilson, 2017). many community college students face remedial instruction and financial concerns that may contribute to historically low retention and graduation rates among community colleges. the covid-19 pandemic exacerbated these needs with community college enrollment declining as much as 9.4% in fall 2020 over the previous year. in comparison, enrollment among public four-year institutions declined 1.4% (national student clearinghouse, 2020; sutton, 2021). unfortunately, many community college students need opportunities for access to colleges of agriculture to explore career pathways in food and agriculture, and a number of initiatives have been pursued to address this need, including summer agricultural courses at community colleges (keith et al., 2010), spring admissions program at four-year institutions (jones et al., 2021), and online baccalaureate degree programs for community college students with applied associate degrees (williams et al., 2010). to connect community college students to agriculture, we launched an 8-week, summer residential agricultural research program. the program, called reach, was offered to students from tennessee’s 13 community colleges in 2018, 2019, and 2021. thus, the purpose of this study was to understand perceptions of the reach participants, known as reach scholars, toward food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (fanhs) careers. theoretical and conceptual framework the social-cognitive career theory (scct) developed by lent, brown, and hackett (2002) undergirded this study. scct explains individuals’ educational and career interests and the choices they make. specifically, the ways that these interests and choices develop and change over time as well as how individuals parlay personal interests and choices into school and work competencies (walsh et al., 2023). scct has been useful for describing contextual factors such as interests, social support, and academic performance that guide career development (gysbers et al., 2013). the use of scct is of paramount importance in understanding career selection. respectively, an individual expressing a primary interest or choice, taking action on this primary interest or choice, and experiencing successes and failures that influence “the shape of future career behavior” leads to career selection (lent et al., 2002, p. 273). scct establishes a tripartite, interactive model for understanding career selection. first, individuals explore their own self-efficacy by asking themselves if they have the aptitude for a certain career. then, individuals consider the outcomes of deciding on a certain career such as educational requirements and salary. finally, individuals appraise their own personal goals, ponder the relative importance of their different goals, and ask the question, “how much do i want to do this?” when making their career selection (buthelezi et al., 2010; lent et al., 1994). donaldson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.315 43 the scct theory and research expounding on the theory have pointed to the need to provide career development programs for young adults to expand career options, build support, promote work satisfaction, and encourage goal setting (wang et al., 2022). importantly, walsh et al. (2023) has called for greater attention to translational research whereby educational and career development programs are designed using scct. purpose the overall purpose of this study was to understand perceptions of the reach scholars toward fanhs careers. the study was guided by two objectives: 1. describe the reach scholars’ perceptions of agriculture and agricultural careers both before and after the program. 2. describe the reach scholars’ perceptions of fanhs for their own career plans both before and after the program. methods this study, part of a broader program evaluation of the reach program (donaldson et al., 2022), was designed as an outcome evaluation with the goal to describe results of the reach program (patton, 2015). this study was a one-group pretest-posttest design (campbell & stanley, 1963). the pretest and posttest instrument included both scaled responses and openended responses. the reach program, a usda-funded research and extension experiences for undergraduates (reeu) program, aimed to help community college students explore fanhs careers and address the students’ needs for undergraduate research, mentoring, and leadership development. the tennessee community college system consists of 13 community colleges, and faculty and administrators at each community college recruited students through targeted and blanket announcements. to apply for the program, students submitted: (1) the application form, containing basic name and contact information; (2) their community college transcript; (3) a letter of recommendation from a community college faculty member; and (4) a signed letter of interest that summarized the student’s qualifications, educational goals, and career goals. selection considered all of the application materials and prioritized students with academic potential in chemistry, biology, engineering, and other stem disciplines who were economically disadvantaged, racial/ethnic minorities, and first-generation college students. (notably, chemistry and biology are required courses in fanhs baccalaureate degree programs.) reach program applicants and selected scholars represented diverse academic majors including biology, chemistry, engineering, nursing, and pharmacy. no agricultural students applied for the reach program. over three years, reach engaged 23 students as research assistants with agricultural faculty at the university of tennessee. knoxville. additionally, reach scholars participated in weekly workshops to develop workforce essential skills such as teamwork, career adaptability, and leadership to support fas academic and career goals. donaldson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.315 44 study participants were reach scholars for 2018, 2019 and 2021. all participants signed consent forms for participation in the study. of the 23 reach participants, all agreed to participate in the study, although not every participant answered every item. the pretest was completed on the first day of the reach experience and the posttest was completed on the last day of the reach experience in each respective year of the program. both the pretest and posttest were administered using paper and pencil. part one of the instrument used the perceptions of agriculture and agricultural careers questionnaire (talbert & larke, 1995a; 1995b). this instrument had 18 items used for this study with the following likert scale: 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (neither agree nor disagree), 4 (agree), and 5 (strongly agree). a sample question was: “it takes people with special training to work in agriculture.” talbert and larke (1995a) validated the instrument with texas high school students, demonstrating three distinct scales, and cronbach’s alpha for each scale was reported as follows: personal career (0.80), agricultural occupations (0.85), and occupational requirements (0.73). the personal career scale had five items, the agricultural occupations scale had seven items, and the occupational requirements scale had six items. the scales had been used to measure perceptions of students (see talbert, 1996; 1997; 1999). while the scales were validated with high school students, the questions were aligned with the reach program goals and the limited agricultural academic experiences of the reach participants who did not have any college-level agricultural coursework. part two of the instrument asked for open-ended responses to this question: “how do you see the food, agricultural, natural resources, and human sciences incorporated into your career plans, if at all?” in terms of data analysis, part one of the questionnaire was analyzed using the wilcoxon signed-rank test, a nonparametric test. this test was employed as the data were positively skewed, and wilcoxon signed-rank test is appropriate in comparing categorical data. comparable to the paired-samples t-test, the wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the pre and posttest responses for the personal career, agricultural occupations, and occupational requirements scales (talbert & larke, 1995a). significance was set a priori at the 0.05 alpha level. part two data were analyzed using content analysis, recognized as reducing data to “identify core consistencies and meanings” (patton, 2015, p. 541). researchers compared pretest and posttest responses from each individual participant. the responses were coded, and the codes were analyzed for themes. findings objective 1: describe the reach scholars’ perceptions of agriculture and agricultural careers both before and after the program. as previously stated, the following likert scale was used: 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (neither agree nor disagree), 4 (agree), and 5 (strongly agree). to compare pretest and posttest responses for the personal career, agricultural occupations, and occupational requirements scales, wilcoxon signed-rank tests were conducted. positive ranks indicated that agreement increased over the course of the program (higher posttest scores than pretest scores). negative donaldson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.315 45 ranks indicated agreement decreased over the course of the program (lower posttest scores than pretest scores), and ties indicated pretest and posttest scores were equal. for the personal career perceptions, two items showed significantly higher perceptions from pretest to posttest: “agricultural industry has many job opportunities” (z = 2.06, p < 0.039), and “i am capable of getting a good job in an agricultural occupation” (z = 2.15, p < 0.03). see table 1. table 1 reach scholars’ personal career perceptions for wilcoxon signed-rank test results item n z 2-tailed agricultural industry has many job opportunities. 23 2.06 0.03* negative ranks 2 positive ranks 11 ties 10 there are good paying jobs in agriculture. 23 1.66 0.09 negative ranks 3 positive ranks 10 ties 10 i am capable of getting a good job in an agricultural occupation. 23 2.15 0.03* negative ranks 4 positive ranks 12 ties 7 someday i would like to manage a business in agriculture. 23 -0.81 0.41 negative ranks 7 positive ranks 4 ties 12 someday i would like to be the owner of an agricultural business, farm, or ranch. 23 0.16 0.86 negative ranks 6 positive ranks 8 ties 9 note. negative ranks indicate lower post scores than pre scores; positive ranks indicate higher post scores than pre scores; and ties indicate equal pre and post scores *p<.05 for the agricultural occupations perceptions, no significant differences were found. in fact, five of the seven items had a greater number of ties in mean ranks indicating no change from pretest to posttest while two items had the same number of ties as positive ranks (table 2). donaldson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.315 46 table 2 reach scholars’ agricultural occupations perceptions for wilcoxon signed-rank test results item n z 2-tailed landscaping and floral design are a part of agricultural industry. 22 1.12 0.26 negative ranks 4 positive ranks 9 ties 9 agriculture includes marketing, merchandising, and sales of agricultural products. 23 1.21 0.22 negative ranks 5 positive ranks 9 ties 9 there are agricultural job opportunities in education, communication, and information. 23 0.51 0.60 negative ranks 3 positive ranks 5 ties 15 many researchers and scientists are involved in the agricultural industry. 23 0.23 0.81 negative ranks 5 positive ranks 6 ties 12 agriculture includes the design of farm machinery. 23 1.23 0.21 negative ranks 4 positive ranks 7 ties 12 food processing and food inspection are part of the agricultural industry. 23 1.26 0.20 negative ranks 1 positive ranks 6 ties 16 forestry and natural resource management are a part of agriculture. 23 0.64 0.51 negative ranks 2 positive ranks 4 ties 17 note. negative ranks indicate lower post scores than pre scores; positive ranks indicate higher post scores than pre scores; and ties indicate equal pre and post scores. for the occupational requirements perceptions, most of the items demonstrated ties in mean rank with no significance in the difference between positive and negative ranks. one item, donaldson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.315 47 “many leaders in agriculture have a college education” showed significantly more positive ranks, indicating a positive change in perceptions from pretest to posttest (z = 2.94, p < 0.00). see table 3. table 3 reach scholars’ occupational requirements for wilcoxon signed-rank test results item n z 2-tailed management positions in agriculture require training or experience. 23 1.18 0.23 negative ranks 3 positive ranks 8 ties 12 it takes people with special training to work in agriculture. 23 -0.29 0.76 negative ranks 7 positive ranks 8 ties 8 agricultural jobs require basic skills such as reading, writing, or arithmetic. 22 -0.06 0.95 negative ranks 4 positive ranks 5 ties 13 many leaders in agriculture have a college education. 23 2.94 0.00** negative ranks 1 positive ranks 12 ties 10 jobs in agriculture are interesting and exciting. 23 1.5 0.13 negative ranks 4 positive ranks 9 ties 10 many ethnic groups and races of people are employed in agriculture industry. 23 1.327 0.18 negative ranks 3 positive ranks 6 ties 14 note. negative ranks indicate lower post scores than pre scores; positive ranks indicate higher post scores than pre scores; and ties indicate equal pre and post scores. **p<.001 donaldson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.315 48 objective 2: describe the reach scholars’ perceptions of fanhs for their own career plans both before and after the program. reach scholars were asked to provide written answers to the following question on pretest and posttest: “how do you see the food, agricultural, natural resources, and human sciences incorporated into your future career plans, if at all?” pretest and posttest responses were compared and coded for each individual reach scholar. in analyzing the responses, four themes emerged: (a) changing career plans to specific fanhs plans, (b) making future career plans of a general nature, (c) planning with no specific fanhs career tie-ins, and (d) making no change in plans. ten of the 23 reach scholars (44%) had changed to specific plan(s) for integrating fanhs into their academic and career plans. on the first day, these participants provided general answers which were not necessarily tied to careers nor to their own career plans. however, on the last day, they shared specific examples, including academic and career plans. a smaller proportion, six (26%) provided future plans of a general nature with no specific tie-ins to fanhs academic or career plans, and one (4%) planned to be a plant pathologist at both preand post-program. another six (26%) provided no complete response to this question. see table 4 for representative comments among those providing both a pretest and posttest response. donaldson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.315 49 table 4 reach scholars’ dispositions and representative comments for fanhs career and academic plans disposition representative responses frequency, n (%) pretest response posttest response changed to specific fanhs plans “they may play some roles at some times, but i am not certain.” (participant 2021-6) “i plan to go for food science major…so food and agriculture play a significant role in my study and career.” (participant 2021-6) 10 (44%) future plans of a general nature; no specific fanhs tie-in “…..i would very much like to be involved and gather as much hands-on experience and knowledge to help bring awareness and contribute my knowledge and labor to this field. (participant 2018-3) “with…global warming, lack of natural resources, and overpopulation, i can definitely say that food and agriculture will become a huge part of my future career as the factors mentioned above are highly important to me.” (participant 2018-3) 6 (26%) no change in plans “as a plant pathologist, i hope to contribute to sustainable agricultural practices that reinforce the tools available to growers.” (participant 2019-7) “i see myself working in the agricultural sciences as a researcher and contributing to crop sustainability and health.” (participant 2019-7) 1 (4%) no complete response provided for comparison “i don’t really know that [fanhs] will be incorporated with me in the future career plan…learn more and have experience more will help me with my future.” (participant 2018-2) [no response] 6 (26%) note. participant numbers were randomly assigned each year. as an example, “participant 2018-3” indicates participant number 3 who was a reach scholar in 2018. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations overall, the program enlarged the reach scholars’ perceptions of agricultural careers, and the major implications of this work were that community college students’ career development and research acumen were positively influenced by agricultural research and mentoring. reach donaldson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.315 50 significantly improved the scholars’ personal career perceptions of agricultural job opportunities and their own capabilities, consistent with self-efficacy and outcome expectations components of scct (see wang et al., 2022). comparably, the reach scholars’ views about agricultural occupations (e.g., design of farm machinery and forestry), were not significantly different from pretest to posttest. the scholars’ perceptions of occupational requirements did not significantly change except for their perception that agricultural leaders had a college education, which significantly improved over the course of the reach program. the scholars’ changed their academic and career plans. in fact, 70% of scholars changed their plans with 44% of these creating specific plans within fanhs. the written responses about future plans at the beginning and end of the reach program provide a useful juxtaposition with the perceptions of agriculture and agricultural careers questionnaire as the written responses examined agriculture in the broader sense of fanhs. collectively, these conclusions point to the expansion of what reach scholars considered a “good job in an agricultural occupation” during the program. the reach program may have been effective at influencing future plans toward agriculture and the larger view of fanhs, and the program should continue. this research was not designed to show cause-and-effect relationships. however, examining the reach scholars’ experiences since the program contributes to understanding and improving the program. of the 23 participants, 30% have graduated from or are currently pursuing degrees from the university of tennessee, knoxville in food sciences, engineering, microbiology, and plant sciences. three of these students continue to conduct undergraduate research in fanh. of the 2021 cohort, two students still attend community college but continue to work as laboratory assistants under the supervision of agricultural faculty—indicative that an reeu experience helps community college participants be more competitive for career opportunities (ashcroft et al., 2020; ashcroft et al., 2021). talbert and larke (1995b) validated the perceptions of agriculture and agricultural careers instrument with texas high school students. while the participants in this study were community college students, the researchers judged the scale as appropriate as the community college students had limited experiences in agriculture, and none were agricultural majors at the time of the study. in future studies, researchers should consider a specific instrument that would feature agricultural occupations that require applied associates (e.g., pullet supervisor) and bachelor’s degrees (e.g., broiler farm manager). this specific, localized instrument would be advantageous to represent the different academic goals among community college students and the available, localized career opportunities in food and agriculture. lent (2013) describes that career development processes are reflective of complex jigsaw puzzles. certainly, academic aptitude, environmental influences, personal interests, and other factors all contribute to this complexity (wang, 2022). however, reach demonstrated an effective outcome evaluation strategy for understanding career planning in the context of an reeu and assessing the reeu program. responses to the written question, “how do you see the food, agricultural, natural resources, and human sciences incorporated into your future donaldson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.315 51 career plans, if at all?” were particularly important in understanding how the [reach] experience may have affected career plans. additional research is needed on how reeu programs may influence overall agricultural literacy. likewise, research is needed to understand the lived experiences of the reeu participants, including reach scholars, to improve undergraduate career development and academic advising. likewise, researchers have identified this lack of qualitative research as a challenge for the scct knowledge base (wang et al., 2022). undergraduate research programs should prioritize community college students, particularly linking community colleges with colleges of agriculture. in addition, college of agriculture faculty should explore ways to engage community college faculty in agricultural research. building the research capacity of community college faculty would produce additional agricultural research opportunities and enhance community college students’ competencies. acknowledgements this study was funded by food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences education and literacy initiative grant no. 2018-67032-27703 from the usda national institute of food and agriculture. a portion of this study was presented at the 2022 north american colleges and teachers of agriculture conference. author contributions j. l. donaldson formal analysis, investigation, methodology, writingoriginal draft; 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(2019). supporting community college students from start to degree completion: long-term evidence from a randomized trial of cuny’s asap. american economic journal: applied economics, 11(3), 253–297. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26727331 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 219_manuscript.docx baker et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 2, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. lauri baker, associate professor, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2 , p.o. box 110126, gainesville, fl 32611, lauri.m.baker@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-6077 2. ashley mcleod-morin, associate director of strategic communication, southeastern coastal center for agricultural health and safety, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, p.o. box 110126, gainesville, fl 32611, ashleynmcleod@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-9783 3. shelli d. rampold, assistant professor, university of tennessee, 2621 morgan circle, 320 morgan hall, knoxville, tn 37996, srampold@tennessee.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4815-7157 4. angela b. lindsey, assistant professor, university of florida, 3014c mccarty d, gainesville, fl 32611, ablindsey@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9859-7962 5. ricky w. telg, professor, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, p.o. box 110126, gainesville, fl 32611, rwtelg@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8729-1634 6. meredith oglesby, graduate student, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, p.o. box 110126, gainesville, fl 32611, moglesby1@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3666-6456 62 search, seek, share: a national survey assessing americans’ information channels and sharing behaviors during a pandemic l. baker1, a. mcleod-morin2, s. rampold3, a. lindsey4, r. telg5, m. oglesby 6 abstract the spread of accurate and inaccurate information happened quickly in the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic and understanding how this occurred is important to prepare for communication of future disease outbreaks. the purpose of this study was to understand americans’ information seeking and sharing behaviors during the early stages of covid-19 and was guided by the following objectives: identify passive sources/channels of information; identify active sources/channels of information; and describe how frequently and across which channels/sources the u.s. public shared information about covid-19 in early stages of the pandemic. results indicated people first found information about covid-19 from personal communication but turned to national and international organizations if they were to actively seek information. scientists and universities were some of the least sought after and shared sources of information. the sources shared most were from the centers for disease control and prevention and the world health organization. implications from this research are a need for communicators to use grassroots communication efforts during a crisis, to actively share information early during a crisis, to share information outside of traditional academic networks, and to collaborate with sources inside and outside of traditional extension networks. keywords extension, communication, covid-19, public health, agriculture baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.219 63 introduction and problem statement the presence of infectious, zoonotic diseases is increasing and could pose significant impacts to the agricultural industry, particularly in sectors of the industry that involve animals. policies and disease management will need a more proactive approach in order to address zoonotic diseases while ensuring an abundant food supply (rohr et al., 2019). the full impact of an emerging infectious disease was exemplified during the covid-19 pandemic. the novel coronavirus disease (covid-19) was first identified in wuhan china in late 2019 and spread rapidly through more than 160 countries, reaching the united states in late january. the impacts of covid-19 surpassed the usual impacts of typical disease outbreaks and affected areas of science, entertainment, politics, economy, education, and more in countries around the world (sahin et al., 2020). the world health organization (who) declared covid-19 as a pandemic in march, followed by the united states declaring covid-19 a national emergency, which allowed americans to access federal support. over the next few weeks through march and april, the united states experienced school closures, stay-at-home orders, economic turmoil, and individual and community interventions (american journal of managed care [amjc] staff, 2020). covid-19 impacted the health of people around the world, as well as impacted the economy through job and income loss due to widespread business closures and decreased spending while people were staying at home. additionally, covid-19 brought about changes in public purchasing and consumption behaviors. the shelves at grocery stores were often emptied as people stocked up on household goods and cooked more frequently at home (clements, 2020). the purpose of the current study was to understand the public’s information seeking and sharing behaviors during these early stages of covid-19. theoretical and conceptual framework information seeking behaviors, information channels, and sources impact a person’s understanding of risk communication and, therefore, guided the conceptual framework of this study. the perception of a risk can impact the goals of an organization, making effective risk communication particularly important for health organizations or state and federal governments during a public health crisis (covello & sandman, 2001). the groundwork for trust in risk communication is laid between the community and the organization dealing with the risks involved (telg, 2019). communication messages during a public health crisis should be carefully crafted, and the source and channel used for the message should be thoughtfully matched (liu et al., 2011). communication channels are the method in which a message is shared, including print media, online media, and social media; communication sources refer to the sender of the message, which could be an organization or an individual. providing communication messages on targeted channels is only half of the process. understanding the seeking and processing tactics that individuals use when confronted with messages can provide insight on the impact of the message. bates (2005) described differences between active vs. passive information as simply baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.219 64 the act of an individual acquiring information about a topic versus passively taking in information. bates (2005) further defined differences through types of behaviors associated with each. awareness and monitoring are often considered passive behaviors, whereas searching and browsing are considered active behaviors. curiosity and browsing often lead to directed searching or actively seeking information to answer specific questions (bates, 2005). kahlor et al. (2006) stated that active information seeking tends to be more purposeful and leads to more systematic processing of information. as the agricultural industry proactively prepares for future disease outbreaks or pandemic situations, crisis communication should be considered. two-way communication is particularly important during a pandemic or public health crisis, such as covid-19. covello (2003) recommended seven best practices for communication in a public health crisis, which include the following: (a) involve stakeholders as partners; (b) listen to all parties involved; (c) be truthful and transparent; (d) collaborate with other credible sources; (e) provide information to the media; (f) be compassionate and clear; and (g) plan ahead. the information sources and channels used to communicate during a crisis warrant consideration as these can impact an individual’s perception of the crisis (nguyen et al., 2017). during natural disasters, the public has found traditional news sources, such as printed news, to be more credible (endsley et al., 2014). covid-19 occurred in the most technologically advanced time in history, which enabled the transfer of information to spread quickly through traditional and emerging channels. rapidly increasing infection rates signified a need to provide knowledge and best practices “at a pace equal to or better than the spreading epidemic” (chan et.al., 2020, p. 1). popular social media channels were utilized including facebook, instagram, and twitter, all of which are commonly used to disseminate information. early in the pandemic, the social media platform tiktok included users posting videos of a coronavirus dance, which featured moves that mirrored the steps for preventing the spread of covid-19 (wang, 2020). the platform also had inaccurate and culturally insensitive messages related to covid-19 (kenyon, 2020). the who saw this as an opportunity and joined the platform to spread valid health communication related to covid-19 (brown, 2020). purpose the purpose of this study was to understand the u.s. general public’s information seeking and sharing behaviors during the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic, specifically to learn what information sources were passive and which were active in an effort to understand how to reach the public with purposeful communication during a zoonotic disease pandemic. the following objectives guided this study: 1. identify the passive sources/channels of information used by the u.s. public in the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic. 2. identify the active sources/channels of information used by the u.s. public in the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic. 3. describe how frequently and across which channels the u.s. public shared information about covid-19 in the early stages of the pandemic. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.219 65 methods an online survey research design was utilized. a third-party company, qualtrics, was consulted to obtain a nonprobability opt-in sample of u.s. residents 18 years of age or older. this approach is commonly used to make population estimates (baker et al., 2013) and has become common in research examining public opinion of emerging issues due to increased access to internet, relatively low cost of online surveys, and higher response rates (dillman et al., 2014). an online link was distributed to 4,935 u.s. residents during the second and third weeks of march, 2020. attention filters (e.g. “select strongly agree for this answer”) were used to identify respondents not paying attention. respondents who did not complete all items of the instrument or did not select the appropriate answer to attention filters were excluded from analyses. useable responses were obtained from 1,512 residents (31% participation rate). potential exclusion, selection, and non-participation biases can limit the use of nonprobability samples (baker et al., 2013). to minimize impacts, post-stratification weighting methods (kalton & flores-cervantes, 2003) were executed post hoc to balance results based on 2010 census data to accurately approximate to the population (baker et al., 2013). an original researcher-designed questionnaire was the instrument for this study; it was reviewed for face and content validity by a panel that consisted of faculty and staff at the university of florida and its one health center of excellence. the instrument was reviewed for content accuracy, clarity of wording, readability, and survey flow (colton & covert, 2007). a pilot test (n = 50) was conducted to examine preliminary data distribution and ensure functionality of built-in survey logic. this instrument was a part of a larger study; four sections of the questionnaire used to meet the objectives of this study: (a) information search frequency; (b) active and passive use of information sources; (c) information sharing frequency; and (d) use of information-sharing networks and sources. respondents’ information-search frequency was assessed using a single item to gauge how frequently they sought information about covid-19 the month prior to the study. responses were collected using a 5-point ordinal scale: 0 = never; 1 = rarely (1-2 times); 2 = occasionally (3-4 times); 3 = often (5-6 times); 4 = very often (more than 6 times). to identify the channels through which respondents had passively received information about covid-19, they were asked to indicate, by checking all that apply, where they had seen or heard information about covid-19 during the past month. active information-seeking behavior was assessed using 24 items designed to capture respondents' likeliness of use for both the source and method of delivery (e.g., “department of health websites,” “social media posts from the department of health,” etc.). responses were collected using a 5-point likert scale: 1 = very unlikely; 2 = unlikely; 3 = neither likely nor unlikely; 4 = likely; 5 = very likely. to assess information-sharing frequency, respondents were first asked to indicate if they had shared any information related to covid-19 the month prior to the study (1 = yes; 2 = no). respondents who had shared information were then asked how frequently they had done so. responses were collected using the same, previously mentioned frequency scale. use of networks and sources when sharing was assessed by first asking respondents to indicate, by checking all that apply, which networks they used to share information (e.g., facebook). respondents were then asked to list the top three sources of the information they had shared. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.219 66 data were analyzed using the spss26. analyses consisted of descriptive statistics (e.g., means, standard deviations, modes, frequencies, and percentages). open-ended responses of the top three sources of information shared were analyzed in excel using glaser’s constant comparative method (glaser, 1965) to identify themes. findings passive channels/sources of information in order to understand how the public found out about information related to covid-19, it was important to understand the passive ways someone saw information about the virus in the early stages of the pandemic. the passive items were provided in a “check all that apply” format, with a mix of the most common sources and channels. because a filter question for completing the survey was “have you heard of the coronavirus disease covid-19?”, all respondents had heard about covid-19. the largest percentage of people had heard or seen information about covid-19 from conversations with friends or family members (f = 1,160; 76.7%), followed by national network television (f = 1,117; 73.9%), local tv news (f = 1,045; 69.1%), and general websites (f = 1,015; 67.2%). the least identified passive information sources were twitter (f = 412, 27.2%), personal healthcare provider (f = 407, 26.9%), instagram (f = 382, 25.2%), and tiktok (f = 149, 9.8%). full results are in table 1. table 1 channels through which respondents saw or heard information about covid-19 in the early stages of the pandemic (n = 1,512). channel f % conversations with friends or family members 1,160 76.7% national network tv news channels 1,117 73.9% local tv news channels 1,045 69.1% websites 1,015 67.2% national cable tv news channels 917 60.6% facebook 841 55.6% radio 617 40.8% conversations with work colleagues 579 38.3% tv programs (not news) 562 37.2% print newspaper 506 33.4% youtube 456 30.2% twitter 412 27.2% personal healthcare provider 407 26.9% instagram 382 25.2% tiktok 149 9.8% note: responses were collected using a “check all that apply” multiple-response format, so percentages do not add up to 100%. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.219 67 active sources/channels of information used by the public about covid-19 the next piece to fully understand how people received information about covid-19 was to understand their active search for information. researchers asked how often people actively sought information about covid-19 over the month, i.e., late february through early march, 2020. the vast majority of people had actively searched for information related to covid-19 (f = 1,431; 96.4%) to some extent, with the largest number of people searching very often for information (f = 626, 41.4%; see table 2). table 2 respondents’ search frequency for information about covid-19 in the early stages of the pandemic (n = 1,512) response category f % very often (more than 6 times) 626 41.4 occasionally (3-4 times) 343 22.7 often (5-6 times) 276 18.3 rarely (1-2 times) 185 12.2 never 81 5.4 next, researchers sought to understand where respondents were searching for information. all respondents, including the 5.4% who indicated they had not searched for information in the month prior to the study, were asked to indicate the likelihood they would seek information related to covid-19 from select sources/channels. the highest means for actively seeking information were all for national or international organizations’ websites involved in health: centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) websites (m = 4.32, sd = .89), department of health (doh) websites (m = 4.08, sd = .95), and the world health organization (who) website (m = 4.05, sd = 1.05; see table 3). respondents also identified their personal healthcare providers (m = 4.05, sd = 1.00) among the top sources they would most likely seek. the sources least likely to be used were social media from friends and family (m = 2.95, sd = 1.24), universities (m = 2.89, sd = 1.15), extension systems (m = 2.86, sd = 1.22), and social media posts from work colleagues (m = 2.75, sd = 1.25; see table 3). baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.219 68 table 3 likeliness of use of sources for covid-19 during the early stages of the pandemic (n = 1,512) m sd centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) websites 4.32 0.9 department of health (doh) websites 4.08 1.0 world health organization (who) website 4.05 1.1 personal healthcare provider 4.05 1.0 social media posts from centers from disease control and prevention (cdc) 3.63 1.3 social media posts from the world health organization (who) 3.56 1.3 communication with friends or family members 3.52 1.1 national network tv news channels (abc, cbs, nbc, etc.) 3.51 1.2 social media posts from the department of health (doh) 3.47 1.2 national cable tv news channels (fox news, msnbc, cnn, etc.) 3.42 1.3 internet news sources 3.40 1.2 other internet sources (e.g. webmd) 3.37 1.2 social media posts from national network tv news channels (abc, cbs, nbc, etc.) 3.13 1.3 newspaper 3.09 1.3 social media posts from national cable tv news channels (fox news, msnbc, cnn, etc.) 3.09 1.3 social media posts from local tv news channels 3.07 1.3 communication with colleagues 3.06 1.2 social media posts from friends or family 2.95 1.2 universities 2.89 1.2 state extension systems 2.86 1.2 social media posts from work colleagues 2.75 1.3 note. responses were collected using a 5-point likert scale: 1 = very unlikely; 2 = unlikely; 3 = neither likely nor unlikely; 4 = likely; 5 = very likely. how the public shared information about covid-19 the next step in understanding information spread was to determine if people were sharing information about covid-19 and, if so, how they were sharing information. slightly more than two-thirds (f = 1,045; 69.2%) of respondents said they had shared information about covid-19 in the month prior to this study (see table 4). on average, respondents who indicated they had shared information about covid-19 did so occasionally (m = 2.59, sd = 1.06). baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.219 69 table 4 frequency people shared information about covid-19 in the first month of the pandemic (n = 1,045) item f % very often (more than 6 times) 289 27.6 often (5-6 times) 209 20.0 occasionally (3-4 times) 380 36.4 rarely (1-2 times) 167 15.9 when asked specifically what personal and social networks they used to share information, the majority of people said they used a form of personal communication (n = 831, 54.9%). the next highest percentage was for facebook (n = 404, 26.7%), and the lowest was for tiktok (n = 44, 2.9%). full results are in table 5. table 5 personal and social networks used to share information about covid-19 with others in early stage of pandemic (n = 1,045) f % personal communication 831 54.9% facebook 404 26.7% twitter 155 10.3% instagram 148 9.8% youtube 95 6.3% tiktok 44 2.9% other 38 2.5% note. the “other” category included whatsapp, snapchat, reddit, skype, hangouts, and other forms of personal communication the last step taken to understand how people shared information during the early stages of covid-19 was to ask the 1,045 respondents who indicated they had shared information to list the top three sources they used to do so. diversity in channels and sources shared were great (see table 6). the largest number of people said they used the cdc or who (f = 679). the cdc and who had to be included in the same category because a large portion of people who said they used the cdc and who included these as one source in the form of cdc/who or similar instead of listing these as distinctly different sources. this was followed by news outlets (f = 435) and conversations with people (f = 412). a large number of sources in the middle range of use were highly specialized and ranged from social media (f = 246) and online sources (f = 148) to the government (f = 153) and doctors (f = 143). on the lower end were science and research (f = 22), blogs and maps/statistics (f = 12), email (f = 11), and religious sources (f = 7; see table 6). baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.219 70 table 6 open-ended responses for three sources used by respondents who indicated they had shared information about covid-19 in the early stages of the pandemic (n = 1,045) source category examples of answers f (%) cdc/who cdc website, cdc articles, news articles citing cdc/who, national health service, oms 679 (65.0) news outlets abc, nbc, today show, cbs, cbsn, cnbc, fox, cnn, msnbc, new york times, washington post, npr, media, wall street journal, huffington post, cable news 435 (41.6) conversations with people friends, family, colleagues, word of mouth, face to face, with people with who have the virus 412 (39.4) social media facebook, instagram, twitter, tiktok, snapchat, youtube, memes 246 (23.5) local news sources texas tribune, wlwt, wtva news, news story about local company testing sars meds on covid, local news on facebook 164 (15.8) government federal, state, health departments, fauci, surgeon general, fda, county information, homeland security, public health, congress 153 (14.6) news news 152 (14.5) online searches/articles internet, search engine results, business websites, research from internet, internet medical news sites, alternative media, conservative websites 148 (14.2) doctors/medical professionals doctor, health care professional, health care providers, care centers, nurses, hospitals, military medic, web md, cms, medical website, articles written by medical experts 143 (13.6) newspaper/ print sources newspapers, printed materials, magazines 76 (7.3) podcasts/ radio podcasts, radio, joe rogan 64 (6.1) news aggregators/ online sources apple news, smart news, bing, tivi, google, yahoo, wikipedia, forbes, uberfacts, medium.com, trenches world report 50 (4.8) specialty media outlets inside edition, espn, dr. oz, tv (not news), beal beats, famous people, pbs, joe rogan, buzzfeed, chinese resident videos, special shows 48 (4.6) president president, trump, president speeches, president press conferences 39 (3.7) phone phone, phone alerts, smart phone, weather channel app, community app, mobile news app, texting, whatsapp, next door app, video chat 32 (3.1) baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.219 71 source category examples of answers f (%) schools/university classes, district website, district emails, school closing, teachers, education, live feed from superintendent 31 (3.0) science/research science, infectious disease experts, research, experts, epidemiologist on my college campus 22 (2.1) international sources bbc, foreign news, un website, reuters 19 (1.8) other common sense, business, usaus, msjd, ship cruise information, strangers, trusted sources, amazon 18 (1.7) blog blogs, reddit, zero hedge, daily kos 12 (1.1) covid maps/information coronavirus map, detected counties, coronavirus task force press conferences, updates, information from other health officials not related to white house or staff, virus trackers, worlometer website, numbers detected, number died 12 (1.1) email email 11 (1.1) church/religious minister, church leaders, christian tv news 7 (0.1) self myself 7 (0.1) conclusions, discussion, and recommendations both active and passive information-seeking behaviors among the american public early in covid-19 were observed, as well as some key differences in the primary sources and channels of information when pursued actively versus consumed passively. these findings support bates’ (2005) recommendation to use multiple channels and sources to reach all audiences as part of an effective risk communication strategy. if members of the public were to actively seek information about covid-19, they were more likely to do so from the websites of major national or international health organizations. while previous work indicated people found newspapers a more credible source during a crisis (endsley et al., 2014), the results of the current study showed people were more likely to use online sources. with rapid changes occurring early in the covid-19 pandemic, online sources may have been attractive to americans due to the instantaneous nature of online channels and quickly updated crisis response information. respondents were not likely to actively seek information about covid-19 from scientists, universities, and extension systems directly, which provides further evidence for a need to work with health-focused organizations during a zoonotic disease outbreak. this also provides evidence that scientists and health communicators must move beyond using communication channels viewed only by people in academia. effective science and health communication may also help a university or extension program to establish a relationship before a public health crisis (telg, 2019). personal networks were also extremely important in the sharing process baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.219 72 among those who shared information in the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic. this provides further support for the use of grassroots communication efforts for risk communication in the early stages of a pandemic. though people indicated they eventually would seek information from national and international organizations’ websites, these health organizations could have been on the forefront of communication if they were actively pushing information in the beginning stages of the pandemic. while social media channels received average to little consideration from people when they were in the passive or active search process, people indicated more use of personal communication, facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube, and tiktok when it came to sharing information about covid-19. while only a small portion of people were using tiktok during the early stages of the pandemic, its emergence as a channel/source of information during this pandemic was rapid (wang, 2020) and may indicate an emerging trend in its use for health communication messages in the future. this work supports the continued use of covello’s (2003) best practices for communication in a public health crisis. involving stakeholders as partners and listening to all parties involved will allow communicators to connect through personal networks, which were the most used active and passive channels in this study. collaboration with other credible sources is also supported by this work, as the top active search channels/sources were all health-focused organizations. scientists, universities, extension programs, and communicators from many disciplines, including public health, science, and agriculture, will need to partner with health organizations in future zoonotic disease outbreaks. future research should investigate the trust of the public related to their primary and secondary passive and active sources of information to understand the role trust played in risk communication during covid-19. additionally, future research should explore the relationship between the public and popular sources of information, such as the cdc and who, to determine why people might react more positively to some sources compared to others. and lastly, research should be conducted to understand how these sources, channels, and behaviors changed throughout the pandemic. acknowledgments this research was funded by the university of florida institute of food and agricultural sciences (uf/ifas) center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources (pie center) and the uf/ifas office of the dean for research. references american journal of managed care staff. 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(2020, march 26). how a coronavirus safety-themed dance took the world by storm, according to the tiktok star who created it. business insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-song-dance-wash-hands-quang-dang2020-3 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 295-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 2, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. olivia doyle, communications director, southern hill farms, florida, usa, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, gainesville, fl 32611 c/o ufifas pie center, olivia.doyle@southernhillfarms.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6621-2418 2. lauri m. baker, associate professor, agricultural education and communication department, university of florida, usa, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, gainesville, fl 32611, lauri.m.baker@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-6077 3. anissa m. zagonel, research coordinator, uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources, university of florida, usa, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, gainesville, fl 32611, azagonel@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6359-5820 4. ricky w. telg, professor, agricultural education and communication department, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, gainesville, fl 32611, rwtelg@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8729-16346 103 marvelous metrics: a quantitative content analysis to establish social media benchmarks for florida fruit and vegetable farms on facebook o. doyle1, l. m. baker2, a. m. zagonel3, r. w. telg4 article history received: january 25, 2023 accepted: may 23, 2023 published: june 16, 2023 keywords social media strategy; quantitative content analysis; facebook; engagement rate; florida farmers; communications professionals abstract social media platforms like facebook offer farms a chance to reach larger audiences and gain connections through online engagement. previous work demonstrates that online engagement can lead to increased sales. however, much work in tracking benchmarks for social media metrics has been outside of an agricultural context. this study aimed to benchmark the presence of fruit and vegetable farms on social media and the associated metrics (followers, likes, engagement rates, reactions, shares, etc.) to offer a standard of comparison for farms on social media. a quantitative content analysis was used to collect data from 117 farms for general analysis, and a sub-sample of 15 farms was used for a deeper analysis of 1,111 facebook posts. results indicate facebook is the most used platform by florida fruit and vegetable farms, and photos are the most used post type. farms with the highest engagement rates posted less than farms with the lowest engagement rate, which indicates that posting more frequently may not increase engagement rates. implications from this work are that farms may be unique in the social media space and may not need to post during the seasons when they do not have crops available for purchase. doyle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.295 104 introduction and problem statement the majority of americans are a minimum of three generations removed from the farm (vilsack, 2014), but platforms like facebook can offer opportunities for producers to reach larger audiences and gain near-instantaneous responses through various online engagement methods (reese et al., 2001). social media has continually increased in recent years and likely will continue to increase worldwide (mason et al., 2021). research shows a significant relationship between social media and purchasing behavior (shah et al., 2019), which makes it a potentially valuable endeavor for agricultural producers. the potential for sales through social media in florida is great, with various fruits and vegetables available year-round due to various growing seasons (florida department of agriculture and consumer services [fdacs], 2021). when the covid-19 pandemic began, it created barriers for producers and forced innovative ideas and collaborations to market produce online effectively. other industries have datadriven best practices to compare the social media performance of businesses with (dascau, 2022; facebook iq, 2016); however, due to the cyclical nature of the agricultural industry, benchmarks and practices for other industries may not be comparable or applicable to agricultural producers on facebook. engagement rate is one of the most recommended metrics to measure (dascau, 2022; facebook iq, 2016) and is considered the currency of social media marketing (sehl & tien, 2023). engagement rate is calculated using the formula (likes + reactions + comments + shares)/followers (stebner et al., 2017). the average engagement rate across all accounts on facebook as of january 2023 was 0.07 (statista, 2023). social media marketing experts define a good engagement rate as anything between .01 and .05 (sehl & tien, 2023). however, it is yet to be determined if these benchmarks and practices established by other businesses apply to agricultural producers. other studies have examined social media engagement with agricultural businesses through the lens of post types in informational campaigns (mcleod-morin et al., 2020) and characteristics of posts (bowman et al., 2020). this study looks explicitly to fill the literature gap in best practices for florida fruit and vegetable farms and the post frequency, post type, and engagement rate. theoretical and conceptual framework a study by hays et al. (2013) sought to understand how prevalent social media marketing was among marketing organizations of tourist destinations. this study found many of the organizations were not effectively using social media to interact with consumers; social media was not widely recognized as a critical marketing tool in marketing plans resulting in underfunding; and social media strategies could increase outreach through creative and tailored content (hays et al., 2013). industries seeking to market products should recognize the benefits of utilizing social media as a key marketing tool. this can be applied both with individuals and organizations or in this case, farms (shah et al., 2019). consumers use social media and other online platforms to seek information; search engines and social media are the top two of the most used online services (de choudhury et al., 2014). doyle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.295 105 research recommends that agricultural communicators use social media, including facebook, for agricultural issue-related communication with the public and to promote social movements (graybill-leonard et al., 2011). florida fruit and vegetable farms are provided an opportunity to connect with consumers through social media, promote their products, and provide farm updates. facebook was first launched in 2004 (maryville university, n.d.) and has proliferated, with over 2.96 billion active users as of the fourth quarter of 2022 (statista, 2023). since its initial launch, facebook has experienced several updates, and new tools have become available for users, like the like button, born in 2009 (kincaid, 2009). not only does the like button provide a user’s affirmation of a post, but it also may push the content they indicated they liked to the newsfeed of those who are friends with them on the social media network (mangalindan, 2015). while simple, the like button left facebook users wanting more (kapoor et al., 2018). thus, on february 24, 2016, reactions became available to facebook users allowing users to show different reactions to a post (newton, 2016). in april 2020, amidst the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, the care reaction was included in the list of available reactions (lunden, 2020). although facebook’s algorithm is ever-changing, users see more of the content they click like on most and less of the content they continually scroll past. with this, engagement is an important metric that provides insight into an organization’s posts (constine, 2016). before social media, communication channels had limited opportunities to quickly reach a specific audience of interest (owen & humphrey, 2009); often, it was unclear if the message reached the intended target audience. platforms, including facebook, automatically capture a variety of analytics that provide insight into post-performance and engagement. examples of engagement include liking, commenting, or sharing a post; however, on facebook, engagement is any action on a specific page or post (mclachlan & newberry, 2021). research from statista (2023) indicated that the average facebook engagement rate for the third quarter of 2022 was 0.07. while the engagement rate numbers do not appear bold, being attentive to engagement rates is essential in a successful social media strategy. kite et al. (2016) identifies the need to invest resources into managing facebook for quality content and the success of the posts. evidence exists linking facebook engagement with sales (goh et al., 2013). analyzing facebook engagement rates allows organizations to identify what posts perform best among the intended audience. while social media provides the previously mentioned opportunities, it is still not considered a vital component of all marketing strategies, resulting in neglect of the platforms and underfunding to effectively carry out social media responsibilities (hays et al., 2013). the data analytics provide can be a resource to indicate the importance of utilizing facebook, specifically in this study, in fruit and vegetable operations. doyle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.295 106 purpose this quantitative content analysis aimed to determine the presence of florida fruit and vegetable producers on social media and determine the relationship between types of facebook posts and the engagement rate by collecting relevant analytic data. the following four research objectives guided this study: 1. determine the presence of florida fruit and vegetable producers on social media. 2. describe facebook activity by florida fruit and vegetable producers. 3. determine the types of facebook posts used by florida fruit and vegetable producers. 4. define farm engagement rate levels by strategy. methods quantitative research is utilized to aid researchers in interpreting the relationships between different variables (field, 2000), which can allow results to be generalized to a larger population. specifically, a quantitative content analysis analyzes the relationships between values assigned to types of communication (riffe et al., 2005). by nature, quantitative content analysis is systematic and replicable (riffe et al., 2005), which is important to note as this study was conducted during the covid-19 pandemic in 2020. the reciprocity of this study allows for its replication during other years without the impact of messaging during a global pandemic. using this methodology, this study analyzed posts from florida fruit and vegetable producers by gathering analytic metrics, including the number of likes, comments, and shares. two coders collected the data for this study by visiting the facebook pages of each farm in december 2021. all posts between january 1 and december 31, 2020 were copied and pasted into an excel sheet. researchers collected public information from the posts, including the post link, post message, post date, post type, number of comments, number of likes, number of other reactions, and number of shares, along with the total page likes and followers. a census sample of florida fruit and vegetable producers who submitted to the florida farm to you program was used. the sample was collected from a list provided by the florida department of agriculture and consumer services of the fruit and vegetable producers who had submitted to the florida farm to you program between its inception in january 2020 and the export date of june 8, 2021. this list included 195 submissions. the submissions were sorted only to include a relevant sample of fruit and vegetable producers for this study. of the fruit and vegetable submissions, 78 were duplicates or otherwise unusable, which allowed for 117 farms in objective one. other objectives were focused on facebook. thus, farms without facebook (n = 40) were removed; 77 had usable and active facebook pages. out of the 77 farms, 15 (19.48%) were randomly selected for deeper analysis to fulfill objectives two through four, which resulted in 1,111 posts in the subsample. a codebook was created for two researchers to collect post data and code each post from the 15 farms. the codebook was created by a university of florida agricultural communication graduate student and reviewed by an agricultural communication faculty member and subjectdoyle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.295 107 matter experts. the codebook included post type (text only, event, link, photo, share, video, or miscellaneous) and seven post categories (local, fresh from florida, covid-19, recipe/how-to, business post, agricultural business or non-agricultural business post, and customer testimonial). to fulfill objective one, one researcher searched for each of the 117 farms on facebook, twitter, and instagram and searched for the farm website, if it had one, for associated social media platforms. then, in objectives two and three, subsample post and engagement data were collected by copying and pasting information from facebook pages to code the posts. to ensure interrater reliability, coders each coded 20% of the 1,111 post sample. kappa tests were run using statistical package for social sciences (spss) 28, and coders reached an acceptable rate of 80% reliability to move forward and code individually (mchugh, 2012). coders split the rest of the sample by every other farm and coded each of the remaining posts. engagement rates of each individual post were calculated in spss using the formula (likes + reactions + comments + shares)/followers, a formula from stebner et al. (2017), with the addition of a metric to include reactions (gogolan, 2022). data were analyzed in spss using descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, minimums, and maximums. the average engagement rate of farms was examined on a line plot in excel to determine natural breaks in the data. findings objective one: producers’ social media presence of the 117 farms that submitted fruit and vegetable information to the florida farm to you program, the majority (f = 79, 67.52%) were present on facebook. of the three social media platforms analyzed, instagram was the second most frequent platform (f = 53, 45.30%), and the least frequent platform was twitter (f = 11, 9.40%). table 1 outlines the frequency and percentages of social media platforms on which florida fruit and vegetable producers were present during 2020. table 1 frequency and percentages of social media platforms for florida fruit and vegetable producers (n = 117) in 2020. platform f  percent (%)  facebook  79  67.52  instagram  53  45.30  twitter  11  9.40  note. percentages do not add up to 100% because producers could be present on multiple platforms. objective two: producers’ facebook activity since research objective one identified facebook as the most frequently used platform, 15 farms’ facebook pages were randomly selected for deeper-level analysis. table 2 describes the facebook activity for florida fruit and vegetable producers between january 1 and december doyle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.295 108 31, 2020. the farm with the largest number of followers had 6,465 followers, and the farm with the lowest had 239 followers. the farms sampled had an average of 2,290.47 followers (m = 2290.47). posting 192 times, farm j published the greatest number of posts during the sampled year, while farm c posted the fewest, ten times during the same period. the average number of posts by all 15 farms was 74.06 (table 2). table 2 description of facebook activity for florida fruit and vegetable producers from january 1 to december 31, 2020. farm followers posts engagement ratea likes comments reactions shares mc sd m sd m sd m sd m sd a 6465 191 0.01 0.01 26.25 32.80 5.20 18.44 5.02 7.25 3.55 9.26 b 4600 129 0.03 0.04 61.42 54.02 14.95 33.83 13.54 24.12 38.47 122.06 c 3247 22 0.13 0.09 150.05 178.06 31.05 21.52 29.18 20.79 44.09 51.70 d 3047 54 0.01 0.04 30.94 94.47 2.50 5.00 3.89 9.47 3.09 10.19 e 2918 77 0.05 0.08 96.08 140.24 23.97 34.18 20.87 44.67 18.29 43.55 f 2876 105 0.01 0.02 16.13 47.69 3.37 6.22 5.39 6.12 2.15 6.35 g 2419 119 0.01 0.01 15.69 13.02 4.85 7.15 4.21 5.79 4.92 12.18 h 1746 19 0.02 0.02 10.84 9.72 8.37 17.12 3.63 4.09 3.32 5.79 i 1714 55 0.03 0.08 20.82 45.59 2.27 10.81 6.16 9.17 16.96 92.67 j 1608 192 0.01 0.01 8.67 6.46 1.14 2.42 1.91 2.65 2.79 3.13 k 1577 18 0.02 0.06 17.44 10.87 9.67 8.59 3.06 3.01 7.72 12.99 l 919 51 0.01 0.02 9.65 10.13 2.37 3.91 0.73 1.51 0.75 1.00 m 674 47 0.03 0.02 14.60 8.18 0.79 1.22 1.30 1.53 3.09 3.21 n 308 20 0.01 0.01 2.95 1.61 0.05 0.22 0.55 0.76 0.40 0.60 o 239 12 0.32 0.35 53.42 60.37 2.33 4.38 3.33 6.04 16.50 18.01 all farms 2290b 74.06 0.05 0.06 35.66 47.55 7.53 11.67 6.85 9.80 11.07 26.18 note. a engagement rate (likes + reactions + comments + shares)/followers (stebner et al., 2017); b rounded to the nearest follower; c average engagement rate on facebook is 0.07 (statista, 2023). a good engagement rate is between .01 and .05 (sehl & tien, 2023). objective three: types of facebook posts used by producers researchers coded what type of posts the florida fruit and vegetable producers used. the most frequent post types included a photo (f = 656, 59.0%), share (f = 172, 15.5%), and text only (f = 134, 12.1%). the least frequent post type included miscellaneous (f = 11, 1.0%), event (f = 22, 2.0%), and link preview (f = 27, 2.4%). table 3 reflects the frequencies and percentages of the coded post types for the florida fruit and vegetable farm subsample between january 1 and december 31, 2020. doyle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.295 109 table 3 description of the frequencies and percentages of post types for the florida fruit and vegetable farms combined between january 1 to december 31, 2020. post type f percent (%) photo 657 59.14 share 172 15.48 text only 134 12.06 video 88 7.92 link preview 27 2.43 event 22 1.98 miscellaneous 11 0.99 note. there were 1,111 posts in total. using the formula (likes + reactions + comments + shares)/followers from stebner et al. (2017), with the addition of a metric to include reactions (gogolan, 2022), the engagement rates of each individual post were calculated in spss. the post types with the highest engagement rate included miscellaneous (m = .32, sd = .38), photos (m = .02, sd = .05), and text only (m = .02, sd = .02). the post types with the lowest engagement rates included shares (m = .01, sd = .01), link previews (m = .01, sd = .01), and events (m = .00, sd = .00). table 4 describes the engagement rates combined by post type for florida fruit and vegetable farms between january 1 and december 31, 2020. table 4 description of engagement rates combined by post type for florida fruit and vegetable farms from january 1 to december 31, 2020. engagement rate post type m sd minimum maximum miscellaneous 0.32 0.38 0.00 0.95 photo 0.02 0.05 0.00 0.59 text only 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.15 video 0.02 0.04 0.00 0.38 share 0.01 0.02 0.00 0.19 link preview 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.06 event 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 note. engagement rate was calculated (likes + reactions + comments + shares)/followers from stebner et al. (2017). in addition to post type, posts were coded by post categories, including customer testimonials, recipe/how-to, and business posts. table 5 reflects the frequencies and percentages of post doyle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.295 110 categories, with business posts being the most frequent (f = 503, 45.3%) and customer testimonials being the least frequent (f = 30, 2.7%). table 5 description of the frequencies and percentages of post types for the florida fruit and vegetable farms combined between january 1 to december 31, 2020 (n = 1,111). post category f percent (%) business post 503 45.3 recipe/how-to 62 5.6 customer testimonial 30 2.7 note. percentages do not add up to 100% because posts could fall into multiple categories or not fall into any of these categories. percentages were calculated based on the total posts in the sample (n = 1,111). objective four: define farm engagement rate levels by strategy to answer research objective four, average engagement rate of farms was examined on a line plot in excel to determine natural breaks in the data. based on natural data breaks, farms were divided into three levels based on the average engagement rate of posts. high engagement farms were defined as having an average engagement rate of .05 or greater, medium engagement farms had an engagement rate greater than .01 but less than .05, and low engagement farms had an engagement rate of .01 or lower. three farms had high engagement rates, five had a medium average engagement rate, and seven had low. the total number of posts for farms with high engagement rates was 99 posts, for an average post rate of 33 posts per farm; the total posts from farms with medium engagement was 269 posts, for an average post rate of 53.6 posts per farm; and the farms with low engagement rates had a total of 732 posts, for an average post rate of 104.57 posts per farm. the engagement rate was calculated by using (likes + reactions + comments + shares)/followers from stebner et al. (2017), with the addition of a metric to include reactions (gogolan, 2022). table 6 provides the frequencies and percentages of post categories by engagement rate levels. doyle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.295 111 table 6 frequencies and percentages of post categories by engagement level (n = 1,111). high engagement (n = 99) medium engagement (n = 269) low engagement (n = 732) post category f % f % f % business post 70 70.71 70 26.12 360 49.20 photo 58 58.59 163 60.45 436 59.56 text only 26 26.26 27 10.07 81 11.07 share/repost 11 11.11 61 22.76 100 13.66 miscellaneous 6 6.06 5 1.87 0 0 video 4 4.04 13 4.85 73 9.97 link preview 4 4.04 0 0 23 23.23 recipe/how-to 3 3.03 12 4.48 47 6.42 customer testimonial 2 2.02 2 0.75 19 2.60 event 2 2.02 1 0.37 19 2.60 note. percentages were calculated based on the total posts in each engagement rate category. engagement rates were plotted and defined by data breaks as low (≤ .01), medium (> .01 and < .05), and high (³ .05). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations for farms, communication directors of farms, agricultural organizations, and agricultural commodity groups, this study provides an analysis of current facebook content and engagement rates. although the data cannot be generalized outside of this specific population, it can serve as a benchmark for setting and reaching future communication goals when planning farm social media strategy on facebook. this work adds to the literature by defining a benchmark for low (≤ .01), medium (> .01 and < .05), and high (³ .05) engagement rates for farms on facebook. results of research objective one indicated producers were using social media to connect with consumers, but there continues to be an opportunity for growth. in this study, farms’ primary focus was on facebook. over half of the sampled farms were not taking advantage of opportunities to sell directly to consumers on instagram. agricultural communicators should continue to work with farms on how to use social media, particularly during crises like covid19, which influenced producers’ ability to market and sell products. moreover, with consumers’ growing interest in local food, fruit and vegetable producers could close the gap between agricultural production and consumers through targeted social media marketing. future research should investigate posts related to selling local foods and evaluate the effectiveness of these campaigns. doyle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.295 112 findings from research objective two indicate that while engagement rates were relatively low, the average engagement rate (0.05) was comparable with the 2023 average facebook engagement rate for all accounts (0.07) by statista (2023) and could serve as an industry benchmark. while the sampled farms' followers varied between 239 and 6,465 followers, the findings reflected an average of 2,290 followers, which could be a baseline facebook follower goal for florida fruit and vegetable producers. research objective three found that photos were the most frequently used post type; however, the engagement rate between photo and text only did not differ much. perhaps fruit and vegetable producers do not need to include photos in every post and could use the text-only function to post updates and connect with consumers without significantly impacting the farm’s engagement rate. the miscellaneous posts could have performed the best due to being boosted, as these posts exhibited options only available to boosted posts. this may provide evidence that boosting posts increases engagement and may allow farms to reach new audiences. occasionally, boosting posts during important seasons could be a part of farms’ social media strategy to reach new customers and increase engagement. of the post categories coded, business posts were used most frequently, indicating that the sampled fruit and vegetable producers use facebook to market and sell products to consumers. the fruit and vegetable producers used recipe/how-to posts and customer testimonials less frequently. this kind of content could take more content development and be more challenging for producers to incorporate into their social media strategy than business posts. research objective four defined a benchmark for farm engagement rates on facebook as low (≤ .01), medium (> .01 and < .05), and high (³ .05). results showed that farms with the highest engagement rate posted an average of 33 posts per farm, the medium engagement farms posted an average post rate of 53.6 posts per farm, and the farms with the lowest engagement posted an average of 104.57 posts per farm. this indicates that posting more frequently may not increase the engagement rate. perhaps fruit and vegetable producers do not have to maintain social media presence when their product is not in season, as consumers may be seeking information about their business and engaging with less frequent posts that provide more relevant and valuable information. the farms with the highest engagement rate may have only been posting during the active buying season for their crop, which is an average of 6 months (fdacs, 2021). acknowledgements funding for this research was provided by the center for rural enterprise engagement, a partner center of the uf/ifas center for public issue education in agriculture and natural resources. the authors would like to thank the florida department of agriculture and consumer services for connecting researchers with farmers enrolled in the florida farms to you program and naik wali, a visiting phd scholar, for his support in the data collection for this research. doyle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.295 113 author contributions o. doyle formal analysis, investigation, writing-original draft; 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(2014, january 13). usda secretary tom vilsack addresses american farm bureau convention. united states department of agriculture. https://www.usda.gov/media/transcripts-speeches/2014/01/13/usda-secretary-tomvilsack-addresses-american-farm-bureau © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 2, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. lendel kade narine, extension associate professor, utah state university, old main hill logan, utah 84322, lendel.narine@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-2770 2. amy harder, associate dean for extension, university of connecticut, 1376 storrs road, unit 4066, storrs, connecticut 06269, amy.harder@uconn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-2028 105 analyzing and visualizing repeated-measures needs assessment data using the ranked discrepancy model l. k. narine1, a. harder2 article history received: april 3, 2023 accepted: august 4, 2023 published: january 31, 2024 keywords ordinal data; ranking; gaps; priorities; survey; borich abstract the ranked discrepancy model was introduced in 2021 as an alternative for analyzing borich-style competency-based needs assessment data which avoided the pitfalls associated with the original methods for analysis. in this article, we sought to expand upon that work by developing and testing a new framework to analyze and visualize repeated-measures needs assessment data using the ranked discrepancy model (rdm). data for the analyses were taken from statewide community needs assessments conducted in utah and florida with paid survey panelists recruited by an online survey vendor. we found it was possible to apply the rdm to repeated-measures data using microsoft excel. a comparison of results obtained from analyzing data using paired t-tests and the rdm model showed strong positive correlations. additionally, the transition to a spreadsheet format enabled the expansion of data analysis possibilities to include sorting needs by demographic subgroups. we recommend researchers use excel for the rdm so they can easily examine subgroup needs and apply data visualization techniques to improve the utility of needs assessments and the decisions made by the individuals who interpret the results. mailto:lendel.narine@usu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-2770 mailto:amy.harder@uconn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-2028 narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 106 introduction and problem statement needs assessments are plagued with the misapplication of analytical techniques to incompatible variable types. these include the inappropriate selection of inferential statistics rather than nonparametric statistics based on sampling decisions but also mishandling data from individual ordinal items. both types of error should be of concern for researchers looking to make real-life decisions using the data collected and analyzed during a needs assessment. in 2021, we proposed the ranked discrepancy model (rdm) to improve upon concerns inherent to the popular borich (1980) method of analyzing competency assessment data (narine & harder, 2021). it has since been applied successfully by choi and park (2022) and seitz et al. (2022). our experiences with the initial iteration of the rdm led to new questions about if it could be applied to other types of needs assessment data, if it was possible to improve what could be learned from the data analysis, and how to best visualize the results. we explore these topics in the following sections and provide data and examples to demonstrate what is possible using the rdm. potential applications beyond borich-style data a paired t-test is frequently used to measure the magnitude of difference between paired scores in a repeated-measures design. for example, paired t-tests are applied to pre-andposttest designs to measure changes in knowledge before and after an intervention. researchers sometimes use similar repeated-measures designs to search for differences between actual and desired states when assessing needs (e.g., chaudhary & warner, 2022). figure 1 illustrates an example of a repeated-measures style set of questions from a needs assessment survey instrument. figure 1 item structure in the community needs assessment instrument https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 107 given a repeated-measures/paired data structure in a needs assessment instrument as shown in figure 1, researchers may be tempted to apply a paired t-test to examine differences between importance and satisfaction. however, there are several assumptions of a paired t-test that are sometimes overlooked in social science research. major assumptions of a paired t-test are as follows: (a) data must be continuous or scale; (b) no outliers exist; (c) pairs of observations should follow a normal distribution; and (d) sufficient statistical power exists to test the hypothesis (warner, 2013). repeated-measures data gathered from an assessment using the item structure in figure 1 are likely to violate the assumptions of a paired t-test (ghosh et al., 2018). yet, researchers sometimes apply multivariate techniques and disregard test assumptions in search of significant results, a practice that continues to be a concern in social science research (hoekstra et al., 2012). the rdm was presented as an alternative to assessing competency needs using the borich model to avoid similar concerns about statistical analysis (narine & harder, 2021). however, the data structures across competency assessments and community needs assessments can both collect item-level ordinal data in a repeated-measures design. the rdm may provide an appropriate descriptive alternative for analyzing repeated-measures ordinal data in a community needs assessment framework, just as it did for assessing competency-based needs. assessing needs based on subgroups there is little reason to believe that the needs of any population of interest are going to be homogenous, even when the individuals in the population share a common characteristic, such as employment type or community of residence. demographic variables such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, and education level impact people’s perceptions of community needs and assets. for example, yang et al. (2009) found gender, age, marital status, household size, education, income, and familiarity with extension impacted respondents’ concerns about one or more of six community issues factors: helping vulnerable children and youth, chronic diseases, strengthening families, family finances, environmental threats, and agricultural education and sustainability. ignoring demographics when analyzing needs assessment data can lead to mistakes in interpretation. researchers have had cumbersome options for analyzing needs assessment data to yield findings that could be isolated to population subgroups. analyzing needs by subgroups using the borich model means the researcher must calculate the mean weighted discrepancy score (mwds) for every group (or interaction) of interest, a time-consuming process. this replication is also necessary when using paired t-tests, or the researcher can build a series of repeatedmeasures anova model with between-subjects effects. in all the options described, the use of individual ordinal data continues to be problematic and insufficient for handling subgroup data appropriately. an improved option is needed for analyzing needs assessment subgroup data. visualizing needs assessment data researchers have long used basic data visualization techniques, such as data tables and figures, to aid in communicating their findings. sadiku et al. (2016) noted common visualization techniques include static graphics such as line graphs, bar charts, scatter plots, and pie charts. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 108 advancements in data visualization methods, software, and techniques have expanded substantially. by 2010, dynamic graphics were broadly adopted for applications such as social networking, business data, and sports performance management (beck et al., 2017). data dashboards have grown in popularity, so much so that in 2019 they were described by sarikaya et al. as “ubiquitous” (p. 682). regardless of the type of graphic used, data visualization “is useful for data cleaning, exploring data structure, detecting outliers and unusual groups, identifying trends and clusters, spotting local patterns, evaluating modeling output, and presenting results” (unwin, 2020, p. 2). such benefits would improve the utility of needs assessments and should be a consideration when presenting data for decision-making. purpose this methodological study sought to test a framework to analyze and visualize repeatedmeasures needs assessment data using the ranked discrepancy model (rdm). objectives were to (a) determine how to analyze repeated-measures data using the rdm, (b) assess the appropriateness of using the rdm compared to a paired t-test for analyzing ordinal repeatedmeasures needs assessment data, and (c) demonstrate the application of rdm to analyze needs by sub-groups in a sample and corresponding options for visualizing results. methods statewide needs assessments were conducted in utah and florida in 2019 and 2020, respectively. both assessments followed a similar methodology with some minor item-level differences in the survey instrument. the instruments gathered ordinal data on two indicators—importance and satisfaction—for a list of community assets. for example, respondents were first asked to indicate the importance of affordable food options in their community based on a 5-point scale ranging from not important to very important. then, they were asked to indicate their satisfaction with the same item on a 5-point scale ranging from very dissatisfied to very satisfied. the utah and florida survey instruments shared 30 asset items that followed this repeated-measures structure. more detailed information about the 2019 and 2020 needs assessments can be found in narine et al. (2021) and harder et al. (2023). in both studies, qualtrics was contracted to gather convenience sample data from their existing research panels. the results section provides a discussion of how to analyze repeated-measures data using the rdm, a comparison of the results obtained when analyzing data with the rdm and paired ttests, an overview of using the rdm in microsoft excel to explore subgroups, and examples of data visualization using the subgroup data. a sample data file (n = 50), a link to which is available in the appendix, was used to demonstrate applications for the first and third objectives. data gathered in the 2019 utah needs assessment (n = 1,043) and 2020 florida needs assessments (n = 1,500) were used to address the second objective to compare data using the rdm and paired t-tests. due to the nature of our objectives and our desire to demonstrate what steps we have taken, we have provided an in-depth discussion of analytical methods throughout the results section rather than isolating it within the methods section. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 109 findings analyzing repeated-measures data with the rdm the process for applying the rdm to repeated-measures data differs from our original process (narine & harder, 2021), which was intended solely as an alternative for using the borich model. first, the revised process no longer incorporates spss to calculate mean ranks. while not strictly necessary to use spss for the 2021 version of the rdm, doing so expedited the process compared to using microsoft excel only. second, using excel exclusively for rdm analysis expands the options for working with the data, which will be discussed in more depth in the following subsection on data subgroups. however, despite the changes in software, the underlying logic of the rdm is still built upon the comparison of positive ranks, negative ranks, and tied ranks to determine the magnitude of gaps between respondents’ perceptions of what exists and what is ideal. a formula in excel can be used determine the rank of each observation pair first (e.g., satisfaction and importance). the observation-level rank calculated using the formula, referred to as an ordered rank (or), is categorized as one of three possible values; s < i = -100, s = i = 0, and s > 1 = 100. the or is analogous to negative, tied, and positive ranks respectively as discussed in narine and harder (2021). the excel formula is provided below and is available in the sample file found in the appendix. note, cell c3 is the importance rating, and cell h3 is the satisfaction rating. =if(or(isblank(c3),isblank(h3)),"missing",if(c3<h3,100,if(c3>h3,-100,0))) using the formula enables individual-level ranking for direct comparisons between subgroups in a sample. initially, the ranked discrepancy score (rds) was computed by the item instead of the individual by using frequency distributions. the or is a precursor to the (wilcoxon) rank values discussed in narine and harder (2021). note, this step only uses the ordered ranking between pairs—it does not rely on the quantitative difference between pairs like a t-statistic. for example, if satisfaction is 4 (i.e., satisfied) and importance is 5 (i.e., very important), or is -100. and, if satisfaction is 2 and importance is 5, the or is also -100. hence, the or is a signal of the ordering between individual pairs from repeated-measures data which, in turn, is used to calculate the rds for each item. the item-level rds is consistent with non-parametric procedures (e.g., wilcoxon rank-sum, mann-whitney u) since it uses the mean ranks of ordinal items to calculate the statistic (corder & foreman, 2014). the rdm’s approach to handling ordinal data is also consistent with the literature—individual ordinal variables should not be treated as scale measures since the quantitative value assigned in data coding represents an ordering between response options (e.g., low to high, strongly disagree to strongly agree) (corder & foreman, 2014). conceptually, the rdm approach may reduce error since it suppresses response bias because the rds is based on the ordering between matched pairs, not the quantitative distance between pairs. in perception-type questions, one individual’s very satisfied rating may be the same as another’s satisfied rating, leading to errors in interpretation (brinker, 2002). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 110 figure 2 shows the recommended data structure for applying the rdm in excel; the formula and files we are presenting as examples can be accessed by using the hyperlinks in the appendix. the categorial variable, sex (column b), is coded as text, and the ratings for importance and satisfaction (columns c to l) are numeric. in addition, importance ratings precede satisfaction ratings in paired observations. the excel formula matches the sample data structure to provide the or. note, if one value is missing in a pair, the formula returns “missing” to indicate a pairwise missing case. pairwise missing values do not affect the rds calculation and are automatically not factored into the item-level rds. however, it affects the sample size, which changes the item-level rds. this treatment of missing values, referred to as available-case analysis, is a default approach in non-parametric and parametric repeatedmeasures tests (salgado et al., 2016). however, researchers should examine if data is missing completely at random (mcar), missing at random (mar), or missing not at random (mnar) before handling missing data (pigott, 2001). possible alternatives are replacing missing values with a median if data are mcar, or using multiple imputation if data are mar or mnar (pedersen, et al., 2017). figure 2 data structure for rdm in excel when applied to one cell, the formula can be dragged down and across for all pairs. as noted, the mean rds is conceptually aligned to rank-ordering in non-parametric procedures; it is free of any distribution and test assumptions. in the sample data, the largest discrepancy was observed for the asset of affordable medical clinics (rds = -69). negative discrepancies indicate a deficit between the current and ideal situation exists, and the magnitude of the deficit should be interpreted as an indicator of the level of priority; interpretation guidelines for the rdm in excel remain consistent with those we originally outlined in 2021. rdm vs. paired t-test as discussed, the primary goal of a needs assessment is to rank priority needs for resource allocation (altschuld & white, 2010; kimpston & stockton, 1979; witkin, 1994; witkin & altschuld, 1995). the rdm and paired t-test provide a measure of discrepancy, which can then be used to rank items in need of attention by program planners. the t-statistic from a paired ttest represents the magnitude of difference between two scores in a repeated-measures design (warner, 2013). it provides a signal of a discrepancy, gap, or change between two measurements. the t-statistic is calculated using the mean difference between pairs and standard error; both terms are based on the measures of dispersion for scale variables (warner, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 111 2013). while incompatible with item-level ordinal data (miot, 2020), the t-statistic can indicate the difference between two ordinal-level pairs (kampen & swyngedouw, 2000). a larger tstatistic indicates a wider gap between pairs and vice versa. therefore, a t-statistic can provide some insight into the discrepancy between importance and satisfaction (or importance and ability) in a needs assessment framework. for example, if the satisfaction (s) rating is entered first and importance (i) last, a negative t-statistic indicates a gap or discrepancy (i.e., s < i). the absolute t-statistic also increases as the absolute discrepancy between pairs of observations increases based on mean differences. while the t-statistic may measure discrepancy, kampen and swyngedouw (2000) provided a rationale for the incompatibility of the t-test (and f-test) for measuring differences between ordinal variables, noting “the impossibility of shifting relevant from irrelevant differences disqualifies the analysis of variance as a useful analyzing technique of ordinal variables” (p. 93). kampen and swyngedouw’s concern primarily lies in the unbounded nature of the t-statistic and its dependence on distribution properties. in contrast, the rds is always bounded by a lower (-100) and an upper (100) limit regardless of the ordinal range between pairs and distribution properties. the rds only relies on the ordered relationship (i.e., or) between pairs through negative, tied, and positive ranks; a foundational feature of nonparametric procedures (krzywinski & altman, 2014; nahm, 2016). the rds provides a standardized measure of discrepancy based on the proportion of or across observed pairs with rds trending toward 100 indicating a larger discrepancy compared to scores trending toward 100. three random samples, generated using excel’s random number feature, were taken from the utah and florida dataset each to examine the variation of the rankings by sample size. figure 3 provides a summary of the 30 ranked needs identified by using a paired t-test and the rdm. the rankings shown in figure 3 are based on the rds (rdm-rank, in blue) and t-statistic (trank, in orange). each coordinate (or plot point) represents the location in the ranking indicating the relative need of each of the 30 asset items from the survey. only orange coordinates are visible when the ranking of a need is the same regardless of which method was applied. blue coordinates are visible when the rdm-rank is different than the t-rank. items with the largest gaps between respondents’ perceptions of the asset’s importance and their satisfaction with it are closest to the origin of the graph. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 112 figure 3 comparison of ranked needs between the paired t-test and rdm from figure 3, the rankings of 30 items were similar between the paired t-test and rdm across all sample sizes. however, greater variation in rankings between the models was observed as the sample size decreased. notably, the top 10 highest-ranked priority needs remained the same across both models, with only two exceptions in the florida n = 100 sample (i.e., one item was ranked 9th in the rdm and 12th in the paired t-test, and another was ranked 11th in the rdm and 7th in the paired t-test). a pearson’s correlation coefficient (ρ) was conducted to examine the correlations between rankings across models, the results were as follows: utah – n = 1,000, ρ = 0.993; n = 500, ρ = 0.992; n = 100, ρ = 0.967; florida – n = 1,000, ρ = 0.992; n = 500, ρ = 0.991; n = 100, ρ = 0.975. these correlation coefficients confirm the similarities between the paired t-test and the rdm when identifying gaps in community assets; a result that complements the comparison between the rdm and borich model in narine and harder’s (2021) initial discussion. the comparison between models shows the utility of the rdm in analyzing needs assessment data without the statistical issues tied to using the paired t-test. sub-groups and visualizations calculating the observation-level or using the excel formula before the item-level rds enables an assessment of needs by subgroups. since an or exists for each observation, the rds can be computed for a grouping of observations by a known characteristic (e.g., sex, age, income). text coding of categorical variables is necessary for an analysis of rds by sub-groups in excel. figure 4 shows the data structure necessary for visualizing discrepancies by subgroups using pivot tables in excel. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 113 figure 4 example data for visualizing discrepancies note. readers may find a link in the appendix to worksheet 3 (pivot data) which can be used to practice analyzing rds by subgroups. pivot tables provide a vast array of options for data visualizations and interactive dashboards. pivot tables can be used to layer demographic variables to provide rds scores for specific subgroups. for example, a pivot table could be used to visualize discrepancies for younger males with lower incomes compared to others when sex, income, and age are applied as demographic variables. applying the rdm in excel enables analysis of subgroups and interactions between subgroups, a feat that requires multilevel statistical modeling. figure 5 displays a basic pivot table showing rds by sex, which can be found in worksheet 4 (viz) of the sample data in the appendix links. note, the values shown in the pivot table are averages of the field, not the default sum value. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 114 figure 5 simple visualization of needs by subgroups using pivot tables note. link to sample data found in the appendix. figure 6 provides a snapshot of the results from the 2023 statewide needs assessment of utah (report page 5 of 9 shown). the or was calculated in excel, and microsoft power bi was used to enable the visualization of rds by subgroups. in power bi, users can view rds for all items by any subgroups or interactions between subgroups using filter options. the interactive dashboard shows the potential of the rdm for repeated-measures needs assessment data using the procedures described throughout this article. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 115 figure 6 rds visualization with filter options for subgroups conclusions, discussion, and recommendations expanded options now exist for applying the rdm to needs assessment data. researchers may continue to use the original rdm approach that was intended as an alternative for analyzing competency-based data (narine & harder, 2021). however, transitioning to excel to apply the rdm for competency-based data and other types of repeated-measures needs assessment data creates new and statistically sound options for researchers and improved options for data visualization. one observation we made after comparing the rdm results with the results from paired t-tests is that the new approach is more sensitive to the size of the sample. variability increased as sample size decreased for the utah and florida data but was most evident for florida. practically, utah’s population is approximately 3.38 million people while florida’s population is 22.24 million people (u.s. census bureau, n.d.). a small sample size, such as n = 100, will be increasingly less likely to be representative of a population as the size of that population increases. standard error increases as the sample size decreases, resulting in greater variability in sample estimates compared to reliable estimates of population parameters. therefore, the tstatistic from a smaller sample is likely to have a wider confidence interval (and be less precise) compared to a t-statistic from a larger sample (rusticus & lovato, 2014). correlations were strong and statistically significant despite the increased variation, but researchers should be aware of this consideration when determining necessary sample sizes if they intend to use the rdm for analysis. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 116 the most significant advantage of the revised approach to applying the rdm is the expanded ability to efficiently and clearly explore differences in results by subgroups. as unwin (2020) stated, there are many benefits to data visualization which improve researchers’ abilities to interpret data and make informed decisions. pivot tables require relatively little specialized knowledge to use and are readily accessible for many researchers. software like power bi illustrates what is possible for researchers who already have a working knowledge of more advanced visualization techniques or who are willing to commit time to learn how to create complex data dashboards with it. we believe needs assessments will have increased value when data visualizations are used to reveal the underlying patterns, trends, and intersectionality that can be associated with demographic subgroups. needs assessment methodologies should evolve over time as we seek to improve the application of our science. new technologies create possibilities that 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(2009). assessing public opinion directly to keep current with changing community needs. journal of extension, 47(3), article 6. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol47/iss3/6 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43742-2_13 https://doi.org/10.1109/tvcg.2018.2864903 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land11112075 https://doi.org/10.1162/99608f92.8ae4d525 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/fl,us/pst045222 https://doi.org/10.1177/109821409401500102 https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol47/iss3/6 microsoft word 273-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 1, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. casey gilbert, agriculture teacher, lanier college career academy, 2723 tumbling creek rd., gainesville, ga 30504, casey.gilbert@hallco.org, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6602-6575 2. r. g. (tre) easterly, assistant professor, university of florida, 307c rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611, tre.easterly@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2807-512x 3. j.c. bunch, associate professor, university of florida, 307a rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 4. sebastian galindo, associate professor, university of florida, 113c bryant hall, gainesville, fl 32611, sgalindo@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4061-773x 5. jason dossett, graduate assistant, university of florida, 310 rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611, j.dossett@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7159-7372 5 characteristics of effective instruction and student engagement: a case study of two exemplary florida agriculture teachers c. gilbert1, r. g. easterly2, j. c. bunch3, s. galindo4, j. dossett5 article history received: october 17, 2022 accepted: january 6, 2023 published: january 18, 2023 keywords qualitative observation; effective teaching practices; student content engagement model abstract student disengagement has been an ongoing problem for educators in the united states. engaging students is critical to ensuring students see the value of their education. the purpose of this exemplar case study was to understand how effective teaching impacts student engagement of high school agriculture students in florida. two florida agriculture teachers, identified as exemplary agriculture teachers, and 22 students served as participants. three methods of data collection were involved in this study: teacher interviews, student focus groups, and teacher observations. the top five characteristics of effective teaching described by rosenshine and furst (1971) were used as a priori themes for the data analysis. these characteristics were clarity, variety, enthusiasm, business and/or task-oriented behaviors, and student opportunity to learn criterion material. the teachers used all five of the characteristics to engage students. students reported high levels of engagement and positive feelings about class. further studies should be conducted to replicate the study with a larger group of exemplary agriculture teachers. the study recommends that teacher educators considering teaching preservice teachers how to demonstrate the characteristics of effective instruction to impact engagement. we recommend agriculture teachers consider reflecting on their use of the characteristics of effective instruction. gilbert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.273 6 introduction and problem statement the purpose of agricultural education has been to prepare students to be agriculturally literate citizens and members of a skilled agricultural workforce (roberts & ball, 2009). to meet these goals, students must be engaged in their classes. student engagement has experienced a downward trend, particularly as students get older (benner et al., 2019). this disengagement is particularly acute for high school students in low-income or rural areas (washor & majkowski, 2014). disengagement in school is associated with feelings of hopelessness (hodges, 2018) and a lack of preparation for lifelong learning (washor & mojkowski, 2014). engaging students in agricultural education classes is critical to meet the demand for agricultural careers (kuhn, 2020). around 60,000 agriculture and other related job positions are expected to come open over the next five years (fernandez et al., 2020; kuhn, 2020). agriculture education focuses on giving students opportunities to prepare and apply the knowledge and skills they learn in the classroom through their participation in ffa activities and supervised agriculture experience projects (dibenedetto et al., 2015). agriculture education readies students for productive and satisfying careers in agriculture, food, fiber, and natural resource systems (national ffa organization, 2019). student engagement is necessary for students to capitalize on their learning in agriculture education. students have multiple opportunities to be engaged, whether it is through ffa, sae, or the classroom. engagement begins the process of developing skills students need to enter a job out of high school or to pursue higher education in an agricultural field. theoretical and conceptual framework student content engagement (sce) model was the theoretical framework for the study. student content engagement is considered a critical component for learning (mclaughlin et al., 2005). mclaughlin et al. (2005) proposed the student content engagement model. mclaughlin et al. (2005) defined content as all stimuli that the student confronts during the instructional time. they defined engagement as the cognitive interplay between the student and the material being learned. there are three categories of influences of learning: the student, the instructional material, and the engagement of the two. for sce to happen, four components must exist: subject matter content level, occasion for processing, physiological readiness, and motivation (mclaughlin et al., 2005). according to baines and stanley (2003), high school students viewed school as dull and irrelevant and called for a renewed emphasis on student engagement. carlson et al. (2011) found evidence of a lack of cognitive engagement in high school students. students claimed their teachers did not use effective teaching practices. the researchers also saw weak emotional connections that factored in from the school culture (carlson et al., 2011). quin et al. (2017) found students who perceived their teachers having demonstrated quality instruction were more likely to have higher behavioral and emotional engagement. there have been calls for further research into teacher behaviors and student engagement. carlson et al. (2011) gilbert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.273 7 suggested more research should be done to determine the factors that promote and discourage engagement. quin et al. (2017) advocated for more research into how quality teaching influences student engagement. aspects of agricultural education seem to encourage engagement. de lay and swan (2014) found students struggled with teacher-centered approaches but thrived in student-centered approaches in the agricultural education program. friedel and anderson ii (2017) found students in the agricultural education programs showed higher degrees of behavioral and emotional engagement compared to other students surveyed in nationally. however, there was no significant difference between levels of cognitive engagement of the high school agriculture students and the high school students nationally. friedel and anderson ii (2017) found a positive relationship between specific teaching practices and increased student engagement. van uden et al. (2014) found that interpersonal teacher behavior was a significant factor for student engagement. estepp and roberts (2013) reported behaviors such as discussions, projects, collaborations, and questioning, and varying teaching methods led to student engagement. estepp and roberts (2013) suggested further research into the relationships of teacher behavior to student achievement. de lay and swan (2014) argued agriculture teachers must pay attention to how their students view their academic core classes so their classes do not follow the same path to apathy. de lay and swan argued agricultural education programs need to be looked at holistically to review how to best serve their learners. purpose the purpose of this exemplar case study was to understand how effective teaching leads to engagement of high school agriculture students in florida. the field of agricultural education must understand learning and teaching environments to promote best teaching practices that will contribute to providing solutions to the challenges facing agricultural education and society (edgar et al., 2016). the following research questions were used in this study: 1. what are the characteristics of effective teaching seen in the experiences of exemplary high school agriculture teachers' moments in the classroom? 2. what are high school agriculture students’ perceptions of engagement when the characteristics of effective teaching are used? methods in this study, the exemplary agriculture teachers were teachers that were deemed highly likely to use rosenshine and furst’s (1971) five effective teacher characteristics of clarity, variability, enthusiasm, task-orientation, and opportunity to learn criterion material. university agriculture education faculty and the state agricultural education coordinator each identified 20 exemplary agriculture teachers. teachers appearing on multiple lists were then compiled for a final list. two teachers were selected from the final list who exemplified the case. qualitative observations and interviews were conducted. three data collection techniques gilbert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.273 8 occurred: (a) teacher observations, (b) student focus groups, and (c) teacher interviews. teachers followed their planned activities and approach for the day of teaching in the classroom. teacher interview guides were developed by the researchers. for the teacher interviews, data were collected through semi-structured, one-on-one interviews conducted in person. the questions asked related to exemplary agriculture teachers’ moments of engagement and disengagement, as well as their use of the characteristics of effective instruction during those moments. during the teacher observations, the researcher observed the teachers with a teacher observation rubric from the university of florida education department. this rubric evaluated teacher performance based on rosenshine and furst’s (1971) five effective teaching characteristics. the researcher observed two class periods taught by each of the teachers during the two days of the visits. five to twelve students from each of the two exemplary agriculture teachers were asked about their perceptions of the teachers’ use of the characteristics of effective instruction and how they impacted their engagement in the class. the interview guides for the students were developed using mclaughlin et al.’s (2005) sec. the student focus group questions focused on the four components of the sce model, (a) motivation, (b) physiological readiness, (c) subject matter content level, and (d) occasion for processing. a deductive approach was used to analyze the data. deductive coding was used because predetermined codes were determined a priori (medelyan, 2020). teacher observation guides, along with any extra notes, were scanned electronically. the teacher interviews and student focus groups were transcribed verbatim. the qualitative data analysis computer software nvivo was used for coding. using pre-determined codes based on rosenshine and furst’s (1971) characteristics of effective instruction, data from the teacher interviews, teacher observations and student focus groups were coded. the four components of qualitative rigor were addressed. these four components were identified and posited by lincoln and guba (1985). the four components are credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. credibility refers to ensuring that the findings and interpretations will be credible. triangulation was in place in this study to establish credibility. the study used three different data collection methods. using multiple methods of data collection can ensure a deeper understanding about the data (cohen & crabtree, 2006). qualitative researchers use triangulation as way to provide an account that is rich, strong, welldeveloped, and all encompassing (cohen & crabtree, 2006). transferability involves exhibiting that the findings can be applied in other contexts. in order to address transferability, the researcher in this study provided detailed thick descriptions in order to fully describe each exemplary case of teaching (lincoln & guba, 1985). dependability is the idea that the findings are consistent and replicable (cohen & crabtree, 2006). to address dependability in this study, an external qualitative researcher overlooked the process and the products of the study (cohen & crabtree, 2006). confirmability is how much the findings are neutral and reflect the respondents and not the researchers (cohen & crabtree, 2006). the technique employed to establish confirmability in this study was a reflective journal kept by the researcher (guba, 1981). gilbert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.273 9 findings students reported high levels of engagement and positive feelings about class. they also had positive perceptions of the displays of the rosenshine and furst’s (1971) characteristics of effective instruction by their teachers. students in each of the four focus groups agreed they were engaged in classes with mr. berry and ms. riley. one of mr. berry’s students said, “i would say we're all highly engaged because we want to be here.” some of ms. riley’s students had similar responses. one of her students said, “[i am] more engaged in this class, honestly, this is my favorite class.” there were five a priori themes and one emergent theme. theme #1use of clarity and student engagement mr. berry and ms. riley’s students’ responses showed positive perceptions of their use of clarity in the classroom. one of mr. berry’s students said: when the topics were hard, he kind of broke them down for us and he would take more complex ideas and break them up into simpler ideas, so that we were all able to learn because we're all different and we all learn on different levels. but when it was broken up, we can all learn the same but at our own pace. one of his students mentioned, “he's very good at explaining in different ways.” another student stated, “[some] people don't understand it. but for those people, he will explain everything and draw stuff out and i feel like it makes it easier.” ms. riley’s students also had similar responses. students believed her use of clarity “[made] it doable” and “[they] understand so [they are] not left behind.” these responses showed mr. berry and ms. riley’s use of clarity helped their students understand the concepts and motivated them to engage. mr. berry also used his experience as a teacher reading students’ body language to gauge his speed in presenting the material clearly to his students. as he lectured, he moved around the room and made eye contact with students. mr. berry and ms. riley also spoke about the importance of clarifying instructions to their students. ms. riley said she tries to make sure that “instructions [are] fantastic, and very clear.” she went on to discuss how important clear directions are with students. she said: i'll try to have [instructions] written and try to repeat them several times and i'll even read the paper with them. because kids are horrible about reading instructions…i try to make sure that, explicit instructions are there. i read it, they repeated it. theme #2use of variety and student engagement the second theme found in this study was the use of variety and student engagement. mr. berry and ms. riley’s students’ responses show positive perceptions of their use of variety in the classroom. one of ms. riley’s students said: yeah, like we'll do a quizlet, or do a worksheet, or do website, vocabulary. it's like a whole bunch of stuff about the topic and then we'll switch to the next topic and a whole bunch of different stuff that we didn't do before. it's just a variety every time. gilbert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.273 10 when asked what makes ms. riley’s class not boring, one student responded, “the amount of activity we'll be doing.” a student also stated that variety made the class fun. that student said, “she tries to make it fun for us, [by] mix[ing] it up.” another student said, “i thought [the class] would be boring” but found to the course to be enjoyable. mr. berry’s students felt the same way. one student alluded that they saw more variety in their agriculture class with mr. berry than they did in academic subject classes. that student said, “ag isn't like english class or like the spanish class or like science class. they throw notes at you and there like okay figure it out.” another student added that it was more than just bookwork in mr. berry’s class. that student said, “he doesn't read straight from the textbook.” these responses showed that mr. berry and ms. riley’s use of variety helped decrease monotony for their students and motivated the students to engage. variety was present in both teachers’ high engagement lessons. according to ms. riley, “i think that's the key is changing it up. trying to involve everyone, but also trying to keep it interesting enough to where they're not bored.” she mentioned several types of activities she utilizes. she said, “i try to incorporate different activities, videos, games, and such that kind of helps it be more engaging to the students and instead of bookwork all the time.” mr. berry spoke about the variety in his high engagement lesson on parliamentary procedure. he said: i would say yes [when asked about his use of variety]. because they took notes, then they verbally responded. i lectured, which meant i verbally explain the content and then showed they're understanding of the content by their verbal demonstration. mr. berry believed in incorporating variety in his teaching. mr. berry said he likes to “mix things up.” he also said he has been “trying to use more videos and social media and ways to incorporate more technology and trying to engage them that way.” theme #3use of enthusiasm and student engagement the third theme found in this study was the use of enthusiasm and student engagement. mr. berry and ms. riley’s students’ responses showed positive perceptions of their use of enthusiasm in the classroom. one of ms. riley’s students said, “her attitude just helps a lot.” another student added, “[she is] very outgoing…outgoing and interactive.” one of ms. riley’s students spoke about how her attitude helped show them she cared about them and their learning. that student said, “her attitude and that if you're going to care about this then i'll show you i care. i'm going to make sure you learn stuff.” students also detailed how her attitude has helped the classroom environment. one student said, “[she] make[s] sure we're all happy. if we're like upset, she'll come and talk to us and stuff and, yeah, she's, make sure everyone's [ok].” mr. berry’s students also had positive responses about his use of enthusiasm. one of his students said, “when we come into class, he's always real nice he's always got a smile on his face and he's in a great mood every time we come in.” one student talked about how mr. berry’s enthusiasm pushes them to learn. that student said “. . .he pushes everybody because he knows we all have potential.” another student said, “and like the way he acts and his personality, it gets you excited to learn and be in a classroom with him.” these responses gilbert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.273 11 showed that mr. berry and ms. riley’s use of enthusiasm helped positively shape students' attitudes and perceptions of the class and motivate their students to engage. enthusiasm was found to be displayed in both mr. berry and ms. riley’s lessons with engagement. in ms. riley’s interview, it was clear that enthusiasm was present in the lesson as well. when asked about her moments displaying enthusiasm during this lesson, she alluded to being very enthusiastic. ms. riley said: i'm 34 years old, and we've always had pigs, so [i am] super passionate about show pig industry and so anytime i can talk about that, whether it's just showing pigs or talking about our family operation, the phases of production, i don't know, i feel like i don't have to make myself be passionate, it just kind of comes with the job. just because that's the topic that i really enjoy. she talked about the importance of being enthusiastic when she teaches. she said, “[i] try to put myself in their shoes. so, if i feel like i'm not enjoying it, then probably teenagers not going to be enjoying it. so just kind of like keeping that that mindset.” when mr. berry spoke about his lesson on parliamentary procedure he stated he felt he had good engagement from his students, enthusiasm was seen. he spoke about how teaching this topic gets him excited because he loves the national ffa contest associated with the topic. he said, “and then we move forward with the parli. pro. just because of when it comes to ffa that that's kind of the contest that gets me excited.” he said that parliamentary procedure “gets me excited” and that he is “passionate about that.” he also spoke about the importance of being enthusiastic as a teacher. he said: enthusiasm is important because with anything that we teach or in coaching. if you're not enthused about that [the students are] not going to be. because if you're not, why should they be? and i really think that's very important. theme #4use of businesslike and/or task-oriented behaviors and student engagement the fourth theme found in this study was the use of businesslike and/or on-task behaviors and student engagement. mr. berry and ms. riley’s students’ responses showed positive perceptions of their use of businesslike and/or task-oriented behaviors in the classroom. one student spoke about how they know when they come in that ms. riley takes her job seriously. that student said, “like how she [carries] herself and how she cares about her job. how she takes it serious.” another student added that ms. riley keeps them on top of what is going on in her class and that gets them to look forward to their next class. one student added on to this saying, “she tells us what we need, goes over what we are going to do today, tells us what's in the future to get it done. making sure our submissions are on schedule and stuff.” it was clear from student focus groups that students were impacted positively by the businesslike/taskoriented behaviors used by ms. riley. mr. berry’s students also had positive responses towards his uses of businesslike and/or task-oriented behaviors in the classroom. one student mentioned how these behaviors keep them accountable. they said: he keeps us accountable with it because he has a bell ringer on the board every day when we come into class, we're supposed to write it down and he keeps us accountable by doing bell ringer quizzes throughout the year. gilbert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.273 12 when asked what contributes to the effort the students put in, one student responded, “expectation.” mr. berry’s students all knew the expectations. students alluded that the way mr. berry runs class keeps them at ease. one student said, “and especially as mr. berry he doesn't purposely make it stressful on us, because he reminds us, weekly, that we're only in high school once and that we shouldn't be stressed out.” these responses show that mr. berry and ms. riley’s use of businesslike and/or task-oriented behaviors helped keep students on track, provided order for students, and motivated their students to engage. theme #5use of student opportunity to learn criterion material and student engagement mr. berry and ms. riley’s students’ responses showed positive perceptions of their use of behaviors to promote student opportunity to learn criterion material in the classroom. one of ms. riley’s students said, “[she tries] to explain everything step by step and gives us an opportunity to learn it, instead of just trying to make us do it.” one student spoke about how ms. riley provides feedback to help them know where they are at in comprehending the material. that student said, “[we can] share it with her and see if it was up to what we needed to be able to understand at the time.” mr. berry’s students also responded positively to the behaviors used by him to promote student opportunity to learn criterion material. one of his students added how mr. berry works to better their learning experience. that student said, “then he'll post like extra links and stuff like that just to better our learning experience.” a student also spoke about mr. berry’s willingness to help them learn the material. they said, “if we need help, he'll come and help us.” additionally, a student spoke about mr. berry’s use of his personal experiences to add value to what they were learning. that student said, “he's able to like interject his own personal background into the class, which helps us absorb more information than if we were just studying a textbook.” one student added that, “i've been able to open my mind up to other aspects of agriculture that i'm not around at home.” another student said, “i [have] learned something new every year from this class.” these responses show that mr. berry and ms. riley’s use of behaviors used to promote student opportunity to learn criterion material helped their students learn material and motivate the students to engage. theme #6teachers facing challenges in engagement the final theme found in this study was an emergent theme that teachers are facing challenges in engaging students. ms. riley said: over the last 10 years of teaching, that's probably [been] the biggest challenge is to try to keep them engaged and just to try to get them motivated. and i don't really have the answer to that. i'm still trying to figure out how to motivate kids. she added, “sometimes it's hard for me to comprehend these students who don't want to try.” she voiced more frustrations about getting students engaged as they got into high school. she said: i mean, i can think of a class right now, where there's a handful of students who just about every day, they're going to come in, put their head down. and so you really have gilbert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.273 13 to just beg them or sit there and kind of do it with them to get them to do anything. and, unfortunately, that's just how it is sometimes. mr. berry talked about his challenges with engagement in his classroom. he said that his challenges came from being consistent and diverse in interest approaches and other tactics to engage students. he said, “so you know just being consistent, and being diverse is important, i think that is the hardest thing. and then staying up with whatever is new, you know, whatever that may be.” mr. berry said that as an agriculture teacher there are certain times of year that they are busier. he said this impacts how he goes about incorporating interest approaches and other tactics to engage students. he said: it's hard sometimes to, depending on the time of the year, to have the energy to do a good job of interest approaches and those kind of things. instead of just saying here, "this is what you need to know, deal with it and go.” mr. berry also added that he has seen a change in students. he said “as we move forward in history, we've got a group of kids that are not connected with the real world and have no earthly idea what's going on outside of their smartphone. i call them the youtube generation.” he says that this generation of students is much more into learning with technology. he said, “they all got chromebooks now, so that's good, that's a great asset but you know trying to always have them focused on what's going on because there's so many other things. it's hard to compete with that chromebook.” ms. riley also stated that she feels students are much more into learning with technology. she said, “they like less of interaction with the teacher and more of independent stuff, and i think that's coming from the technological side of virtual learning.” conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the teachers in this study demonstrated characteristics of effective instruction. their students noted the instances of effective instruction and reported that it impacted their engagement in the classroom. each characteristic of rosenshine and furst’s (1971) characteristics of effective instruction was evident in the observations, teacher interviews, and student interviews. clarity in the classroom was found to be displayed in student instructions and explaining content to students. variety was demonstrated by the teachers using varied instructional materials and several teaching methods and student assignments. enthusiasm was displayed by pleasant moods, positive interactions with students, and authentic displays of enjoyment of the subject. the use of businesslike and/or task-oriented behaviors was displayed by keeping the class orderly and on-task, holding students accountable with their work and behavior, and the use of bell-ringers. the use of student’s opportunity to learn was demonstrated by challenging and encouraging students to learn, giving students real life examples to connect material to, communicating the end goals of the lesson, focusing on important material, and not moving ahead until most students have mastered the material. mr. berry and ms. riley demonstrate characteristics of effective instruction in the agricultural education classroom. specific examples of effective instruction were highlighted by students gilbert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.273 14 who mentioned “. . .he pushes everybody because he knows we all have potential.” another student said, “and like the way he acts and his personality, it gets you excited to learn and be in a classroom with him.” another student said of ms. riley, “i've been able to open my mind up to other aspects of agriculture that i'm not around at home.” also, mr. berry and ms. riley noted teaching about topics they were knowledgeable about and had passion for, which helped them express these characteristics. agriculture teachers should be encouraged to explore their passions within agricultural education to enhance their enthusiasm for the subject area. they could also find ways to bring in characteristics of effective instruction for topics in agricultural education. teachers are encouraged to develop intentionality in delivering clear directions, explaining concepts clearly, using a variety of instructional techniques, and giving students clear tasks related to the content. these findings hold several recommendations for future research. future studies could be conducted with larger groups of exemplary teachers and their students. this study was limited to two teachers and their students from the same high school agriculture program. future research could have exemplary teachers from diverse agriculture programs participate. this study was done at a rural high school agriculture program in florida. results could potentially vary if done at urban, rural, and suburban high school agriculture programs. this study has several recommendations for pre-service teacher educators. first, pre-service teachers could be taught how to demonstrate rosenshine and furst’s (1971) characteristics of effective instruction in the classroom. pre-service teachers are normally taught a variety of different instructional topics on how to impact students. this study recommends that preservice teachers should be taught specifically how to display these characteristics within the different teaching methods. pre-service teachers could also be taught how to engage students. there has been a problem with engagement in american schools (benner et al., 2019; kuhn, 2020; washor & mojkowski, 2014). teaching methods that increase student engagement should be taught in pre-service teacher education programs. to increase student engagement, pre-service teachers should be taught different behaviors and strategies to implement in their classrooms. this study has multiple recommendations for current agriculture teachers. first, agriculture teachers should reflect on current teaching practices and determine how to properly implement rosenshine and furst’s (1971) characteristics of effective instruction in the classroom. agriculture teachers should also take regular assessments of their students to determine student engagement. acknowledgements we would like to thank mr. berry and ms. riley, as well as their high school agriculture students. c. gilbert: writing original draft and investigation. t. easterly: advisor, edited draft, initial review. j. bunch: draft theoretical framework and methods. s. galindo: developing methods gilbert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.273 15 and coaching qualitative data analysis. j. dossett: format article for review and submission and incorporated previous reviewer comments. references baines, l., & stanley, g. 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(2017). associations between teaching quality and secondary students’ behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement in school. social psychology of education, 20(4), 807–829. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-017-9401-2 roberts, t. g., & ball, a. l. (2009). secondary agricultural science as content and context for teaching. journal of agricultural education, 50(1), 81–91. http://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2009.01081 rosenshine, b., & furst, n. (1971). research on teacher performance criteria. in b. o. smith (ed.), research in teacher education: a symposium. prentice-hall. van uden, j., ritzen, h., & pieters, j. (2014) engaging students: the role of teacher beliefs and interpersonal behavior in fostering student engagement in vocational education. teaching and teacher education, 37, 21–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2013.08.005 washor, e., & mojkowski, c. (2014). student disengagement: it's deeper than you think. phi delta kappa international. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/05/01/kappan_washor.html © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 157-groberts%2c+157-manuscript-1883-1-11-20211028[1]er edits.docx rubenstein & scott advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 3, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. eric rubenstein, associate professor, college of agricultural & environmental science, university of georgia, 0133 four towers, 405 station rd, athens, ga 30602, erubenstein@uga.edu , https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8799-2502 2. james scott, graduate research assistant, university of georgia, 129a four towers building, 405 station rd, athens, ga 30602, jamesd.scott@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4807-4378 50 preservice agriculture teachers’ perceived self-efficacy of specific sae competencies e. rubenstein1, j. scott2 abstract with the implementation of the supervised agricultural experience (sae) within school-based agricultural education (sbae), hands-on learning has changed how students learn in the classroom. sae programs, a key component of agricultural education, are an example of experiential learning within the sbae model. the implementation of sae experiences has been often viewed as difficult for many teachers, and many new agricultural educators struggle with implementing sae into their classroom instruction. therefore, this study sought to determine the self-efficacy of preservice agriculture teachers towards the american association for agricultural education-supervised agricultural experience (aaae) sae competencies. results indicated that a majority of preservice teachers considered sae an important aspect of the sbae model. however, results indicated that few competencies showed significant differences between preand post-completion of the agricultural program, and only two competencies showed significance by gender. data indicates that teacher preparation programs have been successful in preparing students to develop, implement, and supervise sae programs during student teaching. the researchers recommend that further research should examine additional agricultural teacher preparation programs and determine the self-efficacy of cooperating teachers in the classroom. keywords supervised agricultural experience, agricultural education, social cognitive theory, experiential learning rubenstein & scott advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.157 51 introduction and problem statement with the conception of the home project by rufus stimson in the early twentieth century, the school-based agricultural education (sbae) model has been forever changed by creating a unique programmatic offering in agricultural education (phipps et al., 2008). since then, the project method has changed and adapted to meet the needs of all students (phipps et al., 2008). experiential learning has been best summarized through learning by doing and encouraging students to reflect on their experience (morris, 2020; phipps & osborne, 1988; phipps et al., 2008; roberts, 2006). teachers should be prepared to make the experiences educational for the student and should be prepared to assist in planning and executing each student’s sae. preservice agriculture teacher programs may not fully prepare preservice teachers for teaching sae in the classroom, and the self-efficacy of preservice teachers has often been unknown (mclean & camp, 2000; rubenstein et al., 2014; stair & warner, 2012; talbert et al., 2014). additionally, the self-efficacy of these preservice teachers has often been unknown. furthermore, mclean and camp (2000) indicated that three of 10 preservice teacher education programs, included in the study, actually taught a course focused on sae to preservice teachers. these preservice agricultural programs spend a less significant amount of time teaching sae as opposed to instruction related to the national ffa organization (mclean & camp, 2000). rubenstein et al. (2014), concluded that a majority of preservice teachers perceived sae as important or somewhat important, however preservice teachers indicated low self-efficacy towards several competencies. therefore, this research study aimed to further previous research and examine preservice teachers’ self-efficacy towards the specific american association for agricultural education (aaae) sae competencies before and after completing an agriculture teacher preparation program. theoretical and conceptual framework this study was guided by bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory and schunk’s (2012) research on the role gender plays in self-efficacy. bandura (1986) stated that learning is achieved through interactions between the learner, environment, and behaviors. these interactions are bidirectional, built into a triad, where the factors do not have to occur in the same moment. social cognitive theory focuses on the learner with personal factors influencing learning. within personal factors, self-efficacy plays a major role (bandura, 1986). as mentioned, teachers are responsible for many aspects of saes. this includes assisting in developing, implementing, and executing plans set forth, to aid in the success of the student. for a teacher to perform and assist the student, personal factors such as self-efficacy, guide them throughout all aspects of saes. therefore, this study focused on preservice teachers’ selfefficacy and perceptions of sae regarding their ability to perform a given list of competencies. bandura (1986) defines self-efficacy as the judgments of the capabilities people have to organize and execute action needed to attain a specific performance. it is a belief about what one is capable of doing as opposed to knowing what to do (schunk, 2012). schunk also states rubenstein & scott advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.157 52 that to gauge self-efficacy, individuals assess their skills and capabilities and how those skills form actions. actual experiences and performances then offer the most information for assessing one’s self-efficacy (schunk, 2012). self-efficacy plays a key role in this study in the performance of preservice agricultural educators, but schunk (2012) also stated that gender differences often relate to differences in self-efficacy among vocational career choices. however, a lack of research exists in determining the correlations between gender and self-efficacy. additionally, within the performance of preservice teachers, achievement also plays a key role in self-efficacy. those who view themselves as having low-self efficacy will often avoid attempting tasks and may also doubt their learning capabilities as opposed to those who are efficacious (schunk, 2012). not only does teacher self-efficacy have an impact on instructional methods and planning, but it also has an impact on student learning (schunk, 2012). acknowledging these factors, it is believed one’s self-efficacy may in turn influence the progress and achievement of students and teachers (schunk, 2012). in addition to limited research and little data in determining where sae instruction should focus concerning sae course work, it is unclear how preservice agriculture teachers view their perceived self-efficacy towards sae. therefore, the assumption can be made that those with limited interaction with sae and sbae will be less efficacious towards the specific aaae-sae competencies as opposed to those with the experience. purpose the purpose of this study was to examine the self-efficacy of preservice teachers’ ability to perform the sae competencies developed through the american association for agricultural education (american association for agricultural education, 2013). the specific objectives that guided this study were: 1. to determine the influence of prior sae experience and beliefs on preservice agriculture teachers’ sae self-efficacy. 2. examine the influence of core agricultural education certification courses on preservice agriculture teachers’ sae self-efficacy. 3. examine the differences in sae self-efficacy among genders of preservice agriculture teachers. methods to determine the preservice teachers’ perceived abilities to conduct sae in their sbae programs, a paper-based pre-survey was administered to senior agricultural education students before the completion of the core agricultural education certification courses, where all sae content is taught. the pre-survey was followed by a post-survey which was administered upon completion of their 15-week student teaching experience the following spring semester. the span between the administration of the two instruments was nine months. the survey was administered to 15 preservice teachers who completed the agricultural education certification rubenstein & scott advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.157 53 program at the university of georgia using a questionnaire that was developed by rubenstein et al (2014). the survey was developed based on the core competencies approved by aaae. the instrument was found to be reliable by rubenstein et al. (2014) with a post-hoc reliability found to be .95. the instrument was used unchanged from the previous study. the questionnaire consisted of 20 likert-type items that measured preservice teachers’ self-efficacy of each aaaesae competency. the instrument utilized a 5-point likert-type scale that ranged from (5) high, (4) moderately high, (3) neutral, (2) moderately low, and (1) low. data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the pre-post responses were analyzed using a dependent samples ttest to determine the change in the preservice teachers’ perceived ability to perform the sae competencies. this study was utilized as a snapshot to understand the influence of the program, with a limited population and small sample size. the sample of this study consisted of graduating preservice agriculture teachers from one agricultural education preparation program at a the university of georgia (n = 15). all participants were seniors in their final year of certification courses and student teaching. a census was utilized in this study. data were collected using a paper-based questionnaire previously designed by rubenstein et al. (2014). the questionnaire was administered in a face-to-face format (dillman et al., 2009). prior to utilization, the original survey instrument developed by rubenstein et al (2014) was reviewed by a panel of experts who examined the document for content validity within the individual program, and then deemed acceptable in its current form for this study, as the population in both studies were preservice teachers. responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics to determine the perceived self-efficacy of preservice agriculture teachers in completing individual sae competencies. independent samples t-tests were used to determine the ability of preservice teachers prior/post completion of certification courses and student teaching, as well as the differences between students who identify as male or female towards their performance of sae competencies. researchers utilized independent samples t-tests, as this method is often found to be robust to violations of the normal population assumption (agresti & finlay, 2009). the alpha level of statistical significance was set a priori at .05. findings participants (n = 15) not only responded on their ability to perform aaae-sae competencies, but demographic information was also collected (see table 1). approximately two-thirds of respondents (60%, n = 9) identified as female. a majority of respondents (93%, n = 14) selfreported they were caucasian, non-hispanic. additionally, the majority of participants were involved in high school agriculture education and previous sae experience (100%, n = 15), (93%, n = 14) respectively. a majority responded they received instruction from at least one course focused on sae, yet 13% indicated no previous instruction on sae. although 7 of 15 participants (47%) believed that sae was very important in coursework before completing the program, post-survey results indicated that 14 participants perceived sae as very important. rubenstein & scott advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.157 54 table 1 demographics of preservice teachers (n = 15) characteristic n % gender female 9 60 male 6 40 ethnicity hispanic 1 7 caucasian, non-hispanic 14 93 high school agriculture education yes 15 100 no 0 0 sae experience no previous experience 1 7 high school experience 14 93 coursework regarding sae during teacher preparation program entire course on sae 1 7 a portion of 1 course 6 40 a portion of more than 1 course 6 40 no instruction provided 2 13 importance of sae in sbae not important 0 0 somewhat important 1 7 neither important or not important 0 0 somewhat important 7 47 very important 7 47 certification status through a teacher preparation program 14 93 through alternative certification routes 1 7 provisionally certified currently 0 0 note. sae = supervised agricultural experience; sbae = school-based agricultural education preservice teachers’ self-efficacy towards sae and sbae increased between the pre-survey to post-survey on 16 items, and table 2 illustrated that two competencies were statistically significant (p < .05). preservice teachers reported that their ability to provide individualized instruction related to a student’s sae increased from 3.40 to 3.87 (p = .04). however, their ability to motivate students to complete an sae program decreased from 4.40 to 3.67 (p = .00) after completion of the program. rubenstein & scott advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.157 55 table 2 preservice teacher self-efficacy towards aaae-sae competencies (n = 15) item: my ability to … pre-m post-m p t motivate students to complete an sae program 4.40 3.67 .00 4.78 provide individualized instruction related to a student’s sae program 3.40 3.87 .04 -.217 clearly communicate the purpose of sae programs with others 3.60 4.00 .11 -1.70 instruct students in how to complete sae programs 3.53 3.80 .16 -1.47 assist students in selecting sae programs that meet their individual abilities 3.47 3.80 .17 -1.44 inform administrators about the benefits of sae programs 4.07 4.27 .33 -1.00 evaluate sae programs 3.73 3.93 .33 -1.00 identify sae programs that connect to agriculture curriculum 3.93 4.13 .38 -.90 encourage students to complete a diary record for their sae program 3.80 4.00 .42 -.82 assist students in completing a record of the financial transactions related to their sae program 3.47 3.73 .43 -.81 assist students in developing sae programs that meet their aptitude 3.33 3.53 .45 -.76 assist students in planning an appropriate sae program that meets their needs 3.47 3.67 .45 -.76 build positive relationships with administrators 4.20 4.33 .49 -.70 evaluate student’s competency development within their sae program 3.20 3.33 .49 -.69 identify sae programs within a community 3.67 3.80 .54 -.62 clearly communicate the procedures of sae programs with others 3.53 3.67 .54 -.62 enhance student learning using sae as a motivation tool 3.67 3.53 .58 .56 coordinate communications between a student, parent, employer, and myself 4.07 3.93 .61 .52 provide students meaningful supervision during their sae program 4.07 3.93 .63 .49 provide sufficient notice to those involved in a supervisory visit of the date and time 4.27 4.13 .65 .46 identify sae programs that are beneficial for individual students 3.73 3.80 .77 -.29 assist students in acquiring necessary resources to complete an sae program 3.60 3.53 .81 .24 encourage students to improve their sae programs 4.20 4.20 1.00 .00 use sae programs as a tool for increasing student learning 4.00 4.00 1.00 .00 increase community involvement in agriculture education using sae programs 3.73 3.73 1.00 .00 note. 5 = high; 4 = moderately high; 3 = neutral; 2 = moderately low; 1 = low rubenstein & scott advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.157 56 as noted in table 3, only two competencies showed significance by gender. table 3 also illustrates that if one gender perceived their self-efficacy toward a competency highly, the opposite would show lower self-efficacy. of the two competencies with significance, both males and females indicated a large decrease in ability towards providing individualized instruction related to a student’s sae program. however, it can be noted that females showed a larger change from the pre-survey to the post-survey (m = -.67), while males indicated a lesser decrease (m = -.17). furthermore, table 3 indicates that male preservice agriculture teachers perceive their ability to evaluate student’s competency development within their program as higher upon completion of the preparation program (m = .17) while females perceive their ability as weaker upon completion (m = -.33). thus, statistical significance can be noted of this competency (p = .02). rubenstein & scott advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.157 57 table 3 preservice teacher self-efficacy towards aaae-sae competencies based on gender male (n=6) female (n=9) item: my ability to … m sd m sd p evaluate student’s competency development within their sae program .17 .40 -.33 .86 .02 provide individualized instruction related to a student’s sae program -.17 .40 -.67 1.00 .03 enhance student learning using sae as a motivation tool .00 .63 .22 1.09 .05 assist students in developing sae programs that meet their aptitude .00 .63 -.33 1.22 .07 assist students in selecting sae programs that meet their individual abilities .00 .63 -.56 1.01 .10 clearly communicate the purpose of sae programs with others -.17 .75 -.56 1.01 .27 clearly communicate the procedures of sae programs with others .00 .63 -.22 .97 .27 assist students in completing a record of financial transactions in their sae program .50 1.04 -.78 1.20 .27 encourage students to complete a diary record for their sae program -.33 .51 -.11 1.16 .28 motivate students to complete an sae program 1.00 .63 .56 .52 .36 assist students in acquiring necessary resources to complete an sae program .50 1.22 -.22 .97 .39 encourage students to improve their sae programs -.17 .75 .11 1.16 .42 identify sae programs that are beneficial for individual students .33 1.03 -.33 .70 .44 identify sae programs that connect to agriculture curriculum .17 .75 -.44 .88 .50 use sae programs as a tool for increasing student learning .00 .89 .00 .86 .53 evaluate sae programs -.17 .75 -.22 .83 .54 assist students in planning an appropriate sae program that meets their needs .33 .81 -.56 1.01 .56 increase community involvement in agriculture education using sae programs .33 1.03 -.22 1.39 .57 provide students meaningful supervision during their sae program .50 .83 -.11 1.16 .67 instruct students in how to complete sae programs .17 .75 -.56 .52 .68 coordinate communications between a student, parent, employer, and myself .00 1.09 .22 .97 .83 provide sufficient notice to those involved in a supervisory visit of the date and time .17 1.16 .11 1.16 .85 build positive relationships with administrators -.17 .75 -.11 .78 .88 inform administrators about the benefits of sae programs -.17 .75 -.22 .83 .96 identify sae programs within a community -.33 .81 .00 .86 1.00 note. 5 = high, 4 = moderately high, 3 = neutral, 2 = moderately low, 1 = low rubenstein & scott advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.157 58 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations based on the findings of this study, several conclusions can be drawn. however, the authors noted limitations, which included a small sample size and its effect on generalization of the results. not only is sae perceived to be of greater importance upon completion of the program but preservice teachers’ self-efficacy increased among 16 competencies. only two competencies were noted with statistical significance among preservice teachers (p < .05), with a significant decrease noted for one item; motivating students to complete an sae program. previous studies have indicated that teachers struggle with saes, and many teachers fail to implement programs completely (dyer & osborne, 1995; robinson & haynes, 2011; rubenstein et al., 2014). as noted in dyer & osborne (1995), when teachers indicate low self-efficacy towards saes and struggle with implementation, there is difficulty motivating students leading to decreased participation. while there is limited research that seeks to identify the differences in self-efficacy and gender in agricultural educators, researchers determined that there was little indication gender impacted self-efficacy of specific sae competencies. prior research indicated a large difference in male teachers compared to female teachers, yet did not identify key differences in perceptions of self-efficacy (edwards & briers, 2001; young & edwards, 2005). recent research indicates a large gap between female and male agricultural educators, and rubenstein et al. (2014) indicated nearly three-quarters of respondents as female. however, respondents who identified as male reported a higher increase in self-efficacy in 17 competencies, but also reported a greater decrease than females in five competencies; identify sae programs within a community, encourage students to complete a diary record for their sae program, evaluate sae programs, encourage students to improve their sae programs, and build positive relationships with administrators. further examination indicated that both female and male respondents reported lower self-efficacy of providing individualized instruction related to a student’s sae program. while previous research did not indicate significant changes, anecdotal evidence from preand post-survey means illustrated an increase in each competency except the eight which decreased. however, researchers concluded there was little to no difference in self-efficacy of participants prior to and after completion of a teacher preparation course. these results indicate that agricultural teacher preparation programs are successful to an extent in preparing teachers to implement sae into the classroom. nonetheless, previous research indicates that agriculture teachers struggle with the implementation of these programs in the classroom (talbert et al., 2014). therefore, researchers express the importance of investigating the impacts of agricultural teacher programs, as previous research also indicates that agriculture teachers pose the greatest impact on sbae and saes (dyer & osborne, 1995; phipps et al., 2008; rubenstein et al., 2014). additionally, determining where gaps occur between teacher preparation programs and practicing teachers should be examined more thoroughly. previous research indicates that preservice agricultural teacher programs may not fully prepare students for teaching sae in the rubenstein & scott advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.157 59 classroom (rubenstein et al., 2014). rubenstein et al. (2014) concluded that while programs would seem to be preparing teachers, teachers struggle with implementation in the classroom, leading to the suggestion that a gap exists between what is taught and what is practiced. furthermore, within this study, researchers agreed there were indications student teaching impacted the self-efficacy of preservice teachers, and identified several competencies with components of classroom interaction that either increased or decreased. as previously mentioned, teachers in the classroom struggle with the implementation of sae (; dyer & osborne, 1995; rubenstein et al., 2014; talbert et al., 2014), which impacts student teachers. recommendations based on the results of the study, several recommendations have been developed for future research. these include examining the level and depth of sae instruction in agricultural teacher preparation programs across the united states, how agriculture teacher preparation programs are preparing preservice teachers to develop individual student sae programs, cooperating teachers’ self-efficacy towards the aaae-sae competencies, and agricultural educators who are new to teaching and those who have been teaching for many years to determine the differences in self-efficacy towards specific competencies among teacher experience and performance. furthermore, the researchers propose recommendations for agricultural teacher educators which include developing sae implementation guides to support new teachers in motivating students to complete saes, and provide additional training opportunities for preservice and inservice agriculture teachers to learn about sae development, implementation, and supervision. references agresti, a., & finlay, b. (2009). statistical methods for the social sciences (4th ed.). prentice-hall. american association for agricultural education. (2013). teacher education sae competencies. http://aaaeonline.org/resources/documents/sig%20files/sae%20competencies.pdf bandura, a. (1986). social foundations of thought and action: a social cognitive theory. prentice-hall. dillman, d. a., smyth, j. d., & christian, l. m. (2009). internet, mail, and mixed–mode surveys; the tailored design method (3rd ed.). wiley. dyer, j. e., & osborne, e. w. (1995). participation in supervised agricultural experience programs: a synthesis of research. journal of agricultural education, 36(1), 6–14. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.1995.01006 mclean, r. c., & camp, w. g. (2000). an examination of selected preservice agricultural teacher education programs in the united states. journal of agricultural education, 41(2), 25– 35. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2000.02025 rubenstein & scott advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.157 60 morris, t. h. (2020). experiential learning – a systematic review and revision of kolb’s model. interactive learning environments, 28(8), 1064–1077. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2019.1570279 phipps, l. j., & osborne, e. w. (1988). handbook on agricultural education in public schools (5th ed.). interstate. phipps, l. j., osborne, e. w., dyer, j. e., & ball, a. (2008). handbook on agricultural education in public schools (6th ed.). thomson delmar. roberts, t. g. (2006). a philosophical examination of experiential learning theory for agricultural educators. journal of agricultural education, 47(1), 17–29. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2006.01017 robinson, j. s., & haynes, j. c. (2011). value and expectations of supervised agriculture experiences as expressed by agriculture instructors in oklahoma who were alternatively certified. journal of agricultural education, 52(2), 47–57. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2011.02047 rubenstein, e. d., thoron, a. c., & estepp, c. m. (2014). perceived self-efficacy of preservice agriculture teachers toward specific sae competencies. journal of agricultural education, 55(4), 72–84. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2014.04072 schunk, d. h. (2012). learning theories: an educational perspective (6th ed.). pearson. schunk, d. h. (2020). learning theories: an educational perspective (8th ed.). pearson. stair, k. s., & warner, w. j. (2012). identifying concerns of preservice and in–service teachers in agricultural education. journal of agricultural education, 53(2), 153–164. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2012.02153 stimson, r. w. (1919). vocational agricultural education by home projects. macmillan. talbert, b. a., vaughn, r., croom, b., & lee, j. s. (2014). foundations of agricultural education (3rd ed.). pearson. young, r. b., & edwards, m. c. (2005). a profile of cooperating teachers and centers in oklahoma: implications for the student teaching experience in agricultural education. journal of southern agricultural education research, 55(1), 60–73. http://www.jsaer.org/pdf/vol55/55-01-060.pdf © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 311-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. newlin humphrey, graduate assistant, oklahoma state university, 547 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, newlin.humphrey@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6328-8333 2. lauren lewis cline, assistant professor of agricultural leadership, oklahoma state university, 444 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, lauren.l.cline@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4187-8122 3. bradley coleman, assistant professor of agricultural education and leadership, oklahoma state university, 445 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, b.coleman@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 29 leadership competencies developed during a short-term domestic study tour: an exploration of participants’ perceptions n. humphrey1, l. cline2, b. coleman3 article history received: march 22, 2023 accepted: july 17, 2023 published: july 27, 2023 keywords agricultural leadership development; global perspective; social capital; youth development abstract as short-term study abroad tours seek to develop globally competent leaders within the agricultural industry, the rich diversity present within the united states has led to the inception of short-term domestic study tours. to improve how global leadership competencies are developed among adolescent participants, understanding competencies gained during short-term international and domestic cultural immersion trips is vital. this case study analysis sought to explore state ffa officer perceptions of leadership competencies developed through participation in the national ffa organization’s international leadership seminar for state officers (ilsso) which pivoted to a domestic study tour for 2022. the findings indicate participants perceived agricultural exposure and networking with peers as the development of leadership competencies. participants also expressed perspective shifts around agricultural production methods and varied cultural experiences in the state of california. recommendations include designing leadership curriculum for both short-term abroad and domestic tours with a framework grounded in leadership theory and replicating this study to compare findings in various contexts. similar studies should also be conducted to assess outcomes of leadership development programs designed by the national ffa organization. humphrey et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.311 30 introduction and problem statement globalization is an integral component of the agricultural, food, fiber, and natural resources (afnr) industry, increasing the need for developing leadership competencies within a global context (deardorff, 2006; landon et al., 2017). specifically, there is a need to expose young people to global experiences within afnr (national academies of sciences, engineering, and medicine [nasem], 2021). higher education institutions offer many opportunities for student participation in faculty-led, short-term study abroad (stsa) programs within the context of agriculture (hendrickson, 2015; vetter & wingenbach, 2019). many stsa programs available to students in agriculture are designed to develop cultural awareness, build understanding of social responsibilities to society, gain technical knowledge within various agricultural industries, and foster personal growth (bunch et al., 2018; roberts et al., 2019; smith et al., 2013; vetter & wingenbach, 2019). with barriers such as finances or reservations about international travel preventing students from participating in stsa programs, it is questioned whether domestic study tours designed to meet the same objectives as a stsa produce similar meaningful outcomes (gomez-lanier, 2017; sobania & braskamp, 2009). traveling abroad is not always necessary for a cross-cultural experience, as increased diversity within the united states provides rich opportunities (sobania & braskamp, 2009). promoting cultural understanding, expanding personal worldview, and gaining understanding in one’s field of study can also be accomplished through domestic experiences (gomez-lanier, 2017; sobania & braskamp, 2009). however, little literature exists exploring the development of leadership competencies during a short-term domestic study tour (radford, 2020); therefore, the need exists to study these experiences. further investigation of the educational outcomes of domestic study tours could provide evidence of their viability as an alternative to stsa that has fewer barriers. conceptual framework two conceptual frameworks, social capital (coleman, 1988) and global perspective (hanvey, 1982), were utilized inductively to illuminate meaning in the findings. social capital refers to the resources and benefits we may receive from relationships within a social structure (coleman, 1988). within social structures, social capital can be depicted among its three main forms: obligations and expectations (i.e., trustworthiness among members of the group), information channels (i.e., acquisition of information through social relations), and social norms (i.e., beliefs and standards that guide or constrain behaviors; coleman, 1988). hanvey (1982) outlined five dimensions of a global perspective that could be attained by young people through formal and informal education. these five dimensions include (a) perspective consciousness, (b) ‘state of the planet’ awareness, (c) cross-cultural awareness, (d) knowledge of global dynamics, and (e) awareness of choices (hanvey, 1982). cross-cultural awareness is the ability to acknowledge and empathize with diverse ideas and practices from around the globe, and also recognize how the ideas and norms of one’s own society may compare and be viewed by another (hanvey, 1982). it has been found that the development of social capital is humphrey et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.311 31 one primary motivator for students to engage in study abroad experiences, along with career preparation and global knowledge development (roberts et al., 2020). within a short-term domestic study tour, participants value the connections made with fellow participants to better develop themselves personally and professionally creating a high-impact learning experience (homeyer et al., 2017). therefore, the social capital and global perspective frameworks were selected as lenses through which we investigated this study to determine if similar outcomes hold true in domestic experiences in agricultural settings. moreover, the need for afnr workforce prospects to participate in experiences that build social networks, global perspectives, and other leadership skills has been emphasized by industry stakeholders and university faculty (nasem, 2021). purpose each year the national ffa organization hosts an international leadership seminar for state officers (ilsso) abroad, which is attended by state ffa officers. participants of ilsso will be able to demonstrate knowledge of global values and diversity, create a plan to articulate and interpret learning to constituents, and formulate empathy and awareness of domestic and global conditions through a facilitated immersion experience. the 2022 ilsso experience was planned to take place in costa rica in january. however, due to covid-19 travel restrictions, the destination of the trip pivoted domestically to california, resulting in a short-term domestic study tour in lieu of traveling abroad for that year. for 10 days, participants traveled to various agricultural operations across the state of california, met with industry leaders, and engaged in facilitated reflection at the end of each evening with a small group of fellow participants. the purpose of this study was to explore participants’ perceptions of leadership competencies developed through participation in a short-term domestic study tour, a modification of ilsso. one research question guided the investigation: what leadership competencies did participants perceive they developed through the ilsso experience? methods the qualitative case study approach was selected for this study (creswell, 2013; stake, 1995; yin, 2009). this single case was bound by time, location, and participants of the 2022 ilsso experience. when studying this case, the researchers focused on the participants’ perceived leadership competencies developed as a result of participating in the ilsso experience. participants  purposive sampling was used to identify study participants (creswell, 2013), who were collegeaged students elected to serve as state ffa officers within their respective states and attended ilsso in january 2022 (n = 46). consent and assent were obtained for 42 participants. the research participants represented 17 u.s. states. a majority of the participants self-identified as female (n = 28), with the remaining self-identifying as male (n = 14). humphrey et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.311 32 data collection and analysis  case study research requires an in-depth analysis of the case through the inclusion of several sources of data for analysis and triangulation (creswell, 2013; stake, 1995). sources of data included (a) pre-experience reflection statements, (b) post-experience reflection statements, (c) deferred post-experience focus group interviews, (d) researcher observations, (e) captioned photos, and (f) trip artifacts and documents. fortytwo participants completed preand postexperience statements which were hand-written by participants and transcribed electronically by the researchers. six focus group interviews occurred three months post-experience via zoom with 18 participants total. auto-generated transcripts via zoom were verified by the researchers. observations were conducted by one researcher who attended the experience and kept journal notes. captioned photos were collected via qualtrics submission at the end of the experience. primary data (preand post-experience statements and focus groups) were analyzed using the constant comparative method (corbin & strauss, 2015). the process began with open coding, where line-by-line analysis was conducted by one researcher to establish a set of open codes (miles & huberman, 1994). the open codes were then discussed, negotiated, and condensed, by the research team. all other sources of data were used for data triangulation. finally, four themes were confirmed by the researchers. rigor, trustworthiness, and researcher reflexivity  the considerations for establishing qualitative rigor and trustworthiness recommended by lincoln and guba (1985) were used: (a) credibility, (b) confirmability, (c) dependability, and (d) transferability. specific practices included researcher and data triangulation (creswell, 2013), researcher audit trailing, multiple data checks that led to inter-coder agreement (lincoln & guba, 1985), reflective bracketing to minimize researcher biases (tufford & newman, 2010), the inclusion of reflexive statements (ary et al., 2010; tracy, 2010), and the presentation of rich data descriptions (stake, 1978). to accurately present the findings of this study, biases, context, and the experience must be properly acknowledged to uphold the sincerity and quality of research (tracy, 2010). due to the covid-19 pandemic, the ilsso experience pivoted from abroad to a domestic experience and encountered many unforeseen itinerary changes during the trip. as a result, participants in this study are not reflective of the entirety of ilsso participants since the program’s inception. also, the lack of context available with the qualitative content analysis of preand post-trip statements limited the depth of understanding and interpretation of meaning of participants’ experiences. each of the three members of the research team participated in an abroad ilsso experience previously as student participants and were familiar with the program. one faculty member of the research team was invited by the national ffa organization to lead the 2022 ilsso experience as a trip chaperone. findings four emergent themes were revealed through the data related to perceived leadership competencies developed during the ilsso short-term domestic study tour: (a) expanded relationships with fellow participants, (b) conflation of gained industry and technical exposure humphrey et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.311 33 as a leadership competency, (c) changed perspectives on agricultural production methods, and (d) varied perspectives of cultural experiences. theme #1: expanded relationships with fellow participants   participants expressed their disappointment when the location of the trip moved from costa rica to california but continued to see it as an opportunity for expansion of relationships with fellow participants. many of the national ffa organization’s largest events for state ffa officers were cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic; as a result, participants wanted to attend ilsso because they missed out on the ability to interact and network with each other during the year. participants expressed networking with other state ffa officers is mutually beneficial as they continue involvement in the national ffa organization, grow in their collegiate careers, and eventually move into the professional world. one participant summarized the sentiments communicated by many others writing, “i had the chance to network with industry professionals and other state officers and create those lifelong connections.” having conversations and building friendships with fellow state ffa officers was one of participants’ biggest takeaways from the trip. when discussing the most impactful learning experiences during ilsso in focus groups, one participant, nick, stated, “just the friendships and the relationships really laid the groundwork to have some really vulnerable but intentional and really fulfilling conversations.” another participant, josh, echoed a sentiment shared by most participants: i think for me personally, the most impactful learning experience came from conversations with people whether that was the other individuals on the trip or the producers we met and just kind of realizing impact can come from all directions. three months after the ilsso experience participants in focus groups expressed they were continuing to maintain the friendships developed in california through social media and phone calls. jessica felt supported by her fellow participants even after the trip and shared her experience by saying, “my dad passed away unexpectedly [after ilsso] and almost everyone reached out to me at some point … it solidified that making those connections that will last forever is just one of the best feelings in the world.” small group discussions facilitated by the adult chaperones and informal conversations were most valued by participants and seen as opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with one another and process information learned on the trip together. however, one participant believed more intentional facilitated discussions could have enriched and brought more meaning to the experience. shania wrote: personally, i would have valued some more intense debriefings in small group with deeper curriculum. i believe there was room for a deeper dive into the issues facing the industry and discussing the relevance of the tours in small group. personally, i did a lot of self-reflection to bring those things to fruition, but could have been pushed more by facilitators in the future. there was an apparent expectation of networking, reflecting on the experience with fellow state ffa officers, and interpersonal discovery in relation to small group discussions. humphrey et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.311 34 theme #2: conflation of gained industry and technical exposure as a leadership competency  through farm tours in california, participants were exposed to a variety of agricultural operations and production methods such as caviar and oyster farms, wineries, orchards, cattle feedlots, and operations centered around organic, sustainable, and regenerative practices. participants shared they became more educated on california agricultural issues and gained valuable experience by observing various agricultural practices and engaging with producers as they shared production methodology. by having the opportunity to interact with the secretary of agriculture for the state of california, participants learned how public policy influences agriculture through regulatory action. one participant wrote, “i also learned that policy plays a huge role in the operations of farms in the united states.” participants hoped to apply the new knowledge they gained when returning home. josh said, “i have that raw information that i can take and apply and ask intelligent questions or be able to hopefully learn more about that side of the industry [in the future].” while intelligence is often a characteristic of a leader, leadership development programs do not focus on it as a skill to be developed. developing a foundational perspective of domestic perspectives in agriculture is one of the main objectives of the ilsso experience, the program is marketed more widely as a leadership development opportunity for the premiere leaders of the national ffa organization. with that in consideration, when discussing what leadership competencies participants believed they developed and if the trip had influenced their approach to leadership, participants stated the ilsso experience did not change their approach to leadership or the way they viewed themselves as leaders. as crystal said, “i wouldn’t say it’s necessarily changed my approach to leadership.” nick echoed her statement by saying, “it hasn’t really altered my leadership style or how i see myself as a leader.” one participant expressed not being able to understand why leadership would be a focal point of ilsso. peter communicated this sentiment by stating: i just viewed ilsso as more of an advocate training and industry development and agricultural development of knowledge … i just don’t see the need to necessarily draw leadership back into it time and time again. [sic] even thinking about the international experience, [sic] if we’re trying to develop leaders on this trip [sic] or develop leadership competencies, [sic] and you’re touring different places and you have adult leaders, how exactly are you exemplifying leadership just by listening, which all state officers should be good at, at that point? for most of the participants, acquisition of agricultural knowledge and technical exposure was most often referred to when asked to describe the leadership learning that occurred during ilsso, rather than literature-based leadership competencies. while leadership competencies were alluded to throughout responses, participants did not make the clear connection that what was being described was leadership development. theme #3: changed perspectives on agricultural production methods most frequently referenced in post-trip questionnaires, many participants expressed a shift in perspective around organic and alternative production methods. many participants shared humphrey et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.311 35 their knowledge of agriculture was limited to conventional production methods and shared that the ilsso experience allowed them to develop open-mindedness toward organic farming and other sustainable practices as a result of interacting with the producers. harriet wrote, “in my agricultural background, we are always told that conventional farming is the only way to go. seeing the feasibility of these practices opens up a whole new world.” similarly, one participant wrote: we saw a lot of different agricultural operations on the trip and each were unique. while phrases like “organic” and “all natural” may have made me roll my eyes before, i now realize that these are not bad things, and they have a place in our market. participants valued being able to hear the personal and passionate anecdotes from producers and better understand the “why” behind the choices of their operation practices. stacey explained their newfound appreciation in this way: “organic agriculture isn’t bad it’s just different, and there is a place for that. … the experience [sic] just gave me a way better perspective and understanding of [sic] why we have stuff like organic farming.” other participants expressed excitement to share their newfound knowledge with others and hopefully influence others to change their perspectives on organic, sustainable, and regenerative production methods within their state and local communities. philip shared: so when i came back [from ilsso] a lot of those one sided farmers asked me questions, and so i was able to implement [sic] that open mindset [sic] and advocate for [organic and regenerative practices] and change some of their perspectives and help them understand why people choose that. many participants described ilsso as an eye-opening experience forcing them out of their comfort zones. in post-trip reflective statements, most participants communicated changed perspectives and open-mindedness, and when expanded upon in focus groups, these sentiments related back to a new appreciation and understanding of non-traditional agricultural production methods. sterling shared in focus groups, “i honestly left the trip with a whole new perspective on organic farming.” another participant wrote, “i learned that there is a place for farming practices i don't have at home (conventional, biodynamic, etc.) i learned that it is okay if opinions shift [sic] and being curious is extremely important.” communicating these changed perspectives to peers and community members in participants’ home states as well as a desire to advocate for non-traditional production methods emerged as key takeaways for most participants. theme #4: varied perspectives of cultural experiences  when the trip location was moved to california, participants still expected to experience a new culture in a new area of the united states. in both the preand post-trip questionnaires, participants admitted they previously had a negative perception of the state of california as a whole. after attending ilsso, participants expressed developing respect for the state of california. they liked being able to share their experiences and refute any negative stereotypes of california they feel ffa members and producers may have back in their home states. lisa wrote, “i was able to break that thought that california is crazy and all hippies, and i can't wait humphrey et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.311 36 to share what i learned to everyone back home.” another participant echoed that sentiment by writing, “i came in with preconceived notions about california after hearing from others how ‘bad’ it was.” however, some participants expressed a desire to be immersed in california culture and felt the trip did not provide those experiences. maren said, “learning about a different culture was something i was kind of expecting to learn a little bit more about and … [i wanted] to understand some more of the differences between california and [my state].” jessie shared similar thoughts: “one thing i was looking forward to in costa rica is [sic] seeing the diversity in their culture and music, so i think finding different ways to experience the different cultures in california [would have been beneficial].” one participant believed other students would not gain any cultural competencies from going to california because it was no different than any other place in the united states. peter shared, “if [national ffa] were to continue the domestic experience, they have to change it from being a cultural experience because it won’t be anything new to [state ffa officers].” several participants also perceived a domestic experience to be more beneficial than an international trip because they felt it was easier to apply the new information regarding agricultural production methods because of the similar context. aspen said: california has access to the same machinery, same technology, [sic] same regulations [sic]. … we probably would not have been able to apply as much knowledge as we were able to take from california, as we would have been able to take from costa rica. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations we explored the perceived leadership competencies developed by participants of ilsso, a short-term domestic tour. the four emergent themes revealed participants’ takeaways from the experience. students valued the social capital developed through participation in the experience and can build upon the relationships post-trip as resources for future goals and endeavors. participants appreciated the networking opportunities on ilsso and how these connections were perceived to be beneficial as they continue into college and the professional world. students did not necessarily view ilsso as a leadership development experience and often conflated the attainment of knowledge with leadership competency development. a disconnect between an intended outcome of the program, leadership competency development, and student perceptions was apparent. however, students did suggest ilsso expanded their perceptions about the diversity of agricultural production methods in the industry, and it allowed them to build social capital via relationships formed with fellow participants (coleman, 1988). participants expressed an expansion of personal worldview related to agriculture and gained a technical understanding of the varying facets of the industry as a result of ilsso (bunch et al., 2018; gomez-lanier, 2017; smith et al., 2013; sobania & braskamp, 2009; roberts et al., 2019). exposing participants to non-traditional agricultural humphrey et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.311 37 production methods allowed them to explore other facets of the afnr industry through the tours and engagement with industry leaders to explore potential career opportunities such experiences are critical in conveying awareness and shifting perspectives of the vast industry opportunities while participating in peer-to-peer engagement (homeyer, 2017; nasem, 2021). finally, participants’ opinions of the domestic location for the trip and lack of cultural learning perhaps reveals u.s. culture was centered during the experience and not brought to light to generate more critical thought about cultural differences within the continent. regarding crosscultural awareness, participants seemed to acknowledge and empathize with the diversity of agricultural practices and ideas they encountered; however, the failure to recognize cultural differences by centering united states culture during the experience kept them from considering external perceptions of their own norms (hanvey, 1982). it appears there was a missed opportunity to expose participants to the vast micro-cultures within the united states and more specifically within the state of california. we recommend those hoping to lead similar short-term study abroad tours, whether domestic or abroad, design curriculum with a global leadership competency framework to better guide the learning experience as it relates to leadership development and cross-cultural awareness. simply participating in international or domestic leadership experiences with some guided independent reflection and facilitated conversation may not be enough to ensure the development of cultural competence and global leadership competencies (bunch et al., 2018). while this study explored perceived outcomes of a domestic experience, it is hard to know whether the findings would be different from an abroad ilsso experience. it is encouraged that this study be replicated the next time ilsso can travel outside the u.s. continent to compare findings in different contexts. if findings are similar, regardless of locale, creating domestic study tour experiences for students may be a viable way to create more accessible unique learning opportunities producing positive outcomes. among agricultural students, there may also be an opportunity to utilize domestic study tour experiences reflective of cultural differences within the united states and diverse agricultural practices to create knowledge growth in students and allow participants to develop awareness surrounding industry opportunities and build relationships with fellow agriculturalists (nasem, 2021) future studies should be conducted to assess the leadership development outcomes of similar youth leadership development programs. acknowledgements we thank the national ffa organization for their support and assistance with this study. this study was funded through oklahoma state university’s ferguson college of agriculture, including the osu agricultural research/ferguson college of agriculture undergraduate research scholars program. humphrey et al. advancements in agricultural development 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(2009). case study research: design and methods (4th ed.). sage. © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 297-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. alexander j. smith, global category manager, fresenius medical care north america, 920 winter street, waltham, ma 02451-1457, alex.smith@freseniusmedicalcare.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8877-4814 2. m. craig edwards, professor of agricultural education, ferguson college of agriculture, oklahoma state university, 448 agriculture hall, stillwater, ok 74078, craig.edwards@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4436-4450 3. craig e. watters, associate professor of professional practice, spears school of business, oklahoma state university, 343 business building, stillwater, ok 74078, craig.watters@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4386-1818 4. matthew w. rutherford, professor of entrepreneurship, spears school of business, oklahoma state university, 463 business building, stillwater, ok 74078, matthew.rutherford@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1274-6702 54 assessing impact of a mandela washington fellowship institute for african entrepreneurs a. j. smith1, m. c. edwards2, c. e. watters3, m. w. rutherford4 article history received: february 6, 2023 accepted: june 13, 2023 published: july 31, 2023 keywords business development; human capital; phenomenology abstract the development of sub-saharan africa (ssa) has been slow compared to the rest of the world, and a lack of investment in human capital development emerges as a prevalent reason. oklahoma state university provided a six-week-long entrepreneurship education program (eep) for participants from ssa; many had agricultural or food businesses. approaches to entrepreneurship education is a well-debated topic in the literature, including how best to evaluate such. we conducted a study in which 12 entrepreneurs were interviewed about nine months after the program’s end. transcripts were analyzed using epoche, horizontalization, phenomenological reduction, and imaginative variation. themes, sub-themes, and an essence emerged. the themes were improvements, changes, and challenges to their business models; self-improvement and empowerment; and social change. building the capacity of socially responsible entrepreneurs for a new africa was the phenomenon’s essence. future research should assess the impact of business knowledge attainment on the long-term success of entrepreneurs and identify learning experiences motivating them to practice social entrepreneurship. eeps should stress rigor and an ethos of accomplishment, conduct site visits, and provide opportunities for community service. interventions to negate the marginalization frequently experienced by women entrepreneurs in developing contexts are also discussed. smith et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.297 55 introduction and problem statement sub-saharan africa (ssa) is part of the youngest, poorest, and fastest-growing continent. as scholars study why its development has been halting and slow, a lack of investment in human capital emerges as a prevalent reason (juma, 2011). regarding agriculture, resources supporting technological innovations that do not fit ssa’s needs could be invested in other ways that may optimize the sector’s efficiency and profitability (toenniessen et al., 2008), such as in its human capital. oklahoma state university was awarded funding for a six-week-long entrepreneurship education program (eep), i.e., a mandela washington fellowship (mwf) institute, during 2017. the u.s. agency for international development sponsors the young african leaders initiative (yali), which is . . . investing in an emerging generation of young african leaders by committing resources to enhance leadership skills, invigorate entrepreneurship, and connect young african leaders with one another, counterparts in the united states, and other innovative leaders in both private and public sectors. (“young african leader”, n.d., para. 3) the mwf is the flagship program of yali and occurs through u.s.-based mwf institutes. our mwf institute provided training for 25 entrepreneurs (i.e., fellows) from 17 ssa countries that included 13 males and 12 females. many were agricultural producers or food purveyors. they experienced a curriculum of entrepreneurship topics, enterprise shadowing opportunities, networking encounters, and cross-cultural activities. whether they had thriving businesses or small, struggling startups, the mwf institute sought to assist in furthering their entrepreneurial ventures and expose them to business opportunities to pursue in the future. although approaches to entrepreneurship education are well-debated topics in the literature, how to best evaluate such programs remains an open question, making the mwf institute a phenomenon worthy of study (tracy, 2010). therefore, an inquiry was needed to assess the mwf institute’s impact after its participants had returned home. of note, the same number of women as men were included in this inquiry due to their frequent underrepresentation in similar studies and often unfounded marginalization when considering how to best capacitate aspiring entrepreneurs, including those in the agriculture and food sectors (dancer & hossain, 2018; food and agriculture organization of the united nations, 2011; naved, 1994). theoretical and conceptual framework the mwf institute was designed to develop and improve the participants’ entrepreneurial proficiency by providing training in financing, business planning and management, creativity, networking opportunities, and technical skills, such as grant proposal writing, among a plethora of other topics. the providers assumed that the fellows’ knowledge and skills about entrepreneurship could be improved; hence, the study’s conceptual framework was human capital theory (becker, 1994; schultz, 1961; welch, 1975). the premise that participants would enhance their entrepreneurial abilities by adopting new attitudes, acquiring learning that presaged new behaviors, and increasing their perceived behavioral control to exercise the actions necessary to achieve desired outcomes was supported by ajzen’s (1991) theory of smith et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.297 56 planned behavior (see figure 1). these well-known frameworks underpinned our approach to the study, including interpretation of findings and proffering of conclusions and recommendations. figure 1 ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior (topb) note: adapted from “the theory of planned behavior,” by i. ajzen, 1991, organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), p. 182. copyright 1991 by academia press, inc. purpose we sought to assess the impact an eep, in this case a mwf institute, had on selected fellows regarding how they practiced entrepreneurship in new ways after returning to their home countries. examining the impacts of an eep could provide findings about improving approaches to business development (henry et al., 2005a, 2005b) by entrepreneurs from ssa and elsewhere, especially when the training transpires in a cross-cultural setting (taylor et al., 2020). exploring a cultural immersion experience such as a mwf institute that targeted entrepreneurs may also yield improved understanding of their attitudes on citizenship, community membership, and community service (gay & kirkland, 2003). methods we used qualitative methods to conduct a phenomenological study. seymour (2006) concluded that phenomenology is a useful tool to analyze entrepreneurship because entrepreneurs exercise behaviors in response to the opportunities they recognize but doing that is complicated due to the broad spectrum of human decision-making. moustakas’ (1994) nine principles of transcendental phenomenology guided the study. along with moustakas’ (1994) principles, the investigators also followed tracy’s (2010) indicators of high-quality qualitative research to increase the likelihood of a thorough, rigorous, and ethical investigation. smith et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.297 57 maximal variation sampling (creswell & clark, 2017) captured a diverse set of perceptions. the fellows interviewed included six men and six women, each from one of 12 ssa nations. they were interviewed via online technologies about nine months after the program’s end; interviews lasted from approximately 45 to 60 minutes. each recorded interview was transcribed verbatim to accurately reflect what was discussed. after completing the transcriptions, participants were sent their transcripts via electronic mail attachments to verify the accuracy of such, i.e., member checking was conducted. according to creswell and miller (2000), member checking is a process that shifts accountability regarding the accuracy of findings from the researcher to the participants and increases credibility (creswell & miller, 2000; tracy, 2010). we highlighted sections of the transcripts for which clarifications were needed. one fellow responded with major changes, four replied with minor changes, and seven did not provide any modifications. the transcripts were analyzed through the procedures described by moustakas (1994): epoche, the practice of bracketing, i.e., researchers selfidentify their biases; horizontalization, whereby researchers organize significant statements from the interviews with all having equal value; phenomenological reduction, the creation of themes from the interviewees’ quotes; and imaginative variation, which tested assumptions supporting the thematic organization. nvivo 12 was also used as an organizational tool during data analysis. the fellows interviewed ranged from 27 to 35 years of age (m = 30.25). four each, respectively, were from nations in the eastern, southern, and western regions of the african continent, and eight had agricultural or food purveyance enterprises. researchers’ reflexivity reflexivity is a validity procedure by which researchers “self-disclose their assumptions, beliefs, and biases” (creswell & miller, 2000, p. 127), so to not mislead readers about their views and to increase the likelihood of eliminating biases from a study (creswell & miller, 2000). i am a british immigrant who became a naturalized u.s. citizen in 2016. i had no agricultural experience as a youth, nor did i have any direct interactions with entrepreneurship. i earned an undergraduate degree in political science and economics and was a master of science degree student in international agriculture with an emphasis on agricultural economics during the study. i was a paid member of the mwf institute’s staff and participated in many of the fellows’ learning experiences and cultural interactions. i forged friendships with the fellows and maintained ongoing relationships through social media. therefore, i formed opinions and drew conclusions about the fellowship experience. by bracketing my thoughts (moustakas, 1994), i noted my biases and preconceived notions about the interviewees and reflected on such. the other researchers are faculty members at oklahoma state university—one in the college of agriculture and two in the school of business, working in agricultural education and entrepreneurship, respectively. two directed the mwf institute and had traveled to ssa for entrepreneurship projects. smith et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.297 58 findings thirty-one categories or codes, four major themes, and seven sub-themes emerged during data analysis; three of the themes and all sub-themes are reported below. the theme “lessons learned from fellow africans” was not shared here but is detailed in the study’s parent thesis (smith, 2018). such were synthesized from and are representative of fellows’ quotes. to emerge as a theme, the ideas or concepts must have been prevalent (braun & clarke, 2006) in the 12 transcribed interviews. theme 1: improvements, changes, and challenges to their business models the theme was explicated through three sub-themes. actualization, including intentions (ajzen, 1991), was arrived at as a sub-theme based on the fellows’ discussions of the business-related changes they implemented after returning home. for instance, fellow 10 discussed a change to their enterprise due to adjusting the production process: “so now we are, we are producing the fertilizer and packaging for which is dry and can [be] put in bags and we can sell it whenever we want.” fellow 6, a baker, shared changes they made after returning home: “i have introduced about six new products. interestingly, i already have cakes. i have rebranded, i have a new logo. and i am building a kitchen right now.” on the contrary, two of the fellows interviewed had abandoned their entrepreneurial ventures after returning home. many fellows also expressed ideas they had not yet set in motion or reported business skills they perceived possessing because of their mwf institute experiences that remained unrealized. fellow 7 described how they planned to pursue new business opportunities in the future: “they [soap machines] are expensive. . . . around $10,000 usd. . . . oh no, i’m not waiting. . . . when i came [home] the business picked up. meaning, i’m saving money for this.” impact of the fellows’ classroom learning experiences was another sub-theme that emerged. their classroom takeaways varied but were clearly traced back, and sometimes the entrepreneurs even named specific lectures, such as what fellow 9 shared: [i]t somehow [was] different from what i knew as entrepreneurship because um i didn’t learn business from school. . . . and what i knew about business was only having a product . . . . [and] how to sell the product . . . so [during] the [mwf] institute, i learned more about business theories from bright teachers. . . . i met motivated entrepreneurs who really honed my skills. fellow 1 explained how they learned about creating a business plan: well, we learned about the business plan . . . they showed step by step the amount [of money] that you are going to use for your business. . . . it was a shock, because we, we tend to see things [as] very difficult. fellow 9 described importance of the mwf institute’s customer service lessons: we had a session about customer care while in oklahoma. i really appreciated that. . . . i [have] tried to train them [my employees] about how we can handle, or we can manage with our customer[s] . . . . smith et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.297 59 the fellows also discussed ways to manage costs, such as reducing production expenses or by acquiring partners. fellow 8 pointed to a lecture on this subject: . . . the lesson about . . . bootstrapping, it is much more closely [to the] african environment because, literally, when you decide to be an entrepreneur or to be involved in a company to realize something like an idea, you don’t have anything to rely on. you need [to] know how to, to begin with what you have. site visits were the fellows’ opportunities to acquire knowledge and skills in their specific sectors and to interact with u.s. professionals. they observed practices that worked in oklahoma and formed opinions about such as well as noted ideas, including the recognition of new markets. fellow 7 discussed the wide range of businesses they saw: “i discovered the[re are a] lot of business opportunities out here. one, i have started making liquid soap. . . . with my girls, we make it here and we, we give out to offices . . . for cleaning their room.” for many fellows, the main takeaway of the site visits or enterprise shadowing experiences was gaining technical and industry knowledge that could be applied to their businesses. fellow 5 said: “the first thing, he mixed his own poultry feed. in [country], like in the entire country, nobody makes their own poultry feed. that was amazing for me.” fellow 11 explained their impression after being asked to reflect on a site visit experience: . . . the first one was the visit we had at that goat institute. . . . they have a way of making fertilizers very quickly, using the the dead animal parts. so that’s things i learn[ed] and the[y are] currently using it to boost up the nitrogen content. several fellows also mentioned the concept of sustainability. it was repeatedly mentioned as having an enterprise that is long-lasting and endures over time. fellow 5’s reaction to visiting a poultry farm depicted their aspirations regarding this form of sustainability: also, it was like a third generation farm. and i realized that this is doable, i can start to see [that] my kids can run with it [and] that the[ir] kids can run with it. so, i’m setting the foundation and building it up, and by god’s grace my children will benefit from it, and their children’s children. fellow 2 returned several times to the importance of sustainability, what it meant to them coming from africa, and how impressed he was after a particular site visit: . . . sustainability is almost non-existent in [country]. there is hardly . . . a company that has lasted a single generation, so after the first 10 years everything begins to go down. . . . entrepreneurs do not always think about sustainability. now that actually inspires me, to [have] see[n] a man who has done the same thing for over 40 years, and . . . his ambition is still rowing. theme 2: self-improvement and empowerment the fellows also described changes within themselves. these changes were manifested by two sub-themes—relational, concerning or considering other people, and the fellows’ perceived behavioral control. relational included views shared about how they treated people or how others treated them, including being a better person and was based mostly on interactions with others. fellow 5 described becoming a better person by stressing accountability: smith et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.297 60 . . . accountability for myself and if i was told i would have to do a certain task, i, i made sure that i started to learn . . . it. it’s important as an entrepreneur and as a leader, and if you are starting something then you need to get it done on time, so that[’s] it; some of the lessons that i took away from the [mwf] institute. further, the fellows discussed their views regarding some of the u.s. participants with whom they interacted and whether relationships with them were continuing. fellow 2 reflected on their feelings about a relationship with one of the mwf institute’s staff members: . . . maybe i, maybe i didn’t say thank you enough to everybody at the [mwf] institute, especially, especially [a staff member] who i call my father. in africa, when you say someone is your father, i mean that means a lot. and i mean it actually, i say this from my heart of hearts, because it’s a father that gives someone the ability to make you better, while he-he is hard enough to stay on your case, an[d] he’s also soft enough and compassionate enough. another concept mentioned by many fellows was leadership, which was a program focus. the fellows completed a leadership development plan during the mwf institute. fellow 6 observed how the mwf institute’s leadership development programming shaped their view on leaders: we took a course in leadership, especially servant leadership. it is, it’s amazing because our understanding of leadership is someone that was handling a position rather than someone who is making a decision or someone who is impacting [a situation]. i always thought a leader is like a boss or something, but suddenly it’s not. leadership is defined by who we are and what we do. fellow 10 articulated their former view of leadership and how that changed: the leadership part, uh, seriously, before i come [to the mwf institute] i didn’t [really understand the concept]. i always thought that a leader is someone in politics and i don’t like politics too much because maybe because of our history. but i realize[d] that i am a leader . . . [and] the need to be [one]. the fellows also described new behaviors they acquired; one was timeliness or punctuality. the mwf institute had a very regimented schedule, and cultural differences about time were evident. changing views on the importance of timeliness stood out for some. fellow 12 was asked if the mwf institute changed their views on entrepreneurship, a rather macro question about how they viewed doing business overall, but they replied with a takeaway stressing time management: . . . in fact it introduced two very important things, time and scale. . . . when i came back home [from] and when i got to the [mwf] institute, i, my sense of time was a little uh off. . . . but then essentially, how i conduct my business now, . . . [my] sense of time is actually almost [that of a] perfectionist. fellow 9 also noted the emphasis on timeliness or keeping time and how that surprised them: smith et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.297 61 yes, i learned much about, i learned much about time [management]. . . . that is, uh a big lesson i had as a person there, in oklahoma. we had to respect time, to be on time, every time. that was not . . . in my habit [before the mwf institute]. perceived behavioral control were views presented by the fellows that focused mainly on internal processes (ajzen, 1991; see figure 1) and less on external actors, such as the topic of creativity. though most fellows did not describe implementing their creativity, many mentioned new markets and examples of opportunity recognition within the aims of improving their businesses. fellow 6, however, reflected on creativity by name when they said: “i think one of the most interesting topics that i experienced during the fellowship was in creative thinking. i think that really helped me in thinking differently, outside of the box.” fellow 4 implied creativity and innovation when explaining their view: um, yes, it did. it did because constantly we were made to think, okay ‘what can we do, what should we do more, what can we do?’ and not waste resources. i thought okay, i don’t need to lose this. what should i do [with this knowledge]? another illustration of the fellows’ perceived behavioral control (ajzen 1991) was empowerment, or how they saw themselves as more empowered because of the mwf institute. fellow 1 said: “. . . i always doubted my skills, i said ‘okay, i have skills, but i don’t trust my skills 100%.’ and so the fellowship made me stronger, in a way that now i believe more in what i do.” many fellows highlighted events that happened during the mwf institute, especially the highropes challenge course they experienced. fellow 6 elaborated on how that affected them: . . . i never thought i could do it. . . . i saw, myself in a different light [afterward] because i, you know, i never talk about myself as someone who takes responsibility, someone who can make tough decisions. i was always relying on [other] people, i was always trying to get validation from people around me before making the decisions. but during the fellowship, i was making decisions by myself, and when i came back home . . . i didn’t need validation from people to run my business. . . . i was able to become stronger in making decisions . . . . theme 3: social change the fellows shared views on differences between their home countries and what they experienced during the mwf institute. a sub-theme within the theme of social change was cultural observations, including differences. these were observations about oklahoma and stillwater community and reflection on their home locales. the sub-theme had more references than others, so it was clearly a key takeaway. fellow 10 reflected on the differences by highlighting an observation that caused them to consider how their community represents and celebrates itself: when i was in oklahoma, it was relayed, orange. orange, you go in supermarket you buy a bottle of oklahoma state university [water]. you can buy the cup of oklahoma smith et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.297 62 state university; it’s like its [own] local community. in my country, we cannot find it. we cannot even find a t-shirt of my university and it’s the biggest one. fellow 9 shared how his community reacts to the business success of others: . . . here, if you open something or you bring, you bring a kind of new product in the market, people won’t buy it from you, because they would consider that if they buy from you, they will be enriching you. the fellows expressed perceptions of their communities’ views on not only agriculture but also regarding other industries they saw as having certain stigmas surrounding them. fellow 8 described the attitudes that many people in their nation have toward agriculture: . . . because in [country] people think that when you [are] an, an agripreneur or a farmer you don’t have anything to do in your life. so, agriculture in [country] or in africa . . . [involves] people who have resigned [from their jobs] or we don’t have anything [else] to do in society. fellow 6 described similar attitudes about food purveying in their nation: . . . people think that vocational skill is for dropouts. so me being a baker, people still think, ‘oh my gosh, why are you baking?’ . . . but i never listened to that, i continued to do it. marginalization was another topic raised, especially as based on gender. fellow 5 said: . . . to actually acquire land, they would want to know who’s child i belong to [my parents], . . . they would need a male representative with me. and these are some of the things that make it very difficult for women in [country], to be able to, to grow, for their businesses to thrive, because it’s easier for a man to get these sorts of things, . . . . but for women, there’s so many hurdles that you have to jump over for you to actually [receive] the same resources a man would easily get. fellow 3 lamented the lack of effort devoted to overcome the marginalization of women: we have a very high number of single mothers here in [country]. . . . and usually they are working the farm, not with their kids, and nobody takes care of those kids, and nobody is saying anything, the government is not looking after anyone. fellow 6 also assessed the realities of being a woman in their nation: . . . the bank would ask us for collateral, and for the most part women don’t have this because they don’t have access to own properties, [or] they have access to properties, but they don’t have the liberty to build [on] them. you know, they can have land to farm on because the land is owned by their father or . . . by the husband but they don’t own the land. the land documents are not available to them, and if they don’t [have such], then they cannot gain access to loans. the fellows also described a form of reciprocity between the community and entrepreneur, a duty that an entrepreneur has to their community and vice versa. fellow 2 described this relationship as central to the meaning of entrepreneurship: smith et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.297 63 but for me, entrepreneurship is not just about selling something, or making money; entrepreneurship is about solving problems. so an entrepreneur is that individual who sees or identifies certain problems in his community or in the society, and then tries to provide a solution to that problem. and then, in the process of doing this, is able to sell the solution and make money out of it. and fellow 7 added: “it [the mwf institute] has helped me understand the importance to listening to my community.” fellow 3 reflected on stillwater’s habitat for humanity’s work: “i think my mission to the fellowship was to go there and see an example and learn from it and come home and see how i can implement it.” the sub-theme other included two codes that did not fit readily elsewhere but also related to social entrepreneurship. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the themes and sub-themes derived from the fellows’ interviews about their experiences as participants in oklahoma state university’s 2017 mwf institute led us to form an understanding of the phenomenon. the phenomenon’s essence is the following: building the capacity of socially responsible entrepreneurs for a new africa. this characterization of the study’s essence also supported assertions and substantiations that aligned with the larger study’s research questions (see smith, 2018, pp. 115–119). the fellows expressed that the mwf institute experience made a difference in their business skills, how they practiced business, and the outcomes of their enterprises after returning home. they reported a wide variety of different practices and results and reflected on changes to their enterprises, including modifications to production processes, inputs, outputs, and business models. however, two of the 12 fellows discontinued the ventures they had operated before participating in the mwf institute. our findings can inform the programming of similar eeps. we recommend that providers of eeps stress rigor coupled with an ethos of accomplishment, which is likely to further enhance the participants’ perceptions of self-improvement, empowerment, and perceived behavioral control (ajzen, 1991). future research should assess the impact that formal training in business knowledge has on the decision making, i.e., actualized behaviors (ajzen, 1991) and the longterm success of entrepreneurs who participate in eeps due to their expansion of human capital (becker, 1994; schultz, 1961; welch, 1975). longitudinal studies—using both quantitative and interpretive measures and methods—could be an appropriate investigatory approach. the funder of mwf institutes and organizations with similar objectives should insist that women be equally represented among their participants. however, if entrepreneurial education is to reach its full potential for female participants, additional interventions may be needed, especially regarding land ownership and access to credit to establish and expand their business ventures (food and agriculture organization of the united nations, 2011). without such, society’s return on its investment in the fellows’ human capital through eeps will go unfulfilled (becker, 1994; schultz, 1961; welch, 1975). smith et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.297 64 those most in need of assistance too frequently receive it least, last, or never. as such, constraints that perpetuate the historical marginalization of women are not new and often are imbued with and buoyed by subjective norms (ajzen, 1991), which may foment outright and institutionalized discrimination while interfering with their development of perceived behavioral control (ajzen, 1991; see figure 1). therefore, dismantling or negating the effects of such on women as well as other longstanding marginalized groups, including youth, racial and ethnic minorities, and the disabled, should be a priority for agricultural development initiatives and programs. references ajzen, i. 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(2018). social difference and women's empowerment in the context of the commercialisation of african agriculture (working paper no. 8). future agricultures consortium. http://www.future-agricultures.org/publications/working-papersdocument/social-difference-and-womens-empowerment-in-the-context-of-thecommercialisation-of-african-agriculture/ food and agriculture organization of the united nations. (2011). women in agriculture: closing the gender gap for development. office of knowledge exchange, reach and extension fao. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i2050e.pdf gay, g., & kirkland, k. (2003). developing cultural critical consciousness and self-reflection in preservice teacher education. theory into practice, 42(3), 181 ̶187. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4203_3 henry, c., hill, f., & leitch, c. (2005a). entrepreneurship education and training: can entrepreneurship be taught? part i. education + training, 47(2), 98 ̶111. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910510586524 smith et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.297 65 henry, c., hill, f., & leitch, c. (2005b). entrepreneurship education and training: can entrepreneurship be taught? part ii. education + training, 47(3), 158 ̶169. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910510592211 juma, c. (2011). the new harvest: agricultural innovation in africa. oxford university press. moustakas, c. (1994). phenomenological research methods. sage publications. naved, r. t. (1994). empowerment of women: listening to the voices of women. the bangladesh development studies, 22(2/3), 155-178. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40795511 schultz, t. (1961). investment in human capital. the american economic review, 51(1), 1 ̶17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1818907 seymour, r. g. (2006). hermeneutic phenomenology and international entrepreneurship research. journal of international entrepreneurship, 4(4), 137 ̶155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-007-0011-5 smith, a. j. (2018). assessing the impact of a mandela washington fellowship institute for entrepreneurs from sub-saharan africa: a phenomenological study (order no. 10846314) [master’s thesis, oklahoma state university – stillwater]. proquest dissertations & theses global. https://shareok.org/handle/11244/317693 taylor, l. k., edwards, m. c., baker, m. a., watters, c. e., & rutledge, j. a. (2020). african entrepreneurs’ perceptions on the mentoring provided by a cross-cultural professional development experience: implications for future programs. journal of international agricultural and extension education, 27(3), 7 ̶17. https://doi.org/10.4148/28315960.1099 toenniessen, g., adesina, a., & devries, j. (2008). building an alliance for a green revolution in africa. annals of the new york academy of sciences, 1136(1), 233 ̶242. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1425.028 tracy, s. j. (2010). qualitative quality: eight “big-tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research. qualitative inquiry, 16(10), 837 ̶851. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800410383121 welch, f. (1975). human capital theory: education, discrimination, and life cycles. the american economic review,65(2), 63 ̶73. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1818835 young african leaders initiative (yali). (n.d.). u.s. agency for international development. https://www.usaid.gov/yali © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 163-final.docx aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 1, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. almaz balta aboye, assistant professor of rural development, wolaita sodo university, po box 138, wolaita sodo ethiopia, ethiopia.almaza.boye@ucdconnect.ie, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3038-6501 2. jim kinsella, professor of agricultural extension and rural development, university college dublin, belfield dublin 4 ireland, jim.kinsella@ucd.ie, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6556-3555 3. tekle leza, associate professor of rural development, wolaita sodo university, po box 138, woliata sodo ethiopia., tekle.leza@yahoo.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4065-0281 87 major climatic changes experienced by farm households: evidence from the lowlands of southern ethiopia a. aboye1, j. kinsella2, t. leza3 abstract ethiopia is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries experiencing drought and floods as a result of climate variability and change. this study examined the major climatic changes experienced by farm households in the lowlands of southern ethiopia. it utilized a mixed methods sequential explanatory design approach to triangulate quantitative data with qualitative data. using a multistage sampling procedure, 400 farm household heads participated. moreover, meteorological data were acquired from the national meteorology agency for the period from 2000 to 2019. descriptive statistics, rainfall anomalies, and coefficient variation were used for data analysis. the findings show that over the last 20 years, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather had increased, and there was an overall change in the seasonality of rainfall. drought assessment results showed that 2004, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2017 were all drought years in the study districts. the results revealed that reduced crop production, flooding, crop losses, drought, malaria, and animal disease were the major climate change impacts that farm households experienced in the lowlands of southern ethiopia. the study suggests that drought-resistant crops and water harvesting schemes should be promoted to minimize the effects of climate change. keywords climate variability, farmers’ observations, vulnerable hot-spots, adaptive capacity aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.163 88 introduction and problem statement climate change is a critical development challenge (kolawole et al., 2016). it is considered one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century, globally impacting people’s lives (abidoy & odusola, 2015). its’ severity is high in africa, whose main economic activities largely depend on climate-sensitive sectors (kolawole et al., 2016). climate change impacts all economic sectors, with agriculture being one of the most sensitive and intrinsically vulnerable (paul et al., 2016). in ethiopia, the impact of climate change on the socio-economic fabric of society is tremendous (auci et al., 2018). the southern parts of ethiopia are most vulnerable, with significant rainfall variability and change resulting in prolonged drought and flood occurrences (belay et al., 2021). wolaita zone in southern ethiopia has a high population density and is largely dependent on small-scale, labour-intensive agriculture. itis one of the most climate-vulnerable hotspots in africa underpinned with a very weak adaptive capacity (bedeke et al., 2018). the amount, duration, and intensity of rainfall in the zone varies considerably, generally decreasing from highland to lowlands (wolaita zone finance and economic development department [wzfedd], 2017). studies (bedeke et al., 2018; bekele et al., 2020; mihiretu et al., 2020; tessema & simane, 2020) have been undertaken in different agroecological zones throughout ethiopia to assess farm households’ perceptions of climate variability. understanding the historical and projected implications of climate change on agriculture and farm household livelihoods is critical for a country's development of climate-resilient systems (georgis, 2015). this study examined the major climatic changes experienced by farm households in the lowlands of wolaita, southern ethiopia, and aimed to inform stakeholders on actions that can be taken to address these vulnerabilities. theoretical and conceptual framework the livelihoods of the majority of people in the study area are dependent on agriculture, which in turn is highly impacted by climate change. therefore, the theoretical framework that is adapted for this study takes into consideration this reality and is based on the sustainable livelihood framework designed by department for international development london (difd,1999). the paper does not address all the elements of the framework and focuses on the vulnerability context in terms of the impact of climate change while accepting other important factors combine with climate change to create the vulnerability context of the time. climate-induced hazards such as droughts, floods, and rising temperatures pose a major threat to the livelihoods of the poor in ethiopia (bekele et al., 2020). the impact of climate change is expected to heighten the vulnerability of both humans and animals (intergovernmental panel on climate change [ipcc], 2018). the ethiopia climate action report (irish aid, 2017) noted that climate change and its associated variability in ethiopia influence crop planting times, length of growing seasons, shifts in crop types or cultivars, pest and weed prevalence, as well as the frequency of crop failures. aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.163 89 climate change is the result of greenhouse gas emissions, much of which is caused by human activities and natural cycles (national research council [nrc],. nrc (2020) noted certain endothermic gases (such as carbon dioxide) are warming the earth and increasingly, humans are influencing the climate and temperature of the earth by burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests, and farming livestock. this adds a large amount of greenhouse gases to the ones naturally produced in the atmosphere, which intensifies the greenhouse effect and global warming (ipcc, 2018; kaddo, 2016; trenberth, 2018). however, the biggest contribution of greenhouse gas emissions (71%) comes from agriculture and land-use and/or land-use change activities (crippa, et al 2021). figure 1 presents the conceptual framework for this study and suggests the causes and effects of climate change on farm household livelihoods. the temperature change and rainfall variability as a consequence of climate change gives rise to droughts, floods, consequential changes in agricultural production, and the prevalence of human and animal diseases. these changes adversely affect the livelihoods of farm households including those who live in the lowlands of ethiopia. figure 1 the climatic and farming factors affecting farm households’ livelihoods in ethiopia (study conceptual framework) aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.163 90 purpose the purpose of the study was to examine the major climatic changes that agricultural households in the lowlands of southern ethiopia have been experiencing. the objectives were: • to determine how farmers perceived long-term climate changes. • to examine climate change variability in the study area using twenty years of climate data (from 2000 through to 2019). • to assess how farm households experienced climate change impacts in their livelihoods. methods this study applied a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design to triangulate the data collected. multi-stage sampling procedures were applied to choose the sample of respondents for the household survey. wolaita zone was purposively selected at the principal stage as it is one of the most climate-vulnerable zones in the southern region of the country. out of the 16 districts in the zone, four of them, namely duguna fango, damot woyede, abala abaya, and kindo koyisha, were purposively selected because of their relatively large areas of lowland. two villages from each district were then randomly selected. the cochran’s (1977) formula 𝑛ₒ=𝑍!𝑝𝑞/𝑒! was used to determine the sample size of the study population. where 𝑛ₒ is the sample size, e is the desired level of precision with a 95% confidence level, p is the estimated proportion of an attribute that is present in the population, and q is 1-p. finally, 400 respondents were selected from the eight chosen villages by employing systematic random sampling based on the probability proportional to size. a structured questionnaire was used to collect household data. for this, four data collectors were recruited and trained. the questionnaire was pre-tested and contained both open and closed questions. based on testing results the questionnaire was revised and refined. the finalized survey was conducted between september 2020 and november 2020. focus group discussions (fgd) were held in each of the selected villages. the fgd participants were purposefully selected by considering farming experiences (men and women). in each fgd group, eight men and women farmers from the local area participated. semi-structured interviews were employed to collect qualitative data and researcher field notes and records were kept. the study obtained ethical clearance from university college dublin, ireland, and wolaita sodo university, ethiopia. the meteorological data was gathered from the national meteorology agency of ethiopia including detailed local temperature and rainfall data from four weather stations in the study area. the collected data were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (spss version 26). descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data, while qualitative data were coded and thematically analyzed. coefficient variations (cv) were used to determine the level of rainfall variability in the study districts. when the cv was less than 20% it was considered as ‘less variable’; ‘moderately’ variable when it was between 20 and 30%; ‘highly’ variable when it was greater than 30%; ‘severely’ variable when it was greater than 40%, and a aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.163 91 cv greater than 70% indicated an ‘extremely’ high rainfall variability (mazor et al., 2009). the data also examined rainfall anomaly (x) which is deviations of annual rainfall from long-run averages. this was used to evaluate the variability pattern and drought level in the study district (ayal & leal filho, 2017). findings this section presents the demographic characteristics of respondents-, the long-term impacts of climate change on farmers’ livelihoods as observed by farmers, climate variability in the study districts, and climatic changes experienced by farm households. demographic characteristics of the household heads surveyed for this study, 79.8% were male and 20.2% were female. female household headship for the study area was slightly lower than the national average which was 22.1% for rural areas (central statistical agency [csa], 2016). nearly 39% of survey respondents had not attended formal school and the education level of respondents was higher than the national average, in which 69.8% of the population had no education or had not attended primary school (csa, 2016). average age of respondents were 44.2 years with a minimum and maximum age of 35 and 76 years respectively. mean household size of respondents were 6.3 persons/household compared to the national average of 4.9 persons/household in rural areas (csa, 2016). average landholding size for study respondents was 1.12ha per household, which is larger than that in the wolaita zone, where the average landholding size per household was 0.25ha (wzfedd, 2017). the larger farm-holdings held by those surveyed can be explained by the fact that lowland farms tend to be much bigger than highland and midland farms in the zone. the survey found that around 48% of household heads possessed mobile phones, which is similar to the national average of 47.2% for rural households in ethiopia (csa, 2016) (see table 1). aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.163 92 table1 percentage distribution of farmers by district and selected demographic and socio-economic characteristics (n = 400) household characteristics % of respondents total (n= 400) duguna fango (n=139) damot woyide (n=116) abala abaya (n=106) kindo koyisha (n=39) male household head 79.8 78.4 76.7 84.9 79.5 female household head 20.3 21.6 23.3 15.1 20.5 mean age of household heads (years) 44.2 45.7 43.0 43.5 44.7 mean household size 6.3 6.2 6.5 6.3 6.0 educational status of household head did not attend primary school 39 46.8 37.9 27.4 46.1 attended primary school and above 61 53.3 62 72.7 53.9 household head farming experience 20-30 years 85.5 84.9 86.2 86.8 82.1 31+ years 14.5 15.1 13.8 13.2 17.9 average land size of household (hectares) 1.1 1.0 0.8 1.5 1.5 household heads that had a mobile phone 47.8 37.4 37.9 67.0 61.5 farmers’ experience of farming was predicted to be a significant factor in determining their perceptions and awareness of their surroundings (araro et al., 2020). the survey results presented in table 1 show that all farmers had more than 20 years farming experience. farmer perceptions of long-term climate change respondents have observed temperature and rainfall changes over the past 20 years (table 2). results show that almost all farmers (99.5%) observed an increase in the frequency of extreme droughts over this time period, while the vast majority (97.5%) of farmers observed that temperatures had increased. more than 77% of surveyed farmers observed that the frequency of rainfall variability had increased, and three quarters (75.3%) of farmers had observed that the overall amount of rainfall had decreased with 17.3% suggesting it was ‘more erratic’. aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.163 93 table 2 percentage distribution of farmers by their opinions on climate variability/ change over the previous 20 years (2000–2019) (n = 400) climate variability % of respondents increase decrease moderate/constant frequency of extreme droughts 99.5 0.5 frequency of rainfall variability 77.3 22.8 daily temperature change 97.5 2.5 amount of the rainfall in each year 7.5 75.3 17.3 (‘more erratic’) over 85% of respondents felt that the intensity of extreme drought over the previous 20 years had been ‘severe’ (stayed for a long period), and 7% believed it had been ‘extremely severe’ (i.e., stayed for a very long period). furthermore, farmers in the fgds were asked what climate changes occurred in their area in the last 20 years and what is causing it. one fgd participant, a man from kindo koyisha village, stated that one of the reasons may be that: god might have been punishing us for doing awful work, simultaneously noting that the land is drier with very small production harvested each year and, i plant different types of trees to shade, however, they didn’t withstand the hot weather. several other participants didn’t agree, describing the reason being due to the illegal cutting of trees. temperature change and rainfall variability this section presents temperature and rainfall variability in the study districts based on 20 years of climate data between the period2000 to 2019. the national meteorology agency temperature data (figure 2) shows that average maximum high daytime temperatures (excess of 30 ᵒc) were observed in seven out of the recorded twenty years, while the minimum high daytime temperature was observed in five of the twenty years (temperature over 17 ᵒc). this suggests that there has been high temperature variability over the past 20 years in the study district. aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.163 94 figure 2 average annual minimum and maximum temperatures in the study area (2000–2019) source: national meteorology agency of ethiopia (hawassa branch) note. the data in figure 2 was extracted by agency staff specifically for this study from the local branch of the national meteorology agency of ethiopia. rainfall data for the study area is presented in figure 3 and suggests that the annual rainfall variability among four stations of the study district was highest in bele. the data for the study area shows that the minimum average annual rainfall was 703.1 mm while the maximum average was 1362.35 mm (figure 3) indicating a high rainfall variability in the study district. figure 3 average annual rainfall for lowlands of wolaita zone source: national meteorology agency of ethiopia (hawassa branch) note. the data in figure 3 was extracted by agency staff specifically for this study from the local branch of the national meteorology agency of ethiopia. as indicated in table 3, seasonal rainfall variability was observed in the study districts. though high rainfall variability was experiential in all seasons, extremely high rainfall variability was observed in the bega season with a cv greater than 70%. the variability was severe in the meher and belg seasons with the cv greater than 40%. aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.163 95 table 3 seasonal average rainfall (mm), for four meteorology stations in the study area (2000−2019) stations seasons bega (winter) (dec., jan., feb.) tseday (spring) (mar., apr., may.) meher (summer) (jun., july, aug.) belg (autumn) (sep., oct, nov.) sd m cv sd m cv sd m cv sd m cv bedessa 56.5 82.8 68.2 107.2 389.9 27.5 119.4 392.8 30.4 90.3 268.4 33.7 bele 68.6 73.2 93.8 122.5 340.6 35.9 256.2 479.8 53.4 87.5 263.1 33.3 billate 49.5 67.1 73.7 103.6 286.9 36.1 75.8 245.3 30.9 70.1 217.2 32.3 humbo 91.5 79.1 115.7 126.7 353.4 35.9 153.8 445.9 34.5 146.6 267.2 54.9 source: national meteorology agency of ethiopia (hawassa branch) note. the data in table 3 was extracted by agency staff specifically for this study from the local branch of the national meteorology agency of ethiopia. the rainfall anomaly (figure 4) shows the presence of annual rainfall variability over the previous 20 years in the study area. the negative and positive values in figure 4 indicate the availability of dry and wet years in the study district. based on rainfall anomaly value (x), agnew and chappell (1999) classified drought into four categories. when the x value is less than -1.65, it is classified as ‘extreme’ drought. ‘severe’ drought occurs when -1.28 > x > -1.65, ‘moderate’ drought is found when 0.84 > x > -1.28, and when the x value is greater than -0.84,it indicates ‘no drought’. the rainfall anomaly values for the study area found the range between the highest values of 1.69 in the year 2007 to the lowest value of -1.82 in the year 2015. the results show that 2015 was found to be in extreme drought while 2009 was in severe drought. the years 2004, 2012, and 2017 are classified as being in moderate drought whilst 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2019 were found to be rainy (wet) years. figure 4 rainfall anomaly of the study area source: national meteorology agency of ethiopia (hawassa branch) note. the data in figure 4 was extracted by agency staff specifically for this study from the local branch of the national meteorology agency of ethiopia. aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.163 96 climate changes experienced by farm households this section relates to the third objective of the study. it presents the farmer-reported changes associated with crop production, crop losses, and climate-related diseases. changes in crop production the impact of climate variability and changes in crop production in the past 20 years (20002019) is presented in table 4. the finding revealed that over 93% of farmers reported a decline in crop yields and overall incomes from agriculture. a large proportion of respondents (97%) have observed increased partial or total crop failure, while more than 95% of respondents have reported an increasingly shortened growing season. both rainfall and temperature variability have affected the overall conditions of farmers' livelihood through its impact on crop yields, crop failures, shifting cropping calendars, increasingly delayed planting dates, changes in crop varieties, soil erosion, and pest and disease prevalence. the impact of climate change had contributed to a decline in land use and land cover change. table 4 the distribution of farmers by the response to the impact of climate variability and changes in crop production in the previous 20 years (2000-2019) (n = 400) change on crop production % of respondents increased declined same crop yield 4.3 93.3 2.5 partial or total crop failure 97.0 1.0 2.0 shortened length of the growing season 95.3 3.5 1.3 shift in cropping calendar (delayed planting date) 98.5 1.3 0.3 change in crop varieties 98.3 1.5 0.3 pest and disease prevalence 99.8 0.3 soil erosion 72.5 27.3 0.3 land use/land cover change 8.8 90.0 1.3 income from agriculture 0.5 99.0 0.5 regarding this, focus group members were asked about how climate changes impact their crop production. an fgd participant, a man from abala sipa village, stated that: during the main rainy season, the rain comes late and then as nonstop heavy rains continuously rain for several weeks; or else, the rain comes sooner and then stops for several weeks. this situation forced him to change the crop planting date. several other participants agreed, describing as “a result, we couldn’t able to feed our family members throughout the years.” crop loss all surveyed farmers reported that over the previous 20 years, flood affects their farms on five or more occasions, and some farmers (6.8%) reported it was more than five times. in the study area, farmers plant different types of crops namely, maize, haricot bean, sorghum, barley, teff, aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.163 97 onion, pepper, yam, and coffee on their farms. pigeon pea and haricot bean are typically used in intercropping with maize however, the dominant crop in the study area is maize. some 73% of farmers reported that they had experienced crop losses in the previous production season (2019) with the rest (27%) reporting that they had not been affected. the study findings indicated that more than two out of every three farmers (66%) had lost about 0.32 ha of maize crops in the reported production season (see table 5). table 5 the distribution of farmers by losses of crops experienced in the last production season (n = 400) types of crop loss frequency % average crop loss in hectares/ household maize 264 66.0 0.32 haricot beans 11 2.8 0.25 barley 1 0.3 0.30 teff 7 1.8 0.26 paper 3 0.8 0.26 onion 3 0.8 0.26 yam 3 0.8 0.26 no 108 27.0 total 400 100 regarding this, focus group members were asked questions related to climate changes’ impact on their crop production. a participant in the focus group, a woman from tora sadebo village, stated that “flood comes in each heavy rainy season and it totally or partially damaged the planted crops, eroded cultivated and communal land.” all other participants agreed, describing “heavy rain eroded our land and damages the community residences.” they explain that “increment in temperature causes the ‘maize virus’ which mainly affects the maize crops.” climate-related diseases malaria is a vector-borne disease that is linked to climate change (simane, 2016; wu et al., 2016). the study findings show that 82% of the respondents had experienced malaria, and just over half (51.5%) reported that the health status of animals was ‘bad’. farmers were interviewed on how climate changes impact human and animal health. a man from abala maraka village took part in the focus group and discussed his experiences and associated feelings as: the temperature increases, the prevalence of the malaria epidemic and tsetse flies increases within the community. our animals are mostly affected by tsetse flies (tryponsomises). it is sad to share you this … but our livestock were died in respective years due to climate variability. aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.163 98 subsequently he noted that “the remaining animal is not healthy because of the shortage of feed.” other participants share his views by noting “more lands were out from cropping because of the unavailability of oxen for plowing.” conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the farmers in the study area reported an increase in long-term temperature as well as declining rainfall which are in line with local weather records. farmers' observations of increasing temperatures are congruent with bongaarts (2019) and the ethiopian panel of climate change's (ethiopian panel on climate change [epcc], 2015) findings that the country's average temperature has risen over the past five decades (at a rate of 0.2 degrees c per decade). excerpts from the focus groups also confirmed an increase in daytime temperatures and a decline in annual rainfall in the study area. crop yields and productivity in the study area are influenced by rainfall patterns in both the belg and meher seasons. the meher season production is tremendously important as it accounts for 92% of the total area cultivated and more than 96% of total crop production (tafesse et al., 2011). results revealed that in the main production season, the rainfall pattern was extremely unpredictable and erratic in the study area. the computed coefficient variation for annual and seasonal rainfall variability in the study district suggests a lot of inter-annual and intra-annual rainfall variability. according to findings from the focus groups, the study district does not receive adequate rainfall during the main cropping period (meher). these variations highly impact on agricultural production as well as farmers' lives in general. these findings are consistent with those of bedeke et al. (2018), habtemariam et al. (2016), and mihiretu et al. (2020). by way of response, drought-resistant crops and water harvesting schemes could be developed to reduce the affects of climate change. the temperature distribution in the study district is characterized by a general increase and a few inter-annual changes. both yearly maximum and minimum temperatures recorded at the study area meteorology stations have increased. rainfall anomaly results revealed that there were five drought years and five wet (rainy) years between 2000 and 2019. the results indicated that within three or four year intervals, major climatic variability was observed in the study district. the climate data findings were also comparable with farmers' observations and indicated that their crops had been flooded at least five times in the previous 20 years. this finding also aligns with the study conducted by araro, et al. (2020) in the konso district of southern ethiopia and with the world bank's assessment study (world bank, 2010). the report from the world bank showed that droughts and floods were common occurrences in the country, happening every three to five years. the farmers in the study area reported that crop losses were due to rainfall variability, high temperatures, floods, and crop diseases (mainly ‘maize virus’). the findings suggest that climate variables and the livelihood of farmers are connected. climate-related diseases such as malaria and tsetse flies highly impact both human and animal well-being (parham et al. 2015; aboye et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.163 99 pagabeleguem et al., 2016). as farmers noted in the fgd, the increment of temperature was conducive to the prevalence of the malaria epidemic in the study area. diseases (tsetse flies) due to the variability of weather conditions and shortage of feed were seen as major causes of poor animal health. matewos (2019) reported malaria, cholera, and animal diseases were the most common epidemics attributed to climate change and variability. the scientific explanations of climate changes have mostly concentrated on anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, caused by human activities (nrc, 2020). according to fgd, some farmers in the study area consider adverse weather conditions connected with spiritual causes as punishments from god, while the others recognized the contribution of human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, and demographic pressures. filling the knowledge gap through training of all stakeholders is crucial to their understanding of the causes of climate change variability at the local level. acknowledgements this study was funded by european union’s horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the marie sktodowska-curie grant agreement no 778196. however, the contents of the paper reflect only the author’s view and that the agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. references abidoye, b. o., & odusola, a. f. 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(2016). impact of climate change on human infectious diseases: empirical evidence and human adaptation. environment international, 86, 14– 23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2015.09.007 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 313-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 2, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. margaret reaves, graduate student, university of florida, 408 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, mreaves@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3642-7812 2. bradley m. coleman, assistant professor, oklahoma state university, 445 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, b.coleman@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 3. carla b. jagger, assistant professor, university of florida, 307b rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, carlajagger@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9796-6271 4. j.c. bunch, associate professor, university of florida, 307a rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 5. glenn d. israel, professor emeritus, university of florida, 305 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, gdisrael@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1328-0262 91 examining preservice teachers’ perceived performance while student teaching: a longitudinal study m. reaves1, b. m. coleman2, c. b. jagger3, j. c. bunch4, g. d. israel5 article history received: march 23, 2023 accepted: may 30, 2023 published: june 14, 2023 keywords agricultural education; self-regulated learning; self-reflection abstract with this study, we sought to fill a gap regarding preservice teachers’ selfevaluation during the student teaching experience. an instrument was created and validated for use as a weekly self-evaluation tool for preservice teachers during the student teaching internship. this instrument encourages preservice teachers to self-assess and use selfregulated learning strategies during their student teaching experience. the finalized instrument should be used in conjunction with other activities of the student teaching portfolio to meet the phases of selfregulated learning (forethought, performance, and self-reflection). the purpose of this study was to examine the change in preservice teachers’ perceived performance over time during the 14-week student teaching internship. the objectives of this study were to describe preservice teachers’ performance scores and examine the variance in preservice teachers’ self-reported performance scores over the student teaching internship. means and standard deviations for each of the five constructs during the 14-week period are reported. the self-evaluation scores of all five constructs of the validated instrument show an upward trend over the 14-week student teaching internship, with peaks and valleys scattered throughout. research should continue with the goal of identifying the reasons for the peaks and valleys in weekly self-evaluation data. reaves et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.313 92 introduction and problem statement a student teaching internship is the capstone experience for many teacher preparation programs at universities. lasting between ten and sixteen weeks, student teaching internships provide opportunities for preservice teachers to develop skills in classroom instruction, student management, lesson preparation, personal and professional growth, and reflection as an educator (miller & wilson, 2010). these opportunities for immersive learning experiences occur in a true classroom environment, which cannot be simulated easily in other ways (coleman et al., 2021). the preservice teachers’ school placement and cooperating teacher are assigned by their university-based faculty coordinator. school placements and cooperating teachers are often assigned based on the growth areas needed by the preservice teacher, along with other factors. throughout the student teaching internship, preservice teachers are expected to complete various self-assessments and activities that allow them to evaluate their own skill development. repeated self-assessment is an important aspect of growth during the student teaching internship. self-assessment occurs when students make judgements regarding their own learning and achievements, leading to self-regulated learning (falchikov & boud, 1989; max et al., 2022; panadero et al., 2016). understanding how preservice teachers self-assess their ability in certain areas can help teacher educators better prepare preservice teachers for a student teaching internship and later career success. through this study, we sought to validate a weekly self-evaluation instrument based on the florida teaching standards in agricultural education and used this instrument to examine the change in preservice teachers’ perceived performance over time during the student teaching internship. theoretical and conceptual framework preservice teachers are expected to be self-regulated learners, and the structure of the student teaching internship encourages this expectation. establishing the expectations of self-regulated learning early in the teacher preparation program encourages preservice teachers to acknowledge, hear, and listen to their own voice (belenky et al., 1986; collier, 1999). when included throughout the teacher education program, self-regulated learning techniques can help preservice teachers both to reflect on their academic performance and learn strategies to become more self-regulated students (ganda & boruchovitch, 2018). the cyclical process of self-regulated learning typically includes three phases: (a) forethought, (b) performance, and (c) self-reflection (zimmerman, 2002). moving through all three phases is important to engage in a quality educational experience. (bembenutty, 2011; ganda & boruchovitch, 2018). in this study, it is assumed that preservice teachers considered each week of their student teaching internship to be a “performance” and completed the cyclical process as such. to fulfill the forethought phase of self-regulated learning, student teachers set goals each week and determined their strategies for achieving the goals. as they moved through the week of teaching (the performance phase) and interacting with students, preservice teachers reaves et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.313 93 informally monitored their performance and self-assessed their progress towards achieving the goals they set for the week. at the end of the week, the preservice teacher completed the selfevaluation instrument and reflected on their performance and used the results to guide their goal setting for the next week, participating in the self-reflection phase of the self-regulated learning cycle. part of this self-reflection phase should have included the preservice teacher making self-judgements about their satisfaction and success (ganda & boruchovitch, 2018). self-regulated learners are metacognitively, motivationally, and behaviorally active in learning environments (zimmerman, 1989). as self-regulated learners, preservice teachers are often intrinsically motivated and take control of their own learning (oates, 2019). a self-regulated learner may identify strategies to improve their understanding and monitor their learning, especially doing so without the encouragement of teachers, parents, and other instructional leaders (zimmerman, 1989). some self-regulated learning strategies that preservice teachers should pursue in a student teaching internship include (a) self-evaluating, (b) organizing and transforming, (c) goal setting and planning, (d) seeking information, (e) keeping records and monitoring, (f) rehearsing and memorizing, (g) seeking social assistance, and (h) reviewing records. (ganda & boruchovitch, 2018; zimmerman, 1989). self-regulated learning is not only an ideal approach for the student teaching internship but also for a future career in the educational field or otherwise (ganda & boruchovitch, 2018). self-regulation should happen continually in the classroom and educational environment (bembenutty, 2008; dembo, 2001; ganda & boruchovitch, 2018). preservice teachers can also practice teaching their own students this self-regulated learning process and strategies, helping to promote lifelong learning skills for all (luftnegger et al., 2012; oates, 2019). purpose the purpose of this study was to validate an instrument (weekly self-evaluation form) based on the florida teaching standards in agricultural education and use this instrument to examine the change in preservice teachers’ perceived performance over time during the student teaching internship. three research objectives guided this study: 1. determine if constructs describing factors of performance are internally consistent. 2. determine if instrument items cluster into latent constructs that can be used to describe factors of performance. 3. describe preservice teachers’ performance scores over the 14-week student teaching experience. methods this study was part of a larger research project (coleman et al., 2021). the participants were chosen through single-stage, nonprobability convenience sampling. each cohort of preservice teachers who were completing a student teaching internship through the university of florida department of agricultural education and communication in the spring semesters of 2015– reaves et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.313 94 2019 were included in the study, yielding 81 participants. after removing 22 participants whose student teaching portfolios were missing or inaccessible, 59 participants remained. this study was completed longitudinally over the 14 weeks of each student teaching internship. all data were collected through a student teaching portfolio, which each participant completed as part of their internship requirements. the completed student teaching portfolio includes 12 components: (a) pre-placement experiences, (b) teaching calendar, (c) placement experiences, (d) clock hour worksheet, (e) weekly reflection journal, (f) sae visits, (g) case study, (h) mock interview, (i) weekly lesson plans, (j) weekly self-evaluation forms, (k) weekly cooperating teacher evaluation forms, and (l) university supervisor evaluation forms. instrumentation the weekly self-evaluation form created to assess the preservice teachers’ perceived performance was adapted from the florida educator accomplished practices which are standards developed by the florida department of education (florida department of education, n.d.). university of florida teacher education faculty from the department of agricultural education and communication adapted the florida teaching standards into an instrument for a preservice teacher weekly performance self-evaluation. since this was a newly developed instrument there was a need to determine if latent constructs existed within the modified preservice teacher self-evaluation form. individual items were selected to develop an index to measure said constructs (kumar chaudhary & israel, 2022). the modified instrument had 26 items. one item, develops learning experiences that require students to demonstrate skills and competencies, was removed because more than half (52.9%) of the data were missing. the 25 remaining items were confirmed to measure five latent constructs when the instrument was used by the cooperating teacher to evaluate their student teacher. those constructs were (a) instructional design (five items), (b) instructional practice (six items), (c) student-centered teaching (four items), (d) teacher professionalism (five items), and (e) reflective and autonomous practitioner (five items) (coleman et al., 2021). however, the purpose of this study is to confirm the constructs within the population of student teachers who used the instrument for self-evaluation. data analysis all data were analyzed using spss version 27. descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic data. the data were analyzed for the distribution of missingness (schafer & graham, 2002), and 37.4% (n = 19,482) of the values were missing at random. the proportion of missing data was considered to be relatively large (schafer, 1999). therefore, multiple imputation was conducted to address the missing values (schafer & graham, 2002; van ginkel et al., 2020). using the pooled results from the analysis of ten multiple imputed data sets, descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage) were used to meet the objectives of this study. additionally, reliability analysis was conducted using cronbach's alpha to check the internal consistency of each construct's items. because the instrument was modified significantly, exploratory factor analysis (efa) using principal axis factoring was used to analyze the relationship between variables (floyd & widaman, 1995). reaves et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.313 95 findings objective 1: determine if constructs describing factors of performance are internally consistent all five constructs exceeded the recommended alpha coefficient of .7 (devellis, 2012); therefore, the items were deemed reliable (table 1). the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) measure of sampling adequacy was utilized to assess the suitability of the data for factor analysis. results were inspected for a value of .6 or above (kaiser, 1970, 1974). further, bartlett's test of sphericity was assessed for significance (p ≤ .05; bartlett, 1954). the kmo measure of sampling adequacy and bartlett’s test of sphericity are reported in table 1. the cronbach’s alpha coefficients for each construct were: (a) instructional design = .89, (b) instructional practice = .90, (c) student-centered teaching = .86, (d) teacher professionalism = .84, and (e) reflective and autonomous practitioner = .86. table 1 cronbach’s alpha, kmo measure of sampling adequacy, and bartlett’s test of sphericity for factors of the weekly self evaluation factor cronbach’s alpha kmo measure of sampling adequacy bartlett’s test of sphericity approx. chi-square df p-value 1 .89 .85 2378.96 10 .00 2 .90 .90 2678.35 15 .00 3 .86 .79 1524.90 6 .00 4 .84 .82 1928.87 10 .00 5 .86 .84 1918.16 10 .00 note. 1 = instructional design; 2 = instructional practice; 3 = student-centered teaching; 4 = teacher professionalism; 5 = reflective and autonomous practitioner. objective 2: determine if items cluster into latent constructs based on kaiser's (1970) criteria, factor loadings with eigenvalues of one or more should be retained. all factors produced eigenvalues greater than one, and the total common variance explained, are listed in table 2. the communalities of a factor are measures of the proportion of common variance (field, 2018). the factor loadings were strong, and the mean values of the factors’ commonalities are as follows: (a) instructional design (m = .62), (b) instructional practice (m = .60), (c) student-centered teaching (m = .61), (d) teacher professionalism (m = .56), (e) reflective and autonomous practitioner (m = .56). reaves et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.313 96 table 2 eigenvalues, percent of variance, factor loadings, and communalities for factors of the weekly self evaluation factor 1: instructional design (eigenvalue: 3.11; % variance: 62.22) factor loading communalities designs instruction for students to achieve mastery .80 .64 selects appropriate formative assessments to monitor learning .82 .67 uses diagnostic student data to plan lessons .65 .42 sequences lessons and concepts to ensure coherence and required prior knowledge .88 .77 aligns instruction with state-adopted standards at the appropriate level of rigor .79 .62 factor 2: instructional practice (eigenvalue: 3.58; % variance: 59.59) organizes, allocates, and manages the resources of time, space, and attention .82 .68 establishes and maintains rapport with students .76 .58 communicates challenging learning expectations to each student .76 .58 establishes and maintains consistent standards of classroom behavior .75 .56 makes the physical environment as safe and conducive as possible .72 .52 uses instructional time effectively .81 .66 factor 3: student-centered teaching (eigenvalue:2.44; % variance: 60.92) makes learning goals and instructional procedures clear to students .80 .64 makes content comprehensible to students .73 .53 encourages students to extend their thinking .78 .61 monitors students’ understanding through a variety of means, providing feedback to students to assist learning, and adjusting learning activities as the situation demands .81 .66 factor 4: teacher professionalism (eigenvalue: 2.77; % variance: 55.38) builds professional relationships with colleagues to share teaching insights to coordinate learning activities for students .71 .51 communicates with parents or guardians about student learning .54 .30 is punctual, uses mature judgement, provides accurate reports and records (professional responsibility) .87 .76 presents a professional appearance in dress, grooming, attitude, and demeanor .80 .64 professional behavior is consistent with the code of ethics & principles of professional conduct of the education professionals in florida .76 .57 factor 5: reflective and autonomous practitioner (eigenvalue:2.83; % variance: 56.50) reflects on the extent to which learning goals were met .65 .42 demonstrates a sense of efficacy .76 .58 demonstrates enthusiasm for teaching .71 .51 demonstrates responsiveness to supervision (ability to accept constructive criticism and incorporate suggestions into teaching performance) .82 .67 demonstrates initiative and self-reliance .80 .64 reaves et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.313 97 objective 3: describe preservice teachers’ performance scores over the 14-week student teaching experience to describe preservice teachers' performance scores over the 14-week student teaching experience, means and standard deviations for each construct are reported in table 3. for instructional design, the three weeks with the highest mean scores were week 14, week 13, and week 12. the weeks with the two lowest mean scores were week two and week three. regarding instructional practice, the two weeks with the highest means were week 14, and week 13. the two weeks with the lowest mean scores were week two and week three. table 3 construct means and standard deviations over the 14-week student teaching experience week id ip sc tp ra m sd m sd m sd m sd m sd one 2.57 .52 2.57 .52 2.44 .54 2.79 .52 2.73 .51 two 2.43 .52 2.47 .50 2.49 .56 2.71 .53 2.73 .53 three 2.46 .53 2.56 .51 2.52 .60 2.81 .54 2.77 .57 four 2.54 .47 2.62 .50 2.60 .47 2.93 .51 2.96 .50 five 2.49 .47 2.76 .53 2.66 .51 2.95 .51 3.00 .50 six 2.70 .52 2.75 .46 2.75 .51 3.00 .48 2.97 .50 seven 2.69 .57 2.86 .53 2.75 .58 3.02 .53 3.10 .48 eight 2.82 .51 2.96 .49 2.85 .53 3.13 .49 3.15 .44 nine 2.81 .45 2.95 .46 2.93 .43 3.22 .47 3.21 .45 ten 2.85 .51 3.01 .50 3.00 .50 3.19 .53 3.19 .50 eleven 2.94 .49 3.05 .51 3.01 .55 3.21 .50 3.19 .47 twelve 3.03 .51 3.09 .53 3.08 .51 3.23 .50 3.32 .44 thirteen 3.03 .55 3.19 .49 3.10 .53 3.37 .47 3.35 .44 fourteen 3.07 .56 3.22 .53 3.14 .59 3.33 .49 3.35 .48 note. id = instructional design; ip = instructional practice; sc = student-centered teaching; tp = teacher professionalism; ra = reflective and autonomous practitioner. as for student-centered teaching, the three weeks with the highest means were week 14, week 13, and week 12. week one, week two, and week three had the lowest mean scores. concerning teacher professionalism, week 13 and week 14 were the two highest means. the weeks with the lowest two means were week two and week one. for the construct of reflective and autonomous practitioner, the three weeks with the highest means were week 14, week 13, and week 12. the two lowest mean scores were in week one and week two. there was an upward trend with the mean scores over the 14-week placement across each construct. the week one scores ranged from 2.44 to 2.79, and the week 14 scores ranged from 3.07 to 3.35. two constructs, teacher professionalism and student-centered teaching, had consistently higher scores across the 14 weeks than the other constructs. this data was also formatted into a line graph, as seen in figure 1. reaves et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.313 98 figure 1 preservice teacher mean evaluation scores by construct over the 14-week student teaching experience the self-evaluation scores of all five constructs show an upward trend over the 14-week student teaching internship, with peaks and valleys scattered throughout. the constructs of reflective and autonomous practitioner and teacher professionalism produced higher scores than the other three constructs for each week of the student teaching experience. studentcentered teaching is the only construct which had consistent growth over the 14 weeks, with no decline in the mean between any two weeks. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations student teaching helps with the development of interns in ways that cannot be simulated in a university educational environment. time in real classroom setting allows preservice teachers to gain experience interacting with students, parents, fellow teachers, and administration (miller & wilson, 2010). the required work during a student teach internship encourages preservice teachers to follow the cyclical process between the forethought, performance, and self-reflection phases of the self-regulated learning process (zimmerman, 2002). encouraging preservice teachers to practice being self-regulated learners provides the best possible simulation of the educational field where teachers must prepare for classes and plan teaching strategies, teach content, and reflect on their own teaching performance. all five constructs were internally consistent, exceeding the ideal alpha coefficient. the instrument was found to be reliable because all five proposed factors met the criteria to be 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 m ea n pe rf or m an ce s co re s internship week instructional design instructional practice student-centered teaching teacher professionalism reflective and autonomous practitioner reaves et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.313 99 classified as constructs including eigenvalues, total common variance, and factor loading. the self-evaluation scores of all five constructs in this study show an upward trend over the 14week student teaching internship. the constructs of reflective and autonomous practitioner and teacher professionalism produced scores that were consistently higher than the other three constructs over the 14-week internship, aligning with the results of previous research (coleman et al., 2021). researchers should continue to explore this phenomenon to better determine how university teacher education programs can emphasize the three lower-scoring constructs. specifically, understanding why the teacher professionalism and reflective and autonomous practitioner constructs are higher than other constructs can help emphasize the importance of consistent growth in all construct areas. the goal of this continued research is to determine why there are peaks and valleys in the weekly data based on the information pulled from the journal reflections. the study, thus far, has focused on the “performance” phase of self-regulated learning. the researchers hope to further analyze the preservice teachers’ participation in the self-regulated learning cycle by evaluating their weekly reflections alongside the weekly self-evaluation instrument. it is recommended that future research should compare preservice teachers’ mean self-evaluation scores to cooperating teachers’ or university supervisors’ evaluation scores as well, to evaluate the perceived growth of the student teacher across all parties. the study could be expanded by including participants from more recent student teaching cohorts, and other universities or states. additionally, to help reduce any limitations from our sample size, we also recommend other institutions utilize this instrument and share their data. while this instrument was found to be reliable, we understand that increasing the sample size will only help strengthen the results. the upward trend of self-evaluation scores leads researchers to see potential for another study regarding preservice teachers’ use of the self-regulated learning process throughout the teacher preparation program. researchers can explore how preservice teachers move through the three phases of self-regulated learning throughout their college classes, student teaching internship, and early years of their career. better understanding how preservice teachers use the self-regulated learning process to help prepare themselves for a career in education could help university faculty continue to improve teacher preparation programs. university teacher education programs should continue to use the self-evaluation instrument as a way for preservice teachers to engage in self-regulated learning. this self-evaluation instrument provides an essential form of nonformal feedback, which should be provided to preservice teachers in addition to formal evaluations (miller & wilson, 2010). self-evaluation should be used in conjunction with cooperating teacher and university supervisor performance evaluations throughout the student teaching experience. other teacher preparation programs should seek to use the instrument to help assess preservice teachers’ perceived abilities and growth before and during the student teaching internship. reaves et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.313 100 acknowledgements this study had no formal funding source, but fees for publication were covered by programming funds from the university of florida department of agricultural education and communication. m. reaves – writingoriginal draft, formal analysis, conceptualization; b. coleman – formal analysis, conceptualization, writingreview and editing; c. jagger – conceptualization, supervision, funding acquisition, writingreview and editing; j. c. bunch – conceptualization, supervision, writingreview and editing; g. israel – formal analysis, writingreview and editing. references bartlett, m. s. 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(2002). becoming a self-regulated learner: an overview. theory into practice, 41(2), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4102_2 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 2, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. karissa palmer, graduate research assistant, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx 77843-2116, karissapalmer@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3595-5213 2. robert strong, associate professor, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx 77843-2116, rstrong@tamu.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5279-4808 3. meg patterson, assistant professor, texas a&m university, 1266 tamus, bryan, tx 77801, megpatterson@tamu.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6876-2931 4. chanda elbert, associate professor, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx 77843-2116, celbert@tamu.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6115-6410 48 improving positive food waste behaviors: an egocentric network analysis evaluation of leading women in agriculture’s advice networks k. palmer1, r. strong2, m. patterson3, c. elbert4 article history received: march 8, 2023 accepted: april 13, 2023 published: april 24, 2023 keywords crisis, opinion leadership, trust, farm bureau, food security abstract the multidimensionality of covid-19’s consequences on food access and food waste behaviors was not immune to one gender versus another. the role of agricultural women leaders in alleviating food security concerns is not widely understood. an egocentric network analysis was conducted to assess the attributes possessed by social network peers and to discover variables that impact women’s food waste behavior. researchers found that women’s advice networks were composed primarily of family or friends, known for more than five years, communicate weekly, can be described as an opinion leader, and share mutual trust. the density of women’s networks needs to be researched further to determine a strategic plan to expose women leaders to new information and other social networks. data indicated women’s food waste behavior was influenced by their perceptions of covid-19 as an opportunity for food waste change, innovation, and reputation enhancement. the need to develop current and future women agricultural leaders to improve food access and food sovereignty within global communities cannot be overstated. palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.307 49 introduction and problem statement food security, the physical and economic access to safe nutritious food, affects approximately 800 million people who suffer from poverty according to the united nations sustainable development goals (ahn et al., 2022; united nations, 2015). research indicates that around one-third of food is wasted globally, meaning those leading in the agricultural industry need to prioritize the implementation of disposal practices to achieve food security (slorach et al., 2019). consumers’ intention to reduce food waste stems from social emotions of guilt and shame (jagau & vyrastekova, 2017). individuals’ become more worried about food waste as they grow older, especially women, whose attitudes are more disturbed by the negative impacts of wasted food (cantaragiu, 2019). covid-19 increased poverty and food insecurity levels for marginalized populations which were already vulnerable (palmer & strong, 2022; pereira & oliveira, 2020), requiring changes to the way people think and react to these issues. proactivity, critical incident preparation, quick implementation, communication, and both a realistic and optimistic attitude have been cited as critical leadership competencies during covid-19 (stoller, 2020). previous research indicated women were associated with more successful leadership qualities that led to a higher quality performance compared to male leaders (gardner, 2017; offerman et al., 2020). the farm bureau and other agricultural leadership organizations and the field of agricultural leadership shifted towards supporting women as the primary decision makers in both home and government (satyavathi et al., 2010). the farm bureau supplies its leaders and members with the opportunity to develop professionally as leaders and become more effective during times of crisis (american farm bureau federation, n.d.), therefore, the chosen sample was derived from a leadership program supported by the american farm bureau. theoretical and conceptual framework three theories framed this study: crisis leadership, opinion leadership, and trust. a crisis leadership model developed by brockner and james (2008) was used to determine participants’ ability to view crises as an opportunity. learning, reflection, damage control, treatment, divergent thinking, long-term outcomes, and stakeholder collaboration were factors described by brockner and james’ (2008) crisis leadership theory that researchers chose to develop into a construct. researchers in this study analyzed women’s perception of covid-19, the most recent crisis, as an opportunity for food waste change, innovation, and reputation enhancement. several crises have occurred over the past few decades increasing the opportunity for researchers to investigate crisis leadership (wu et al., 2021). according to the literature, a crisis is referred to as a rare public situation that causes unwanted outcomes for many individuals, including firms and their stakeholders, requiring immediate and effective leadership (james & wooten, 2006). crises differ among varying individuals and circumstances. brockner and james (2008) discuss how innovation, change, and reputation enhancement are opportunities to be realized. crises are predicted to palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.307 50 be perceived as opportunities when organization leaders adopt a learning orientation (wooten & james, 2004). a leader’s ability to reflect and learn is critical for the success of an organization (brockner & james, 2008). rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations theory was used to determine the effect of women’s opinion leadership in promoting food waste and food recovery strategies along with the effect from their personal networks. an opinion leader is a credible and trusted individual within a social system (rogers, 2003). a role of an opinion leader is to reduce the uncertainty of an innovation in a social system (rogers, 2003). to fulfill this role, an opinion leader must be aware of where the social system is relative to the innovation (rogers, 2003). rogers (2003) explains several attributes distinguished by opinion leaders: greater connection to the outside world, greater exposure to diverse media, high social engagement, higher socioeconomic status, more innovation, and greater interaction with change agents. a trust theory was chosen to determine the trust types between participants and their personal networks. mcknight and chervany (2001) developed a model discussing five trust types: disposition to trust, institution-based trust, trusting beliefs, trusting intentions, and trustrelated behavior. the following terms are related to interpersonal trust. when an individual trusts interpersonally they do so by trusting other people, either personally, as in trusting behavior and trusting intentions, or based on their attributes, meaning trusting beliefs (mcknight & chervany, 2001). trusting beliefs mean the extent to which an individual confidently believes the other person has beneficial characteristics (mcknight & chervany, 2001). this is person-specific, not situation-specific. the willingness to depend on the other party with a sense of relative security, with the lack of control over the party, and the possibility of negative consequences is known as trusting intentions (mcknight & chervany, 2001). trusting intentions differ from disposition to trust in that it refers to specific other people rather than general other people (mcknight & chervany, 2001). an individual who voluntarily depends on another with confidence even with the possibility of negative consequences is trust-related behavior (mcknight & chervany, 2001). purpose the purpose of this study was to describe the personal advice networks of women committee members in the southern region state farm bureau women’s leadership programs during covid-19 that impact their food waste behavior, opinion leadership, and crisis leadership. two objectives guided this study: 1. determine the attributes possessed by the leading women in agriculture’s network peers. 2. understand the relationships between independent variables and food waste behavior. methods egocentric network research is achieved by asking egos to elicit a set of alters from their social system (wasserman & faust, 1994). egocentric data collection consisted of asking questions in palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.307 51 which individuals’ responses provided relational information to better understand the influence of their personal network on egos’ behavior (valente, 2010). participating women were “egos” and the individuals in their social networks were “alters” (borgatti et al., 2013). the population was (n = 159) women among 11 of the 12 u.s. southern regions state’s women’s leadership committees. the southern region states that participated in this study included alabama, arkansas, florida, georgia, louisiana, mississippi, north carolina, oklahoma, south carolina, tennessee, and virginia. we were unable to collaborate with kentucky due to lack of communication between the research team and leadership coordinator of kentucky’s farm bureau. data was collected in the fall of 2022, and 50 women responded, generating a response rate of 31.45%. we compared early and late respondents, and no significant differences occurred (lindner et al., 2001). therefore, data was generalizable to the population. an electronic cross-sectional survey was distributed, via qualtrics, to a sample comprised of women holding leadership positions within their states’ farm bureau women’s leadership program. all 11 leadership coordinators who agreed to participate in this study were contacted and asked to share the survey link with their committee, once a week for five weeks. to assess egocentric networks, egos were asked three types of questions: name generators, name interpreters, and alter-alter ties (borgatti et al., 2013). the name generator asked egos for a list of five people who sought advice since covid-19 began, and the name interpreter questions asked egos to describe their alters. alter-alter ties are the connections among alters and allow for the analysis of networks’ composition (perry et al., 2018). all ego-level assessments were measured on a five-point scale (-2 = strongly disagree, -1 = disagree, 0 = neither agree or disagree, 1 = agree, 2 = strongly agree.). the research team chose to code scales from negative two to positive two for better interpretation and readability. ego’s food waste behavior was measured using a seven-item assessment developed by the researchers to determine egos’ food waste decisions and behaviors. researchers developed the food waste behavior assessment using factors discussed by brockner and james (2008) that relate to the behavioral responses of individuals during a crisis. crisis leadership was determined by a three-item assessment with a five-point scale (strongly disagree = -2 to strongly agree = 2) for innovation, change, reputation enhancement based on women’s perception of crises as an opportunity according to brockner and james (2008). the alter variables (gleaned from name interpreter questions) we chose to measure were: alter gender (0 = female, 1 = male, and 2 = other), alter relationship (0 = family, 1 = friend, 3 = neighbor, 4 = farm bureau, 5 = other, 6 = rancher, 7 = pastor, and 8 = neighbor), alter communication (0 = less than once per year, 1 = 1-2 times per year, 2 = every few months, 3 = every month, 4 = every few weeks, 5 = every week, 6 = every few days, 7 = every day), alter length known (0 = less than 6 months, 1 = 6 months 1 year, 2 = 1 to almost 2 years, 3 = 2 to almost 3 years, 4 = 3 to almost 4 years, 5 = 4 to almost 5 years, 6 = 5 or more years). the last five name interpreter questions measured alter trust in ego, ego trust in alter, ego describe alter as opinion leader, alter describe ego as opinion leader, and ego lead alter toward positive food waste decision on five-point scales (-2 = never, -1 = rarely, 0 = sometimes, 1 = usually, 2 = always). palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.307 52 statistical package for social sciences 27 was used to assess descriptive statistics for ego and alter-level data. stata assisted with conducting more accurate correlation coefficients. the 11 variables included in the correlation matrix were composed of two types: ego-level variables and network-level variables. there were three ego-level variables: crisis leadership sum score, opinion leadership sum score, and food waste sum score. these scores were based on the grand mean of responses to the three ego-level assessments described above. the remaining eight variables were network-level: proportion of network the ego has known five or more years, proportion of network that are farm bureau members, proportion of the network that ego communicates with weekly plus, proportion of network alter trusts ego “always,” heterogeneity of alter describe ego opinion leader, heterogeneity of egos lead alter toward positive food waste, heterogeneity of alter trusts ego, and heterogeneity of ego trusts alter. researchers used enet to calculate structural and compositional variables based on ego’s responses to the name interpreters mentioned above. a panel of faculty experts from a school of public health and a college of agriculture at texas a&m university assessed criterion and face validity and revised the opinion leadership construct, resulting in the removal of an item. the internal reliability of the instrument was determined by post-hoc cronbach’s alpha scores (cronbach, 1951). cronbach’s alpha scores were determined for the three assessments within the instrument: food waste behavior (α = 0.92, 7-items), crisis leadership (α = 0.96, 3-items), and opinion leadership characteristics (α = 0.76, 5-items). findings to answer objective one, researchers assessed attributes possessed by the alters to describe egos’ advice networks. the participants (n = 50) were able to collectively identify 243 (n = 243) alters through the name generator question. there was a total of 154 female alters (63.4%), while the other 36.5% were men (n = 89). the major type of relationship between ego and alter was family (43%, n = 105), followed by friend (66%, n = 27), farm bureau member (25%, n = 61), professional (2.9%, n = 7, rancher (0.4%, n = 1), pastor (0.4%, n = 1), and neighbor (0.4%, n = 1). most egos communicated with the alters every day (25.9%, n = 63), every few days (20.6%, n = 50), every week (17.3%, n = 42), every few weeks (15.2%, n = 37), every few months (11.5%, n = 28), or every month (7.4%, n = 18). there were 2.1% (n = 5) of alters that communicated with ego less than 1-2 times per year. many alters (89.3%, n = 216) have known the ego for five or more years. fewer egos have known alters four to almost five years (3.7%, n = 9), three to almost four years (2.9%, n = 7), one to almost two years (2.5%, n = 6), less than six months (0.8%, n = 2), six months to a year (0.4%, n = 1), and two to almost three years (0.4%, n = 1). palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.307 53 a majority of alters always trust ego (85.6%, n = 208). there was 35 (14.4%) alters who usually trust ego. regarding egos’ trust in alter, many alters are always trustworthy (82.7%, n = 201). there were 32 (13.2%) alters described as usually trustworthy, 4 (1.6%) as never, 3 (1.2%) as sometimes, and 3 (1.2%) as rarely. opinion leadership used a five-item assessment to determine how likely women feel the possess the opinion leadership characteristics discussed by rogers (2003): greater connection to the outside world, greater exposure to diverse media, high social engagement, higher socioeconomic status, more innovative, and greater interaction with change agents. the results were interpreted on a five-point scale (strongly disagree = -2, 1 = disagree, 0 = sometimes, 1 = agree, to strongly agree = 2). most alters were always described as an opinion leader (49.8%, n = 121). the remainder of alters were usually (32.1%, n = 78), sometimes (16%, n = 39), and rarely (2.1%, n = 5) described as opinion leaders. alters would likely describe ego as an opinion leader always (41.6%, n = 101). followed by 87 (35.8%) alters that would usually describe ego as an opinion leader, 50 (20.6%) who rarely, three (1.2%) who never, and two (0.8%) who rarely. the majority of alters were sometimes (28.8%, n = 70), never (25.9%, n = 63), and usually (21%, n = 51) led toward positive food waste decision by ego, while the rest of alters were rarely (16.9%, n = 41) and always (7.4%, n = 18) led toward positive food waste decisions by ego. objective two sought to understand the relationships between independent variables and food waste behavior. the seven items that measured women’s food waste during covid-19 were: i assisted with food waste damage control, i learned about food waste, i reflected on my food waste management, i treated the food waste cause, i sought views of multiple stakeholders regarding food waste, i emphasized short and long-term food waste outcome, and i established norms for divergent thinking. correlational analyses revealed statistically significant moderate and very strong correlations between ego crisis leadership sum and ego opinion leadership sum (r = .45, p = .00), ego food waste sum (r = .71, p = .00), and heterogeneity of alter led toward positive food waste (r = -.32, p = .03). this suggests that, as ego crisis leadership sum increases, especially in relation to ego food waste sum, their opinion leadership increases, and the heterogeneity of their network led toward positive food waste behavior by ego significantly decreases. in addition, researchers found statistically moderate correlations between ego opinion leadership sum and ego food waste sum (r = .35, p = .02) and heterogeneity of ego leads alter towards positive food waste (r = -.35, p = .02). suggesting that, as ego opinion leadership increases, ego food waste sum increases, and the heterogeneity of their network led toward positive food waste behavior by ego significantly decreases. there was a moderate correlation between the proportion of network ego has known for five or more years and the proportion of network that communicate weekly plus (r = .30, p = .04). this indicates, as the proportion of network that ego has known for five or more years increases, their communication weekly plus increases. low and substantial correlations were found between proportion network farm bureau and proportion network communicate weekly plus (r = -.66, p = .00) and proportion alter trust ego (r = -.28, p = .05). this suggests, as the palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.307 54 proportion of farm bureau members in an egos’ network increase, the network communication weekly plus and alter trust decreases. researchers found statistically significant low and moderate correlations between proportion network communicate weekly and proportion network trusts ego (r = .31, p = .03) and heterogeneity between alter trusts in ego (r = -.29, p = .04). this argues, as ego communication with network increases, the proportion alter trust increases and heterogeneity of alter trust ego decreases. furthermore, researchers found statistically moderate and substantial correlations between the proportion of network that trusts ego and the heterogeneity between alters that describe ego as an opinion leader (r = -.43, p = .00), heterogeneity between network trust in ego (r = -.68, p = .00), and heterogeneity between ego trust in network (r = -.39, p = .01). an increase in proportion network trusts ego, indicates a decrease in heterogeneity network describes ego as opinion leader, network trust in ego, and ego trust in network. a statistically significant moderate correlation was found between heterogeneity of network that describe ego as an opinion leader and heterogeneity network trusts ego (r = .45, p = .00). when the heterogeneity of network that describe ego as an opinion leader, the networks trust in ego increases. lastly, a moderate correlation was found between heterogeneity network trusts ego and heterogeneity ego trusts network (r = .38, p = .01). as the heterogeneity of network trusts ego increases, so does egos trust in their network (see table 1). palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.307 55 table 1 correlations between predictor variables n 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1. crisis leadership sum 48 2. opinion leadership sum (2) 47 .45** 3. food waste sum 47 .71*** .35* 4. proportion network known five or more years 48 5. proportion network farm bureau 48 6. proportion network communicate weekly plus 48 .30* -.66*** 7. proportion alter trusts ego always 48 -.28* .31* 8. heterogeneity: network describe ego opinion leader 48 -.43* 9. heterogeneity: ego lead alter toward positive food waste 48 -.32* -.35* 10. heterogeneity: alter trusts ego 48 -.29* -.68*** .45** 11. heterogeneity: ego trusts alter 48 -.39** .39** note. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. .01–.09 = negligible association; .10–.29 = low association; .30–.49 = moderate association; .50–.69 = substantial association; .70 or higher = very strong association (davis, 1971). palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.307 56 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study promoted a deeper understanding of the advice networks of women leading in agriculture. the majority of an ego’s network fall within one of the five trust constructs: disposition to trust, institution-based trust, trusting beliefs, trusting intentions and trust-related behavior (mcknight & chervany, 2001). by requiring women to provide the initials of five people they would go to for advice, the type of trust among egos and alters can be referred to as interpersonal and fall under the trust-related behavior construct which consists of cooperation, information sharing, informal agreements, decreasing controls, accepting influence, granting autonomy, and transacting business (mcknight & chervany, 2001). rogers (2003) explained how opinion leaders attempting to diffuse an innovation ultimately have a better outcome if they’re perceived as a credible and trusted individual. alters who view ego as an opinion leader are more apt to adopt the food waste behaviors described by ego. however, this requires ego to disseminate food waste information among their social system, and researchers found that egos were likely not. the women who participated in this study were opinion leaders sought by change agents (farm bureau leadership coordinators) from a change agency (farm bureau). yet, most women in this study did not perceive themselves as opinion leaders and failed to identify with the opinion leadership characteristics discussed by rogers (2003). crisis leadership, more specifically how women perceived covid-19 as an opportunity for food waste innovation, change, and reputation enhancement (mcknight & chervany, 2001), was found to be a major influence on food waste behavior. however, women in this study did not perceive covid-19 as an opportunity for innovation, change, and reputation enhancement regarding food waste. there is a need for change agents and agencies (seitz et al., 2022) to prioritize crisis leadership professional development among women leading in agriculture to assist with mitigating food waste during catastrophic events, like covid-19. the majority of women involved in this study identified as white, indicating a lack of diversity in the southern states’ women’s leadership committees. more inclusiveness would also include access to women of other ethnicities on these types of boards and across other industries. a large majority of women were part of the baby boomer generation. this finding may also indicate a pipeline issue with recruiting and retaining younger women in these types of positions. women were more likely to have a network that consists majorly of alters they engage with frequently (every day) and seek advice from those they view as opinion leaders, meaning the farm bureau needs to encourage new relationships and create more networking opportunities for these women. the typical alter was a family member or friend that the ego has known for more than five years and talks with them at least every few days. this person can be described as an opinion leader, and there is mutual trust between the alter and the ego. a clear need exists for farm organizations to develop food waste leadership competencies so that women involved in the committees can positively influence their network peers. the ego networks were immensely dense and consisted majorly of strong ties, meaning women’s access palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.307 57 to new information and other social networks was minimal (perry et al., 2018). practitioners should promote new collaborations to expand women’s networks, leading to more knowledge and other social networks with various perspectives. leadership change agents from states farm bureaus should consider prioritizing communication, community building, and development of opinion leaders to improve leadership competencies (rogers, 2003; strong et al., 2022) to achieve food security. women leaders’ communication channels need further study. acknowledgements this research was supported by the united states department of agriculture’s national institute of food and agriculture hatch project tex09890. the research team wishes to acknowledge leadership coordinators and women’s leadership committee members of farm bureau’s across the united states for making this research possible and allowing us to explore women leading in agriculture. k. palmer – ideas, investigation, data collection, formal analysis, writing-original draft, visualization; r. strong – methodology, validation, formal analysis, writing-review and editing, supervision; m. patterson – methodology, software, formal analysis, writing-review and 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(2021). crisis leadership: a review and future research agenda. the leadership quarterly, 32(6), 101518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2021.101518 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 307-final-1 307-final-2 307-final-3 microsoft word 277-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 1, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. colby j. silvert, doctoral candidate, university of florida, 310 rolfs hall, po box 110540, 32611, colby.silvert@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2055-7597 2. rafael quijada landaverde, assistant professor, texas a&m university, 600 john kimbrough blvd, tamu 2116, college station, tx 77843, rafael.q@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6489-0477 3. john diaz, associate professor, university of florida, 408 rolfs hall, po box 110540, 32611, john.diaz@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-8759 4. mary t. rodriguez, associate professor, the ohio state university, 200e agricultural administration building, 2120 fyffe road, columbus, ohio 43210, rodriguez.746@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8716-2787 5. dharmendra kalauni, graduate student, university of florida, 410 rolfs hall, po box 110540, 32611, kalauni.d@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8443-0101 17 exploring graduate students’ socialization to international agriculture: a mixed methods needs assessment c. j. silvert1, r. q. landaverde2, j. diaz.3, m. t. rodriguez4, d. kalauni5 article history received: november 10, 2022 accepted: january 10, 2023 published: january 20, 2023 keywords academic association; global food system; graduate education; internationalization; stakeholder engagement abstract internationalization of higher education’s agricultural disciplines is essential to account for agrifood system trends toward globalization and multiculturalism. professional and academic associations can play a formative role preparing graduate students for their agricultural careers. guided by socialization theory, this needs assessment explores graduate students’ perceived needs, expectations, and ideas to optimize engagement with associations focused on international agriculture. a convergent mixed methods design integrated and contrasted quantitative and qualitative data from an online survey—filled by 26 student participants—and qualitative data from a virtual fishbone focus group with seven participants. students’ perceptions appear responsive to trends toward globalized food systems and demonstrate their desire for socialization to gain internationally focused capacities and connections to opportunities in a variety of global agricultural areas. findings indicate associations geared toward internationally oriented scholarship and academics should expand to better encompass international development practice. doing so would provide greater insight into practitioners’ priorities and facilitate alternative career pathways for graduate students interested in practice. additionally, findings point to needs for student mentoring and communication efforts focused on equitable and inclusive engagement with first generation students and students in developing countries who may be financially inhibited from traveling for in-person socialization activities. silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.277 18 introduction and problem statement graduate education prepares specialized professionals by fostering intellectual growth through applied and enriching experiences. graduate schools intentionally recruit individuals of different nationalities and non-traditional backgrounds, diversifying student body needs and expectations (coulter et al., 2004; holtzman et al., 2021). in the literature, graduate students have been described as educational consumers with specific and evolving academic needs (coulter et al., 2004; sullivan & stevenson, 2009). correspondingly, in higher education’s agricultural disciplines (e.g., crop sciences, communications, development, etc.), internationalization of curricula and capacity development is particularly important to account for agrifood system trends toward globalization and multiculturalism (johnson et al., 1995; navarro & edwards, 2008). professional and academic associations are formative for graduate students’ global career preparation, providing important socialization via member-tailored activities, services, and networking (akkerman & torenvlied, 2013; coulter et al., 2004). currently, professional and academic associations struggle to connect with younger professional generations and face various challenges in meeting student members’ expectations (sidecar, 2021). the challenges faced by associations with international foci are uniquely complex, accounting for issues like globalization (taylor & yang, 2015), resource availability and distribution (zhang, 2016), and addressing students’ contrasting interests from international graduate and training programs (bunoti, 2011; duerrenberger & warning, 2018). professional and academic associations play an important yet challenging role in developing graduate students’ international agricultural skills, interests, and career paths. therefore, we identified a research need to explore students’ perceived needs, expectations, and ideas to optimize engagement with associations focused on international agriculture. theoretical and conceptual framework socialization—the theoretical lens guiding this study—is the process describing how people engage with a group, organization, or community and the corresponding influences on those people and the collective (austin & mcdaniels, 2006; corcoran & clark, 1984; staton & darling, 1989). the original theory of socialization has been adapted and investigated in diverse ways including how university students socialize to their campus, how employees socialize to an institutional culture, and how graduate students socialize to their professions (austin & mcdaniels, 2006). contemporary theorists have countered early notions of socialization as a linear one-way process that implied people are assimilated to an organization. the postmodern perspective, instead, proposes socialization as a cultural, bidirectional process contributing to co-constructed changes in both individuals and collectives (antony, 2002; tierney, 1997). postmodern socialization has also shifted away from advocating for a singular phenomenon applicable to all members of an organization, toward accounting for different members’ unique identities and experiences as well as linked exclusion and marginalization dynamics (austin & mcdaniels, 2006; tierney & bensimon, 1996). silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.277 19 due to a lack of closely aligned literature, our focus on graduate students’ socialization to international agriculture seems novel but fitting, as four central principles of the theory connect to the key areas of our needs assessment study. first, socialization occurs via formal or informal mechanisms (van maanen & schein, 1979). related to this study, students in the organization may engage with international topics by informally networking with other members or by formally participating in professional development or scholarship activities. second, socialization should not homogenize or assimilate any group members and especially newcomers (tierney & rhoads, 1993). instead, individuals and groups should be supported “...to retain their identities and come together in communities of difference” (tierney & bensimon, 1996, p. 19). in an internationally focused organization, students’ and other members’ diverse perspectives and experiences are key sources of knowledge and insight to benefit all members. related to this second point, students’ socialization needs and barriers may be rooted in marginalization, norms, and power dynamics. research suggests, for instance, women and people of color more often feel less welcomed and face more barriers in academia (austin & mcdaniels, 2006; clark & corcoran, 1986; tierney & bensimon, 1996). third, according to staton and darling (1989), socialization is mediated by communication, including responding to formal and informal messages with the organization as well as learning by observation. in this study, graduate students’ perceived communication with and from the organization and interpersonal communication among its members could impact the quality of their socialization. fourth and lastly, knowledge acquisition, involvement, and investment were proposed as three core elements underlying the bidirectional process of socialization (austin & mcdaniels, 2006; weidman et al., 2001). exploring these elements requires assessing the organization’s offerings (e.g., development and learning activities) as well as student members’ own time and effort investments toward the organization. we applied socialization theory within a mixed methods needs assessment—a technique used to assess gaps and needs between people’s present engagement with an organization and their desired engagement with the organization (witkin & altschuld, 1995). focusing on graduate students’ perceptions, we propose that students’ participation in the organization reflects a process of socialization to international agriculture. silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.277 20 purpose the purpose of this study was to gather graduate students’ perceived needs related to their socialization to international agriculture via involvement in a professional and academic association focused on international agricultural extension and education. the research objectives were to: 1. describe the participants and their involvement in the internationally focused professional and academic association. 2. identify priority issue areas where students feel their international engagement and experience could be improved through involvement in the association. 3. examine the future direction in which students perceive the association should concentrate its student-oriented activities and offerings. methods our research process was structured by the witkin and altschuld (1995) three-phased needs assessment approach, which involves pre-assessment/exploration (phase one), assessment/data collection (phase two), and post-assessment/utilization (phase three). in the pre-assessment, we reviewed background literature and documents and engaged stakeholders. in the assessment phase, we collected and analyzed data. post-assessment activities involving stakeholders to apply findings were still in progress at the time of writing this article. sampling and data sources the target population for this needs assessment was graduate students with active association for international agricultural and extension education (aiaee) memberships. we aimed to achieve a representative student member sample using purposive and snowball sampling methods (plowright, 2011). several channels were used to recruit including the aiaee email listserv, social media, the 2022 aiaee annual conference, and the researchers’ connections with eligible students. a census sample was deemed logistically impractical, as participation in the study was fully voluntary. per the relatively small size of the organization, we aimed to achieve a sample of 25 to 30 survey participants and enough focus group members for data saturation (ary et al., 2019). data collection and analysis a convergent mixed methods design was used to simultaneous collect then integrate and contrast data from an online survey with both closedand open-ended questions, as well as qualitative data from a focus group (creswell & plano clark, 2018). the survey instrument design centered on two indices assessing students’ satisfaction with their engagement in networking, collaboration, and student diversity, capacity building and learning, funding and value, the annual conference, and scholarship. the five-point likert satisfaction scale had the following response anchors: extremely dissatisfied (1), somewhat dissatisfied (2), neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (3), somewhat satisfied (4), and extremely silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.277 21 satisfied (5) (witkin & altschuld, 1995). closed-ended questions also gauged students’ involvement with the association (number of years as member and self-reported rating on a five-point scale from barely involved to extremely involved). lastly, respondents were asked if they had published in the association’s refereed journal or presented a paper/poster at a conference. qualitative data were collected via open-ended survey questions designed to gather ideas on the future direction of the association’s engagement with and support for students. an additional source of qualitative data was a virtual focus group, using the fishbone causal analysis technique (see figure 2) (harder, 2020; ishikawa, 1983). using the zoom annotate function, seven student participants filled the fishbone diagram—structured with the “fish head” being the overall goal to optimize students’ engagement in and reward from the organization, and the “fish ribs” being areas or gaps to address to achieve this goal (see figure 2). the participants were first asked to independently add items within each rib category (or request new rib categories). we then reviewed the group’s contributions and positioning of the inputs together with the group to seek clarifications, relocations, and remove duplicates. then, participants voted for the three items/contributions they felt were most important and should be prioritized by the organization. we analyzed the quantitative data using central tendency measures, which identified participants’ top five expressed needs. internal consistency/reliability of the indices was calculated and deemed acceptable using cronbach’s alpha coefficient (.79) (ary et al., 2019). the qualitative data from the survey were analyzed using thematic analysis to inductively organize and code findings based on commonalities and contrasts (creswell, 2014). we enhanced trustworthiness using member checking and audit trails (lincoln & guba, 1985). findings objective 1: describe the participants and their involvement in the internationally focused professional and academic association. the majority of the 26 respondents were from the united states while the sample was representative of six countries total (see figure 1). following the united states, more respondents were from nigeria and afghanistan as compared to other nationalities. silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.277 22 figure 1 respondent nationalities (n = 26) four more female students participated in the survey than male students (see table 1). most respondents were studying at the doctoral level (69.2%) compared to students pursuing a master’s degree (30.8%). table 1 respondent backgrounds and demographics (n = 26) characteristic f % sex male 11 42.3 female 15 57.7 current position master's student 8 30.8 doctoral student 18 69.2 member of other professional associations yes 16 61.5 no 10 38.5 silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.277 23 the data in table 2 illustrate that the respondents were relatively new to involvement with the association. however, it is important to recognize that a member’s engagement as a graduate student would likely be limited to two years as a master’s student and four to six years as a doctoral student. most students self-rated their level of involvement as somewhat involved with the least number of students indicating they were barely involved. we also examined whether students had produced scholarship successfully via association channels. more respondents had presented a poster, oral presentation, or professional development than had published in the association journal. table 2 involvement and achievements with organization (n = 26) factor of involvement f % years involved with organization less than one year 12 46.2 one to 3 years 10 38.5 3+ years 4 15.4 perceived level of involvement i am barely involved 1 3.8 i am not very involved 7 26.9 i am somewhat involved 11 42.3 i am very involved 7 26.9 led presentation or professional development yes 21 80.8 no 5 19.2 publication in peer-reviewed journal of organization yes 7 26.9 no 19 73.1 objective 2: identify priority issue areas where students feel their international engagement and experience could be improved through involvement in the association. we determined the top five needs expressed by the student members based on the data in table 3. because a lower mean represents a lower level of satisfaction, the following five items from the two tables were deemed, in order, to be the top five needs based on their means: (1) networking with nonprofit and private sector practitioners and leaders, (2) communication with students via social media, (3) funding and scholarships for students to attend the annual conference, (4) opportunities for students to publish scholarship in the journal of international agricultural and extension education, and (5) funding and scholarships for students to attend the annual conference. students were most satisfied with learning about relevant international research, relevant professional development/skill building, and participation in the annual conference. silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.277 24 table 3 satisfaction with activity areas – lowest to highest (n = 26) activity area m sd networking with nonprofit and private sector practitioners and leaders 2.65 1.06 communication with students via social media 2.92 0.85 networking that leads to professional opportunities (e.g., job interviews) 3.27 1.12 opportunities for students to publish scholarship in the association journal 3.31 1.09 funding and scholarships for students to attend the annual conference 3.38 1.36 communication with students via email 3.46 1.17 collaboration on research or extension projects 3.50 0.95 value for the costs of student membership 3.54 1.42 value for the costs of the annual conference 3.62 1.30 diversity of student membership (i.e., students from different countries and backgrounds) 3.81 1.13 networking with other university students and faculty 4.00 1.13 participation in the annual conference 4.04 1.08 relevant professional development/ skill building 4.12 0.71 learning about relevant international research 4.31 0.79 note. cronbach’s alpha measure of reliability for the 14-item index = .79. satisfaction was measured using the five-point likert-type scale containing the following response anchors: extremely dissatisfied (1), somewhat dissatisfied (2), neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (3), somewhat satisfied (4), and extremely satisfied (5). thus, a lower mean indicates less satisfaction. objective 3: examine the future direction in which students perceive the association should concentrate its student-oriented activities and offerings. our thematic analysis of students’ perceptions of future activities and offerings by the professional and academic association resulted in four major themes: (1) mentoring and professional development; (2) information and communication; (3) participation and cost; and (4) diversifying the organization. mentoring and professional development several students mentioned how the organization should more intentionally facilitate mentoring opportunities, especially those focused on scientific research and publication. participants perceived that students need more support in this area and would benefit from interacting with faculty members outside of their home institution. participant c commented “i would like to see almost a cultural exchange where students can pair up with faculty from other institutions and get one-on-one time talking to them.” along with formal mentorship, participants perceived a need to expand the topics and frequency of professional development activities. internationalized career paths and job search/application frequently emerged as professional development topics where the organization should improve its offerings. silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.277 25 participant g mentioned “i am desperately looking for employment. so, it would have been nice to have a list of soon-to-be graduates and their interests available to professionals.” information and communication students pointed to deficiencies in the organization's communication channels and efforts to communicate consistent, reliable information to all members. for example, participant d questioned the quality of the organization's website, not only in informing current members but, more importantly, in attracting future ones. participant c shared “i am a new student member, i did not get any email with regards joining the aiaee and it was assumed i would go through the website or just be curious enough. i believe a welcome email and resources should be initiated for new members.” in addition, participant g mentioned using social networks to encourage scientific community members to actively engage in educational and relevant conversations. participation and cost participants d and f encouraged the organization to allow graduate students to become members of each of the organization's committees, which are currently only accessible to faculty and professional members, aside from the graduate student board representative. participant m echoed this sentiment: “we are encouraged to attend committee meetings, but when we go there i don't feel like our voices are being heard. the professors all know each other and talk about things that we have no knowledge of, so it is hard to break in and add input to the meetings.” participants seemed to urge the organization leaders to promote student engagement and leadership by opening spaces where students can contribute to the organization’s advancement. participant a said, “the classification 'student' seems to come with a reduced representation and voice in the organization. to limit these non-traditional students from serving as committee chairs or pursuing other leadership roles is discouraging and limits individual contributions to the organization.” regarding engagement in current activities, participants mentioned one of the main reasons for low student participation—especially among non-u.s. students—is the costs associated with membership and engagement. participant e mentioned that the cost for membership and conference fees in other organizations are considerably cheaper. diversifying the organization although the organization has an international scope, the participants perceive greater participation of u.s. students and professionals than individuals from other countries. participant h mentioned “as an international organization, it is disappointing to see mostly american members or students from american universities.” participants indicated cost and lack of international stakeholders’ engagement limit the inclusion of geographically diverse audiences. some suggestions that emerged were to implement a differentiated cost system (i.e., membership and conference fees) based on needs and support from the student scholarship program. participant f commented, “the costs of the annual conference are a silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.277 26 major barrier to participation, a barrier that can hinder first generation students, students from lower income families, and students from developing country institutions the most.” an additional important issue was participants’ perception of low engagement from members working in international sectors other than academia (e.g., nonprofit development). participant e stated that they had few interactions with people who were not graduate students or faculty members. participant h supported this idea by saying “a greater mix of academic membership with ngo, civil society, and private sector membership would offer a better-rounded lens into the broad world of international agriculture and extension education.” participatory fishbone focus group findings in addition to the themes that emerged from open-ended survey questions, the seven participants in the mixed methods fishbone diagram activity proposed key areas where they felt student engagement could be optimized. the following “contributors” (in descending order of votes) emerged as the seven most important for the association to address to optimize engagement with student members (see figure 2): 1. networking around interest topics for research collaboration 2. reaching out to more international universities 3. invitations to join groups (grant writing, research collab) 4. multiple levels for scholarships 5. connection/networking with faculty/future employers 6. conference scholarships 7. mentoring on reviewing journal articles figure 2 fishbone diagram with the top seven areas to optimize association engagement with students silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.277 27 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations professionals at the forefront of agriculture must increasingly address issues interconnected with global food systems. correspondingly, an uptick has occurred in academic and career preparation focused on international development and agriculture (bedenlier et al., 2018; winfrey, 2017). this study’s mixed methods findings demonstrate ways graduate students’ socialization can be optimized to build their international capacities and connect them to opportunities and networks in a variety of global agricultural areas. findings suggest graduate students perceived a significant gap in networking with practitioners from the private and nonprofit sectors. while associations may emphasize international focused scholarship and academics, leaders should consider expanding to better encompass international development practice and attract these stakeholders. this integration aligns with major networks and engagements at the nexus of international agricultural research and development practice, including the cgiar consortium, funded with over 900 million u.s. dollars and employing more than 9,000 staff globally in research and development (cgiar, n.d.). development and extension practitioners as association members could provide greater insight into their issues and priorities, as well as facilitate alternative career pathways for graduate students interested in practice. participants expressed needs for socialization via improved mentoring and networking, especially focused on linking to career opportunities, which could occur through different activities, both formally and informally (van maanen & schein, 1979). moreover, good mentoring may extend beyond a purely professional capacity, and 70% of hires are made based on previous personal or professional connections (center for career development, 2020). establishing mentoring systems to match students with senior mentors—such as academics or experts in nonprofit or development practice—based on corresponding interests and identified gaps may address this expressed need. promoting potential reciprocal benefits of participating in the mentoring (e.g., development organizations connecting with upcoming professionals to hire) is recommended for a functioning system. for more inclusive and equitable international mentoring, remote and/or hybrid techniques—in addition to in-person—should be considered for sensitivity to students’ constraints preventing their in-person engagement in activities. our data, corroborating past research, show first generation students, students from lower income families, and students from institutions in developing countries are most financially inhibited from in-person socialization at international events like conferences via the current offerings. diversity of membership and inclusivity did not emerge as top priorities based on quantitative analysis but did emerge from qualitative analysis. paying attention to these qualitative findings is important as the survey sample was skewed toward u.s. students and therefore may not be a clear representation of the perceived diversity and inclusivity of the organization. meaningful online communications could help promote inclusive socialization, especially with new members who may feel isolated, or be in locations disengaged without resources to attend a conference. sending tailored welcome messages and social media community-building to silvert et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.277 28 recognize new members’ unique contributions and needs could reduce issues of disenfranchisement or homogenization of newcomers (tierney & rhoads, 1993). perceived marginalization was also linked to participants’ identity as “students,” limiting their association roles (e.g., not being allowed on committees). a starting point to address this need could be discussing policies geared toward treating graduate students as valued members bringing important experiences to associations. this study provides foundational exploration into graduate students’ needs and priorities to optimize their socialization to areas in international agriculture. the critical next step, following this type of needs assessment, is to facilitate engagement between the key stakeholders (the students) and leaders of the target organization to set priorities based on the findings and available resources (witkin & altschuld, 1995). acknowledgements and declarations student members of association of international agricultural and extension education, along with its executive officers, graciously supported this study by providing spaces for recruitment at the annual conference and via the listserv. four of the five authors were members of the association at the time of data collection. c. silvert data collection, formal analysis, investigation, writing-original draft, writing-review and editing; r. q. landaverde data collection, formal analysis, investigation, writing-original draft, writing-review and editing; j. diaz writing-original draft, writing-review and editing; m. t. rodriguez writing-review and editing; d. kalauni writing-original draft, writing-review and editing references akkerman, a., & torenvlied, r. 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(2016). an overlooked population in community college: international students’(in) validation experiences with academic advising. community college review, 44(2), 153– 170. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552116633293 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 341-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. rachel biderman, graduate assistant, university of florida, 408 rolfs hall, po box 110540 gainesville, fl 32611, rbiderman@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9738-5896 2. laura greenhaw, assistant professor, university of florida, p.o. box 110540 gainesville 32611, laura.greenhaw@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1562-9798 3. amy harder, associate dean for extension, 1378 storrs rd., unit 4134, w.b. young building, room 233, storrs, ct 06269, amy.harder@uconn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-2028 16 exploring small-scale farmers’ perceptions and needs for non-formal leadership education r. biderman1, l. greenhaw2, a. harder3 article history received: may 10, 2023 accepted: july 5, 2023 published: july 20, 2023 keywords small-scale farmers; self-perception theory; qualitative research; agricultural leadership educators abstract small-scale farmers serve in leadership roles within their operations and beyond, though it is not widely known whether they view themselves in this capacity. the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the ways in which small-scale farmers perceive themselves as leaders, and to characterize their self-perceived leadership style. semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants on their farming operations and utilizing zoom. observations and collection of supplemental materials were used for triangulation of data. findings indicated that this population does view themselves as leaders, and that small-scale farmers characterize their leadership approaches differently, though some commonalities were found. moreover, a desire for leadership education was expressed by participants. a needs assessment is recommended to better understand small-scale farmers' leadership education needs, followed by non-formal leadership education programming. biderman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.341 17 introduction and problem statement small farms are an integral part of a sustainable food system, providing benefits economically, geographically, and culturally (stępień & maican, 2020) and their success relies on farm operators’ knowledge, skills, and behavior. farmers can serve in multiple leadership roles, on their operations and within their communities. however, it is not known whether these farmers view themselves as leaders, or how they serve as leaders in different capacities. moreover, although small farm operators presumably perform necessary leadership and management acts on their operation, it is unlikely that they have received formal leadership education to help develop these necessary skills. unfortunately, existing leadership development programs in agriculture and natural resources may not be appropriate or accessible for small-scale farmers (carter & rudd, 2000; kelsey & wall, 2003). leadership skills are vital in the agriculture industry (kaufman et al., 2012) helping agriculture leaders in production, distribution, and education sectors steward large operations and programs. farming, and agriculture work in general, is a volatile profession, dealing with climate change, harsh conditions, market fluctuations, inflation, and other challenges which require leaders to be adaptable and able to build and maintain networks and learning communities to succeed (moghfeli et al., 2022; sorensen et al., 2021). windon and robotham (2021) found that farmers may have the ability to lead others, though targeted leadership programming is necessary to address identified areas of need among farmers (windon & robotham, 2021). it is important that farmers view themselves as leaders, because if individuals believe themselves to be leaders, they will develop and emerge leadership skills (kwok et al., 2018). this study sought to explore small-scale farmers’ leadership self-perceptions and identify potential leadership education needs. theoretical framework one way to view leadership and leadership development is through the concept of self or identity (bem, 1972) which goes beyond viewing leadership through theories, such as trait theory, and posits that individuals’ beliefs, attitudes, and feelings impact the way they view themselves as leaders (day & harrison, 2007). self-perception theory, introduced by bem (1972), originated in the field of psychology to help explain consistencies among individuals’ beliefs and behaviors. individuals learn about their beliefs, feelings, attitudes, and other internal states by observing themselves and making inferences about their behavior and surroundings. self-perception theory states that as individuals, we are coming to understand ourselves the same way that an outsider or stranger may come to know us, through observations about our external behaviors, intentions, and cues. according to drath (2001), leaders can experience varying levels of identity, which informs how they view leadership. at the most basic level, a leader views leadership as possessing a specific set of behaviors or knowledge, and involves a process of the leader leading, and the followers following. at the next level, known as the relational level, the process of leading is an act of biderman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.341 18 influencing the follower, and works more as a negotiation between the two parties. at the most complex level, leadership is collaborative and involves all perspectives, utilizing a systems-based approach (day & harrison, 2007; sessa et al., 2016). kwok et al. (2018) explored how social networks impact leader identity, and subsequently leader emergence. they proposed that identities that impact behavior most are those most important to individuals (central), and if individuals believe themselves to be leaders, they will develop and emerge leadership skills. additionally, individuals who view themselves as leaders are likely situated within strong social networks or hold leadership positions within their organizations (kwok et al., 2018). agricultural leadership skills have been examined using a self-perception lens in previous studies. layfield et al. (2000) studied 58 college agriculture students to assess their selfperceived leadership skills in correlation to their involvement with campus activities. their findings indicated that students viewed themselves as having high leadership skills, and there was a positive correlation between high self-perceived leadership skills and participation in departmental clubs (layfield et al., 2000). similarly, rutherford et al. (2002) explored future farmers of america (ffa) members’ self-perceived leadership skills in correlation to chapter size, length of membership, involvement, and leadership position. they found that involvement and holding leadership positions within ffa was positively related to members’ self-perceived leadership skills (rutherford et al., 2002). harder and narine (2019) found that extension agents had high self-perceptions of their leadership competencies, however, one of the lower-scored competencies was engaging in crucial conversations, which is consistent with windon and robotham’s (2021) findings. no literature has been identified concerning leadership selfperceptions of small-scale farmers. therefore, we sought to understand small-scale farmers’ leadership styles, through the lens of their own self-perceptions. purpose our study aimed to explore small-scale farmers’ leadership self-perceptions and identify potential leadership education needs. the following questions guided this study: q1: in what ways do small farm operators view themselves as leaders within their farm operations and beyond? q2: how do small farm operators define leadership? q3: how do small farm operators characterize their personal leadership style? methods the population for this research study was small-scale farmers. according to the u.s. department of agriculture (usda), small-scale farms have a gross cash farm income (gcfi) of less than $350,000 per year (whitt et al., 2021). the inclusion criteria for this study were: (a) the farm was geographically located in florida (b) study participants considered themselves the, or one of the farms’ principal owner/operators, and (c) study participants identified themselves as a small-scale farmer. the study took place october 2022 through january 2023. biderman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.341 19 purposive sampling was used to secure participants who met the inclusion criteria. a contact list of potential participants was generated from three sources; personal contacts of an industry consultant, online resources such as farmers market participant directories, and snowball sampling. all farmers identified were emailed a total of three times, consisting of an initial recruitment email, and two follow-up emails. eighty-two farmers were contacted, ten responded, and eight completed interviews. our study is not intended to be generalized to all small-scale farmers, but we have provided additional details about them to help the reader determine transferability to the audiences they may serve. pseudonyms were assigned to protect participants’ confidentiality. participants’ operations varied in size, location, and crop type. three farmers work on a collective farm: alice is a co-operator of their operation, while sandy and kandace both rent space on a collective farm. greg and cheryl both own their property, though greg operates on a 25-acre farm, and cheryl operates on 1.5 acres. ernest rents land to run his operation, mabel is the leader of a community farm in a food desert, and ralph manages an aquaponics farm. the farmers’ ages ranged from 30 to 70 years, with the average being 48 years old. the farmers identified as male (n = 3), female (n = 4) and non-binary (n = 1). all farmers had some postsecondary education, with a master’s degree being the highest level of education (n = 2), a bachelor’s degree being the most represented degree (n = 4), one farmer receiving an associate degree, and one farmer completing some college. additional details are provided in table 1. table 1 participant demographics participant age gender ethnicity highest level of education cheryl 59 female indian associate degree greg 70 male american/white master’s degree ralph 47 male latino/white bachelor’s degree mabel 73 female caucasian bachelor’s degree kandace 32 female caucasian master’s degree sandy 39 female caucasian some college alice 30 non-binary white bachelor’s degree ernest 36 male white bachelor’s degree a basic qualitative research design (merriam, 2002) utilized semi-structured, in-depth interviews. five interviews were conducted in person and three interviews were conducted on zoom. six participants were interviewed one-on-one, and two participants were interviewed together in a dyad. on average, interviews were 52 minutes long. the lead researcher recorded biderman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.341 20 notes during and after each interview, using an electronic field journal to capture body language, impressions about attitude and temperament during the interview, and observations of the operations and interactions with team members. additionally, the field journal was used to capture memo notes of findings as the data was coded. interviews were audio-recorded and uploaded to otter.ai for transcription. codes were created and assigned based on the interview guide and theoretical framework. codes were categorized and used to create a codebook within nvivo software that “articulates the distinctive boundaries for each code” (creswell & poth, 2018, p. 190). the lead researcher used the codebook to assign tags to pieces of text and then arranged the text segments that were similar into categories for organization into major themes (dicicco-bloom & crabtree, 2006). once this step was completed for all interviews, the lead researcher reviewed the documents again and began assigning memos, which refer to concepts or themes that begin to emerge from the codes (creswell & poth, 2018). a total of 42 codes were assigned that were categorized into 10 over-arching themes. trustworthiness in qualitative research is achieved through credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability. credibility was achieved by collecting multiple forms of data, including communication examples, pictures of farm operations, analysis of websites, and onsite observations (forero et al., 2018). dependability involved peer debriefing, in which the lead research shared findings and conclusions with colleagues familiar with the research and topic area, who then reviewed the interpretations and provided feedback on the analysis (creswell & poth, 2018). member checking and peer debriefing were also used to ensure dependability (loh, 2013). member checking allows the “participants to judge the accuracy and credibility of the account” (creswell & poth, 2018, p. 261). transcripts were sent to the participants to review for accuracy. confirmability was achieved by reporting negative and realistic data that may not support answering the research questions and continuing to clarify personal biases and reflexivity throughout the research process. lastly, transferability was achieved through purposive sampling and collecting detailed data. findings q1: in what ways do small farm operators view themselves as leaders within their farm operations and beyond? our study participants viewed themselves as leaders in three ways: on their operation, within their community and the farming industry, and within their families. participants used the word community to mean their geographic community, as well as a network of other small-scale farmers. it was evident throughout the interviews that all participants viewed themselves as leaders of their operations. alice stated “on our operation i see myself as a leader to our crew. someone who is willing to take on the responsibility of managing what feels like a giant farm sometimes.” some farmers were more hesitant to come to identify as leaders than others. cheryl stated that she identified as a leader in both her operation and the community, however she felt like a leader more within her community. as cheryl talked about being a leader in this biderman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.341 21 capacity, she seemed proud of what she had been able to accomplish alone, setting an example for other farms in her community. many study participants also viewed themselves as leaders within their community and industry. three participants operated using a collective farming model, and the success of their respective operations is evident as to why these farmers felt they were leaders in their community and industry. alice specifically talked about how they were operating using a structure that is somewhat unique, and that they are often asked to share about how they do this, setting an example for others in their community. alice stated: as a farm, i see us as a leader in the community, because of how we set things up. i think that we're really doing something amazing by having a horizontal leadership role like this, splitting up the major responsibilities…i know that in the long term, we are one of the only farms that's been able to maintain our sustainability and excitement and ease at which we farm. when sandy spoke about being a leader in her community, she passionately described a social justice aspect, wanting to help individual people regain their power. sandy said “when i think about community leadership, it’s like the ability to allow an individual to regain personal power. and so that's the vision, how we would come together.” this idea was also evident in ernest’s comments about “bringing the food to where the people are” and greg’s desire to want to mentor young farmers and empower them to farm. some participants viewed themselves as leaders within their families. greg runs what the usda classifies as a retirement farm, while others run an occupation farm, in which their sole income is generated from their farming operation. when greg was asked if he views himself as a leader he said, “i would say yes, for my closest family, whenever they do help me on the farm…at least i'm the leader in that sense if they come out and help me.” because greg operates his farm part-time, it is understandable that he would utilize the help of his family, instead of paying employees to work on the farm. when considering their identity as a leader within specific spaces, participants felt it was necessary to clarify what they meant by the term leader. ralph distinguished between leader and manager, stating that leader is sometimes an idea, and a manager is more concrete. additionally, ernest’s view of himself as a leader changed throughout the conversation. he said: …with respect to the business, i'm not thinking of myself as the fearless leader of this small farm as much as the guy that started things. i've been there a long time. so, when people have questions, they know to come to me, you know? however, when asked to clarify that he did not view himself as a leader on the operation, but perhaps in other capacities, ernest replied “i guess through the lens of that question, i would say yes, i view myself as the leader of the farm as an entity, as a business, but i don't think of the role of leader very often.” throughout the interviews, it was evident that study participants did view themselves as leaders in varying capacities. biderman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.341 22 q2: how do small farm operators define leadership? study participants had varied definitions of leadership. considering the diversity of study participants, varied definitions of leadership are congruent with leadership research. however, three themes emerged from data analysis concerning their definitions of leadership: (a) leadership involves teaching others how to do something; (b) leadership includes leading by example/by doing, and (c) leadership requires being decisive and being the one to make decisions, while still maintaining flexibility. teaching others the data revealed that one of the important parts of leadership to participants was the ability to teach others how to do something, so that a goal can be achieved. cheryl’s measure of success as a leader relied on whether her employees and volunteers were able to do the job after she had showed them how to do it. greg also talked about the importance of teaching people by ‘showing them.’ when asked how he might teach someone to pick persimmons, greg walked over to a tree and began to explain how he would teach them, using a “show and tell” approach. when ernest defined leadership he said: leadership is helping everyone know what they need, what they should be doing. beyond knowing what to do, feeling good about what they're doing. i've noticed over the years that confusion is much more of a problem than just the physical aspect of ‘oh, i'm not sure exactly how you want this thing done here.’ so, it's going to take longer. but just for the health of everything around, people understand what they have to do, then everything runs much, much smoother. teaching others on their operations was an important aspect of leadership to study participants. leading by example both ralph and alice spoke about having done all tasks on the farm themselves, and that they compiled a list of tasks with expected completion times, so they knew how long their workers would take to complete things. they both conveyed that they will not ask their team members to do anything that they have not, or will not, do themselves. when describing the importance of modeling work, ralph stated “if you don't understand what you're asking the people to do, or you don't know it, you may either ask for things that they can't do or have unrealistic expectations.” throughout the interview, alice spoke about how they modeled a strong work ethic for their employees, showing their team through example what is expected of them. similarly, mabel described having her new volunteers work side by side with more seasoned volunteers so that they can show them how tasks should be completed. in addition to teaching through telling, study participants felt that leadership involved modeling and leading by example. being decisive lastly, the study participants shared that decision-making and responsibility fell upon them. mabel expressed confidence in asserting herself as the leader and being comfortable making the final decision: biderman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.341 23 i think i'm pretty good at explaining what we're going to do and how we're going to do it. and i think without being really harsh, identifying myself as the one that's in charge…i'll be the one that makes the final decision. alice also spoke about being decisive and the one to make tough decisions. when defining leadership, alice said “i think a lot of it is just being willing to make the decision and stick with it and tell other people how you want it done…so, it's a lot of decision making.” similarly, ernest said “i've absorbed random business advice throughout the years and the sensation of being like ‘okay, well, you gotta at some point, be the figurehead and just go for it. and you're the one in charge there’.” although each definition varied slightly, these small-scale farmers characterized leadership as teaching their followers how to do tasks, motivating them through leading by example, and being decisive. q3: how do small farm operators characterize their personal leadership style? it is important to note that when this research study was designed, we anticipated categorizing small-scale farmers' leadership styles. however, as the interviews progressed, it became evident that we were not characterizing leadership styles, as much as identifying self-perceived leadership approaches. this distinction is important, as some of the approaches the participants identified may align with traditional leadership theories, while other categories do not. our participants had varying self-perceived leadership approaches, though some approaches shared similarities. for research question three, 24 codes were generated using open-coding and then condensed into 14 codes by grouping similar codes. participants most frequently described supportive, collaborative, and trusting approaches to leading. in the context of this study, a supportive leadership approach included participants expressing care for their employees, describing a more hands-on approach to leading, and farmers spoke to mentoring their employees. when participants identified with a collaborative approach, they often spoke about collaboration among the team, utilizing a collective approach to farming, and asking their employees for feedback and input in decision making. lastly, when a trusting approach was identified among participants, they expressed being more hands-off when it came to their leadership, they described themselves as easy going, and allowed employees to pick tasks that they enjoyed and excelled in. greg identified as being supportive and directive. greg has owned his operation for over 30 years and described using a supportive and directive approach to manage a very small team of volunteers on his “well oiled” operation. when we were in his orchard and i asked him how he might teach someone to pick persimmons, he went over to the tree, and began to explain to me how he would teach them, saying: so, they would come out here and i’d say ‘okay, we're gonna pick this tree. this is how i think you should do it. look for them at this stage [pointing to an orange persimmon], you're gonna see this tree. just pick the more orange ones. the more orange they get the riper they are. right there [pointing to another ripe persimmon]. that's for market.’ biderman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.341 24 i would say this color of orange is perfect. and we'll see if you can find it. but it's kind of hard. when i asked him if any of his helpers ever picked fruit that weren’t ripe yet, and how he approached that, he said that he would have to show them why it was not ready to be picked, and why that might be a problem at the market: once you get them out there. it's okay. like i just said, take this one, would be better if you would have left it, it's okay. it's okay to sell it. but probably people aren't gonna buy it because it's not the most desirable at that stage. greg’s leadership approach is “hands-on” and involved physically showing his helpers how to harvest the fruit. sandy also displayed a supportive leadership approach throughout the interview. she discussed guiding the people she supervises, and if change is necessary, she can call upon her leadership qualities to invite that change. sandy’s supportive leadership approach was evidenced by words she used such as “guide” “invite” and “encouraging.” alice spoke often about being collaborative and making decisions with their two co-leaders: we make all our big decisions together. we try to have a weekly meeting on tuesdays. and so any big purchases, any hiring, anything new that we haven't already established, we do our crop planning together. and anything out of our outside of our role, we just talk with the group about it. kandace, who works on a collective farm, shared that the farmers communicate through a group text and shared calendars. they also utilize monthly in-person meetings and an informal majority voting system. this method of communication and management conveyed a very collaborative leadership approach, where all members have a say. some participants used a more hands-off and trusting approach to leading their teams. ralph said, “leadership is you delegate work, but you never delegate responsibility.” he explained the need to verify that delegated work was completed, but reiterated, “it's my responsibility as a manager to make sure that i can delegate, i can't do all the work, it's impossible. i need to delegate it, but the responsibility in the end is mine.” mabel’s approach can also be categorized as trusting. she described her volunteers as “older, mostly retired, and have been working with me for years.” mabel affords them a great deal of autonomy, saying “so, i have a blackboard out there, i leave a list of everything that needs to be done. and they come in and they look at the list. and they pick what they like to do.” while walking around her operation during the interview, several volunteers were present, working hard, but she did not seem too concerned with what they were doing, or whether they were on task. it was clear that she trusted them to do the work and it seemed important to mabel that her team feel autonomous and have fun while working. biderman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.341 25 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations we explored small-scale farmers’ leadership perceptions, including the ways in which they view themselves as leaders, how they define leadership, and their approaches to leading. our study participants identified as leaders of their organizations, within their communities and in their families which is consistent with windon and robotham’s findings (2021) that farmers had high perceptions of their ability to lead others. some participants self-identified more readily, aligning with how bem (1972) and fazio (2014) described self-perception as the way in which an individual comes to understand themselves through observations of their own behaviors, intentions, and ideas. identifying as a leader has implications for leaders gaining confidence and being motivated to develop their abilities (kwok et al., 2018). if small-scale farmers are hesitant to identify as leaders, they may not seek leadership development, which could limit leadership capacity within this important agriculture industry sector. extension practitioners and others working with small-scale farmers should encourage this population to strengthen their leader identity, which may increase their pursuit of leadership development. drath (2001) suggested that leaders’ varying levels of identity inform how they view leadership, moving from conceptualizing leadership as possessing specific knowledge and skills, to perceiving leadership as relational and an act of influence, and finally, viewing leadership as collaborative and inclusive of multiple perspectives. our participants’ definitions of leadership represented drath’s first and second identity levels. being decisive is a specific skill, while teaching others and leading by example are relational acts of influence. these definitions suggest they have moved beyond conceptualizing leadership as possessing certain knowledge and skills, to believing there is an important relational aspect. further leader identity development may help them develop a conceptualization of leadership as collaborative and inclusive, perhaps motivating them toward leadership roles beyond the small-scale farming community to the broader agricultural industry. as small-scale farmers develop their leader identities and expand their conceptualization of leadership, extensionists can support them by helping them engage in broader reaching organizations and opportunities. participants had not previously studied leadership theories, so it was not expected that they identify their leadership styles in this way. however, many of the participants’ self-identified leadership approaches were consistent with some leadership theories. the ways in which participants described their approaches including supportive, collaborative, and trusting, were reminiscent of authentic leadership (george, 2003), path-goal leadership (evans, 1970), and situational leadership (hersey & blanchard, 1969) among others. leadership theories have overlapping constructs. moreover, effective leaders employ a variety of approaches (northouse, 2021). encouragingly, our participants described varying leadership approaches which is consistent with previous research, indicating that leadership approaches and styles vary among this population (jamil et al., 2020; wanjala et al., 2022). however, these leaders may be more effective in their application of varying leadership approaches as their knowledge of leadership concepts increases. increasing this population’s knowledge of leadership concepts should produce more informed, and thus effective, leadership choices. biderman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.341 26 lastly, participants revealed a desire for leadership education as they shared about skills they wanted to develop and their interest in a leadership development program. literature indicates that existing leadership development programs in agriculture and natural resources may not be appropriate or accessible for this unique population (carter & rudd, 2000; kelsey & wall, 2003). therefore, a formal needs assessment should be conducted to guide the development of more appropriate leadership education opportunities for small-scale farmers in florida. an opportunity exists to grow leadership capacity with this agriculture sector. 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(2021). the relationship between farmers’ quality of life and their leadership competencies. advancements in agricultural development, 2(2), 50–72. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 2, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. stephen c. mukembo, postdoctoral fellow, division of applied social sciences, university of missouri, 320 mumford hall columbia, mo 65211, mukembos@missouri.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1909-9349 2. jasper grashuis, assistant research professor, division of applied social sciences, university of missouri, columbia, mo 65211, grashuisj@missouri.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5075-4439 3. ye su, assistant professor, cooperative research, college of agriculture, environment and human science, lincoln university of missouri; 311 foster hall; jefferson city, missouri 65101, suy@lincolnu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2071-6236 (corresponding author) 60 assessing small farmers’ adaptation and management strategies to navigate the risks and uncertainties: the case of missouri s. c. mukembo1, j. grashuis2, y. su3 article history received: april 5, 2023 accepted: may 8, 2023 published: may 30, 2023 keywords covid-19 pandemic; mitigation strategies; relief programs; risks and uncertainties abstract investing in the agricultural sector exposes producers to numerous risks and uncertainties. the covid-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges, and their impacts are still being felt globally. our study aims to evaluate and describe the risk management strategies employed by small farmers in missouri to mitigate and adapt to the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on their farm operations. we analyzed 141 survey responses, and our findings indicate that most respondents employed multiple strategies, including using savings, diversification, reducing inputs, donating output, delaying investment, gaining off-farm employment, and utilizing government relief programs. however, apart from the covid-19 stimulus checks, which were automatically disbursed to eligible households, few farmers were aware of or participated in other federal relief programs aimed at supporting small businesses and producers. we recommend that extension specialists collaborate with other stakeholders and agencies responsible for federal relief programs to enhance small farmer awareness and participation in the future. additionally, further research is necessary to understand the coping strategies employed by small farmers to remain resilient and maintain personal and mental health during the pandemic. mailto:mukembos@missouri.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1909-9349 mailto:grashuisj@missouri.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5075-4439 mailto:suy@lincolnu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2071-6236 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 61 introduction and problem statement producers invest in the agricultural sector with the expectation of a profitable return. however, these investments carry risks and uncertainties that are beyond their control. as a result, farmers must continuously innovate and adapt to changes in the dynamic external environment. these changes may include governmental policy, weather, climate, price fluctuations, market uncertainty, and disease outbreaks such as the covid-19 pandemic. among other developments, the pandemic increased the cost of production and contributed to food wastage because of labor shortages and market shutdowns as the result of stay-at-home measures to promote physical distancing (lahath et al., 2021; litkowski & giri, 2023; mcelrone et al., 2021; seidel et al., 2021), which impacted production and profitability. further, although consumer food prices soared during the pandemic, farm-gate prices declined, and regional food shortages were reported (mucioki et al., 2022). since the declaration of the covid-19 outbreak as a pandemic by the world health organization on march 11, 2020 (cucinotta & vanelli, 2020), numerous studies have investigated its impact on the agricultural sector (pu & zhong, 2020). additionally, several investigations have explored the adaptations made by small farmers during the pandemic, typically in a local or regional context, such as northwest arkansas (florick & park, 2022) or western washington (ladyka et al., 2022). this descriptive study extends previous research on farmers’ adaptations by focusing on risk management strategies employed by small farmers in the state of missouri. the lessons learned from our research will inform policy and extension programming in missouri and could potentially be transferable to other regions, depending on the specific contextual factors. theoretical and conceptual framework the production of goods and services in the agricultural sector involves the investment and combination of various factors of production, such as land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship, to create value. investing in these factors of production entails undertaking certain risks and uncertainties that producers must manage or mitigate to achieve the desired outcome, such as generating a return on investment for the farmer (see figure 1). individuals employ different strategies to manage risks and uncertainties, including acceptance, avoidance, transferring, and mitigation (project management institute, 2013). farmers, for example, use various techniques to guard against risks and uncertainties (komarek et al., 2020), such as government programs, diversification of farm enterprises, input rationing, insurance, financial leverage, futures contracts, liquidity marketing contracts, off-farm employment, options contracts, and production contracts (johansson, 2020; kahan, 2008; prager et al., 2020; tsiboe & turner, 2023). drawing on our literature review, we established relationships between these factors to formulate a conceptual framework (grant & osanloo, 2014; van der waldt, 2020) that guided our understanding of the challenges farmers face when investing in the agricultural sector and the management decisions they make. a conceptual framework such as https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 62 the one presented in figure 1 “lays out the key factors, constructs, or variables, and presumes relationships among them” (miles & huberman, 1994, p. 440). figure 1 study’s conceptual framework note. the conceptual relationship between investment in the agricultural sector, exposure to risks and uncertainties leading to the deployment of risk management/adaptation strategies, and outcomes/outputs and return on agricultural investment. purpose our study aimed to describe, assess, and understand the adaptive and management strategies used by small farmers in missouri to navigate the risk and uncertainty associated with the covid-19 pandemic. specifically, seven objectives undergirded this study: 1. describe input cost changes for small farmers in missouri during the pandemic. 2. evaluate on-the-farm management strategies used by small farmers in missouri to respond to the covid-19 pandemic. 3. describe the awareness and participation of small farmers in missouri in federal relief programs. 4. describe the sales channels used by small farmers in missouri used to market products to consumers before and during the pandemic. 5. describe changes in farm revenue based on the sales channels used by small farmers in missouri before and during the pandemic. 6. describe changes in total farm revenue following the covid-19 pandemic. 7. describe the future farm aspirations of small farmers in missouri. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 63 methods to address the above objectives, the research team developed an online survey instrument to describe and evaluate the changes in small farmer decisions and outcomes following the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic. during the design stage, we received input from extension specialists and local farmers to ensure the study’s practical relevance. a panel of experts from the division of applied social sciences at the university of missouri and a faculty member from the college of agricultural and natural sciences at lincoln university of missouri assessed the survey instrument for content and face validity (creswell, 2014). upon receiving approval from the university of missouri’s institutional review board, we distributed the online survey invitation to small farmers in missouri through two approaches. first, we emailed the invitation directly to farmers who were registered with the missouri grown program and the missouri farm bureau’s missouri meat producer directory. second, extension specialists in the state of missouri disseminated the invitation link through program newsletters, email lists, and social media. the programs include the small ruminant program, innovative small farmers’ outreach program (isfop), agricultural economics and marketing program, missouri farmers’ market association, and exceed-regional economic and entrepreneurial development. we collected survey responses from april 2022 to july 2022. we used microsoft excel and stata to organize, analyze, report, and illustrate the data. for this study, only descriptive statistics such as percentages are reported in the tables and the figures. findings we received a total of 141 responses. following the deletion of respondents who self-identified as “medium” or “large” farmers, we analyzed 121 responses. because of the descriptive nature of the data analysis, we did not delete observations with partially missing data. regarding the demographic characteristics of our survey respondents, the majority (57%) identified as female, and 43% identified as male. the average age of respondents was 51 years. the majority of our survey participants (59%) were livestock producers, while 46% reported growing fruits and vegetables, and 28% had crops. it is worth noting that the percentages for the type of farming operation are higher than 100% due to respondents selecting multiple choices. additionally, most of the survey respondents (70%) reported owning the farm land, 21% reported owning and renting, and 6% reported farming on rented land. table 1 displays the distribution of our respondents in terms of revenue categories. the largest category comprised respondents (44%; n = 51) who earned up to $10,000 per year in farm revenue. eighty of the respondents (69%) make less than $30,000 per year. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 64 table 1 number of respondents by revenue category category n % less than $10,000 51 44 $10,000 $20,000 15 13 $20,000 $30,000 14 12 $30,000 $40,000 7 6 $40,000 $50,000 6 5 $50,000 $100,000 15 13 $100,000 $150,000 4 3 more than $150,000 4 3 objective 1: changes in farming costs of inputs used by farmers during the pandemic a majority of respondents reported a significant increase of approximately 70% or more in the costs of variable inputs such as feed, fertilizer, seed, energy, and equipment these findings suggest that farmers faced significant cost pressures in multiple aspects of their operations, which could have implications for their overall profitability and financial viability. it is important for farmers to carefully monitor their input costs and explore strategies to manage and reduce these expenses where possible. regarding the classic factors of production (i.e., capital, labor, land), almost 50% or more of farmers indicated that their costs did not change much during the covid-19 pandemic (see table 2). however, relatively few respondents observed a cost decrease in any expense category. table 2 changes in input costs during the covid-19 pandemic category decreased no change increased n % n % n % feed 1 1.19 11 13.10 72 85.71 fertilizer 1 1.12 12 13.48 76 85.39 seed 1 1.08 15 16.13 77 82.80 energy 2 1.75 27 23.68 85 74.56 equipment 2 1.90 30 28.57 73 69.52 labor 5 5.56 53 58.89 32 35.56 equity/capital 22 22.92 47 48.96 27 28.13 land 1 1.12 64 71.91 24 26.97 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 65 objective ii: on-farm and household management strategies in response to the covid-19 pandemic our survey asked respondents about 11 different farm and household management strategies in response to the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic. the results showed that 66% of respondents used their savings, indicating the significant financial impact of the pandemic on small farmers. furthermore, 46% of farmers indicated that they had diversified their farming activities as a risk management strategy against the uncertainties and risks of the pandemic . other strategies employed by farmers included the reduction of input use (39%), donation of output (38%), delayed or canceled investments (37%), off-farm employment (31%), and decreased output (25%), among others (see table 3). further, more than one-fifth (21%) of the respondents delayed harvesting or sold assets to mitigate losses. some farmers stopped production altogether (14%), while others destroyed their output/produce (11%). table 3 farm and household management strategies in response to the covid-19 pandemic decision n % used savings 79 66 diversified output 55 46 reduced input 47 39 donated output 45 38 delayed/canceled investment 44 37 gained off-farm employment 37 31 decreased output 30 25 delayed/canceled harvest 25 21 sold assets 25 21 stop production 17 14 destroyed output 13 11 objective iii: small farmer awareness of and participation in federal relief programs to inform farm-level and household-level federal assistance to small farmers in missouri, we first asked our survey participants to indicate their awareness of nine federal relief programs. secondly, we asked them if they had participated in any of the listed programs. out of the nine programs, the survey participants were most aware of the stimulus check (81%, as shown in table 4), which was sent by the u.s. government to households with an income of up to $150,000. seventy percent of the small farmers in our survey received the check. only 21% of the respondents indicated participating in the paycheck protection program or the usda direct pandemic assistance for producers. other farmers (17% -18%) participated in the two rounds of the coronavirus food assistance program. although the respondents seemed to be aware of the other four federal relief programs, their participation remained low. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 66 table 4 small farmer awareness and participation in federal relief programs federal program awareness participation n % n % covid-19 stimulus check 97 81 84 70 paycheck protection program 60 50 25 21 usda direct pandemic assistance for producers 37 31 25 21 coronavirus food assistance program 25 21 22 18 coronavirus food assistance program 2 20 17 20 17 mortgage relief 19 16 5 4 unemployment insurance 26 22 4 3 food stamp and meal programs 25 21 2 2 rent assistance and eviction moratorium 36 30 1 1 objective iv: sales channel used by farmers before and during the covid-19 pandemic as we illustrate in figure 2, social media platforms, such as facebook marketplace and twitter, were the most popular sales channels (55%) before and during the covid-19 pandemic among our respondents. the farmers’ market constituted the second most popular sales channel (49%). relatively few small farmers in our survey had access to sales channels at the downstream segment of the food value chain (12% with wholesalers, 15% with institutions, and 22% with retailers). when comparing the two time periods, our respondents made almost no changes in terms of the use of the channels. auctions were the only sales channel to experience a slight decrease in usage (from 13% to 11%), probably due to restrictions on public gatherings, and may have been unable to switch from in-person to online platforms to facilitate transactions. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 67 figure 2 sales channel used by farmers before and during/after the covid-19 pandemic objective v: changes in farm revenue by sales channel before and during the covid-19 pandemic while sales channel contribution remained more or less identical, the actual importance of each sales channel to farm revenue changed (as shown in figure 3). we asked respondents who used a given sales channel to indicate what percentage of farm revenue it facilitated. it is noticeable that sales channels with physical components (such as farmers' markets and institutions/restaurants) decreased, while sales channels with online presence (such as farm websites) and social media increased. among the respondents who used the farmers’ market to sell output, the average contribution to farm revenue decreased from 63.70% before the covid-19 pandemic to 47.58% during the covid-19 pandemic. institutions, including restaurants and other food service establishments, which faced closures and restrictions during the pandemic, contributed less to the farm revenue of small farmers. the online shop channel experienced the largest increase from 17.73% before the covid-19 pandemic to 31% during the covid-19 pandemic. social media marketing increased from 28.36% before the pandemic to 36.01% after the pandemic. 49 % 23 % 23 % 13 % 13 % 55 % 12 % 15 % 22 % 18 % 49 % 23 % 23 % 13 % 11 % 55 % 12 % 15 % 22 % 19 % 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% before pandemic during pandemic https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 68 figure 3 changes in farm revenue based on marketing channels used by farmers before and during the pandemic objective vi: total farmer revenue changes following the covid-19 pandemic. as shown in table 5, the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the revenue of our survey respondents was mixed. just over two-fifths of small farmers (41%) reported an increase in their farm revenue. in contrast, 38% reported a decrease in their revenue, and 21% reported no change in revenue. 63 .7 0% 28 .6 8% 17 .7 3% 32 .5 4% 56 .4 4% 28 .3 6% 27 .2 5% 32 .2 9% 22 .4 2% 57 .5 9% 47 .5 8% 28 .1 5% 31 .0 0% 35 .5 0% 56 .0 0% 36 .0 1% 29 .1 7% 21 .4 4% 22 .3 3% 62 .2 2% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% before pandemic during pandemic https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 69 table 5 change in farm revenue following the covid-19 pandemic change in sales n % more than 30% decrease 23 20 0-30% decrease 21 18 no change 25 21 0-30% increase 34 29 more than 30% increase 14 12 objective vii: future farm aspirations we also asked respondents to indicate their future intentions regarding farm size. the results showed that a majority of respondents (56.30%) had no intention to expand their operations (see figure 4). meanwhile, 28.15% and 11.85% of respondents reported intentions to increase or decrease their farm size, respectively. only a small proportion of respondents (3.7%) indicated plans to exit farming in the near future. figure 4 future farm size intentions of small farmers in missouri conclusions, discussion, and implications for extension practice the study found that most farmers experienced increased input costs, especially for variable inputs such as feed and fertilizer, due to supply chain disruptions and increased demand during the pandemic (mucioki et al., 2022). to mitigate the impact of these challenges on their production and profitability on farmers’ investments, they employed a range of management strategies, including using savings, diversification of output, reduction of inputs, and delayed or 3.70% 11.85% 56.30% 28.15% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% exit decrease in size no change in size increase in size https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 70 canceled investments (see figure 1 and table 3). the need to mitigate risks also led some farmers to gain off-farm employment and rely on federal relief programs (prager et., 2020; tsiboe & turner, 2023). however, despite the availability of federal relief programs, few farmers were aware of or able to access them (mcelrone et al., 2021), highlighting the importance of extension specialists partnering with government agencies and other stakeholders to improve farmer awareness and participation in such programs. to address the information gap, these specialists should consider leveraging traditional and social media platforms to reach farmers and provide them with information on available programs. this approach could decrease the dependence on savings and other informal means to respond to risks and uncertainties. the desire for farmers to expand or sustain the current farm size necessitates the involvement of extension specialists in devising educational programs that impart farmers with valuable knowledge and competencies in the context of diverse management strategies, risk and uncertainty management, and on-farm emergency planning. to this end, conducting a thorough assessment of the farmers’ needs and identifying the gaps that require attention through a comprehensive training program is crucial. such an approach would significantly enhance the farmers’ capacity to adapt to different situations, foster farm resilience, and ultimately improve their livelihoods. in this study, while the farmers reported consistency in their sales channels during the pandemic, our analysis revealed a decline in revenue generated from most channels, except for online sales via farm websites, social media, community-supported agriculture (csa), and wholesale. the pandemic may have presented an opportunity for farmers to expand their market reach, particularly through online sales and social media platforms, given the stay-athome measures instituted to mitigate the spread of covid-19. consequently, promotion of online and social media channels is necessary to enable farmers to capitalize on these opportunities. to this end, extension specialists in missouri could design programs to equip farmers with the requisite knowledge and skills to develop online marketing strategies and branding. such initiatives may include creating farm websites or social media accounts to enhance the farm’s online presence and foster engagement with potential customers. recommendations for future extension research this study examined the management strategies adopted by small farmers in missouri to mitigate the risks and uncertainties associated with the covid-19 pandemic, focusing on farmlevel perspectives. however, it is crucial to note that small farmers in missouri may have also encountered personal and mental health challenges amid the pandemic (american farm bureau federation, 2020; mcelrone et al., 2021). additional research is required to understand the coping strategies employed by farmers to remain resilient in this regard. furthermore, future extension research should consider the role of farm and operator characteristics in promoting on-farm resilience during times of crisis. it is important to note that due to the limited number of respondents in our study, generalizations beyond the sample are not feasible. thus, a large-scale study would be necessary to determine whether small farmers https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 71 across the country have similar experiences and formulate a common, state or region-specific response. acknowledgements this research was supported by a nifa/afri grant project 2022-67024-36111 author contributions: s. c. mukembo writing and conceptualization of the original draft; j. grashuis data analysis, designing the survey, data collection, and manuscript revisions; y. su designing the survey, data collection, and grant funding for this research. references american farm bureau federation. 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(2023). risk management strategies. economic research service. united states department of agriculture. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practicesmanagement/risk-management/risk-management-strategies/ van der waldt, g. (2020). constructing conceptual frameworks in social science research. the journal for transdisciplinary research in southern africa, 16(1), 1–9 https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v16i1.758 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.323 https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/risk-management/risk-management-strategies/ https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/risk-management/risk-management-strategies/ https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v16i1.758 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 3, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. pablo lamino, assistant professor, university of florida, gainesville, fl 32603, pablo.lamino@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3941-4935 2. carla millares forno, independent researcher, 8100 defiance ave, las vegas, nv 89129, carlamillaresf@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0482-9847 3. rafael landaverde, assistant professor, texas a&m university, 600 john kimbrough blvd, tamu 2116, college station, tx 77843, rafael.q@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6489-04773 4. amy e. boren-alpízar, associate professor, texas tech university, lubbock, tx 79409, amy.boren-alpizar@ttu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9002-4855 25 rural youth migration intentions in ecuador: the role of agricultural education programs p. lamino1, c. millares-forno2, r. landaverde3, a. e. boren-alpízar4 article history received: november 11, 2023 accepted: april 1, 2024 published: april 19, 2024 keywords rural migration; agricultural education; rural youth migration; ecuador abstract in the last decade, rural youth worldwide have grappled with a crisis marked by limited economic opportunities, inadequate services, and underdeveloped infrastructure in their home communities. this has driven a significant uptick in rural-to-urban migration, especially among young people in developing countries. despite its lower urbanization rate compared to neighboring nations, ecuador has seen a consistent rise in rural-to-urban youth migration. this trend is primarily attributed to environmental degradation, community conflicts, and rural areas' lack of educational and employment prospects. this study investigated the migration intentions of high school students in rural ecuador, specifically those enrolled in agricultural and non-agricultural programs. the findings reveal that agricultural programs significantly influence youth migration intentions. those in agricultural programs express an inclination to migrate. moreover, students who have migrated before are more likely to migrate. these results underscore the importance of tailoring educational initiatives to inspire youth to explore opportunities within their rural communities. future research should delve into the perspectives of rural youth and evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural education programs, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of rural development and strategies for retaining youth in rural areas. mailto:pablo.lamino@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3941-4935 mailto:carlamillaresf@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0482-9847 mailto:rafael.q@ag.tamu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6489-04773 mailto:amy.boren-alpizar@ttu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9002-4855 lamino et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 26 introduction and problem statement in the past decade, rural youth globally have been driven to migrate to urban areas due to limited income opportunities, restricted access to services, and inadequate community infrastructure (food and agriculture organization [fao], 2018). while rural-to-urban migration is not new, it has recently gained prominence among youth, particularly in low and middleincome countries (maunaye, 2013). for example, 50% of young people in latin america have expressed a desire to leave their communities of origin and try their luck in urban centers (baez et al., 2017). to address the urgent need for practical solutions, our research is focused on exploring the potential of agricultural education programs in rural ecuador. this is important since education is a crucial factor in the migration dynamic (corbett, 2007; kodrzycki, 2001). our investigation aims to shed light on how these programs influence youth to leverage local resources and enhance their lifestyles (rodríguez-vignoli & rowe, 2018). these programs, designed to educate students on improved agricultural practices and inspire their application on local lands, have the potential to make a tangible impact (rhoda, 1983). ecuador, with a population of 17 million, has experienced a consistent surge in rural-to-urban migration among its youth since 2001 (estévez, 2017). recent estimates reveal that 10% of ecuador's rural youth population intends to migrate to urban areas, enticed by perceived opportunities (cisneros et al., 1988; royuela & ordóñez, 2018). in response to this phenomenon, our study seeks to bridge existing gaps by delving into the impact of agricultural education programs on youth migration decisions (roth & hartnett, 2018). through our exploration, we aim to offer practical insights that can inform field practitioners and contribute to the formulation of effective strategies for addressing this pressing issue. theoretical and conceptual framework the theory of planned behavior (tpb), proposed by ajzen (1991), was the framework used in this study. the tpb seeks to predict behavioral intentions centered on three principal components: attitudes toward behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. attitudes toward behavior are the degree to which a person has a positive or negative assessment of the behavior of interest. subjective norms are the second component and are based on the perceived perception people around have about the behavior of interest. finally, perceived behavioral control focuses on the person’s perception of the difficulty of performing the behavior of interest (ajzen, 1991). therefore, according to each component of the tpb, those who have a positive attitude toward migration, perceive the same attitude from their peers, and feel it is going to be an easy process, should have a solid intention to migrate (yazdan-panah & zobeidi, 2017). however, it is important to notice that ajzen (1991) argued that other variables could help to explain better and increase the model’s utility "if it can be shown that they capture a significant proportion of the variation in intention or behavior” (p. 179). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 lamino et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 27 this research study will replicate the tpb adaptation used by lamiño jaramillo et al. (2021), in which subjective norms are considered as the perception that other community members have regarding migration. subjective norms are composed of social support, social participation, and disputes. the perceived migration behavioral control, the perceived difficulty of migrating, comprises access to extension activities, subjective expectations, and residential satisfaction. the attitude toward migration, the positive or negative idea of migration, comprises environmental impacts and interpersonal ties (ajzen, 1985; de jong, 2000; lamiño jaramillo et al., 2021; yazdan-panah et al., 2017). in the context of addressing rural youth migration, the tpb provides a comprehensive lens to analyze attitudes, community perceptions, and perceived challenges, offering a robust foundation for exploring the impact of agricultural education programs on migration decisions in ecuador. given the prevalence of rural-to-urban and international migration, it is essential to compare the migration drivers of students enrolled in agricultural-based programs with those in non-agricultural programs (cisneros et al., 1988; royuela & ordóñez, 2018). by understanding the variables associated with youth migration behavior, implementers can strategically channel their developmental program efforts toward these crucial aspects, tailoring interventions based on the audience characteristics. this targeted approach holds the potential to subsequently mitigate youth intentions to migrate. figure 1 shows how selected migration drivers were adapted to tpb variables. figure 1 theory of planned behavior note. this figure shows the relationship that each component has with the predictable behavior. adapted from the study (ajzen, 1991; lamiño jaramillo et al., 2021). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 lamino et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 28 purpose the study aims to identify and compare the migration intentions of high school students in agricultural programs (agp) and non-agricultural programs (non-agp) from two rural neighbor communities in rumiñahui, ecuador. the research questions answered in this study were: 1. compare students' intention to migrate by academic program. 2. determine the main and interaction effects of intention to migrate, country of origin, and academic program based on the different migration drivers. 3. to predict the youth's intentions to migrate based on the academic program, gender, migratory background, and access to land. methods for this quantitative study, a non-probabilistic convenience sample was used for the data collection. researchers recruited rumiñahui high school students from two neighboring rural communities that shared similar socio-economic characteristics. one group participated in a formal agp (n = 95), located in cotogchoa, and the other group was part of a non-agp (n = 104) in rumipamba. a 50-question paper-pencil survey was designed with five sections: demographic information, participants’ academic and agricultural background, migration drivers, and intention to migrate. for the “migration drivers” section, 34 5-point likert-type questions (1 = completely disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree agree, 4 = agree, 5 = completely agree) were designed to measure the following drivers: social participation, social support, access to extension activities, environmental impacts, interpersonal ties, disputes, residential satisfaction, and subjective expectations. the drivers were chosen based on existing literature (de jong, 2000; lamiño jaramillo et al., 2021; yazdan-panah & zobeidi, 2017). finally, the average number of migration drivers gives the intention to migrate (yazdan-panah & zobeidi, 2017). field (2013) stated that an instrument can only be reliable if it is previously validated. for this study, seven experts were asked to examine the content and make suggestions to improve the instruments’ accuracy. the instrument was previously implemented in other latin american countries to increase validity (boren alpízar et al., 2019; lamiño jaramillo et al., 2021). expert recommendations included adapting the instrument to each country’s context to ensure the questions would be transferred and understood correctly. cronbach's alpha was calculated to measure the constructs' reliability. for social participation, the reliability was .71, social support .70, access to extension activities .77, environmental impact .70, interpersonal ties .70, disputes .71, residential satisfaction .87, and subjective expectations .72. results ranged from .70 to .87 which means that they were acceptable (rubin & babbie, 2009). data were collected with permission from the human research protection program (irb2016697), transcribed and coded in excel, and analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (spss) v.26. to address missing values, which accounted for approximately 2% of the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 lamino et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 29 total dataset and were determined to be missing at random, multiple imputations were performed. according to enders (2017), multiple imputation is a suggested tool for behavioral science since it allows the researcher to tailor the missing handling data to match the goal of the statistical analysis. ten multiple imputations were run, and the mean was used to create the corrected final database. data were analyzed based on the objectives. descriptive statistics were used to understand the study participants. for this study, the intention to migrate was measured in two ways, based on a 3-option question (“yes,” “i do not know,” “no”) and by averaging the seven migration drivers. for objective one, the 3-option question was used to compare agricultural and non-agricultural students' intention to migrate. an independent chi-square was conducted to compare migration intention depending on the academic program. for objective two, a 2 x 2 x 3 x 2 factorial multiple analysis of variance (manova) was used to examine the main effects and interactions effects of the independent variables academic program ("agp" vs. "non-agp"), gender ( “male” vs. “female”), intention to migrate (“yes” vs. “i do not know” vs. “no”), and access to land (landowner family vs. non-landowner family) on the seven migration drivers access to extension activities, environmental impacts, social participation, social support, interpersonal ties, disputes, and subjective expectations. for objective three, a multiple regression analysis was performed. a new variable was constructed by averaging the scores of the seven migration drivers. the cronbach's alpha coefficient for this composite variable was calculated to be 0.74, indicating acceptable internal consistency. the predictors used in the regression model included academic program, gender, migratory background, and access to land. a 0.05 alpha was established a priori. findings the sample contained 95 participants in an agp and 104 in a non-agp. overall, 109 women and 90 males participated in this study. in both groups, most participants were female, agp (n = 54, 56.80%), and non-agp (n = 55, 52.9%). in agp (n = 55, 57.9%) and non-agp (n = 63, 60.6%), youth with a migration background comprised the majority. there was a greater number of students from non-landowners’ families (n = 108, 54.3 %) compared to landowners (n = 91, 45.7 %) in both groups agp (n = 49, 51.2%) and non-agp (n = 59, 56.7%). table 1 shows the general and specific distribution by gender, migratory background, and access to land based on academic programs. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 lamino et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 30 table 1 summary of sociodemographic information characteristics total (n = 199) agp (n = 95) non-agp (n = 104) f % f % f % gender male 90 45.2 41 43.2 49 47.1 female 109 54.8 54 56.8 55 52.9 intention to migrate yes 41 20.6 21 22.1 20 19.2 i do not know 59 29.6 21 22.1 38 36.5 no 99 49.7 53 55.8 46 44.2 migratory background migrated 119 59.8 55 57.9 64 61.5 never moved 80 40.2 40 42.1 40 38.5 access to land landowners 91 45.7 46 48.4 45 43.3 non-landowners 108 54.3 49 51.2 59 56.7 to answer objective one, four chi-square tests of independence were conducted to compare the intention to migrate (yes = 1, i do not know = 2, and no = 3) based on academic programs ("agp" and "non-agp"), gender (“male” and “female”), migratory background (“migrated” and “never moved”), and access to land (“landowners” and “non-landowners”). the chi-square results indicated a significant association between the intention to migrate with academic programs (χ2 (2) = 5.02, p = 0.04) and migratory background (χ2 (2) = 11.26, p < 0.01). overall, 55.8% of the youth in the agricultural program did not intend to migrate, while 22.1% said yes, and 22.1% were undecided. for non-agp, 44.2 % of students did not intend to migrate, 36.5% were undecided, and 19.2% considered migration an option. the strength of the association was low, with a cramer's value of 0.16 (cohen, 1988). table 2 details the results of the chi-square for intention to migrate based on academic programs. table 2 chi-square results for intention to migrate based on academic program (n = 199) intention to migrate agp (n = 95) non-agp (n = 104) c2 (2) cramer's v n % n % yes 21 22.1 20 19.2 5.02* 0.16 i don't know 21 22.1 38 36.5 no 53 55.8 46 44.2 note. *p < .05 for migratory background, 40.3% of youth who had migrated before intended to migrate, while 22.7% said yes, and 33.0% were undecided. for youth who never moved, 63.7% did not intend https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 lamino et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 31 to migrate, 18.8% were undecided, and 17.5% considered migration an option. the strength of the association was medium, with a cramer's value of 0.24 (cohen, 1988). table 3 details the results of the chi-square for intention to migrate based on migratory background. gender (χ2(2) = .82, p = 0.66) and landowner status (χ2 (2) = 3.08, p = 0.21) were not statistically associated with youth intention to migrate. table 3 chi-square results for intention to migrate based on migratory background (n = 199) intention to migrate migrated (n = 119) never moved (n = 80) c2 (2) cramer's v n % n % yes 27 22.7 14 17.5 11.26* 0.24 i don't know 44 37.0 15 18.8 no 48 40.3 51 63.7 note. *p < .05 for objective two, a 2 x 2 x 3 x 2 factorial manova was used to examine the main effects and interactions effects of independent variables academic program (“agp” vs “non-agp”), gender (“male” vs “female”), migration intentions (“yes” vs “i do not know” vs “no”) access to land (“landowner family” vs “non-landowner family”) on the seven migration drivers access to extension activities, environmental impacts, social participation, social support, interpersonal ties, disputes and subjective expectations. the dataset was tested for linearity, normality, and homogeneity of variance assumptions. the person correlations results showed a linear relationship among the variables, which indicates that the linearity assumption has been met. the normality assumption was also met, as skewness and kurtosis values ranged within +/2, and histograms showed a normal distribution. however, the box’s test of equality of covariance matrices was significant and violated the assumption of equal covariance matrices, so wilks’ lambda was considered for the multivariate test interpretations. the analysis revealed a significant medium effect for the academic program variable, wilks’λ = .76, f(7,148) = 6.64, p < .001, η2=. 24, for the seven migration variables. additionally, the intention to migrate variable showed a statistically significant small effect, wilks’λ = .83, f(14, 296) = 2.01, p = .02, η2= .17. however, there was no significant effect found for gender, wilks’λ = .95, f(7, 148) = 1.12, p = .35, η2= .05, migratory background, wilks’λ = .96, f(7, 148) = 1.05, p = .40, η2= .04, or access to land, wilks’λ = .95, f(7, 148) = 1.28, p = .26, η2= .05. table 4 provides a comprehensive presentation of the findings of the independent variables that demonstrated statistical significance. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 lamino et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 32 table 4 multivariate analysis of variance for migration drivers source f p η2 academic program 6.64 .01** .24 gender 1.12 .38 .05 migratory background 1.05 .46 .04 access to land 1.28 .18 .05 intention to migrate 2.02 .02* .17 note. *p < .05; ** p < .001; none of the significant independent variable interactions were significant to better understand the interaction effects of independent variables on migration drivers, a set of univariate analyses of variances (anovas) was conducted as a complementary test to the significant manova. the results showed that academic program had a significant main effect on the migration driver, interpersonal ties, f(1,154) = 4.62, p = .03, and η2 = 0.6. agp students (m = 2.80, sd = .85) have more extension activities than non-agp students (m = 2.53, sd = .99). additionally, academic program had a significant effect on the access to extension activities construct, f(1,154) = 43.53, p < .001, and η2 =24. agp (m = 3.11, sd = .87). agp (m = 3.11, sd = .87) students have more access to extension activities than non-agp students (m = 1.92, sd = .86). the intention to migrate also showed a significant effect on the access to extension activities construct, f(2,154) = 3.99, p = .04, and η2 = 0.4. table 5 summarizes the significant anovas. table 5 univariate analysis of variance for interpersonal ties and access to extension activities as a function of main and interaction effects of academic program and intention to migrate source f p η 2 interpersonal ties academic program 4.62 .03* .06 access to extension activities academic program 43.53 .01** .24 intention to migrate 3.99 .02* .04 note. *p < .05; ** p < .001; the variables environmental impacts, social support, social participation, and disputes were not significant for any source. a post hoc test was conducted for the intention to migrate construct because it was the only independent variable with more than two levels. the researchers assumed that the sample sizes per condition were equal; therefore, bonferroni was implemented. this test is well-known for being conservative and has strong statistical power (field, 2013). the bonferroni test showed that the migration option “yes” (m = 2.80, sd = 1.03) had a significant difference with the option “i do not know” (m = 2.31, sd = 1.05). however, there was not a significant effect https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 lamino et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 33 with “no” (m = 2.49, sd = 1.04), and either between the options “no” and “i do not know” for access to extension activities. to achieve objective three, the intention to migrate variable was created by averaging the seven migration drivers. this variable was then used as the dependent variable for multiple regression analysis. four predictors were considered in the analysis: students' academic program, gender, migratory background, and access to land. in addition to predicting the intention to migrate, regression was used to confirm the findings from objective one. the assumptions analysis showed that the residuals were independent, as assessed by durbinwatson statistics of 1.97. we also found that the data were homoscedastic, as evaluated by a plot of studentized residuals versus unstandardized predicted values. there was no multicollinearity, as evaluated by tolerance values greater than 0.1. furthermore, no studentized deleted residuals were over ±3 standard deviations, and no leverage values greater than 0.2 or values for cook's distance were above 1. the prediction model for the intention to migrate variable was significant, f(4,198) = 4.42, p = .02, r2 = .08, adj. r2 =.07. the significant predictors were academic program (b = -.18, se= .06, β = -.22, p = .01) and migratory background (b = .12, se = .06, β = .15, p = .04). similar to the results from the chi-square, gender, and landowner were not statistically significant predictors. the intention to migrate attitude among agp students was .18 higher than that of non-agp. students who had migrated before had .12 higher attitude intention to migrate attitude. table 6 shows the findings of the multiple regression. table 6 multiple regression predicting students’ intention to migrate predictors b se β intercept 3.37 .17 academic program .18 .06 .22** gender .09 .06 .11 migratory background .12 .06 .15* landowner -.02 .06 -.03 note. **p <.001; *p <.05 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations according to the migration data portal (mdp; 2023), migration in latin america and the caribbean has increased dramatically due to economic, climate, and natural resource pressures. recent reports on migration in this region indicate that men migrate more than women (boyd, 2021; mdp, 2023). however, this study found that sex was not an influential factor in young ecuadorians' intentions to migrate. these results align with recent statistics that demonstrate a global increase in migration among women for professional and economic reasons, mirroring statistics historically achieved only by men (boyd, 2021; mdp, 2023). these findings open https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 lamino et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 34 several opportunities for research and action focused on the needs of migrant women, such as preventing the high incidence of discrimination experienced by migrant women compared to their male peers (mdp, 2023). young ecuadorians with a migratory history are more attracted to migration than those who have never left their communities. these results agree with those of nouwen et al. (2015), who found that young people of migrant origin are more willing to migrate in search of new areas of employment and will drop out of school to do so. the literature indicates that young migrants face more challenges at an educational and professional level, including more difficulty in inserting themselves into a new educational system and indecisiveness about future professional endeavors (kalalahti et al., 2017; van caudenberg et al., 2020). contrary to the results of lamiño jaramillo et al. (2021), which found that youth from agricultural programs had more intentions to migrate than those from other educational programs, this study found no differences in intentions to migrate between youth who study agricultural-related sciences and those who study other technical or professional areas. in both groups, approximately 20% of the participants are undecided about migration and could be influenced to migrate or to remain in their current location. recognizing the importance of this undecided group, it is critical to prioritize their needs and concerns in strategies aimed at reducing youth migration. this presents an opportunity to implement specific programs such as awareness campaigns, counseling services, and vocational guidance initiatives. by working with this group and providing them with relevant information and realistic alternatives to migration, these interventions can give individuals the power to make informed choices about their future, ultimately reducing overall youth migration rates. to improve the negative perception of working in agriculture and promote it as a viable and fulfilling career path, it is essential for practitioners to actively engage in promoting agricultural education (rhoda, 1983). collaboration with educational institutions, industry stakeholders, and government bodies is key to amplifying the message about the pivotal role of agriculture in securing future food, fiber, and energy supplies. by partnering with educational institutions, practitioners can contribute to developing comprehensive agricultural education programs. these programs should not only focus on imparting technical skills but also emphasize the broader significance of agriculture in sustaining communities and meeting essential needs. industry stakeholders and government bodies can support these programs by providing resources, advocating for policy changes, and showcasing successful role models in the agricultural sector. however, the effectiveness of these efforts depends on establishing robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. practitioners should prioritize the implementation of systematic assessments to measure the impact of agricultural education programs on influencing youth migration decisions. regular reviews, based on participant feedback and adaptability to changing circumstances, are crucial for ensuring interventions' continued relevance and effectiveness. the results of this study are not representative of the entire country of ecuador. still, they offer relevant insight on integrating and promoting efforts targeting youth intending to migrate. other studies have shown the potential of agricultural education to reduce young people's https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 lamino et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 35 intentions to migrate (rhoda, 1983). when encouraging agricultural education as a future career path, the growing and acute trend of the unwillingness of young people to work in agriculture must be considered (girdziute et al., 2022; lamiño jaramillo et al., 2023), or the perception of migration as a better option will lead to migratory behavior (migali & scipioni, 2018). finally, similarly to (lamiño jaramillo et al., 2021), this study continues the development of national profiles on youth migration that could serve to inform local, national, and regional initiatives contributing to inform inclusive and effective mechanisms to cultivate the future agricultural workforce for future generations in lowand middle-income countries. acknowledgments author contributions: p. lamino methodology, software, formal analysis, investigation, resources, data curation, writing-original draft, writingreview & editing, and visualization; c. millares forno conceptualization, methodology, investigation, and writing-original draft; r. landaverde conceptualization, investigation, writing-original draft, and writingreview & editing; a.e. boren-alpízarconceptualization, writing-original draft, and writingreview & editing references ajzen, i. 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(2020). feeling at home in school: migrant youths’ narratives on school belonging in flemish secondary education. european educational research journal, 19(5), 428–444. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904120923184 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.433 http://dx.doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.292492 https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904120923184 microsoft word 281-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 1, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. jade frederickson, phd student/research assistant, university of georgia, 129a four towers, 405 college station road, athens, ga 30602, jade.frederickson@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9165-7830 2. dr. jason peake, professor, university of georgia, 130 four towers, 405 college station road, athens, ga 30602, jpeake@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1431-5447 62 examining level of school garden integration among georgia elementary agricultural education teachers j. frederickson1, j. peake2 article history received: november 17, 2022 accepted: january 30, 2023 published: february 9, 2023 keywords quantitative; focus groups; experiential learning; environmental education; gardening abstract this study used the green (garden resources, education, and environment nexus) tool to examine the level of school garden integration in elementary agricultural teachers’ classrooms. the tool describes the 19 necessary components (e,g., organizational support, garden space) for gardens to become integrated within the school. this study utilized mixed methods with a concurrent triangulation design based on quantitative data obtained from an online questionnaire and qualitative data collected from focus groups. the findings were used to validate the findings produced by the other method. the population consisted of elementary agriculture teachers in georgia. though a definitive model does not yet exist for elementary agriculture education, it was clear that teachers rely on hands-on, experiential teaching activities such as garden maintenance tasks and taste tests. teachers struggle most with volunteer and parent involvement and social events in the garden, largely because of the lasting impacts of the covid-19 pandemic. future research should consider how the results of the green tool can shape professional development topics and help teachers set goals to improve their garden’s level of integration. research should also examine how covid-19 impacted school garden programs. frederickson & peake advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.281 63 introduction and problem statement agricultural education endeavors to teach children about “the plants, animals, and natural resource systems” (talbert et al., 2014, p. 264). until recently, students in secondary education and up were often the recipients of such instruction (national association of agricultural educators, 2022), but georgia is one state that piloted programming at the elementary level (georgia senate bill 330, 2018). georgia house bill 1303 later passed, changing the pilot to an ongoing program. teaching agricultural education at the elementary level is not a new idea despite this recent legislation. previous research suggests the lack of agricultural literacy among today’s youth as well as agriculture’s permeation into many areas of life (e.g., food and clothing production) as reasons why it would behoove schools to introduce children to this subject at younger ages (hess & trexler, 2011; koy & tarpley, 2020). other research (knobloch et al., 2007; mabie & baker, 1996; national research council, 1988) further documents the importance of teaching younger children about agricultural education, especially as it relates to experiential learning. school gardens are one avenue for experiential learning (demarco et al., 1999) where teaching in gardens pairs with subjects of agriculture, math, english, and science, among others (ozer, 2007). thorp (2005) also explored the impact gardening can have on children, postulating that gardens are places where wonder and creativity flourish. though beneficial for learning, gardens often suffer from lack of funding, student use, care and attention, integration within the school community, and longevity of the program (burt et al., 2017a, 2017b). there is also little research on how such an encompassing tool could supplement learning in the elementary agricultural classroom. theoretical and conceptual framework the agricultural education model agricultural education today aims to teach students about agriculture’s relation to animal and poultry sciences, food and nutrition, the environment, horticulture, biotechnology, and mechanical skills (croom, 2008; national association of agricultural educators, 2022). several programmatic developments came together over time to assist in the development of the three-component model for agricultural education, a model used to disseminate information regarding the aforementioned content areas. specifically, the three components are classroom or laboratory instruction; experiential learning, often through a supervised agricultural experience (sae); and leadership education, usually through future farmers of america (ffa). elementary agricultural education georgia senate bill 330 and house bill 1303 may have provided the space for elementary agricultural education, but no three-component model exists for these age ranges. additionally, because the program is newer, few state standards exist. peake et al. (2020) thus conducted a study to establish appropriate agricultural standards based on the needs of elementary students in georgia. the study involved 16 stakeholders—middle and high school agriculture teachers, elementary school teachers, elementary and middle school principals, state and frederickson & peake advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.281 64 national agricultural program representatives, georgia state staff, and commodity group representatives—who decided on 52 relevant topics. bailey (2021) later conducted a needs assessment to further assess the appropriateness of these standards. the results of this study indicated teachers needed guidance on how to introduce experiential learning opportunities in the elementary setting. experiential learning experiential learning (kolb, 1984) is an important theory that has permeated into the practice and teaching of agricultural education (baker et al., 2012). basic tenets of this theory propose that agricultural education should be a mechanism by which educators help students move beyond simply retaining knowledge to creating new meaning in other areas of their life. educators are encouraged to provide children with relevant, relatable, concrete, and hands-on opportunities. a natural and easy-to-incorporate example of this is school gardens, a longstanding experiential learning and agricultural education practice (williams, 2019). evaluating integration of school gardens school gardens offer hands-on learning across many subjects, expose children to healthy behaviors, and allow for connections with the community. for students to receive a wide range of benefits, gardens must be well-integrated within the school community (burt et al., 2017a). the green (garden resources, education, and environment nexus) tool describes the necessary components for gardens to become integrated within the school. the conception itself is a circle, with four domains lining the outside of the circle: resources and support, physical garden, student experience, and school community. each domain has a variable number of components, which are oriented in an n-s, e-w fashion. the components are arranged from the outside of the circle moving in to suggest that moving inward can lead to a more integrated garden. resources and support is the suggested entryway. purpose the purpose of this study was to examine the level of school garden integration in elementary agricultural education teachers’ classrooms. the following objectives were set after reviewing the literature but prior to collecting data: 1. describe elementary agriculture school garden characteristics. 2. describe elementary agriculture teachers’ level of school garden integration. 3. utilize green tool results to determine topic areas for future professional development for georgia elementary agriculture educators. methods this study was mixed methods in nature and used a concurrent triangulation design (quant + qual) based on quantitative data obtained from an online questionnaire distributed via qualtrics and qualitative data collected from follow-up focus groups that were used to validate both sets of data (leedy & ormrod, 2019). this study operated as part of a larger initiative to frederickson & peake advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.281 65 learn more about georgia elementary agriculture teachers. as elementary agricultural educators do not receive extended day extended year pay, compensation of $300 was offered to subjects to increase participation. this study was conducted as part of a larger nifa/usda grant focusing on professional development for elementary agriculture education teachers. the questionnaire was distributed online via qualtrics to all identified elementary agriculture education teachers in georgia (n = 35). because this program first operated as a pilot program, this contact information was readily available from the georgia department of education. those who completed the initial questionnaire were asked to participate in a focus group. the questionnaire was initially open for completion during the first three weeks of june 2022 with a focus group planned to be held at the end of the month. because teachers’ schedules vary and participation was limited, the researchers extended the data collection period through midaugust. a second focus group occurred in the middle of august. throughout the duration of the data collection period, 15 total teachers (n = 15) completed the questionnaire in its entirety for a response rate of 42.9%, and 11 teachers (n = 11) attended the focus groups. the online questionnaire was modeled after the green tool scorecard, which has four domains comprised of 19 total components deemed essential to having a well-integrated school garden. each component was written as a question. for example, budget and funding is one component of the resources and support domain. this statement read, “i have enough funds to support my school garden.” the teacher was asked to read the statement presented for each component and then rate on a scale of one to seven, one being the lowest and seven being the highest, how well each component described their school garden. researchers worked with dr. kate burt to develop this questionnaire (k. burt, personal communications, may 12, 2022). to situate this tool for elementary agriculture education teachers, the researchers included a demographics question that asked teachers to explain the number of years and their experiences working in a garden. another addition was to include a question about whether the teacher believed they were the best individual at their school to answer this survey. finally, each component also asked teachers to rate their confidence of how true they believed their answer to be about the evaluative component of the garden. for example, when considering the budget and funding component again, once the teacher responded, they were asked, “how confident are you in your ability to answer this question about your school’s garden? (1 is not confident at all, 7 is very confident).” the reliability of the tool for elementary agricultural education teachers in georgia could not be established due to the small sample (n = 15 for quantitative and n = 11 for qualitative). the various backgrounds and experiences in gardening, teaching, and agriculture education allowed the research team to establish the population as experts among those in elementary agriculture education. a review by the sample population allowed the researchers to establish face, criterion, and content validity of the questionnaire. limitations significance could not be determined due to the small sample size. only descriptive measures (means and standard deviations) via spss version 27 were used in reporting measures. another frederickson & peake advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.281 66 limitation of the study was that because the questions were worded based on the scorecard, some questions were purposely left double-barreled. focus groups were conducted to mitigate these concerns and clarify the quantitative nature of the questionnaire. findings participant demographics eighteen individuals completed the online questionnaire, 16 indicated they had school gardens, and of the 16, 15 participants completed the questionnaire in its entirety. table 1 describes relevant participant demographic characteristics. all 15 teachers taught a combination of kindergarten through fifth grade; two teachers also taught middle school (sixth through eighth) grades. table 1 participant demographic characteristics (n = 15) characteristic f % gender female 11 73% male 4 27% age 30 to 40 6 40% 41 to 50 5 33% 51 and over 4 27% certification agriculture education 9 60% elementary education 6 40% total years of teaching experience 0 to 5 1 7% 6 to 10 5 33% 11 to 15 1 7% 16 to 20 4 27% more than 20 4 27% years teaching agriculture 0 to 5 11 73% 6 to 10 more than 10 2 2 13% 13% years of experience farming or gardening 0 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 20 more than 20 2 2 3 1 7 13% 13% 20% 7% 47% frederickson & peake advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.281 67 describing their school garden characteristics every teacher indicated they had some type of school garden that their students used in some capacity. table 2 describes the types of gardens and the student garden interactions. several teachers described using more than one type of gardening setting or interaction activity. table 2 teacher’s garden characteristics (n = 15) component of the garden f % type of set-up raised or galvanized garden bed(s) 15 100% pollinator garden 6 40% alternative system (e.g., hydroponic, aeroponic, etc.) 5 33% greenhouse 4 27% fruit production (e.g., fruit trees, berry bushes) 4 27% container garden 3 20% school cafeteria garden 2 13% open field plot 2 13% hoop house or high tunnel 2 13% chicken coops 2 13% themed garden (e.g., salsa, pizza, etc.) 1 7% sensory garden 1 7% ways students interact general care and maintenance (e.g., seeding, planting, weeding, etc.) 15 100% related classwork (e.g., plant life cycles, observation journals, etc.) 10 67% taste tests or related cooking activities 3 20% garden bed construction 2 13% outdoor classroom space 2 13% hydroponic maintenance and care 1 7% nutrition education lessons 1 7% fifteen teachers indicated they had some type of raised bed. the second and third most common types of gardens were pollinator gardens and alternative systems, respectively. additionally, every teacher indicated their students participated in the general maintenance and care of the garden. most teachers (n = 10, 67%) indicated they connect the garden to learning in the classroom. evaluating level of garden integration four domains comprise the green tool: resources and support, physical garden, student experience, and school community. each domain with the resulting scores from the questionnaire will be discussed independently, where each section presents a table displaying highest and lowest green tool scores as well as related confidence scores. the confidence scores indicate whether the teacher believed the green tool score they assigned each component is accurate for their garden (e.g., confidence of 7 indicates they believed they frederickson & peake advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.281 68 accurately described that component’s effect on their garden). eighteen of the nineteen mean confidence scores were above six, so teachers were confident that they could answer the questions related to their school garden. the highest and lowest scores were also provided as context for the range of teachers’ responses. domain 1 – resources and support the five components of domain one are budget and funding, network and partner organizations, administrative support, professional development, and organizational structure. the green tool and related confidence score are listed in table 3. administrative support (m = 5.2) refers to support from key leaders within the school community, whereas organizational structure (m = 3.3) refers to the individuals that determine how to operate the garden program. the focus group conversations revealed several key points. first, many teachers indicated that their local farm bureau and garden-related supply stores were huge sources of support (component: network and partner organizations). several, however, expressed they wished they had more chances to connect with their fellow elementary agriculture education teachers. additionally, many teachers indicated their administration was supportive of their garden program, yet they still lacked any sort of regular funding and professional development opportunities to support and sustain their program. thus, again, teachers rely on their external partnerships to support their programs. table 3 summary and comparison of green tool and confidence scores for domain 1 (n = 15) component green tool scores confidence scores lowest highest m sd m sd administrative support 3 7 5.2 1.4 6.3 0.6 network and partner orgs. 3 7 4.8 1.8 5.9 1.3 budget and funding 1 7 4.4 2.2 6.3 0.6 professional development 1 7 4.4 2.1 6.2 0.6 organizational structure 1 7 3.3 2.1 6.1 0.6 note. for green tool scores, on a scale of one to seven, one being the lowest and seven being the highest, score indicates how well each component described their school garden. for confidence, one is not confident at all, and seven is very confident. domain 2 – physical garden the five components of domain two are planning and establishing the physical space, garden care and upkeep, space for the physical garden, crop vitality and diversity, and evaluation and feedback. the green tool and related confidence score are listed in table 4. both planning and establishing the physical space and space for the physical garden had the highest mean scores (m = 5.7) each. the evaluation and feedback component had the lowest mean score (m = 4.3). regarding the two highest mean scores, these components refer to the deliberate action taken to plan the garden based on the school’s needs and the actual space devoted to the garden, respectively. evaluation and feedback refer to the communication or information one receives about the effectiveness or efficacy of the garden. the focus group conversations revealed some frederickson & peake advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.281 69 conflicting points, especially in relation to the planning and establishing the physical space component. several teachers indicated the garden’s location was not ideal, particularly because they were not involved in the planning process. for example, two teachers mentioned their garden is on the opposite side of the school grounds from their classroom, making it hard to walk over there during the allotted class time. several others also mentioned water hookups were not close to the garden, and at least one indicated the garden was too close to the playground areas. despite these contradictions, almost all teachers said they were proud of the garden and enjoyed its space, despite some of the difficulties they expressed related to its layout. regarding evaluation and feedback, teachers often rely on the expressed emotions of the students. this falls more clearly under domain 3, which will be discussed next. table 4 summary and comparison of green tool and confidence scores for domain 2 (n = 15) component green tool scores confidence scores lowest highest m sd m sd planning and establishing the physical space 1 7 5.7 1.6 6.4 0.4 space for the physical garden 1 7 5.7 1.9 6.3 0.6 crop vitality and diversity 2 7 5.1 1.6 6.3 0.6 garden care and upkeep 3 7 4.9 1.8 6.2 0.6 evaluation and feedback 1 7 4.3 1.7 6.3 0.7 domain 3 – student experience the six components of domain three are connection with the curriculum, learning opportunities, time spent in the garden, activities, engagement, and tasting. the green tool scores and related confidence scores are listed in table 5. the connection with the curriculum component had the highest mean score (m = 6.3) whereas the tasting component had the lowest mean (m = 4.5). the high mean for connections with the curriculum indicates that teachers do not struggle with matching teaching in the garden to state-mandated learning objectives. the high mean for this domain is unsurprising given the data presented in table 2, which indicates that 10 teachers utilize the garden to support learning in other subjects. the focus group conversations also corroborated this; most of the agriculture teachers confirmed they do not struggle relating the state standards to learning in the garden. one participant indicated that although they must work harder to lesson plan, they do not struggle to connect the curriculum with learning in the garden. tasting as a component had the lowest mean score in this domain, which was not anticipated given that table 2 shows three teachers indicated this was a way the students interacted with the garden. additionally, during the focus groups, several teachers indicated the students loved tasting what they grew. a consideration for this low score could be that teachers only considered tasting activities that they led to be the criteria for this component (i.e., they may not count whether the students taste the vegetables in the cafeteria rather than in their classroom). frederickson & peake advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.281 70 table 5 summary and comparison of green tool and confidence scores for domain 3 (n = 15) component green tool scores confidence scores lowest highest m sd m sd connection with curriculum 6 7 6.3 0.5 6.3 0.6 engagement 5 7 6.2 0.6 6.4 0.4 learning opportunities 5 7 5.9 0.9 6.3 0.6 activities 5 7 5.9 0.7 6.4 0.4 time spent in the garden 4 7 5.7 1.2 6.3 0.6 tasting 3 7 4.5 1.3 6.4 0.4 domain 4 – school community the three components of domain four are volunteer and parent involvement, social events, and food environment. the green tool and related confidence score are in table 6. all components in domain four ranked low relative to the components of the other domains. the conversations during the focus groups were also the shortest when discussing this domain. at least one teacher in each focus group mentioned the covid-19 pandemic played a significant impact on their school’s ability to bring in volunteers or host social events. for example, the teacher specifically mentioned that their school will not allow volunteers; thus, this domain’s components may not be as relevant to their garden’s success. table 6 summary and comparison of green tool and confidence scores for domain 4 (n = 15) component green tool scores confidence scores lowest highest m sd m sd food environment 1 7 4.3 1.6 6.0 0.4 social events 1 7 3.4 2.4 6.4 0.4 volunteer involvement 1 7 2.9 2.2 6.3 0.6 table 7 provides a summary of the green tool component and confidence scores, ranked highest to lowest. each line also indicates which domain covers that component. frederickson & peake advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.281 71 table 7 highest to lowest ranked mean green tool scores for all components (n = 15) component domain mean green tool score mean confidence score connection with curriculum 3 6.3 6.3 engagement 3 6.2 6.4 activities 3 5.9 6.4 learning opportunities 3 5.9 6.3 time spent in the garden 3 5.7 6.3 space for the physical garden 2 5.7 6.3 planning and establishing the physical space 2 5.7 6.4 administrative support 1 5.2 6.3 crop vitality and diversity 2 5.1 6.3 garden care and upkeep 2 4.9 6.2 network and partner organizations 1 4.8 5.9 tasting 3 4.5 6.4 budget and funding 1 4.4 6.3 professional development 1 4.4 6.2 evaluation and feedback 2 4.3 6.3 food environment 4 4.3 6.0 social events 4 3.4 6.4 organizational structure 1 3.3 6.1 volunteer and parent involvement 4 2.9 6.3 note. domain 1 is resources and support, domain 2 is physical garden, domain 3 is student experience, and domain 4 is school community. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations objective 1: describe elementary agriculture school garden characteristics all teachers indicated they had some type of garden in their elementary agricultural education program, where raised beds were the most common followed by pollinator gardens and alternative systems. all teachers indicated their students participated in the general maintenance and care of the garden. objective 2: school garden integration levels the green tool proposes that a well-integrated school garden will have all 19 components. from the findings, the qualitative data did seem to support the quantitative findings in that teachers generally noted they do not struggle engaging students in the garden, either via physical activities or classroom learning. corroborating data can be seen in tables 2 and 5. though a definitive model does not yet exist for this age sector of agriculture education, these findings suggest elementary agricultural education teachers use the garden as a way to implement experiential learning. future research should examine if and how experiential frederickson & peake advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.281 72 learning is age-appropriate in the elementary agricultural classroom. specific questions should focus on what ways a school garden contributes to this teaching, and whether an integrated garden (i.e., sustainable and a part of the school’s culture) changes the efficacy of experiential learning. future research should also examine the efficacy of the components in domain 4, which all ranked in the lowest five of the 19 components (table 7). specific attention should be given to questioning whether the absence of these three components affects the longevity of a school garden program and if these three components are relevant to the elementary agriculture classroom. attention should also be given to if and how these three components contribute to the experiential learning approach. for example, a question could be: if parents come in to volunteer and give a talk about how gardening plays a role in their life, does this increase the potentiality of gardens as experiential learning? objective 3: future professional development opportunities table 7 provides an ordered list of school garden components where elementary agriculture teachers scored highest and lowest. these data suggest that volunteer and parent involvement, organizational structure, social events, food environment, and evaluation and feedback are the five areas where professional development could most benefit elementary agriculture education teachers. however, it is noteworthy that professional development ranked 14 of the 19 components considered necessary for having a well-integrated school garden. considering the relatively low-rank order of this component, an emergent question is: how is professional development best delivered to elementary agriculture teachers? these teachers lack extended day and extended year funding for non-school-day professional development which inhibits their ability to be trained in other areas identified in table 7. addressing these roadblocks in professional development would be beneficial because it would allow others looking to implement school gardens to know where potential weaknesses may occur. at least two teachers indicated the ongoing pandemic affected their ability to bring external individuals into the school. thus, a final avenue for research could be exploring how such an emergency determines short and long-term courses of action for school garden programs. acknowledgements this study was conducted as part of a larger nifa/usda grant titled professional development for agricultural literacy in elementary agriculture teachers (pdal eat), which focuses on professional development for elementary agriculture education teachers. project no. rnifa0001309501. j. frederickson formal analysis, investigation, writing original draft, writing review & editing, visualization; j. peake conceptualization, methodology, validation, investigation, resources, writing review & editing, supervision, funding acquisition. frederickson & peake advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.281 73 references bailey, h. 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(2019). georgia agricultural education instructors and school gardens: current practices, perceived benefits, barriers and resources [doctoral dissertation, university of georgia]. uga theses and dissertations. https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/williams_patricia_a_201905_edd.pdf © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 285-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 1, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. t. grady roberts, university of florida, 220 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611 groberts@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-7850 2. amy harder, university of florida 117b bryant hall, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611, amharder@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-2028 3. jimmy lindner, auburn university, 5058 haley center, auburn, al 36849, jrl0039@auburn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-3846 4. robert strong, associate professor, texas a&m university, 600 john kimbrough blvd. suite 267, college station, tx. 778432116, robert.strongjr@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5279-4808 1 2023 state of the journal report t. g. roberts1, editor-in-chief; a. harder2, senior editor; j. lindner3, senior editor; r. strong4, editor article history received: january 6, 2023 accepted: january 6, 2023 published: january 6, 2023 keywords annual report abstract this is the annual state of the journal report for advancements in agricultural development. this report highlights activities and accomplishments in 2022 (volume 3). roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.285 2 introduction 2022 was a year of growth and refinement for advancements in agricultural development (aad). we wrapped up our third year of publication with volume 3, which included 23 articles. we also experienced several changes in our editorial staff. we welcomed dr. robert strong to the team as an editor. we also turned over our entire staff of editorial assistants, who moved on to other endeavors. we do wish to acknowledge and thank katrina alford, olivia caillouet, andy chaparro, and alexandria mcleod for their service to aad. we welcome our new editorial assistants, clare hancock, caitlin lunzmann, juan montealegre, and karissa palmer to the aad team. we do wish to thank our reviewers for volume 3 (see list at the end of this report). we also welcomed dr. sarah cardey to our editorial board. we also wish to acknowledge and thank the department of curriculum and teaching at auburn university for their financial support of aad. the aad website is the primary way that researchers interact with our content. we undertook a redesign of our website to provide a more modern appearance. additionally, to provide greater transparency for the research published in aad, we now encourage authors to include their instrumentation as a part of their original submission. we then also give the option of including non-copyrighted instrumentation as a part of the final publication of accepted articles. refining aims and scope as interest in aad grows, we noticed an increasing range of articles submitted to the journal, with some articles not aligned with our intended goal for aad. this prompted the editorial team to reexamine our aims and scope statements and to provide a definition for agricultural development. our newly adopted statement is: the aim of aad is to influence agricultural development practices worldwide by rapidly disseminating theoretically and conceptually sound research focused on practical outcomes. the scope of aad includes research focused on education, extension, human capacity building, diffusion of innovations, leadership, and communication in the context of food, agriculture, and natural resources. aad defines agricultural development research as that which provides new knowledge that can be applied to advance agriculture through improved human practices. this new statement provides greater clarity for potential authors. it also provides a cleaner screening tool for the editor team to evaluate submitted articles. roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.285 3 journal statistics the open journal system (ojs) platform provides a variety of journal statistics. to provide better transparency for researchers and other aad users, we now provide a summary of the most relevant statistics on the aad website. for the 2022 calendar year, aad statistics were: acceptance rate accept on initial submission: 4.5% accept after revisions: 32.5% overall acceptance rate: 37% editorial timeliness days to initial editorial decision: 29 days from accept to publication: 38 journal usage in 2022 (based on 76 published articles) abstract views: 20,515 file downloads: 11,378 total interactions: 31,893 symposium in an effort to advance agricultural development, aad is hosting a symposium in collaboration with the university of reading school of agriculture, policy and development focused on methods of agricultural development research and practice. we have invited 14 experts from around the world to contribute. the symposium will occur in october 2023 on the campus of the university of reading. final manuscripts will be published in special issues of aad in early 2024. looking ahead the editorial team at aad continually works to meet the needs of researchers in our field. as we look into 2023 and beyond, our goals are to: 1. continually refine our editorial process to meet researcher needs; 2. attract research from the global agricultural development community; 3. add features to our web-platform to enhance the author and reader experience; and 4. position aad for inclusion in scopus and the web of science. roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.285 4 2022 reviewers almaz balta aboye lauri baker amanda bowling j.c. bunch chris clemons blake colclasure bradley coleman nathan conner joseph donaldson kim e. dooley r. g. (tre) easterly christopher eck craig edwards natalie ferand raphael gikunda jay jayaratne jim kinsella angela lindsey jamie loizzo juma magogo adam marx jason mckibben ashley mcleod-morin lendel narine shelli rampold nicole ray richie roberts shane robinson joy rumble scott scheer renée goodrich schneider jiban shrestha matthew sowcik annie specht stacey f. stearns nicole stedman christopher stripling jennifer strong robert strong tegan walker © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 2021-1-4-vita-roberts baker et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 3, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. lauri baker, associate professor, department of agricultural education and communication, uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources (pie center), university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, po box 110126, university of florida, gainesville, fl 32611, lauri.m.baker@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-6077 2. christy chiarelli, assistant extension scientist, department of agricultural education and communication, director, wedgworth leadership institute (wli), university of florida, 121b bryant hall, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611, ccw@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4839-5932 3. shelli rampold, assistant professor, department of agricultural education, leadership, and communications, 321d morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996-4500, university of tennessee, srampold@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4815-7157 4. ashley mcleod-morin, associate director of strategic communication, southeastern coastal center for agricultural health and safety, 1408 sabal palm dr., gainesville, fl 32611, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, po box 110126, university of florida, gainesville, fl 32611, university of florida, ashleynmcleod@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-9783 5. angela lindsey, assistant professor, department of family, youth, and consumer sciences, university of florida, 3014c mccarty d, gainesville, fl 32611, ablindsey@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9859-7962 72 communication in a pandemic: concerns of agricultural and natural resources opinion leaders during early stages of the covid-19 pandemic l. baker1, c. chiarelli2, s. rampold3, a. mcleod-morin4, a. lindsey5 abstract during the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic (march-april 2020), opinion leaders in agriculture and natural resources (anr) were asked to participate in a survey about the impacts of the crisis on the anr industry specifically about their concerns related to communication, economics, level of preparedness, and health during this crisis. of the 225 anr leaders who participated, the majority were concerned that members of the public were sharing inaccurate information about covid-19; others they come into contact with were not taking appropriate measures to avoid contracting covid-19; about the impact of covid-19 on the u.s. economy, their state’s economy, and the global economy; and other countries’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19. anr leaders were consistently the most concerned about items that were outside of their direct sphere of influence. implications from this work are that anr leadership programs should incorporate programing to help anr leaders understand how to be influential during a crisis at a national and international level. for statewide anr leadership programs, it is recommended to include programming sessions related to identifying and sharing credible information and enabling and inspiring those in their circle of influence to do the same. keywords crisis communication, diffusion of innovations, survey baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.147 73 introduction and problem statement covid-19 impacted the economy, environment, health, and society as a whole (sahin et al., 2020). by march 2020, covid-19 was declared a pandemic and had impacted communities in over 160 countries (world health organization [who], 2020). the agricultural industry was not spared from the impacts of covid-19 and faced unique challenges on top of those already common to the industry. farmers, particularly those that harvest crops, faced a shortage in farm labor as migrant workers were often blocked from traveling or became infected with covid-19 and needed to quarantine (duvall, 2020). agricultural and natural resources (anr) leaders were faced with the task of making decisions about new policies and practices during an unprecedented public health crisis. managing crisis situations and maintaining communications during turbulent times are familiar roles to anr leaders. a successful agricultural product depends on many different influences including weather, resources, lack of contamination, and safe practices. a break or failure at any level could potentially impact human health and safety (edgar et al., 2012). thus, having effective crisis communication is crucial to anr leaders and is why industry leaders have crisis communication plans with detailed steps to provide a consistent and coordinated message (sellnow et al., 2019). the covid-19 crisis provided a unique, compound crisis for anr leaders. while managing the impacts from nationwide food supply changes, anr leaders were also tasked to ensure the health and safety of all personnel. the present study seeks to understand these challenges by identifying anr leaders’ concerns about communication, economics, preparedness, and health during the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic. theoretical and conceptual framework the theoretical and conceptual frameworks that guided this study included the diffusion of innovations theory (rogers, 2003) and the conceptual framework of crisis communication (coombs, 2007). the diffusion of innovations relies heavily on opinion leaders to either accelerate or decelerate the diffusion process (valente & davis, 1999). opinion leaders have a stronger propensity to change people’s minds than media sources in which mass media’s messages are consumed by opinion leaders who then filter the media to broader, less interested populations. essentially, people can move the diffusion of an idea more than anything else (lazarsfeld et al., 1948). the diffusion of innovations model was developed to describe how an idea or product gains momentum and popularity within a defined group of individuals (rogers, 2003). opinion leaders can act as role models within their communities and can, therefore, be key determinants of others’ beliefs, perceptions, and sustained behaviors (rogers, 3003; valente & davis, 1999). beyond the concept of the opinion leaders’ role in the diffusion process, a multitude of scholars have defined the characteristics of opinion leaders (burt, 1999; corey, 1971; rogers, 2003; rogers & cartano, 1962; shah & scheufele, 2006; valente & davis, 1999). baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.147 74 corey (1971) defined opinion leaders as “trusted and informed people who exist in virtually all groups” (p. 48). characteristics unique to opinion leaders are that they (a) are typically more involved in activities relating to their specialty area, (b) are more informed about new developments in their specialty area due in-part to reading more media related to their specialty area, (c) will have similar demographics as non-leaders with the exception of a higher socio-economic status (corey, 1971; rogers, 2003), and will disseminate information with the purpose of exerting influence (sahelices-pinto & rodríguez-santos, 2014). further, weimann (1994) indicated opinion leaders interact with many people through a variety of voluntary associations and activities, such as meetings, discussions, and social events. during a crisis situation, the role of communications and opinion leaders takes an accelerated position. seeger et al. (2001) noted the significance of open and accurate communication with all stakeholders during a crisis and stressed the importance of a proactive and timely response. this response often involves a three-stage approach that includes precrisis, the crisis event, and postcrisis (coombs, 2012). it is often at the crisis event, or crisis recognition stage, where managers begin managing the threat. much of this management entails continually developing and monitoring messages on traditional and social media to ensure their consistency and accuracy (coombs, 2012). as publics have come to expect constant communication, it is imperative for organizations to keep in constant contact with their stakeholders during a crisis situation to avoid inaccurate information. failure of organizations to keep in contact could result in publics perceiving organizations as untrustworthy (ulmer et al., 2011). to avoid a potential break in trust, a pre-developed crisis communication plan should include a system for communicating with target publics that includes all potential interactions between an organization and their stakeholders (coombs, 2012). purpose this study sought to understand concerns of anr opinion leaders during the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic as a way to identify the communication flow of these concerns to the broader population of agriculturalists and inform agricultural communication in future zoonotic disease crises. leaders within anr are of particular interest in understanding the opinions and perspectives of the anr industry members as a whole. within the anr sectors, alumni from statewide agricultural leadership programs are considered opinion leaders (chiarelli et al., 2010; lamm et al., 2014; lamm & lamm, 2019). due to their opinion leader characteristics, it is expected that alumni from these programs are widely diffusing information to their social and professional networks (sahelices-pinto & rodríguez-santos, 2014) regarding the impact of covid-19 on their respective industries. four objectives guided this study: 1. describe anr opinion leaders’ communication concerns related to covid-19 2. describe anr opinion leaders’ economic concerns related to covid-19 3. describe anr opinion leaders’ preparedness concerns related to covid-19 4. describe anr opinion leaders’ health concerns related to covid-19 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.147 75 methods the targeted population for this study was active listerv members of u.s. agriculture and natural resources (anr) leadership programs. these programs were selected because previous research has indicated anr leadership programs are comprised of opinion leaders in their communities (chiarelli et al., 2010; lamm et al., 2014; lamm & lamm, 2019). the directors of each program were contacted and asked to invite their current class members and alumni members to participate in this study. eight of the 40 u.s. leadership programs agreed to participate, including (a) arizona project centrl, (b) lead delaware, (c) california agricultural leadership foundation, (d) wedgworth leadership institute for agriculture and natural resources, (e) leadership idaho agriculture, (f) indiana agricultural leadership program, (g) lead new york, and (h) palmetto leadership for the environment, agriculture and forestry (leaf). useable responses were collected from 225 of the 3,172 listserv participants for a rate of 14.9%. respondents were primarily white (f = 201; 89.3%) and ranged in age from 20 to 79 years. more respondents fell within the income ranges of $75,000 to $149,999 (f = 81; 36%) and $50,000 to $74,999 (f = 36; 16%) than any other income bracket, and the majority held at least a four-year college degree (f = 195; 86.9%). respondents represented more than 14 industry sectors, among them animal agriculture (f = 32, 14.2%); fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop production (f = 32, 14%), public and/or government agency (f =27, 12%), and other, non-listed sectors (f = 27, 12%). data were collected march 16 through april 21, 2020, using an online survey distributed via listserv by program directors. participating leadership program directors sent an initial announcement of the upcoming study, an invitation to participate that included informed consent and the link to the online survey, and three follow-up reminder emails. an original survey questionnaire, developed by the researchers, was used as the instrument for this study. four sections of the questionnaire were used for data analyses: (a) health-related concerns about covid-19; economic-related concerns about covid-19; (c) preparedness-related concerns about covid-19; and (d) communication-related concerns about covid-19. health concerns were assessed using six items pertaining to concerns about the general health and well-being of respondents and others (e.g. “i am concerned i could die from covid-19”). economic concerns were measured using six items reflective of the various economic impacts of covid-19 (e.g. “i am concerned about the impact of covid-19 on the u.s. economy”). preparedness concerns were measured using six items pertaining to different agencies’, self, or others’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19 (e.g., “i am concerned about extensions’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19”). lastly, communication concerns were measured using eight items regarding accuracy of information being shared (e.g. “i am concerned i am not getting accurate information about covid-19”). responses for sections were collected using a dichotomous initial response format (1 = yes; 0 = no), followed by a five-point, ordinal branching response option for those who indicated they were concerned about that item (1 = only slightly concerned; 5 = extremely concerned). an ordinal variable was computed based on the initial response and branching response that ranged from zero (i.e., those who indicated baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.147 76 “no”) to five to represent overall degree of concern for each item. data were analyzed using the spss26 statistical software package. descriptive statistics (e.g., means, standard deviations, frequencies, and percentages) were computed for the objectives of this study. limitations within this study are a lack of direct access to the population may have deterred participation in the survey. the sample collected in this study is not representative of all leadership programs across the united states, but is instead reflective of only those from select organizations who participated in and responded to this study. as such, the results should not be generalized beyond the sample acquired. this limitation should be considered when drawing implications and discerning potential use of the data and provided recommendations. findings objective one: communication concerns the majority of respondents were overall concerned that members of the public are sharing inaccurate information about covid-19 (f = 197; 87.6%) and that the media and news outlets are sharing inaccurate information about covid-19 (f = 177; 78.7%). relatively fewer respondents were concerned they were personally not getting accurate information about covid-19 (f = 118; 52.4%; see table 1). table 1 number of respondents concerned about communication-related items (n = 225) yes no concern f % f % i am concerned that members of the public are sharing inaccurate information about covid-19. 197 87.6 28 12.4 i am concerned that media and news outlets are sharing inaccurate information about covid-19. 177 78.7 48 21.3 i am concerned members of the general public are not getting accurate information about covid-19. 172 76.4 53 23.6 i am concerned agricultural/farm laborers are not getting accurate information about covid-19. 145 64.4 80 35.6 i am concerned my loved ones are not getting accurate information about covid-19. 128 56.9 97 43.1 i am concerned i am not getting accurate information about covid-19. 118 52.4 107 47.6 respondents who indicated they were concerned about a communication-related item indicated greater degrees of concern that members of the public are sharing inaccurate information about covid-19 (m = 4.11; sd = .93), that members of the general public are not getting accurate information about covid-19 (m = 4.06; sd = .91), and that media and news baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.147 77 outlets are sharing inaccurate information about covid-19 (m = 3.97; sd = 1.07) compared to other communication-related items. objective two: economic concerns the majority of respondents were concerned about all economic-related items. compared to all items, the largest number of respondents were concerned about the impact of covid-19 on the u.s. economy (f = 222, 98.7%), their state’s economy (f = 220, 97.8%), and the global economy (f = 218, 96%; see table 2). table 2 number of respondents concerned about economic-related items yes no concern f % f % i am concerned about the impact of covid-19 on the u.s. economy. 222 98.7 3 1.30 i am concerned about the impact of covid-19 on my state’s economy. 220 97.8 5 2.20 i am concerned about the impact of covid-19 on the global economy. 218 96.0 7 3.1 i am concerned about potential labor shortages in agriculture and natural resources sectors due to covid19. 201 89.3 24 10.7 i am concerned about the financial impact of covid-19 on me personally. 186 82.7 39 17.3 i am concerned about an increased cost of food because of covid-19. 123 54.7 102 45.3 respondents who indicated they were concerned about an economic-related item were then asked to indicate how concerned they were about that item. respondents indicated greater degrees of concern about the impact of covid-19 on the u.s. economy (m = 4.6, sd = .67), the impact of covid-19 on their states’ economies (m = 4.45, sd = .75), and the impact of covid19 on the global economy (m = 4.38, sd = .77) than the other economic-related items. objectives three: preparedness concerns the majority of respondents were concerned with most preparedness items, particularly regarding other countries’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19 (f = 195; 86.7%), hospitals’ and health professionals’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19 (f = 192; 85.3%), and the united states’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19 (f = 184; 81.8%; see table 3). the majority of respondents were not overall concerned about extension’s level of preparedness, nor their own personal level of preparedness to deal with covid-19 (see table 3). baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.147 78 table 3 number of respondents concerned about preparedness-related items yes no concern f % f % i am concerned about other countries’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19. 195 86.7 30 13.3 i am concerned about hospitals’ and health care professionals’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19. 192 85.3 33 14.7 i am concerned about the united states’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19. 184 81.8 41 18.2 i am concerned about my state’s level of preparedness to deal with covid-19. 175 77.8 50 22.2 i am concerned about my local community’s level of preparedness to deal with covid-19. 167 74.2 58 25.8 i am concerned about my loved ones’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19. 132 58.7 93 41.3 i am concerned about extension’s level of preparedness to deal with covid-19. 86 38.2 139 61.8 i am concerned about my personal level of preparedness to deal with covid-19. 77 34.2 148 65.8 respondents who indicated they were concerned about a preparedness item were then asked to indicate how concerned they were about that item. respondents indicated greater degrees of concerns about hospitals’ and health care professionals’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19 (m = 4.34, sd = .88), the united states’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19 (m = 4.24, sd = .87), and other countries’ level of preparedness to deal with covid-19 (m = 4.18, sd = .88) compared to other preparedness concern items. objective four: health concerns the majority of respondents were concerned that others they come into contact with are not taking appropriate measures to avoid contracting covid-19 (f = 179, 79.6%), that they are personally at risk of contracting covid-19 (f = 160, 71.1%), and that illegal immigrants and/or non-citizens currently residing in the united states will not seek medical attention if they believe they have contracted covid-19 (f = 136, 60.4%). only 18 (8%) respondents were concerned about pets and/or livestock being infected by covid-19 (see table 4). baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.147 79 table 4 general health concerns of anr respondents (n = 225) yes no concern f % f % i am concerned others i come into contact with are not taking appropriate measures to avoid contracting covid-19. 179 79.6 46 20.4 i am concerned i am personally at risk of contracting covid-19. 160 71.1 65 28.9 i am concerned illegal immigrants and/or non-citizens currently residing in the united states will not seek medical attention if they believe they have contracted covid-19. 136 60.4 89 39.9 i am concerned that covid-19 will be used for biological warfare. 68 30.2 157 69.8 i am concerned i could die from covid-19. 67 29.8 158 70.2 i am concerned about pets and/or livestock being infected by covid-19. 18 8.0 207 92.0 respondents who indicated they were concerned about a health-related item were then asked to indicate how concerned they were about that item. respondents indicated greater degrees of concern that others they come into contact with are not taking appropriate measures to avoid contracting the coronavirus covid-19, e.g. washing hands, staying at home when sick (m = 3.98, sd = .91), that illegal immigrants and/or non-citizens currently residing in the united states will not seek medical attention if they believe they have contracted covid-19 (m = 3.82, sd = .97), and that they are personally at risk of contracting covid-19 (m = 3.48, sd = 1.00) than the other health-related items. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the results of this study indicate anr leaders were concerned about health, economics, preparedness, and communication early in the covid-19 pandemic (march/april 2020). this is expected since anr leaders tend to notice trends and be more aware of issues than others within their communities (corey, 1971; rogers, 2003). in health-related and economic-related concerns, anr leaders’ greatest concerns were for those beyond the control of the individual leader. anr leaders were least concerned for increased food costs, which may speak to them being well-informed of the low cost of food in this country and the stability of american agriculture. when it came to concern for preparedness, again the biggest concerns were for entities further removed from an anr leader’s direct control (e.g., health care professionals, the united states, and other countries). notably, the majority of respondents were not concerned with their personal level of preparedness, which again is within their control. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.147 80 for communication concerns, anr leaders were most concerned about the public sharing and receiving inaccurate information, as well as the media sharing inaccurate information. these concerns are less likely to be within a leader's direct control and may be seemingly outside of their circle of influence. conversely, they were not as concerned about not receiving accurate information themselves which aligns with previous work by corey (1971) and rogers (2003). this finding may be due to the tendency for opinion leaders to be information seekers and connected to multiple sources of information (weimann, 1994). perhaps due to the nature of their opinion leader statuses, anr leaders were seeking information often during the crisis and were able to identify inaccurate information they saw in the media. moreover, these leaders may have been reaching out to individuals to provide accurate information during the pandemic (sahelices-pinto & rodríguez-santos, 2014). the results of this study offer recommendations for practice and for research. we recommend anr leaders or communicators working with anr leaders seek to change the availability of reliable communication during a pandemic or future health crises. while anr leaders may feel like they do not have control over others’ information choices, they do have influence over those within their communities (corey, 1971; rogers, 2003; sahelices-pinto & rodríguezsantos, 2014). anr leaders have the power as opinion leaders to impact communication issues for the greater good. they should embrace their identity as message managers to provide accurate information, even if they are using secondary information. if they speak out when they see inaccurate information and actively seek opportunities to share information that is accurate and credible, they may have the opportunity to increase understanding and reduce the spread of inaccurate information during a pandemic. for statewide agricultural leadership programs, it is recommended to include programming sessions related to identifying credible information and leading during a pandemic. future research should investigate specifically what information anr opinion leaders considered inaccurate during the pandemic. the results from this study could speak to the value of extension during a pandemic, as anr leaders were not as concerned about the level of preparedness of extension to handle covid19. extension and extension communication specialists specifically could be leaders in communication and preparing for a pandemic. it is recommended extension take an active role in preparing communities before, during, and in between health crises. anr leaders and communicators working with these leaders should use their experience in crisis situations and rely on their communication plans to provide accurate information to their stakeholders. though anr leaders are not the responsible party in a crisis such as covid-19, they have the ability to reach out to stakeholders and help provide accurate information. acknowledgements this research was supported by the uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources (pie center) and the wedgworth leadership institute (wli). baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.147 81 references burt, r. s. 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(2020, april). timeline – covid-19. https://www.who.int/newsroom/detail/27-04-2020-who-timeline---covid-19 © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 367-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. tyler j. price, ph.d. candidate and coordinator of lgbtq+ affairs, oklahoma state university, 240 student union, stillwater, ok 74078, tyler.price10@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7294-3636 2. natalie k. ferand, assistant professor, virginia tech university, 1750 kraft drive room 2025, blacksburg, va 24061, nferand@vt.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9505-1764 3. emily a. sewell, ph.d. student, oklahoma state university, 458 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 740478, esewel@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1069-2579 4. bradley m. coleman, assistant professor, oklahoma state university, 445 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, b.coleman@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 66 understanding teacher preparation of the past: the student teaching block in agricultural education t. j. price1, n. k. ferand2, e. a. sewell3, b. m. coleman4 article history received: june 21, 2023 accepted: august 7, 2023 published: august 14, 2023 keywords preservice; school-based; teacher education abstract the preparatory experiences leading up to student teaching vary greatly. understanding the evolution of the student teaching block can provide key guidance on what is needed for the student teacher of today and the student teacher of tomorrow. a historical narrative approach was used to understand the student teaching block as it has been developed and implemented historically in agricultural education. six semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants who were current faculty at the rank of professor in agricultural education and had been involved in agricultural education for at least 25 years. four themes emerged through our analysis: (a) origins, (b) purpose and philosophy, (c) structural elements of the block, and (d) limitations and forward-thinking. based on the findings, the purpose of the block as it relates to the agricultural education profession is to provide an intensive, immersive experience to prepare soon-to-be student teachers in an environment that provides an opportunity for practice and reflection before entering the classroom. it is recommended that periodic check-ins or seminars with student teachers be done to ensure they can reflect, share experiences, exchange ideas, discuss best practices, and learn from each other as they experience student teaching. price et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.367 67 introduction and problem statement the “real-life” teaching experience gained through the student teaching semester is a crucial step in the development of teachers (beamer, 1967; bransford et al., 2000; camp & bailey, 1998; cardozier, 1967; nichols, 1992; sorenson et al., 2018). however, the structure and format of the student teaching experience have been ever evolving and differed considerably by state and institution (martin, 1982). additionally, the early field experiences and preparatory opportunities leading up to student teaching have also been found to vary greatly among teacher preparation programs (retallick & miller, 2010). regardless of configuration, there can be no argument that the overall goal of student teaching is to produce a person who is no longer the student but has become the teacher in action and beliefs. to achieve this purpose, a transformative student teaching experience has required interactions between reflection, theory, and practice (retallick & miller, 2010). research has shown a multitude of factors that contribute to the nationwide teacher shortage (castro et al., 2018; cowan et al., 2016; sutcher et al., 2016). the unique need for school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers to gain experience in areas outside of the competencies required of other teaching disciplines presents unique challenges (sorensen et al., 2018). a framework for effectively preparing sbae teachers for the classroom is needed, and the block presents a formatting option for teacher preparation programs to consider. in this study, we will review and discuss the function of the student-teacher block and its role in preparing sbae teachers. the history and purpose of the block will be explored through the lens of six of the profession's experienced agricultural teacher educators. the historical underpinnings of the block can be used by teacher educators in agricultural settings and beyond to inform and guide decisions regarding the content, aims, and structure of their teacher preparation programs. theoretical and conceptual framework this study was grounded in human capital theory (becker, 1964; schultz, 1971) and specifically focused on teacher human capital (myung et al., 2013). the teacher human capital framework outlines the approach to building a stronger teacher workforce that includes acquiring, developing, sustaining, and evaluating teachers (myung et al., 2013). ralph tyler's (1983) four questions for curriculum development provide a framework for achieving lesson goals. these questions were operationalized for this study to serve as a framework for evaluating the purpose of teacher preparation programs to build capacity for a sustainable and effective teacher workforce. tyler’s (1983) four questions are: (a) what educational objectives are the students to be helped to attain, (b) what learning experiences can be provided that will enable the students to attain the objectives, (c) how can learning experiences be organized for effective and continuing learning, and (d) how can the effectiveness of the curriculum be evaluated (p. 74). price et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.367 68 quality instruction occurs when an identified purpose leads to the development of objectives that, in turn, guide instruction through activities and assessments (tyler, 1983). tyler’s (1949) four questions provided the conceptual frame that guided the research objectives to obtain a clear purpose for the student teaching block in agricultural education. additionally, the conceptual model of using tyler's (1949) four questions through the lens of human capital (becker, 1964; schultz, 1971) provided an outline for understanding the evolution of the block experience over time and within institutions. mikeska et al. (2022) described practice-based teacher education (pbte) as programs that were focused on pre-service teachers’ learning of core teaching tasks. pbte consisted of two core ideas: (a) teachers learn to teach by engaging in teaching, and (b) there are key practices in which teachers must learn to engage (mikeska et al., 2022). teacher education programs that have engaged their pre-service teachers in the enactment of teaching are grounded in pbte (mikeska et al., 2022). the block assists in developing teachers’ human capital, provides a framework to organize and experiences needed for effective teacher preparation, and allows pre-service teachers to engage in teaching and core tasks associated with teaching. purpose this historical narrative sought to investigate and describe the student teaching block in agricultural education. the following research questions guided this study: 1. historically, what was the purpose and structure of the student teaching block in agricultural education? 2. how has the student teaching block changed over time in agricultural education? methods a historical narrative approach was used to accomplish the study’s purpose. salevouris and furay (2015) explained the historical narrative approach as analyzing various events, actors, and items that shaped a historical phenomenon. for the purposes of this study, the student teaching block was operationalized as the time period (weeks or days) immediately before the student teaching experience (also known as the student teaching internship), which is an intensive period used to prepare the cohort/students for the internship. several sources of primary data were utilized to understand the history of the student teaching block in agricultural education: (a) expert interviews, (b) researcher-identified literature, and (c) participant-provided artifacts and literature (mcdowell, 2002). a combination of purposive and snowball sampling methods was used to recruit participants (creswell, 2013). contact information for the participants (n = 6) was gathered via their university web pages. semi-structured, one-hour interviews were conducted via zoom. items in the interview protocol were developed to allow participants to provide descriptions of the student teaching block that were rich with their understanding of the block, its purpose, and the changes throughout history. further, additional artifacts and literature were collected from participants price et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.367 69 after conducting the interviews and were also used in the analysis. observer comments in the form of field notes were recorded by the interviewers and aided in the interpretation and analysis of the transcripts (ary et al., 2010). six individual interviews were conducted. to be included, participants must have had 25 or more years of experience in agricultural education to participate, which could include their time as an in-service sbae teacher. all participants were current faculty at the rank of professor in agricultural education at land-grant universities. five participants identified as male, and one participant identified as female. data analysis otter.ai online software was used to transcribe each interview, with the researchers verifying the transcripts. inductive coding using the constant comparative method was utilized to analyze the data (corbin & strauss, 2015; creswell, 2013). three rounds of coding, open, axial, and selective, were conducted (corbin & strauss, 2015). in the open coding round, interview transcription data were analyzed line-by-line to establish an initial set of 22 open codes (miles & huberman, 1994). these codes were organized in a data matrix using microsoft excel (maxwell, 2013). then, the research team negotiated and consolidated the codes. in the final round, codes were selected by the researchers, and four themes were confirmed. lincoln and guba's (1985) criteria for establishing trustworthiness were used to ensure rigor. credibility was established through data and investigator triangulation (creswell, 2013). additionally, inter-coder agreement was achieved through multiple rounds of coding. the research team met at least bi-weekly throughout the research project. during this time, confirmability was achieved through the practice of reflective bracketing to reduce bias (tufford & newman, 2010), exercising reflexivity around our assumptions and roles (ary et al., 2010; tracy, 2010), and conducting multiple data checks (lincoln & guba, 1985). dependability was established through our use of rigorous qualitative methodologies, as described above. lastly, transferability was established through our thick and rich data report below so that consumers of this research may draw their generalizations (i.e., naturalistic generalization) regarding our findings (lincoln & guba, 1985; stake, 1978). findings little literature exists regarding the student teaching block. therefore, the majority of the findings of this study will be through the stories and experiences of our participants, who served as primary sources, as seen in table 1. price et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.367 70 table 1 participant experiences and years in profession participant identifier years in profession experiences a 41 years sbae teacher for 15 years who has worked in professional teacher education and curriculum development at three universities. b 35 years sbae teacher for five years. their career has spanned three universities, focusing on teacher preparation. c 31 years sbae teacher for seven years. their career has allowed them to be involved formally and informally with teacher education at three universities. d 50 years sbae teacher for three years. their career has involved teacher education at two universities. e 35 years sbae teacher for eight years, then worked as the [state] ffa coordinator. over the course of their career, they have been involved in teacher preparation at three universities. f 28 years sbae teacher for four years and has served in administrative and faculty positions at two universities. four themes emerged through our analysis of the data. the four themes included: (a) origins, (b) purpose and philosophy, (c) structural elements of the block, and (d) limitations and forward-thinking. the four themes described how the discipline of agricultural education has collectively used the block. the themes also allowed us to think about the future of the student teaching block and its purpose in teacher preparation. theme 1: origins literature detailing the format of the block explained that senior pre-service teachers were placed at a school for one semester observing, then teaching the following semester (works, 1916). further description explained that during the original student teacher's teaching semester, a new pre-service teacher begins their observation period, forming a rudimentary community of practice with peer-to-peer learning and instruction (works, 1916). using this model, beamer (1967) explained the first “block plan” as a highly structured sequence of teaching experiences, with the result culminating with student teaching (p. 201). in addition to the literature identifying the origin of the block, several participants identified experiential learning theories and pragmatism as the basis for the block in agricultural education (participants c, d, & e). for example, "john dewey, all the way back to will james price et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.367 71 and pragmatism and that sort of thing has always been [our] basic philosophical roots, i would say" (participant d). participant f also cited vygotsky (1978) as another foundational theory supporting the origin of the student teaching block stating, “you want the student challenged enough where they're struggling, but they're successful.” pedagogical content knowledge (pck) (shulman, 1986) was also identified as a relevant structure to teacher education (participant c). it was suggested that the origin of the student teaching block in agricultural education began as early as 1917 with the passage of the smith-hughes act (participants a). participant a said, "dial back to 1917, smith-hughes … we're gonna have vocational agriculture in thousands of american high schools. where're the teachers? … they had to figure out what was going to be the source of these teachers." additionally, it was propounded that the initial structure and format of the block were based on approaches by other subject areas by teacher preparation programs at normal schools (participant a). theme 2: purpose & philosophy through the analysis of the literature, a major purpose of the block emerged, the concept of professional learning communities (bransford et al., 2000). a professional learning community encourages a social constructivist viewpoint through peer collaboration, thus creating a learnercentered environment where growth is likely to occur (bransford et al., 2000). the cohort model commonly used in teacher preparation programs reflects the same structure as a professional learning community. a cohort is formed when students engage in a sequence of courses together and, along with their instructors, embody the interactions between reflection, theory, and practice that are needed for professional growth (retallick & miller, 2010). study participants echoed the observation of a teacher preparation cohort as a professional learning community. participants noted that one purpose of the student teaching block period was to create a sense of camaraderie between students as they venture out at the same time into the same foundational lived experience. participant a posited, "you get a very strong sense of camaraderie between the students, so you're developing a support system, they're all commiserating, they're all having the same experience.” another purpose of the student teaching block, as identified by a participant, is to confirm whether or not student teachers want to enter into the teaching profession. participant e mentioned, "for some students, it's a defining moment in terms of whether or not they want to teach.” many participants (a, b, d, & e) utilized phrases such as "intense experience," "concentrated," "immersive work," and "capstone" to describe the purpose of the block. participant f identified that the purpose of the block was to serve as a safety net, describing it as an opportunity to try everything you can, and if it fails, you have support there to assist. a critical purpose of the block, as mentioned by participant a, is the opportunity to "sharpen" and practice delivering lessons in an environment created for feedback and critique before student teaching. participant c also provided insight into the purpose of the block being for a time of reflection. they stated, "they could do individual as well as group reflection on some of these important concepts with that experience they were having or are gaining that i think that was beneficial.” philosophically, participants c, d, and e noted that the purpose and mission of the block experience are undergirded in experiential learning. participant c stated, "dewey really speaks price et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.367 72 into the idea of experiential learning and how, you know, the student teaching experience is real-world practical experience." others cited that pragmatism and proximal development theories were ably noticeable as foundational pieces of the student teaching blocks (participants e & f). participant c cited lortie’s (1975) work in the apprenticeship of observation also aids in describing the philosophical underpinnings of the block structure. theme 3: structural elements of the block a similar pedagogical program was noted in the literature known as the “summer practice program” (beamer, 1967, p. 201). this format was described as occurring immediately before student teaching to prepare pre-service teachers for student teaching (beamer, 1967). the summer programs consisted of two weeks in which students became familiar with the community and school and prepared for their teaching semester. the summer program experience was associated with a course in the fall semester in which pre-service teachers reported back to their peers and instructor, sharing their experiences and reflecting as a group (beamer, 1967). while noted as highly favored by students and effective in structure, the summer program was not mentioned as an element of field experiences in the second edition of teacher education in agriculture (berkey, 1982). however, the block-type model in which structured opportunities to prepare for student teaching and engage in two-way communication has been a continued theme in agricultural teacher preparation (miller & wilson, 2010). a 15-week outline of student teaching is highlighted by student teachers beginning their semester on campus as a group before traveling to their student teaching centers. in the middle of the experience, the cohort returns to campus to share with other student teachers and university instructors. finally, the cohort ends the semester with group reflections, once again on campus (miller & wilson, 2010). when discussing the structure of the block at their current institutions, participant answers also varied. participant a described the block as consisting of a one-week experience at the beginning of the student teaching semester with a midterm and final seminar meeting. participant a said, “one week on campus, and then out for essentially close to 14 weeks, i guess, maybe coming back to campus a couple of times for various activities, and then finishing up with some sort of seminar at the end.” this structure was a change from what was once a four-week experience prior to student teaching. others described their institution's block format as initially a multi-week period prior to student teaching to now having no block, as described in this study. participant d described the change by saying, "the student teaching experience itself in the public schools has, over the years, been increased to where it's now a full secondary school semester, which typically is a longer semester than our university semester.” course variation also differs across university block structures. participant f stated, "we covered teaching methods, curriculum development.” participant b also identified that a teaching methods course is most often integrated differently across teacher preparation programs across the country when deciding whether to include a block or not. theme 4: limitations and forward thinking in an in-depth review of the literature, the importance of continuing to have conversations about teacher preparation was noted (craig et al., 2022). craig et al. (2020) stated that it is price et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.367 73 important that we take into account the operationalization of the teacher preparation field. research from the previous decade also noted that the focus on teacher preparation programs had been a recurring trend (cruickshank & cruz, 1989). areas of focus throughout this time included improving teachers’ necessary ancillary knowledge and teachers’ general education (cruickshank & cruz, 1989). several participants spoke about the block's limitations and the current system's future. as a limitation, participants a and d discussed the need for more field experience as a limitation to the block system, referencing an increase in state requirements of time in the classroom as one reason some universities have chosen to forgo the block experience. participant a posited that literature and research demanded more time in the field for pre-service teachers and that the more experience they had, the better teacher they would be. participant b provided a similar line of thought by noting: i would say need dictated when we would put students out to student teach…it was needed for how to get all of the content met, and then how to logistically get all of the needs met for students as we would place them out for student teaching in a really efficient and effective way for certification. participant d commented that their university came to the realization of this need for more time in the classroom and the value it had on preparing them on how to take on the role of teacher. another limitation identified was the lack of opportunity to reflect once the block concluded. participant a stated: “there’s not enough time for deep reflection because you're just doing, doing, doing, go and go and go.” thinking toward the future, participant d posited that reflection is important and integrating a block system that includes periodic check-ins throughout the semester to allow for reflection is something that should be considered. many suggested their concerns moving forward (participants b, c, & e). some participants worried that if teacher preparation in agricultural education were to forgo the block system, that strong sense of community and the opportunity to develop a deep camaraderie, collaboration, and a sense of purpose would be lost. for example, participant b mentioned, "you lose that opportunity to develop that deep camaraderie, sharing resources, not that some of that still doesn't happen, but probably not with the same kind of intensity that occurred in a four-to-sixweek period.” some participants said preparing teachers continues to become more challenging as the contexts of classrooms continue to change and suggested rethinking the name of student teaching as a whole to embody the many roles teacher preparation programs must prepare students to fill. participant c stated, "i really think student teaching is misnamed, you know, because it sounds like i'm a student at a university, and i'm going to go out and teach. and it's much more about student professional management." participant d asserted that teacher preparation must continue to work to meet the increasing demand for teachers. they stated: “universities aren’t meeting those demands, and so, alternative programs are meeting those demands” (participant d). additionally, it was posited that not having good ag teachers does not bode well for the future of sbae as a whole (participant d). price et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.367 74 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations based on the findings, the purpose of the block, to provide an intensive experience for preservice teachers in an environment rooted in practice and reflection, has remained the same over time. while the structure and format historically varied by the institution and continues to vary and evolve, the importance of being a reflective practitioner and finding peer support has remained a common thread. the findings are supported by bandura (1977) that mastery experiences and opportunities to practice can lead to mastering a behavior and improve overall self-efficacy. findings showed a continued and longstanding trend of moving to a shorter block period. in some cases, preparation programs have opted to remove the block period completely in exchange for a semester or longer preparation experience. understanding the evolution of the student teaching block from the summer program to today's present-day structure has provided key guidance on what is needed for today’s generation of pre-service teachers and, maybe of greater importance, the student teacher that will be in the classrooms of the future. as professional learning communities have been shown to increase teacher satisfaction and development of knowledge and skills (prenger et al., 2019) and situate students in a learnercentered environment promotes growth (bransford et al., 2000), it is essential to consider how the importance of a community of learners and a sense of camaraderie will be facilitated if the block format is dissolved completely. when considering teacher human capital, careful consideration should be taken of how the inputs in teacher development programs can impact the outputs of sustained satisfaction in the profession (myung et al., 2013). in conclusion, the authors were able to trace the deep theoretical roots of the student teaching block to the foundations of social constructivism (bruner, 1957), experiential learning (dewey, 1938), and self-efficacy (bandura, 1977) with other influences of learner development (lortie, 1975; vygotsky, 1978). with these theories, one common thread can be seen: the need for learners to have scaffolded experiences and purposeful reflection. like much of education, the pendulum on what formatting is best to meet educational goals continues to evolve. the authors recommend a format that includes periodic check-ins or seminars with student teachers. this structure ensures student teachers have the opportunity to reflect, share experiences, exchange ideas, discuss best practices, and learn from each other as they experience student teaching, as noted in miller and wilson (2010). such a structure will also help to build a support system that can be used as they enter the profession and form their natural professional learning communities (bransford et al., 2000). the aforementioned structure still provides an opportunity for intense immersive training to take place prior to student teaching to sharpen the skills and refresh knowledge on topics prior to entering the classroom. it is recommended that teacher preparation programs look closely at what is required by states for teacher preparation in terms of field experience and maximize the time students are in the classroom while still meeting those requirements. as a teacher preparation program, it is important to analyze what topics of instruction can be provided during the preprice et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.367 75 block period and what topics should be covered in the block structure, allowing for more opportunities for real-world application of necessary skills. as a profession, it may be time that teacher preparation programs discuss the value of preinternship block weeks as needed for practice and preparation. could other models be more effective? for example, should student teachers begin the school year in their cooperating centers and return to campus later in the semester to reflect on lived experiences from their time in the classroom? on the other hand, by eliminating pre-internship block weeks entirely, are we reducing opportunities for student teachers to cohort, boost efficacy, and plan for a successful experience? discussion around effectively organizing the block structure and content can ensure we achieve our purpose, which relates to tyler’s (1983) questions. future research should seek to understand the current understanding and perspectives of university faculty teaching a block course, cooperating teachers, and recent student teachers regarding the block. with an analysis of the teaching block’s historical trends and the block’s current perspectives, a study to explain how the differences have benefited or hindered the teacher development process and recommendations for organization should be conducted. other research should explain the lived experiences of student teachers who had a block experience prior to student teaching versus those who began the school year in the classroom to identify the purpose of each format. this study specifically should look at the performance of teachers from each format. acknowledgements fees for publication were generously covered by the virginia teach open access subvention fund. author contributions: t. price – investigation, formal analysis, writing-original draft, reviewing and 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(1916). apprentice teacher training. proceedings of the ninth annual meeting of the national society for the promotion of industrial education (pp. 291–305). national society for the promotion of industrial education © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 1, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. christopher j. eck, assistant professor of agricultural education, oklahoma state university, 457 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, chris.eck@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-3632 2. kevin wagner, professor of plant and soil sciences and the director or the oklahoma water resources center, 110 noble research center, stillwater, ok 74078, kevin.wagner@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9307-2799 16 flowing perceptions: exploring secondary students’ perceptions of water c. j. eck1, k. wagner2 article history received: october 4, 2023 accepted: march 14, 2024 published: march 18, 2023 keywords theory of planned behavior; water education; survey research design abstract adolescents’ (i.e., high school students) opinions and preferences are important and less likely to be influenced by political and social norms, especially considering natural resource and climate related issues. therefore, this study sought to identify and understand the perceptions of secondary students related to water issues and conservation practices utilizing a non-experimental survey research design. the majority (53.8%) of oklahoma secondary students participating in this study believed water was of concern in the state. the primary water issues affecting oklahoma according to secondary students (n = 93) were clean drinking water, water for agriculture, water for aquatic habitats, wastewater treatment improvement, and water quality monitoring to detect pollution improvement. students’ perceptions of water quantity and quality varied across groups based on their primary source of drinking water (i.e., private supply, bottled water, municipal public supply, or rural public supply). it is imperative for water-related curriculum to be developed for delivery in secondary classrooms across the state. future research should consider the perceptions of students nationwide related to water and natural resource conservation. mailto:chris.eck@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-3632 mailto:kevin.wagner@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9307-2799 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 17 introduction and problem statement water is an essential resource which has an increasing demand (wertz & layden, 2013), making the conservation of water a pivotal issue (chaudhary et al., 2019; hurd, 2006). eighty percent of state water managers in 2014 predicted shortages of freshwater in their respective states over the next decade (u.s. government accountability office, 2014). these predictions were further projected by warziniack et al. (2022) to continually increase across the u.s. by 2050 with both socioeconomic and climate-related changes playing primary roles. this concern is further exacerbated by only 3% of the water on earth being freshwater (u.s. bureau of reclamation, 2020). in addition, groundwater only accounts for 0.62% of earth’s water, some of which is beyond the reach of water extraction (u.s. bureau of reclamation, 2020). when considering water usage, agriculture alone utilizes nearly 80% of the water in the u.s. (national institute of food and agriculture, 2023), increasing the need for public education and engagement related to water conservation (mulki et al., 2018), especially considering the increasing impact of climate change on water availability (national academies of sciences, engineering, and medicine, 2023). the public’s perceptions of water and conservation efforts have been investigated over the years in many states. the opinions and preferences of these demographics were important, but adolescents (i.e., high school students) are less likely to be influenced by political and social norms, especially considering natural resource and climate related issues (flora et al., 2014; stevenson et al., 2014). balundė et al. (2020) found adolescents value environmental and climate related concerns with minimal traditional social norms, yet perry et al. (2021) found social media and online communities to play a key role in influencing adolescent perceptions. therefore, this study sought to identify the perceptions of secondary students related to water issues and conservation practices to better inform formal and informal educational practices related to water and agriculture. theoretical and conceptual framework this study was undergirded by the theory of planned behavior (tpb), identifying the attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs related to water in oklahoma (ajzen, 1991). the attitude (favorable or unfavorable) and intentions toward a behavior can help researchers predict one’s actions (ajzen, 1991), which in the case of this study relate to water usage and conservation efforts as the behavior. although most secondary students are not at the age of decision making or voting yet, they are the future workforce and stewards of the united states; therefore, understanding their attitudes, intentions, and current behaviors is essential in considering the future needs of water related education and outreach. ultimately, this study aligns with the united nations (2015) goal of improving water quality, water use efficiency, and the integration of water management programs to achieve equitable access to safe drinking water for all by 2030, with an emphasis on understanding the perceptions and needs of primary consumers by 2030 (i.e., current secondary students). within the context of this study, tpb can be further conceptualized with the value-belief-norm theory (stern et al., 1999), which evaluates https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 18 normative considerations in relationship to an individual’s awareness of an environmental problem (i.e., water), their perception of making an impact on the issue, and personal norms associated with the problem (see figure 1). figure 1 conceptual model of the value-belief-norm theory for water related behaviors in addition to the theory and conceptual model presented, this study was framed by the national water survey needs assessment program, which began in the pacific northwest in 2001 “to assess public aptitudes, attitudes, and actions relative to water issues” (mahler et al., 2013, p. 99). the factors measured through the national water survey needs assessment program align with tpb (ajzen, 1991) and the conceptual model presented (see figure 1), leading the program to conduct studies in the northeast, north-atlantic, mid-atlantic, southeast, south-central, and midwest regions over time. the national water survey needs assessment program focused on public perceptions, with the majority of respondents being over 50 years of age (mahler et al., 2013). considering future decisions regarding water needs, quality, and quantity will be heavily influenced by future generations, the perceptions of secondary students allow researchers to evaluate future water related behavior (ajzen, 1991; stern et al., 1999). since the aim of the national water survey needs assessment is to establish a survey for baseline data collection on water issues on a state basis (mahler et al., 2013), the survey was used for this study. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 19 purpose this study aims to determine the perceptions of water issues in oklahoma from the standpoint of students enrolled in secondary schools across the state. four research objectives guided this inquiry: 1. determine secondary students’ perceptions of primary water issues affecting oklahoma. 2. identify the perceptions of water quantity and quality amongst oklahoma secondary students. 3. identify the water conservation efforts of secondary students and their families in oklahoma. 4. establish the primary areas of water related educational interest for secondary students in oklahoma. methods to evaluate secondary students’ perceptions of water issues across oklahoma, a 43-item survey was adapted from the national water needs assessment program (mahler et al., 2013). the survey questionnaire included four sections addressing perceptions of environmental issues (27-items, e.g. perceptions of water related issues), water issues (10-items, e.g. sources of water, water quantity, water quality, and pollutants), water knowledge (4-items, e.g. water usage and conservation), and learning preferences (2-items, e.g. interest in water education). in addition, five demographic questions were asked, including, sex, age, grade level, class enrollment, and school classification. the survey was evaluated for face and content validity (privitera, 2020) appropriate to a secondary student demographic by two faculty members in agricultural education teacher preparation. there are roughly 257,000 eighth through twelfth grade students enrolled in oklahoma public schools, although only about 60% of secondary schools have agricultural education programs in the state, reaching approximately 27,000 students (oklahoma ffa association, 2023). two public school districts with agricultural education programs were randomly selected from each region of the state (i.e., southeast, southwest, central, northeast, and northwest) with consideration given to school size classification (i.e., b, a, 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a). ten school superintendents were contacted to request participation from eighth through twelfth grade students in their district currently enrolled in agricultural education, environmental science, and/or earth science. six of the superintendents responded to the request and agreed to distribute the survey questionnaire to their agricultural education, environmental science, and earth science teachers to request participation from their students using a qualtrics survey questionnaire link. although 168 surveys were submitted, only 93 were received complete and used for data analysis. the participants were 48.4% female (n = 45), spanning from eighth through twelfth grade, with 43% only enrolled in either earth science or environmental science, while the remaining 57% were enrolled in both science and agriculture class at their respective schools. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 20 students from five of the school size classifications (i.e., b, a, 3a, 4a, and 6a) participated. survey distribution was a limiting factor within this study as it relied on superintendent agreement, followed by distribution to teachers from the school site administrator, then the individual teachers requesting participation from their students. considering this, the demographics align with the statewide average where 49% of eighth through twelfth grade students are female (oklahoma department of education, 2023) and schools from the smallest (b) to the largest (6a) classification were represented. data were analyzed using spss version 28 for this survey research design study (privitera, 2020). specifically, descriptive statistics (i.e., frequencies and percentages) were ran to answer the four research objectives. findings the first research objective aimed to determine the primary water issues affecting oklahoma as perceived by secondary students. just over half (53.8%) of oklahoma secondary students participating in this study believed water was of concern in the state and nearly 30% were unsure, while over 61% did not know what a watershed was. when participants were asked to rate 27 water issues on a four-point scale of agreement based on their perceived importance (i.e., 1 = not important, 4 = extremely important), clean drinking water was by far the most important issue followed by water for agriculture. water transfer/sale of water rights and hypoxia were the lowest rated issues. the 27 water issues are provided in table 1 with their corresponding percentage of agreement at each level (i.e., 1 = not important [ni], 2 = somewhat important [si], 3 = important [i], 4 = extremely important [ei]). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 21 table 1 importance of water issues to secondary students. (n = 93) % identified issue ni si i ei clean drinking water 0.0 1.1 9.7 89.2 water for agriculture 1.1 4.3 24.7 69.9 water for aquatic habitat 1.1 9.7 24.7 64.5 improving wastewater treatment 0.0 7.6 34.8 57.6 improving water quality monitoring to detect pollution 0.0 12.9 31.2 55.9 clean rivers and lakes 0.0 7.5 38.7 53.8 improving agricultural practices 0.0 11.8 35.5 52.7 preserving agricultural land & open space 0.0 7.8 41.6 50.6 making water quality and quantity data available to public 1.1 16.1 33.3 49.5 preserving & restoring buffer zones & wetlands 1.1 20.4 29.0 49.5 residential water conservation 2.2 17.2 33.3 47.3 improving municipal practices 3.3 18.5 32.6 45.6 building new water storage structures (dams, reservoirs) 1.1 20.8 34.6 43.5 water for recreation 5.5 20.8 30.8 42.9 educating municipal officials 1.1 21.5 35.5 41.9 clean groundwater 3.3 21.5 33.3 41.9 water for household landscapes 12.9 21.5 25.8 39.8 water for municipal use 0.0 25.8 35.5 38.7 better management of shoreline access to prevent erosion 5.4 26.9 29.0 38.7 better management of recreational activities (boating, fishing, atvs) 6.5 24.7 31.2 37.6 water for commerce/ industry/power 0.0 25.8 39.8 34.4 improving home and garden practices 6.5 20.4 38.7 34.4 involving citizens in collecting water quality information 8.6 19.4 37.6 34.4 treating storm water runoff 8.7 14.1 43.5 33.7 within state transfer/sale of water rights 7.5 25.8 34.4 32.3 hypoxia (gulf dead zone) 16.1 33.3 18.3 32.3 interstate transfer/sale of water rights 6.5 30.4 37.0 26.1 note. perception scale: 1 = not important (ni), 2 = somewhat important (si), 3 = important (i), 4 = extremely important (ei). identifying the perceptions of water quantity and quality amongst oklahoma secondary students was the second research objective. a large percentage of participants reported purchasing bottled water as their primary source of drinking water (46.2%), followed by 28.0% https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 22 utilizing their municipal public water supply, 18.3% drinking from their rural public water supply, and the remaining 7.5% utilizing a private supply (i.e., private well, river, pond, or lake). most participants on a private water supply felt their home tap water was safe to drink (see table 2). approximately one-third of students who used bottled water as their primary source of drinking water felt their tap water was safe to drink (see table 2), while over half of those on all other water supplies felt tap water was safe to consume. most secondary students (>75%) perceived the quality of oklahoma ground water as normal or better. perceptions of surface water quality was much lower with a quarter to half of the student’s feeling quality was poor or worse (see table 2). water quantity was of concern by over half of the participants in three of the four groups, those on a private supply were not concerned with water quantity. table 2 outlines the percentages of responses related to water quality and quantity by primary drinking water source (i.e., private supply, bottled water, municipal public supply, or rural public supply). most participants felt climate change would not change or increase their water availability, yet most students felt drought impacts would stay the same or increase (see table 2). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 23 table 2 sources, quality, and quantity of water item % ps (n = 7) bw (n =43) mps (n = 26) rps (n = 17) total do you feel that your home tap water (water from the sink) is safe to drink? yes 85.7 34.9 50.0 64.8 48.8 no 0.0 34.9 26.9 17.6 26.2 unsure 14.3 30.2 23.1 17.6 25.0 in your opinion, what is the quality of groundwater (sources of well water) in oklahoma? excellent 0.0 0.0 3.8 0.0 1.2 good 14.3 7.0 11.5 35.3 14.3 normal 85.7 69.2 80.9 41.2 48.8 poor 0.0 11.6 3.8 23.5 9.5 unacceptable 0.0 4.7 0.0 0.0 1.2 unsure 0.0 7.5 0.0 0.0 25.0 in your opinion, what is the quality of surface waters (rivers, streams, lakes, channels, and wetlands) in oklahoma? excellent 0.0 4.7 0.0 0.0 1.2 good 14.3 14.0 11.5 41.2 16.7 normal 28.6 41.9 46.2 35.3 40.5 poor 57.1 25.6 38.5 17.6 31.0 unacceptable 0.0 4.7 0.0 5.9 3.6 unsure 0.0 9.1 3.8 0.0 7.1 do you consider water quantity (having enough water) as a problem in oklahoma? definitely not 0.0 4.7 7.7 0.0 3.6 probably not 71.4 23.3 23.1 35.3 30.1 probably 14.3 25.6 38.4 35.3 26.5 definitely yes 0.0 38.9 23.1 23.5 26.5 unsure 14.3 7.5 7.7 5.9 13.3 what is the likelihood of oklahoma suffering from a prolonged drought? increasing 28.6 53.4 15.4 53.0 51.2 decreasing 0.0 4.7 3.8 17.6 6.0 staying the same 57.1 23.3 57.7 11.8 20.2 unsure 14.3 18.6 23.1 17.6 22.6 do you think that the amount of water in your area will change as a result of climate change? significant increase 14.3 25.6 26.9 5.9 18.3 slight increase 28.6 27.9 38.5 47.0 29.3 no change 42.8 20.9 11.5 35.3 23.2 slight decrease 14.3 16.3 19.3 11.8 22.0 significant decrease 0.0 9.3 3.8 0.0 7.3 note. quality and quantity of water responses is broken down by primary drinking water supply: private supply (ps), bottled water (bw), municipal public supply (mps), or rural public supply (rps). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 24 to further understand secondary student’s perceptions of water quality, they were asked to identify pollutants impacting surface and/or groundwater across oklahoma. while around half of the participants were unsure (see table 3) of what containments impacted water quality, almost 50% felt pesticides were an issue and over 40% felt pathogens, fertilizers, metals, and turbidity were issues. oil and gas production was by far the number one practice identified as impacting rivers and lakes with almost two-thirds agreeing (see table 3). table 3 pollutants impacting surface or groundwater in oklahoma (n = 93) item f % pathogens (bacteria, viruses, germs) know it is not a problem 0 0.0 suspect it is not a problem 7 7.5 unsure 46 49.5 suspect it is a problem 28 30.1 know it is a problem 12 12.9 fertilizers know it is not a problem 0 0.0 suspect it is not a problem 13 14.0 unsure 40 43.0 suspect it is a problem 28 30.1 know it is a problem 12 12.9 heavy metals (lead, arsenic, mercury) know it is not a problem 2 2.2 suspect it is not a problem 5 5.4 unsure 47 50.5 suspect it is a problem 25 26.9 know it is a problem 14 15.0 minerals (iron, manganese, calcium) know it is not a problem 7 7.5 suspect it is not a problem 10 10.8 unsure 49 52.7 suspect it is a problem 19 20.4 know it is a problem 8 8.6 pesticides know it is not a problem 2 2.2 suspect it is not a problem 4 4.3 unsure 41 44.1 suspect it is a problem 34 36.5 know it is a problem 12 12.9 salinity (water too salty) know it is not a problem 3 3.2 suspect it is not a problem 16 17.2 unsure 44 47.3 suspect it is a problem 20 21.5 know it is a problem 10 10.8 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 25 item f % pharmaceuticals (antibiotics, personal care products) know it is not a problem 5 5.4 suspect it is not a problem 10 10.8 unsure 47 50.5 suspect it is a problem 20 21.5 know it is a problem 11 11.8 petroleum products/bi-products know it is not a problem 0 0.0 suspect it is not a problem 6 6.5 unsure 55 59.1 suspect it is a problem 20 21.5 know it is a problem 12 12.9 algae know it is not a problem 2 2.2 suspect it is not a problem 14 15.1 unsure 45 48.4 suspect it is a problem 20 21.5 know it is a problem 12 12.9 sediment know it is not a problem 1 1.1 suspect it is not a problem 10 10.8 unsure 57 61.3 suspect it is a problem 15 16.1 know it is a problem 10 10.8 turbidity (muddy water) know it is not a problem 4 4.3 suspect it is not a problem 6 6.5 unsure 42 45.2 suspect it is a problem 20 21.5 know it is a problem 21 22.6 practices impacting river and lake pollution in oklahomaa oil and gas production 58 62.4 industrial practices 33 35.5 erosion from roads/construction 31 33.3 landfills 30 33.3 agriculture – crops 24 25.8 septic systems 21 22.6 agriculture animals 17 18.3 wastewater treatment plants 17 18.3 mining 17 18.3 new suburban development 16 17.2 storm water runoff 15 16.1 forestry (wood harvesting) 13 14.0 runoff from home landscapes 12 12.9 military bases 7 7.5 note. aparticipants could select all issues of interest. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 26 the third research objective aimed to understand the water conservation efforts of secondary students and their families in oklahoma. specifically, students were asked to identify behavioral changes either they or their family did to conserve/preserve water. changes in yard watering habits was the top conservation effort; however only one-third had made these changes. less than 25% of students indicated a change in the use of pesticides, fertilizers, or other chemicals, or had adopted new technologies. table 4 provides five potential behavioral changes and the corresponding responses. additionally, participants were asked to identify where they stood on environmental issues, where zero was total natural resource use, and 10 was total environmental protection. over half (55.5%) of the students identified themselves in the middle (i.e., 4 to 6 on the 10-point scale), trying to find balance between usage of natural resources and environmental protection. table 4 water conservation efforts (n = 93) behavioral change f % changed how often you water your yard 33 35.5 changed your use of pesticides, fertilizers, or other chemicals 22 23.7 adopted new technologies (low flow showerheads, high efficiency washing machines or dishwashers) 21 22.6 changed the way your yard is landscaped 16 17.2 pumped your septic system 14 15.1 note. participants could select all issues of interest. to provide a new water source, research is investigating the treatment of produced water from oil and gas production. secondary students’ most supported the reuse of produced water for agricultural production and to enhance stream flows; however, less than 50% supported these uses (see table 5). approximately one-third of students supported the use of produced water for drinking water or food production uses. table 5 perceptions of treatment and reuse of produced water (n = 93) item f % support use for agricultural production (non-human use) 43 46.2 support discharge to rivers and streams to improve stream flow 37 39.8 use for drinking water 33 35.5 support use for industrial purposes 32 34.4 consume food produced with this water 29 31.2 note. participants could select all issues of interest. the final research objective evaluated water related educational interests of secondary students across oklahoma. sixty-three percent have not participated in water related education, and the 37% percent who had, identified environmental science or oceanography https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 27 classes as the education received. table 6 depicts interest in 18 water-related topics. students were by far the most interested in fish and wildlife water needs, while less than one-third were interested in other water related topics (see table 6). table 6 learning interest related to water issues. (n = 93) identified issue f % fish and wildlife water needs 41 44.1 beach/shoreline clean-up 28 30.1 restoring fish and aquatic habitat 27 29.0 protecting public drinking water supplies 27 29.0 home and garden landscaping 26 28.0 animal waste management 25 26.9 forest management and water issues 25 26.9 community actions concerning water issues 22 23.7 watershed management 21 22.6 produced water from oil production 21 22.6 irrigation management 20 21.5 stream restoration 20 21.5 grazing management 19 20.4 nutrient and pesticide management 19 20.4 water policy and economics 18 19.4 private well protection 16 17.2 septic system management 15 16.1 landscape buffers 11 11.8 note. participants could select all issues of interest. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations essential water issues were clean drinking water, water for agriculture, wastewater treatment improvement, clean rivers and lakes, and the preservation of agricultural land and open spaces, with more than 90% of participating secondary students feeling these were important or extremely important. clean drinking water was the primary concern, aligning with previous research on other groups (eck et al., 2020). similarly, water for agriculture was also the second priority for college students in oklahoma, while the public perceived it as the fourth most important issue (chapagain et al., 2020). considering the impact of agriculture in the state, the need to consider water for agriculture is imperative. secondary students were generally unsure of the impacts of pollutants on surface and groundwater in the state. perhaps this is a result of the lack of education related to water that participants reported, as 63% of students reported not receiving water education. addressing this lack of knowledge is pivotal considering the necessity of water and its increasing demand https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 28 (chaudhary et al., 2019; hurd, 2006; wertz & layden, 2013). awareness of the problems associated with water, coupled with the identified impact students’ personal decisions make on water quantity and quality (stern et al., 1999) become driving forces in future water related behavioral changes (ajzen, 1991; stern et al., 1999). considering the expressed interest in fish and wildlife water needs, water education programming could use this to generate engagement and establish awareness of water-related problems impacting rivers, lakes, and streams along with water sources and associated issues. providing access to educational content could impact the future behaviors of students (ajzen, 1991), especially considering their intention to find balance between natural resources and environmental protection, where problem awareness and outcome efficacy (see figure 1) have been key predictors of behavioral change (stern et al., 1999). perceptions of water quantity and quality varied across groups based on their source of drinking water (see table 2). perhaps these perceptions result from subjective norms (ajzen, 1991) established at home regarding water quantity and quality, or could it be that awareness of the problem and efficacy to impact the problem is lacking (stern et al., 1999). considering the age of most participants, the ability to implement water conservation efforts are limited (i.e., perceived behavioral control) as they are not the homeowner or decision maker. although interest in the beneficial uses of produced water existed, significant differences between students and the public were observed, with the public primarily supporting the industrial use of produced water (chapagain et al., 2020). perhaps students feel their potential impact is limited (i.e., outcome efficacy) due to personal norms or moral obligations they feel from authoritative sources (stern et al., 1999; van der werff & steg, 2016). overall, students’ responses indicate a general care for the environment and water-related issues (i.e., biospheric values), yet awareness of the water related problems is lacking (stern et al., 1999) considering water quality and quantity concerns in oklahoma. therefore, it is imperative for water-related curriculum to be developed for delivery across the state by agricultural teachers, science teachers, and extension educators. specifically, topics aligning with content standards in earth science, environmental science, and agricultural courses should be developed to further water education across content areas. to further the potential behavioral change, the curriculum should be grounded in agriculture as a context given its impact on the water supply and its clear connection to science, providing a concrete example to real-world problems (ricketts et al., 2006; swafford, 2018). considering adolescent development, curriculum should also be scaffolded for different age brackets, as content related to career opportunities should be developed for seventh and eighth grade students given the impact of career related decisions at that point in adolescence (reynolds, 1991; steinberg, 2014). in addition, stem enhanced curriculum is critical in grades five through eight to promote continual achievement and interest in science and math (singh et al., 2002). finally, curriculum focused on behavioral change (ajzen, 1991) is ideal during the developmental period between adolescence and adulthood (rice & dolgin, 2008). water resource centers, water associations, and the national water survey needs assessment program should consider the findings of this study to help inform programming and educational outreach materials. considering the target audience, social media networks and online outreach should be https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 eck and wagner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 29 prioritized to better align with the values and norms of adolescents, ultimately impacting behavioral change (perry et al., 2021). future research should consider the perceptions of students nationwide related to water and natural resource conservation. additionally, research should evaluate the change in perceptions following the delivery of water-related curriculum and investigate the long-term impact of those perceptions and intentions on behaviors and career-related decisions. acknowledgements c. j. eck – conceptualization, methodology, investigation, writing – original draft; k. wagner – validation, resources, writing – review and editing. references ajzen, i. 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(2013). troubled water: a deep dive into oklahoma’s most precious resource. https://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2013/02/27/troubled-water-a-deepdive-into-oklahomas-most-precious-resource/ © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.405 https://www.jstor.org/stable/24707060 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-014-1228-7 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2018.01297 https://www.usbr.gov/mp/arwec/water-facts-ww-water-sup.html https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-14-430 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/nse2.20054 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2016.08.022 https://doi.org/10.1029/2021ef002222 https://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2013/02/27/troubled-water-a-deep-dive-into-oklahomas-most-precious-resource/ https://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2013/02/27/troubled-water-a-deep-dive-into-oklahomas-most-precious-resource/ microsoft word 151-manuscript-1887-1-11-20211028.docx halbritter et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 3, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. alicia halbritter, agriculture and natural resources extension agent i, university of florida, 1025 w. macclenny ave, macclenny, fl 32603, aliciah1221@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2991-0871 2. marcelo wallau, assistant professor and forage extension specialist, university of florida, po box 110965, mwallau@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9898-3399 3. matt benge, extension assistant professor, university of florida, po box 112060, mattbenge@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5358-3233 4. cheryl mackowiak, associate professor, university of florida, 155 research rd, quincy, fl 32610, echo13@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9860-6665 61 identifying important skills and competencies needed for new florida agriculture extension agents a. halbritter1, m. wallau2, m. benge3, c. mackowiak4 abstract the onboarding needs of extension agents is a topic continuously discussed and researched, yet overwhelmed agents persist, suggesting that there is still a missing link. we undertook a study to determine the competency training needs of newly hired agricultural agents in florida. two assessments were performed. first, we asked university of florida’s county extension agents and directors in agriculture, horticulture and natural resources to identify main agriculture skills and competencies for new extension. second, we then classified those competencies into main domains and asked the same cohort to rank the competencies within each domain, in order of most important to least important. data were collected via an online surveys, with 65% and 51% response rates, respectively. agents needed training in specific agricultural competencies related to every-day work activities such as soil sampling, diagnostic skills, educational resource utilization, and relationship building. although we assume that, based on job requirements, newly hired agents will enter extension with such knowledge, results suggest an agriculture specific training is needed to meet the onboarding needs of new agents. our study identified the priority needs for developing an onboarding program that establishes a level of standard knowledge. those findings will serve to enhance onboarding training for new extension professionals. keywords professional development, needs assessment, basic skills, in-service training, onboarding halbritter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.151 62 introduction and problem statement agriculture plays a pivotal role in florida’s economy as the second highest grossing industry (florida department of agriculture and consumer services [fdacs], 2019). florida’s vast and diverse agriculture industry presents a challenge for extension agents to be prepared and equipped (cooper & graham, 2001; harder et al., 2010; seevers & graham, 2012) to work with and educate stakeholders with the most current best management practices and unbiased information. entry-level extension agents often feel overwhelmed with the diverse requirements of their jobs (arnold & place, 2010). supporting those early stages through the development of job-related skills can be fundamental for career success (bailey, 2005). appropriate initial training can significantly impact behavior, attitudes, practices, and relationships, leading to a more productive and less stressful early career. nevertheless, the diverse professional and educational backgrounds of newly hired agents, coupled with the wide variety of clientele demands, makes defining onboarding educational needs a challenge. thus, it is important to understand what agents perceive are the main skills needed for early-career peers to be successful in their jobs. this information can help develop more efficient onboarding trainings to fulfill immediate needs and challenges newly hired extension agents face when joining our institution. theoretical and conceptual framework agriculture extension agents need to be competent in agricultural practices and have technical/subject matter expertise early in their career to be successful. mcclelland (1973) suggested that competency approach was a better approach to employee and organizational success than an intelligence or trait approach. harder et al. (2010) further advocated for a competency approach within cooperative extension, stating “the implications of the competency approach for organizational development are clear; organizations that identify the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to achieve their goals, and work to develop those competencies in their employees through training and education, will achieve increased capacity” (p. 45). harder et al. (2010) identified technical/subject matter expertise as one of nineteen important competencies entry-level extension professionals’ need. furthermore, the extension professional development model supports the notion that technical/subject matter expertise should be possessed by extension agents upon entering the organization; and the extension organization should provide professional development and training to extension agents prior to starting the job if they are lacking skillsets (benge et al., 2011; brown et al., 2008; gusto et al., 2020; moore & rudd, 2004). specifically, regarding technical/subject matter expertise, there is some literature citing the needs for agriculture-related competencies for extension agents, such as integrated pest management (benge et al., 2020), produce safety (kilonzo-nthenge et al., 2018), tree and forest health (gusto et al., 2020), aquaculture (schwarz & gibson, 2010), and nematology (gentry et al., 2017). however, the literature is limited in understanding the skills and competencies new agriculture extension agents should possess early in their career. halbritter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.151 63 in florida, the extension faculty development academy (efda) provides foundational training to new extension agents and specialists, focusing on program development, program evaluation, teaching and learning, and communication. however, there was not technical/subject matter training for new agriculture extension agents. two of the researchers were commissioned by the associate dean for extension, agricultural and natural resources programs to address this need. in order to begin developing an onboarding process that incorporates agricultural skills, we created a needs assessment to determine the main skills and competencies perceived as important for those early-career stages. purpose the purpose of our study was to understand the skills and competencies needed by early career agriculture florida extension agents. our objectives were to 1. identify the agriculture-related competencies needed by early-career agriculture extension agents, and 2. describe florida agents’ perceptions of the importance of agriculture skills and competencies needed for early-career agriculture extension agents. methods we used an exploratory sequential design with a mixed methods approach (creswell & plano clark, 2018) which allows us to identify and assess needs of our audience with limited understanding or previous research available (witkin & altschuld, 1995). first, through qualitative research, we identified the main agriculture skills and competencies for new agriculture extension which were then ordered (quantitative step) by perceived rank of importance. we targeted florida agriculture extension agents and county extension directors (ceds) to participate in our study. county extension directors are expected to have a good understanding of all areas of extension, as well as the firsthand challenges experienced by new agriculture faculty, which is why we included them in the study. two questionnaires were developed and administered online through qualtrics, during the summer of 2019 and spring 2020. institutional review board approval was obtained prior to conducting the study. the first questionnaire consisted of the open-ended question, “in your opinion, what types of skills do new agriculture/horticulture agents need when they begin their job as an extension agent. we also included five demographic questions related to their years of experience, if they were a ced, highest degree completed, formal education background, and their major programmatic area (i.e. agriculture, horticulture, or livestock/forage). we asked a 4-member expert panel comprising three state extension specialists and one extension agent to review the study (ary et al., 2006). the tailored design method (dillman et al., 2009) was used to ask extension agents and ceds (n = 190) to complete the survey, yielding 124 complete responses and a 65% response rate. through a constant comparative method (merriam, 1998) we conducted the analysis of the first survey, reducing the data into identifiable, recurring themes (lincoln & guba, 1985). within qualitative research it is important to address trustworthiness (lincoln & guba, 1985). we halbritter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.151 64 maintained an audit trail throughout the data sorting and analysis steps and used investigator triangulation (patton, 1999) to interpret the data collaboratively. researchers were three state extension specialists of different subject matters (i.e., agronomy, soils and education) and one county agent, who are responsible for onboarding. a pilot test to verify reliability of the data was not conducted. our analysis yielded four competency domains which we incorporated into our second questionnaire. our second questionnaire described the importance of the agriculture skills and competencies needed for early-career agricultural agents. again, we asked both agriculture extension agents and ceds (n = 194) to complete the survey, yielding 98 complete responses and a 51% response rate. we asked respondents to rank the competencies within each domain in order of most important to least important. for example, for the agriculture-related domain, “please rank the below agriculture-related skills in order of importance (1 = most important and 13 = least important) for new agriculture extension agent success. to rank, simply click on the item and move it to the rank you desire.” we created an average ranking within each competency domain, with the highest ranking (i.e. lowest ‘score’) representing the competency which was most important to respondents. respondents’ demographic characteristics are presented in table 1 (see table 1). all questions were completed in all responses submitted, minimizing non-response error. the average respondent was an extension agent with 0-5 years of experience, and held a master’s degree in horticultural science. table 1 demographic characteristics of survey respondents demographic characteristic f % years working in extension 0-5 47 37.9 6-10 18 14.5 11-15 24 19.4 16 or more 35 28.2 county extension director yes 38 30.6 no 86 69.4 highest degree completed bachelor’s 9 7.3 master’s 96 77.4 doctorate 19 15.3 formal educational background horticultural science 32 25.8 animal science 24 19.4 agronomy 18 14.5 agriculture education 12 9.7 natural resources 9 7.3 agriculture business 6 4.8 biology 6 4.8 pest & diseases 6 4.8 other/no response 11 8.9 halbritter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.151 65 findings twenty-four distinct competencies were identified and categorized into four major competency domains of agriculture, extension-related, technical resources, and personal relationships (see table 2). table 2 list of competency domains and competencies deemed important by respondents competency domain specific competencies agriculture soil properties and sampling; plant identification; diagnostic sample submission and interpreting results; plant physiology/horticulture/agronomic practices; disease diagnostics; insect identification; fertilizer management; pesticides; livestock husbandry/management; pasture management; irrigation; industry economics; natural resources. extension-related customer service; public speaking and presenting; organization and time management; communicating with a diverse audience; written communication; program planning; program evaluation; educational technology; conflict resolution; social media. technical resources specialists; edis; diagnostic labs; accessing critical/scientific information; florida research and education centers; administration; agencies and stakeholders outside of extension. personal relationships clientele; agent to agent; county extension directors; extension specialists and researchers. extension-related competency domain skills were included in the majority (60.5%) of the responses of the first survey. when asked to rank competencies, respondents perceived customer service skills, public speaking/presentation skills, and organization/time management the most important competencies for new agriculture extension agents (see table 3). social media, conflict resolution, and educational technology were ranked least important. halbritter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.151 66 table 3 ranking of important competencies from the extension-related domain competency ranking of importance average ranking customer service skills 1 2.90 public speaking/presentation skills 2 3.78 organization/time management 3 4.24 communicating with a diverse audience 4 4.68 written communication 5 5.02 program planning 6 5.07 program evaluation 7 6.09 educational technology 8 6.70 conflict resolution 9 8.09 social media 10 8.43 fifty-eight percent of the respondents of the original survey included agriculture competency domain as main skills need for new agriculture extension agents. when asked to rank, respondents perceived soil properties and sampling, plant identification, and diagnostic sample submission and interpreting results the most important competencies for new agriculture extension agents (see table 4). natural resources, industry economics, and irrigation were ranked least important. table 4 ranking of important competencies from the agriculture domain competency ranking of importance average ranking soil properties & sampling 1 4.43 plant identification 2 5.10 diagnostic sample submission & interpreting results 3 5.16 plant physiology/horticulture/agronomic practices 4 5.60 disease diagnostics 5 6.06 insect identification 6 6.07 fertilizer management 7 6.51 pesticides 8 6.60 livestock husbandry/management 9 8.53 pasture management 10 8.78 irrigation 11 9.01 industry economics 12 9.36 natural resources 13 9.78 halbritter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.151 67 both the agriculture and extension-related competency domains demonstrate few subcategories that are prioritized higher than others by a larger number of respondents. general knowledge, like soil properties and horticulture/agronomic practices, were ranked with a higher priority than application-oriented skills like pasture management, fertilizer management, or irrigation. the former group has a broader application over most agriculture program areas (i.e. natural resources, horticulture, crops, etc.) while application-oriented skills are applicable to a lesser range of agents and therefore not as important for a general onboarding process. this indicates that onboarding for agriculture extension agents likely needs to have two tiers: (a) a broad and general training composed of skills needed regardless of the job specifics; and (b) a second more program-area oriented section to cover the managementrelated topics. condensing onboarding for agents according to this strategy has the potential to reduce the staff development effort and expense required to establish necessary competencies in all new hires. regarding the technical resources domain (20.2% of original responses), respondents perceived specialists, extension factsheets (electronic data information source, edis), and diagnostic labs the most important resources for new agriculture extension agents (see table 5). administration and agencies/stakeholders outside of extension were ranked least important for new agriculture extension agents. table 5 ranking of important resources from the technical domain competency ranking of importance average ranking specialists 1 2.42 extension factsheets (edis) 2 3.78 diagnostic labs 3 3.80 accessing critical/scientific information 4 4.15 research & education centers 5 4.31 administration (ced/ded/program leaders) 6 4.48 agencies/stakeholders outside of extension 7 5.06 last, on the agent relationships domain (23.5% of original responses), respondents perceived clientele and agent relationships as the most important relational contacts for new agriculture extension agents to build (see table 6), followed by county extension directors, mentors, and extension specialists/researchers. halbritter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.151 68 table 6 ranking of important contacts from the agent relationships domain competency ranking of importance average ranking clientele 1 2.37 agent to agent 2 2.53 county extension directors 3 3.15 mentors 4 3.40 extension specialists/researchers 5 3.55 regarding the competency domains of technical resources and personal relationships, there was little agreement between respondents on what the highest priorities were. some competencies that occurred with a lower frequency on the first survey, such as public speaking/presentation skills, were some of the higher priority competencies ranked by respondents of the second survey. the differentiation in responses between the two surveys illustrates the difficult nature of open-ended questions and further exemplifies why a second quantitative survey was necessary to determine priority needs. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations early-career extension agents enter the organization with a wide array of formal education backgrounds (benge et al., 2020). this breadth of employee competencies and skillsets increases the intellectual capacity of the extension organization as a whole. however, it can be difficult to create a baseline knowledge in extension workforce that meets the needs of all new agricultural agents. this is a major challenge when developing an effective onboarding program, especially considering that many agricultural agents have multiple responsibilities within their counties and need to be trained in multiple commodities (rasmussen, 1989; seevers & graham, 2012). the surveys were only sent to agriculture/horticulture agents and ceds, and the questions were framed to ask what new agricultural agents needed specifically; therefore, the respondents may have been in a certain frame of mind regarding agriculture specific competencies. general extension skills such as program development and design were identified by previous studies as critical training needs (cooper & graham, 2001; harder et. al., 2010). however, the survey participants for this study did not rank these needs most important. this does not mean these competencies are not important as they still occurred frequently in the initial survey, but may instead be an indicator that these needs are being met either by the already occurring extension faculty development academy or by the mentorship from experienced agents. another explanation for some general extension skills having a lower priority may be based on the different perceptions of what a new agent should be focusing on in their early-career days. our study identified the priority needs of new agricultural extension agents as an important step in developing an onboarding program that establishes a level of standard knowledge. halbritter et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.151 69 those findings will serve to enhance the efda to cover critical needs within the pre-entry and entry levels within the extension professional development model (benge et al., 2011). ensuring each new agent begins their career with at least the same baseline of knowledge will also help future professional development opportunities (in-service trainings) since instructors will know what to expect in terms of basic skills. a strong career start (benge et al., 2011) through a more complete new extension agent training experience will lead to long-term career success for agriculture extension agents (harder et al., 2010). next steps for ensuring career success is to 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(2010). a needs assessment of aquaculture extension agents, specialists, and program administrators in extension programming. journal of extension, 48(2). https://www.joe.org/joe/2010april/pdf/joe_v48_2a6.pdf seevers, b., & graham, d. (2012). education through cooperative extension (3rd ed.). university of arkansas. witkin, b. r., & altschuld, j. w. (1995) planning and conducting needs assessments: a practical guide. sage. © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 211-final.docx benge & cash advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 3, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. matt benge, assistant professor, university of florida, 126b bryant hall gainesville, fl 32611, mattbenge@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5358-3233 2. elisha cash, graduate student, university of florida, ecash@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0930-8322 51 florida extension agents’ perceived level of trust with their county extension director m. benge1, e. cash2 abstract county extension directors (ceds) act as the administrative leader of the county extension office and implement their own educational program. county extension agents act as the leader of their program area and corresponding community audience. because of the autonomous nature of the agents’ work, it is imperative that extension agents trust their ceds. the trust in leaders scale (tls) was created to measure person-based trust between leaders and followers through four constructs: competence, integrity, benevolence, and predictability. a census study was conducted by distributing the tls to the uf/ifas extension agents that report to a ced. results indicated perceived moderate levels of trust between agents and ceds, and demographic variables did not impact whether agents trusted their ced. uf/ifas extension should seek to understand the impact of moderate trust between county extension agents and their ced, as research show low trust typically leads to lower job satisfaction and higher employee turnover. keywords leadership, competence, integrity, benevolence, predictability benge & cash advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.211 52 introduction and problem statement the cooperative extension service provides practical education to help people, businesses, and communities solve problems, develop skills, and build a better future (national institute of food and agriculture [nifa], 2021; seevers et al., 1997). university of florida institute of food and agricultural sciences (uf/ifas) county extension directors (ced) are extension agents that have both programmatic and administrative responsibilities and serve a critical role as they are responsible for their individual extension programming and are the leader for their local county extension program (uf/ifas extension, 2022). ceds coach, mentor, and serve in a supervisory capacity over the other extension agents in their office, thus defining the relationship between a ced and extension agent differently than relationships amongst other extension agents. trust has been identified as one of the necessary ced relationships and interpersonal leadership competencies through extension literature (benge & harder, 2017; bruce & anderson, 2012; cooper & graham, 2001; moore & rudd, 2004; sanders, 2014). within organizations, a climate in which employees feel trusted by their leader significantly influences follower work engagement, and that climate can be created through the trustworthy behaviors of the leader (engelbrecht et al., 2017; wong et al., 2010). because extension agents have a high level of autonomy in planning, implementing, and evaluating their programs, ceds must delegate leadership and trust that the extension mission will be accomplished (franz & townson, 2008). trust between extension agents and their ceds has not been studied in the specific context of cooperative extension, and therefore it is unknown whether ceds are perceived to be trustworthy by extension agents. theoretical and conceptual framework trust is defined as “the willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the outcomes of another party based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action important to the trustor, irrespective of the ability to monitor or control that other party” (mayer et al., 1995, p. 712). schoorman et al. (2007) explain that when someone seeks to trust another person or group, that person is being vulnerable, opening themselves to risk, and giving up control. though trust does not define a relationship between two or more individuals (schoorman et al., 2007), trust does have an impact on that relationship (graen & uhl-bien, 1995). trustworthiness was identified by sanders (2014) as an important leadership competency for ceds to possess. in fact, trust was identified as a top five ced leadership competency by county administrators and a top seven competency by other county extension directors (sanders, 2014). benge (2015) is the only known study of trust within extension, which found that agents reported moderate levels of trust regarding their ced. because the nature of the relationship between an extension agent and their ced is personal, we chose to use the trust in leaders scale (tls) which is derived from person-based trust approach and theory (adams et al., 2008). the tls is a person-based trust instrument that seeks to capture the essence of trust between a leader and their follower using four trust concepts, or antecedents: benge & cash advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.211 53 • competence: the extent to which the person exhibits a group of skills, competencies and characteristics that allow them to have influence in some domain. • integrity: the extent to which the person is seen as honorable, and their words match their actions. • benevolence: the extent to which the person is seen to be genuinely caring and concerned. • predictability: the extent to which the person’s behavior is consistent. we chose the tls for our study because the trust relationship between ceds and extension agents involve a high amount of interaction and direct contact. additionally, ceds and extension agents have shared experience and history, making the tls and ideal instrument to measure trust within florida. this is the first time the tls has been used in an extension context. purpose the purpose of our study was to examine the perceptions of trust antecedents between uf/ifas extension agents and ceds. our research objectives were to: 1. describe the level of trust between uf/ifas extension agents and ceds. 2. determine if significant differences existed among trust antecedents and participant characteristics. 3. determine if significant relationships existed among trust antecedents and participant characteristics. methods we obtained approval from the university of florida institutional review board prior to conducting our study. our quantitative study utilized survey methods (dillman et al., 2009) to examine the perceptions of trust antecedents between uf/ifas extension agents and ceds. the population of interest for our study was county extension agents who were not a ced, regional specialized agent (rsa), or state specialized agent (ssa). we attained the list of uf/ifas extension agents (n = 349) from the uf/ifas extension business services office. after we removed ceds, rsas, and ssas from the list, our target population consisted of 246 extension agents. we used the tls which consisted of 20 items and yields high reliability with a cronbach’s alpha of .97 (cronbach, 1951). the tls items were measured using a 7-point likert-type scale: 1 = completely disagree, 2 = very much disagree, 3 = somewhat disagree, 4 = neither agree or disagree, 5 = somewhat agree, 6 = very much agree, and 7 = completely agree. the tls does not provide an interpretation of the mean, so we created a mean interpretation as follows: 1.0 – 2.5 = very low, 2.6 – 4.0 = low, 4.1 – 5.5 = moderate, 5.6 – 7.0 = high. we also added six demographic questions, including year of extension experience, number of years worked with their ced, gender, their ced’s gender, extension district, and if their county was rural or urban. we used an expert panel and reliability measures to ensure internal consistency (ary et al., benge & cash advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.211 54 2006; shavelson, 1996). the five-member expert panel that reviewed the survey included the three researchers, one extension agent, and one ced. we measured the cronbach’s alpha coefficient to ensure the tls antecedents maintained internal consistency and mirrored the tls alpha levels (see table 1). table 1 reliability levels of trust in leaders scale (tls) antecedents tls antecedent tls alpha levels study alpha levels competence .95 .98 integrity .89 .96 benevolence .94 .96 predictability .90 .92 note. reliability levels ≥ .80 considered acceptable (cronbach, 1951). we used qualtrics to format and deliver our online questionnaire due to its advantages, such as ease in distribution, anonymity, low cost, and access to both the researchers and participants (ary et al., 2006; dillman et al., 2009). because our target population was small, we used a census sampling procedure to gather as much data as possible (ary et al., 2006). we used the tailored design method (tdm) by dillman et al. (2009), which yields high response rates, reduces sampling error, develops trust with the respondents, and allows the researcher to follow scientifically founded survey procedures. in january 2021, we sent a pre-notice letter to all extension agents regarding the study one week prior, an invitation email, and three followup emails. there were 107 extension agents who completed the survey, which yielded a response rate of 44%. we used descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the data (ary et al., 2006; shavelson, 1996). we used the pearson r correlation coefficient to examine the strength of association and direction between trust antecedents and participant demographic characteristics (shavelson, 1996). a value of r = +.70 or higher indicates a very strong association, +.50 to +.69 signifies a substantial positive association, +.30 to +.49 is a moderate positive association, +.10 to +.29 suggests a low positive association, +.01 to +.09 implies a negligible positive association, and a .00 r means no association exists (shavelson, 1996). there were three limitations of our study. first, respondents may have misinterpreted the questions, which would decrease the validity of our results. second, respondents may not have been honest when answering the survey, perhaps out of fear or reporting poor performance. we addressed this limitation by informing the respondents the study was anonymous and all data collected was secure. the third limitation is the low response rate of our study. to address this limitation, lindner et al. (2001) and sivo et al., (2006) recommend comparing early to late respondents to minimize nonresponse error. we did not identify any significant differences between early and late respondents when testing against all of the demographic variables of our study. benge & cash advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.211 55 findings objective one results the first objective was to describe the level of trust between uf/ifas extension agents and ceds (see table 2). participants tended to moderately trust their ced across all four trust antecedents. benevolence was the trust antecedent with the highest reported mean (m = 5.23, sd = 1.55), followed by integrity (m = 5.21, sd = 1.52), competence (m = 5.19, sd = 1.47), and predictability (m = 5.02, sd = 1.21). the three individual trust items with the highest means were “i believe my ced is honest” (m = 5.60, sd = 1.65), “my ced is genuinely concerned about my well-being” (m = 5.34, sd = 1.73), and “my ced has my best interests in mind” (m = 5.31, sd = 1.62). the three individual items with the lowest means were “i know exactly what my ced will do in difficult situations” (m = 4.54, sd = 1.36), “i can anticipate what my ced will do” (m = 4.91, sd = 1.22), and “my ced puts their words into action” (m = 5.03, sd = 1.67). table 2 index means and standard deviations of uf/ifas extension agents’ level of perceived trust with their ced perceived trust with their ced m sd n benevolence 5.23 1.55 107 integrity 5.21 1.52 107 competence 5.19 1.47 107 predictability 5.02 1.21 107 extension agents reported competence as the lowest reported trust antecedent regarding number of years as an extension agent and their gender (see table 3). extension agents that have been on the job between 11-15 years reported the highest levels for all four trust antecedents of trust among others’ length of years on the job. regarding gender, female extension agents reported higher levels of benevolence (m = 5.33, sd = 1.53), integrity (m = 5.25, sd = 1.48), competence (m = 5.07, sd = 1.17), and predictability (m = 5.25, sd = 1.45) than their male colleagues. benge & cash advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.211 56 table 3 index means and standard deviations of demographic characteristics related to respondents and the tls antecedents demographic characteristics of respondents benevolence integrity competence predictability m sd m sd m sd m sd years as an extension agent 0–5 years (n = 39) 5.19 1.68 5.15 1.69 5.08 1.33 5.20 1.67 6–10 years (n = 25) 5.08 1.58 5.04 1.51 4.89 1.02 4.96 1.53 11–15 years (n = 20) 5.54 1.10 5.43 1.09 5.13 0.96 5.43 1.12 more than 15 years (n = 22) 5.27 1.68 5.37 1.56 4.98 1.40 5.25 1.38 gender male (n = 26) 5.10 1.60 5.22 1.59 4.90 1.35 5.14 1.53 female (n = 78) 5.33 1.53 5.25 1.48 5.07 1.17 5.25 1.45 extension agents reported competence as the lowest report trust antecedent regarding the length of their working relationship with their ced and their ced’s gender (see table 4). regarding their ced’s gender, extension agents had higher levels of benevolence (m = 5.27, sd = 1.73), integrity (m = 5.29, sd = 1.61), competence (m = 5.12, sd = 1.35), and predictability (m = 5.24, sd = 1.60) if their ced was female. table 4 index means and standard deviations of ced demographic characteristics of respondents and the tls antecedents demographic characteristics of respondents benevolence integrity competence predictability m sd m sd m sd m sd years working relationship between ced and agent 0–5 years (n = 73) 5.21 1.62 5.21 1.58 5.02 1.19 5.14 1.53 6–10 years (n = 19) 5.54 1.22 5.41 1.29 5.22 1.08 5.47 1.25 11–15 years (n = 8) 4.70 1.50 4.65 1.28 4.60 1.10 4.75 1.48 more than 15 years (n = 6) 5.53 1.80 5.56 1.63 5.03 1.90 5.56 1.47 ced’s gender male (n = 53) 5.27 1.35 5.20 1.39 4.95 1.07 5.20 1.34 female (n = 51) 5.27 1.73 5.29 1.61 5.12 1.35 5.24 1.60 extension agents in the northeast extension district reported higher trust levels regarding benevolence (m = 5.56, sd = 1.44), integrity (m = 5.48, sd = 1.33), competence (m = 5.25, sd = 1.15), and predictability (m = 5.49, sd = 1.38) than agents from other extension districts (see table 5). extension agents serving rural counties reported higher trust levels regarding benevolence (m = 5.52, sd = 1.41), integrity (m = 5.57, sd = 1.36), competence (m = 5.16, sd = benge & cash advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.211 57 1.23), and predictability (m = 5.52, sd = 1.32), followed by mixed and urban counties, respectively. table 5 index means and standard deviations of demographic characteristics related to respondents’ location and the tls antecedents demographic characteristics of respondents benevolence integrity competence predictability m sd m sd m sd m sd extension district northwest (n = 19) 5.22 1.41 5.24 1.38 5.14 .98 5.29 1.18 northeast (n =21) 5.56 1.44 5.48 1.33 5.25 1.15 5.49 1.38 central (n = 27) 5.41 1.48 5.34 1.54 5.03 1.37 5.47 1.37 southeast (n = 20) 5.07 1.59 5.07 1.59 5.13 1.01 4.71 1.81 southwest (n = 16) 5.26 1.67 5.27 1.46 4.60 1.44 5.20 1.39 rural or urban county rural (n = 30) 5.52 1.41 5.57 1.36 5.16 1.23 5.52 1.32 urban (n = 43) 5.17 1.50 5.09 1.42 4.96 1.12 5.08 1.42 mix (n = 30) 5.28 1.66 5.25 1.65 5.01 1.37 5.22 1.60 objective two results our second objective was to determine if significant differences existed between trust antecedents and participant characteristics. there were no statistically significant differences between the trust antecedents and participants’ demographic characteristics. objective three results our third objectives sought to determine if significant relationships existed between trust antecedents and participant characteristics (see table 6). all four trust antecedents had a very strong association with each other; however, none of the antecedents were correlated with any of the participant demographics. benge & cash advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.211 58 table 6 correlations matrix between trust antecedents and participant demographic characteristics trust antecedents and participant demographic characteristics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1. benevolence .94* .79* .88* .07 .01 .06 -.01 -.04 -.06 2. integrity .79* .89* .09 .01 .10 .03 -.03 -.08 3. predictability .80* .01 -.03 .06 .07 -.12 -.04 4. competence .07 .03 .03 .01 -.09 -.07 5. years worked in extension .49* -.04 -.22* .07 .05 6. years working relationship .03 -.01 .09 .00 7. gender -.01 -.01 .00 8. ced’ gender .18 -.05 9. extension district .22* 10. urban or rural county *p < 0.05 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations extension agents reported moderate levels of trust with their ceds amongst the trust antecedents of benevolence, integrity, predictability, and competence. this study’s results mirror that of benge (2015) that found moderate levels of trust using a different trust inventory. the first potential reason for moderate trust in this study is the nature of the relationship between ced and agent may not require a high level of trust. though ceds and agents have person-based trust due to high interactions and direct contact (kramer, 1996), they are also colleagues to one another, (uf/ifas, 2022) potentially affecting the dynamic of the relationship and inevitably changing the trust needs between the ced and agent. the second potential reason for moderate trust could be related to low-quality relationships between extension agents and ceds. graen and uhl-bien (1995) explain low-quality relationships will have low trust between followers and leaders, whereas high-quality relationship yields high trust. benge and harder (2017), which is the only strength of relationship study in the extension literature, found that only 60 percent uf/ifas extension agents perceived they had a quality relationship with their ced. also, graen and uhl-bien (1995) explain that all new relationships start with low-quality interactions and low trust. if uf/ifas extension has a high amount of agent turnover and refills those positions, the relationships between the new extension agents and ceds would automatically begin in the benge & cash advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.211 59 stranger phase of leadership, which is accompanied by low trust. if the same is true of the current study’s participants, this might account for the moderate levels of trust. a third potential reason for moderate trust could be that extension agents perceive their ced not trusting them to do their job. katz (1955) explained that ceds as the “top managers” need to use their human and conceptual skills when interacting with their followers and trust the agent’s technical skills to do their job. ceds may need additional training if they are managing and supervising extension agents to ensure they are using appropriate skillsets in their role (sanders, 2014). additionally, there is an absence within the trust and leadership literature that explains how much trust followers should have with their leaders within an organization, which makes it difficult to determine if moderate trust levels are standard within organizations. unintended outcomes of the study were that female extension agents and rural extension agents perceived themselves trusting their ced more than male extension agents and urban extension agents. though agent gender and location did not demonstrate significant differences when analyzing the data, it is noteworthy and could shed light on future research and training opportunities. regarding recommendations for research, amore thorough examination is needed to understand how trust forms and exists between uf/ifas extension agents and ceds. other state extension systems could employ the tls to explore if their own system has the same or varying levels of trust and to understand if moderate levels of trust in extension are the norm when compared to this study’s context of uf/ifas extension. regarding recommendations for practice and application, working towards an environment where agents and ceds experience high trust should be a priority for uf/ifas extension, as such environments support follower’s organizational vision and engagement and ability to accomplish goals (engelbrecht et al., 2017; winston, 2003; wong et al., 2010). uf/ifas extension administration could include a trust measure during the screening and hiring process to ensure potential ced hires have the appropriate leadership skillset needed to lead others upon entering the job. organizations that employ leadership education see improved situational approaches to leader/follower interactions, skilled leader mentors (amagoh, 2009), and competency-based leader behavior change (sowcik et al., 2018). therefore, leadership development specialists should be encouraged to provide leadership education (ricketts et al., 2012) to both new and seasoned ceds to ensure a 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(2010), authentic leadership and nurses’ voice behaviour and perceptions of care quality. journal of nursing management, 18(8), 889–900. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01113.x © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 179-seeking+support+for+mental+health_+evaluating+social+identity+and+social+capital+agricultural+producers+and+their+help-seeking+preferences.docx baker et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 1, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. carrie n. baker, marketing strategy coordinator, texas a&m university, 578 john kimbrough blvd, 2112 tamu, college station, tx 77843, carrie.baker@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4765-8542 2. robert strong, associate professor, 600 john kimbrough blvd, 2116 tamu, texas a&m university, robert.strongjr@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5279-4808 3. carly mccord, director of telebehavioral care, licensed psychologist, clinical assistant, professor, texas a&m university, 2900 e. 29th street, suite 300, bryan, tx 77807, cmccord@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4386-4928 4. tobin redwine, instructional assistant professor, texas a&m university, 600 john kimbrough blvd, 2116 tamu, college station, tx 77843, tredwine@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9975-8169 57 seeking support for mental health: evaluating social identity and social capital agricultural producers and their helpseeking preferences c. baker1, r. strong2, c. mccord3, t. redwine4 abstract stigma, cultural norms, nature of work and lack of access to care are among the many variables that place agricultural producers particularly at risk for compromised mental health and related illness. one variable related to improved mental health outcomes is help-seeking intention, which can be mediated by variables such as social identity and social capital. the study’s purpose was to characterize these variables among producers and describe the intention of agricultural producers to seek mental health assistance. researchers conducted a bi-regional state survey of agricultural producers in 32 texas counties. a representative sample of texas agricultural producers (n = 429) were surveyed to understand their social identity and social capital as well as their intentions to seek mental health assistance for personal or emotional problems and for suicide ideation. results support the use of identity-based programming to increase social capital, in conjunction with tailored mental health education and training to promote healthy help-seeking behavior among agricultural producers. researchers recommend innovative solutions for agricultural extension to consider for improving stakeholder’s lives. an agricultural extension central resource or information hub, which houses national resources and information about this growing area of research would be a valuable investment of time and resources. keywords farmers, suicide, public health, extension, professional development baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.179 58 introduction and problem statement mental health issues are more common in rural areas due to the lack of accessibility, availability, and acceptability of mental health services (newman et al., 2021). included in this population of rural, underserved residents is agricultural producers and their families. research shows that agricultural producers are at increased risk for stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental-health related problems (milner et al., 2013; saane et al., 2004). evidence suggests that multiple factors relating to producer lifestyle, agrarian norms, and stigma surrounding mental health contribute to this growing epidemic within the agriculture industry and delay producers from seeking help (peter et al., 2000; roy et al., 2017). according to cornally and mccarthy (2011), help-seeking behavior, provides insight to understand patient delay and intention to take action. rural areas have higher suicide rates juxtaposed to those residing in urban areas (harris et al., 2016). research by deane et al. (2001) found that higher levels of suicide ideation correlated with lower levels of intention in young people. this was further affirmed by research from calear et al. (2014) which found that adults experiencing thoughts of suicide had lower intention to seek help than those who were not. extension organizations and higher education institutions are increasingly challenged with producing societal impacts that improve the lives of stakeholders (strong & israel, 2009). rural public health professionals desire to better collaborate and engage with other community organizations such as religious organizations, food pantries, and agricultural extension on programming (ziller & milkowski, 2020). extension systems should identify local priorities to implement the highest quality and impactful programs (harder et al., 2009) to improve producer mental health. producing program impacts that improve stakeholders’ lives are expectations and recommended competencies of proficient and community-responsive agricultural extension workers (benge et al., 2011; harder et al., 2013; strong & harder, 2011). as evidenced by current health data, there is an immense need to understand help-seeking behaviors of agricultural producers for mental health, including their social groups and sources from which they would be willing to seek help. findings could contribute greatly to rural health practice to better serve agricultural producers and their communities. theoretical and conceptual framework this study utilized an integration of the ajzen and fishbein’s (1980) theory of reasoned action and social identity theory as the theoretical framework. these theories helped provide a foundation for understanding individuals’ intention to engage in certain behaviors from a social identity perspective. according to the theory of reasoned action, there are two main constructs that influence an individual’s intent, and in turn, their resulting behavior (ajzen & fishbein, 1980). these include attitudes and subjective norms. attitude refers to a positive or negative feeling about someone or something, and subjective norms are determined by the motivation to behave according to baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.179 59 an important person or group’s beliefs. each of these are influenced by various systems of belief. the theory of reasoned action and its subsequent models have been widely used and recognized as effective models for predicting and evaluating various determinants of health behavior and intention (montaño & kasyrzyk, 2015). scholars have noted the relevance of using social identity theory in conjunction with health behavior models (fielding et al., 2008). thus, social identity theory (tajfel & turner, 1979) was included as an extension of this framework, as a variable influencing each of the theory of reasoned action predictor variables. social identity theory posits that as highly social beings, individuals become invested in intergroup relationships that form their identity and influence their behavior (tajfel & turner, 1979). through a social identity lens, researchers had the opportunity to assess dimensions and strength of the identity of agricultural producers as an occupational group. there are mediating variables that can influence attitudes and encourage health-promoting behavior. studies by groth et al. (2017) and fielding et al. (2008) used social identity theory or variations of it to explain decision-making and behavior relating to certain agricultural practices. others find that social identity and the cultural norms associated with that identity also affect help-seeking. polain et al. (2011) reported agricultural producers over the age of 58 resisted help-seeking for mental health providers due to their lack of awareness of farmer lifestyle. producers claimed provider services were insensitive to their culture and livelihood (polain et al., 2011). another dimension of societal influence on behavior is social capital, which explains relationships, networks, and various outside individuals or groups that impact one’s beliefs and actions. like social identity, social capital has been used extensively in research involving agricultural producers and also in understanding mental health outcomes. research suggests social capital promotes health and well-being when emphasized and shows that increased social capital can improve mental health outcomes and significantly contribute to reducing stress, illness, and depression (haslam et al., 2009; lin, 2001; magson et al., 2014). in the current literature, little attention is given to understanding the social identity and social groups of agricultural producers or the potential impacts on their help-seeking behavior with regard to mental health. purpose the purpose of this study was to better understand the intentions of agricultural producers to seek help for issues pertaining to their mental health, identify sources from which producers would be willing to seek help and determine if occupational degree of involvement effects helpseeking intention. this study had three objectives: 1. characterize the social identity and social capital reported by agricultural producers. 2. describe the degree of help-seeking reported by agricultural producers. 3. describe scores for help-seeking sources reported by agricultural producers. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.179 60 methods researchers developed a cross-sectional survey, adhering to dillman’s tailored design method (dillman et al., 2014). in addition to this construct for personal characteristics, the instrument measured five variables. producers were asked likert-scale questions to characterize their social identity, social capital, self-stigma, likelihood of seeking help and preferred helping agent. pre-existing scales for all constructs were adapted for use in the instrument. the scales examined in this manuscript included the collective occupational identity construct (coic), personal social capital scale (pscs) and the general help-seeking questionnaire (ghsq). purposive sampling was used to target agricultural producers in texas between the ages of 1889 years of age, using databases provide by agriculture and natural resources (anr) extension agents in the west and east texas regions. researchers operationally defined agricultural producers using the definition provided within the code of federal regulations as one who is directly engaged in producing or has legal rights to harvest a commodity (code of federal regulations, 2012). in total, county agriculture and natural resource extension agents from 32 texas counties sent recruitment emails to 5,137 potential participants via email. of those 32 texas counties, 75% (n = 24) are designated as rural counties. of those 5,137 emails, 92 were undeliverable, resulting in a population of 5,045. of those 5,045 potential participants, researchers achieved a sample size of 429 participants, equating to a response rate of 8.50%. this manuscript looks exclusively at descriptive statistics derived from participant responses from the coic, pscs and the ghsq to understand the salience of the producer identity, the extent of producer’s social groups and the nature of those relationships. additionally, items from ghsq helped researchers characterize producers’ willingness to seek help and the sources from which they would be likely to turn to for help. researchers calculated means and standard deviations for each item. additionally, researchers calculated overall grand means for each of the three scales to get an analysis of the central tendencies social identity, social capital and help-seeking intention of the sample. results from each construct were compared for deviations and similarities, leading to potential opportunities for building sustainable systems of support. to control for nonresponse error, researchers compared early to late respondents and found no statistically significant differences in their responses (lindner et al., 2001). thus, researchers were able to obtain support for the generalizability of responses to the population of texas agricultural producers. in total, 39 respondents did not self-report as agricultural producers. however, when given the opportunity to self-describe involvement in the industry, 19 of those 39 descriptions aligned with the utilized definition of agricultural producer and were recoded as such. because we did not find the remaining 20 answers to be statistically significantly different from the remaining respondents, we did not exclude them from analysis. content validity was achieved through collaboration with committee members and discussion with other agriculturalists and extension practitioners. upon completion of data analysis, reliability was baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.179 61 confirmed using cronbach’s alpha (cronbach, 1951) for pscs which had 38 items (α = 0.94), coic which had 11 items (α = 0.82) and the ghsq, which had 28 items (α = 0.89). findings the descriptive statistics from the collective occupational identity construct (coic) (groth et al., 2017) is presented in table 1. collectively, the overall mean for social identity of agricultural producers within this sample (n = 355) was high (m = 4.68, sd = 0.75). there were four items used from the personal social capital scale in the instrument. three of the four pertained to people or people groups in their social groups. these items and the descriptive statistics from the top four sub-item in the personal social capital scale (pscs) (chen et al., 2009) are listed in table 2. table 1 descriptive statistics for the collective occupational identity construct items n m sd in general, i’m glad that i’m an agricultural producer. 354 5.32 1.01 i very much identify with agricultural producers in my area. 351 5.01 1.04 what happens to agricultural producers as a whole will have an effect on what happens in my life. 350 4.84 1.07 being a part of the larger group of agricultural producers is an important reflection of who i am. 350 4.62 1.22 i have a strong sense of belonging or attachment to other agricultural producers. 350 4.58 1.17 in general, others respect agricultural producers. 348 4.57 1.07 when someone criticizes agricultural producers, it feels like a personal insult. 349 4.56 1.35 my agricultural production activities distinguish me from those who are not agricultural producers. 351 4.48 1.27 i consider myself to be a typical agricultural producer in this area. 351 4.26 1.31 my regular social contacts and social relationships are with other agricultural producers. 349 4.20 1.16 note. participants scored statements from 1 =not applicable; 2= strongly disagree; 3=disagree; 4=neutral; 5=agree; 6 = strongly agree. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.179 62 table 2 how many of the people in each of the following categories do you keep in routine contact? items n m sd your immediate family members 345 1.67 .928 your friends 346 2.38 .812 your relatives 345 2.62 .888 people in your community 345 2.83 .718 note. participants scored each item from 1 = all; 2 = most; 3 = some; 4 = few; 5 = none. a lower mean represented a higher social capital score. there were five categories of utilized to assess farmer’s trust of members in their social system (see table 3). table 3 among the people in each of the following categories, how many can you trust? items n m sd your immediate family members 336 1.64 .96 your friends 336 2.03 .88 extension agent 326 2.11 1.11 your relatives 335 2.26 .99 extension specialist 341 3.79 1.01 note. participants scored each item from 1= all; 2 = most; 3 = some; 4 = few; 5 = none. a lower mean represented a higher social capital score. table 4 illustrates the five categories utilized to assess farmer’s trust of members in their social system. table 4 among the people in each of the following categories, how many will definitely help you upon your request? items n m sd your immediate family members 336 1.64 .96 your friends 336 2.03 .88 extension agent 326 2.11 1.11 your relatives 335 2.26 .99 note. participants scored each item from 1 = all;, 2 = most; 3 = some; 4 = few; 5 = none. a lower mean represented a higher social capital score. overall, the grand mean for responses within this construct for agricultural producers in this sample were relatively low (m = 2.73, sd = 0.56). because anchors in this scale were reverse baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.179 63 coded, a lower mean represented a higher social capital score. so, while the mean appears low, the social capital of agricultural producers in this sample was relatively high. the last item in this scale asked about the resources possessed by these individuals. participants scored each item from 1 to 5, with 5 representing none. the lowest resource reported as being possessed by these people groups was mental health education (m = 3.76, sd = 0.97). objective two aimed to describe the degree of help-seeking reported by agricultural producers. in order to achieve this objective, researchers calculated a grand mean for both questions within the help-seeking construct. this resulted in a statistical mean of responses (n = 312) for help-seeking intention for both personal or emotional problems (m = 3.77, sd = 0.95) and responses (n = 296) for suicidal thoughts (m = 3.53, sd = 1.24). on the provided scale, these fell between anchors 3 and 5, where 3 was labeled as unlikely and 5 was labeled likely. according to the scale provided, narratively, these means fell between the statement unlikely, and the most neutral anchor, which the creators of the original scale left unlabeled. another important finding from this objective was the difference in means. while only slightly, the statistical mean for help-seeking for personal or emotional problems was greater than the mean calculated for help-seeking for suicidal thoughts. for objective three, researchers described scores for help-seeking sources reported by agricultural producers. the top four responses for help-seeking for a personal or emotional problem are listed in tables 5. as shown, the top three sources identified by the sample as being the most likely to be sought out when experiencing personal or emotional problems were intimate partner (girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, de’ facto) (m = 5.50, sd = 1.85), friend (not related to you) (m = 4.70, sd = 1.54), and other relative or family member (m = 4.45, sd = 1.67). the item that received the lowest means was phone helpline (m = 2.54, sd = 1.67). unlike the first question which asked about likelihood of help-seeking for personal and emotional problems, the second question on the ghsq asked about sources one would be likely to seek help from if they were experiencing suicidal thoughts. responses pertaining to the second question in the general help seeking questionnaire (ghsq) (wilson et al., 2005) were somewhat shocking. similar to the first question, participants scored intimate partner (girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, de’ facto) (m = 5.06, sd = 2.26) the highest, as seen in table 5. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.179 64 table 5 descriptive statistics from “if you were having a personal or emotional problem, how likely is it that you would seek help from the following people?” items n m sd intimate partner (girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, de’ facto) 309 5.50 1.85 friend (not related to you) 311 4.70 1.54 other relative or family member 310 4.45 1.67 minister or religious leader (e.g. priest, rabbi, chaplain, church leader) 311 4.41 1.94 note. participants scored items from 1 to 7. anchors were labeled as 1= extremely unlikely; 3 = unlikely; 5 = likely; 7 = extremely likely. within the item for suicidal thoughts, agricultural producers scored minister or religious leader (e.g. priest, rabbi, chaplain, church leader) (m = 4.43, sd = 2.20) and mental health professional (e.g. psychologist, social worker, counselor) (m = 4.36, sd = 2.07) high enough to grant them the second and third largest mean. according to the scale provided, these means fell between anchor statements 4 and 5, where 4 was the midpoint of the scale and 5 indicated that intention was likely (see table 6). table 6 descriptive statistics from “if you were experiencing suicidal thoughts, how likely is it that you would seek help from the following people?” items n m sd intimate partner (girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, de’ facto) 292 5.06 2.25 minister or religious leader (e.g. priest, rabbi, chaplain, church leader) 292 4.43 2.20 mental health professional (e.g. psychologist, social worker, counselor) 292 4.36 2.07 friend (not related to you) 292 4.35 2.08 note. participants scored items from 1 to 7. anchors were labeled as 1 = extremely unlikely; 3 = unlikely; 5=likely; 7 = extremely likely. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations data provided evidence for the strength and salience of farmer identity and its potential implications on behavior. when agricultural producers identify broadly to their social group, especially when this identity is salient, it can positively impact their help-seeking behavior (haslam et al., 2009). this is an imperative finding, given the positive effects that enhanced social identity and increased social capital can have on help-seeking behaviors and improved mental health outcomes of agricultural producers (hedge et al., 2017; magson et al., 2014). baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.179 65 intimate partner, friend, and other relative or family member surfaced as top help-seeking sources for personal or emotional problems and for suicide ideation as well. this aligns with research that suggests that agriculturalists have closer familial relationships than those in other occupations—both in proximity and degree of contact (fraser et al., 2005). similarly, data from the personal social capital scale (pscs) showed that immediate family members, friends, and relatives play a large role in agricultural producers’ social capital and support networks. mental health professional represented the second highest mean in the dataset for the helpseeking in regard to thoughts of suicide. this is an important finding, as it contrasts an abundance of literature on help-seeking and mental healthcare service use. research suggests that there is a vast underutilization of mental health services and that various factors, such as availability, accessibility, and affordability, all influence likelihood of help-seeking (newman et al., 2021). this is especially true for agricultural producers, who battle accessibility and availability of care and whose insurance coverage might not include basic mental healthcare. immense opportunity exists to increase help-seeking intentions of production agriculturalists in order to achieve improved mental health outcomes. researchers recommend that attention be given to improving professional mental healthcare in rural areas, or those dense with clientele in agriculture. however, due to shortage of mental health professionals and facilities and barriers specific to producers like geographical distance to care, lack of insurance coverage, etc., researchers recommend that agricultural extension systems, community leaders and local legislators consider other ways in which agricultural producers might receive these services. innovative solutions for agricultural extension to consider for improving stakeholder’s lives (benge et al., 2011; harder et al., 2013; strong & harder, 2011) include telehealth, traveling or regional rural ’farm’ counselors, faith-based counselors through places of worship of religious organizations, or conjoining mental health services with other events or agriculturally-focused conventions/meetings—perhaps in conjunction with agricultural agencies and farmers associations (wynn et al., 2013). these partnerships will help practitioners offer culturally appropriate and sustainable intervention and treatment options for agricultural producers. these efforts will be maximized if the agencies push these educational materials communitywide, to raise awareness and promote help-seeking within the agricultural community, reduce stigma, and grow support networks and increase social capital of agricultural producers. lastly, one of the largest barriers to investigating mental health and resources within the agricultural industry was the lack of information both in peer-reviewed literature and in the media. this would suggest that struggling producers, practitioners, or researchers looking for guidance would be met with the same frustration. creating an agricultural extension central resource or information hub, which houses national resources and information about this growing area of research would be a valuable investment of time and resources. additionally, continued research broadly on health behaviors and help-seeking intention of agricultural producers for mental health-related struggles cannot be understated. baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.179 66 acknowledgements we thank the texas a&m agrilife extension service, specifically mandi seaton, larry pearce and robert pritz, the regional program leaders who championed this research within the agency and helped coordinate efforts to administer this survey. a special thank you to mason parish and the montgomery county farm bureau for their support and monetary contribution to fund the participation incentives for this research. this research is linked with dr. robert strong’s usda national institute of food and agriculture’s hatch project #tex09890 “the adoption impact of food and agricultural sciences curricula on public health.” this respective hatch project and the research contained in this article aligns with the usda critical issue “connecting agriculture and health (1862).” references ajzen, i., & fishbein, m. 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(2020). a century later: rural public health’s enduring challenges and opportunities. american journal of public health, 110(11), 1678–1686. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2020.305868 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 203-culture+as+a+predictor+of+effective+adoption+of+climate-smart+agriculture+in+mbeere+north%2c+kenya.docx gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 2, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. raphael mwiti gikunda, lecturer, chuka university, po box 109, 60400 chuka. gikundaraphael@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7154-7025 2. david lawver, professor, texas tech university, box 42131, lubbock tx. david.lawver@ttu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7244-0502 3. juma magogo riziki, research scientist, kalro, po box 4, 80406, matuga. mzubbao2005@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6968-440x 48 culture as a predictor of effective adoption of climate-smart agriculture in mbeere north, kenya r. gikunda1, d. lawver2, j. magogo abstract the research advances the existing extension education knowledge by illustrating the relationship between culture and adoption of climate-smart agriculture (csa). using a sample of 127, the study adopted a descriptive correlational design to gather data that addressed the hypotheses. the sample was selected randomly through systematic sampling procedures covering all parts of the sub-county. a semi-structured questionnaire was utilized to gather data. independent samples t-test and multiple regression analysis were applied in data analysis. the results indicated that farmers who received climate-smart information compared to farmers not receiving the information demonstrated significantly higher csa practices adoption levels. a combination of cultural elements significantly predicted the adoption of climate-smart practices. the moderate effective adoption rates witnessed may have been contributed by limited access to extension services and cultural barriers. among the cultural elements inability of extension agents to communicate in the local language was found to be the main inhibitor to effective dissemination and subsequent adoption. hence, extension agents conversant with local language should be recruited to break the communication barrier to improve the diffusion of csa practices. the county extension agents should be encouraged to use a mix of mass media extension education methods so as to expand the coverage. keywords extension education, indigenous knowledge, information access, sustainability gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.203 49 introduction and problem statement climate smart agriculture (csa) has been cited as a key element in climate change risk management (muriithi et al., 2021; united states agency for international development [usaid], 2016). to mitigate climate change agricultural systems must be resilient to sustain crop and livestock production ecologically, economically, and socially (national sustainable agriculture coalition [nsac], 2019). csa helps in building resilience of agricultural systems to climate change by minimizing greenhouse gas (ghgs) emissions (government of kenya [gok], 2017). research has shown that suitable agricultural practices are capable of offsetting up to 20% of carbon dioxide (co2) emissions in a year (thornton & herrero, 2010). a study by lobell and gourdji (2012) showed that global crop production is likely to drop by 5% by 2050 and about 1.5% every decade without climate change adaptation. kenya’s policies and legislations are not robust to ensure a smooth coordination of csa programs meant to address climate change hazards (gok, 2017). the csa programs’ implementation is also impeded by among others, poor infrastructure, inadequate extension capacity, unsuitable land tenure system, outdated traditions, and culture (mutoko et al., 2015). climate change adaptation research has been undertaken widely and in large scales, however, little information exists on the subject at local levels (perez, et al., 2015; wreford et al., 2010). moreover, the lack of data on effective climate-resilient strategies is the main impedement to formulation and implementation of robust localised adaptation and mitigation policies. although there is a growing body of literature on csa (anuga et al., 2019; murray et al., 2016) much remains to be unveiled regarding the forms of interactions that are most effective at generating equitable gains. moreover, little is known about the correlation between cultural elements and effective adoption of climate-smart practices. theoretical and conceptual framework this research hypothesized that culture plays a significant role in the effective dissemination and adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices as shown in figure 1. the diffusion and adoption of practices occurs within social and cultural systems (rogers, 2003). as observed by katz (1961) knowledge of social structures enables extension agents to locate potential adopters in a social system. the social system’s norms serve as a guide that describes the acceptable behavior either in form of taboos, folkways or mores. as such the norms can deter the adoption of some practices (rogers, 2003). the farmers attitudes, desires, and expections are driven by the society’s culture and the groups they belong to in the social structure. notably, farmers’ attitudes correlates positively with adoption of technologies (gikunda et al., 2021; kanyi et al., 2017). therefore, extension approaches should be aligned with farmers cultural norms and aspirations (millar, 2009). however, as reported by rogers (2003) very few studies exist to illustrate how social stuctures affects diffusion and adoption of innovations. the dissemination of csa in kenya and mbeere in particular is undertaken by both private and public sector organizations. although effective gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.203 50 dissemination and adoption of the csa practices in the target area would require appropriate communication channels and an understanding of the local langauge, farmers are more likely to adopt the practices based upon the past experiences with ecologically responsible behaviors (gikunda et al., 2022; moyo & salawu, 2017). figure 1 conceptual framework purpose the purpose of this research was to generate data that would shed light on the amount of variation accounted for by culture in effective dissemination and adoption of climate-smart practices. the specific research objectives were to: (a) determine if farmers with and without access to information differed significantly based upon the adoption levels of climate-smart practices, and (b) find out if language, traditions, attitude, politics, religious beliefs, and values are significant predictors of effective adoption of climate-smart practices. methods this research is a part of a larger study being conducted in mbeere north sub-county by several research teams (gikunda et al., 2022). the research project employed a correlational survey design involving a population of 2,047 farmers (chimoita et al., 2017). the design was considered suitable since the study was intended to relate culture to adoption of climate-smart practices (fraenkel et al., 2015). the study sample was comprised of 127 farmers selected through systematic random sampling (fraenkel et al., 2015). out of 127 farmers, 66 were female (52%) while 61 were male (48%). the respondents farm sizes ranged from 0.25 to 15 acres (m = 3.89, sd = 2.79). the research data was gathered using a peer reviewed semigikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.203 51 structured questionnaire. the questionnaire was comprised of majorly five-point likert-type items covering the main study variables. with the assistance of trained enumerators, the questionnaires were distributed to farmers in their respective households. a pilot study involving male (n = 12) and female (n = 18) farmers was conducted in embu north sub-county to establish the reliability and validity of the research instrument prior to the main study. sudman (1983) recommends a pilot study sample of between 12 and 50 participants in a survey research. the pilot study data was subjected to reliability analysis by use of spss. the resulting cronbach’s alpha values were adoption of climate-smart practices (m = 3.89, α = .69), and cultural elements (m = 2.16, α =.59). the results shows that adoption and cultural elements variables did not attain the acceptable coefficients, hence additional items were included to raise the values as recommended by george and mallery (2003). an independent samples t-test was conducted to determine if farmers with and without access to information differed significantly based upon the adoption of climate-smart practices. the values of skewness (-0.29) and kurtosis (-1.15) were within the acceptable levels indicating that data were normally distributed (george & mallery, 2010). the resulting insignificant levene’s statistics f (120) = 0.48, p = 0.49 showed that the assumption of homogeneity of variance had been met (levene, 1960). multiple regression was performed to determine if language, traditions, attitude, social structures, kind of food, literacy level, politics, taboos, gender roles, and values were significant predictors of effective adoption of climate-smart practices. an examination of the correlation matrix revealed a lack of perfect correlations between predictor variables. the correlations ranged from r = 0.01, p = 0.89 (very weak) to r = 0.70, p < .01(substantial) (davis, 1971). the variance inflation factors (vifs) ranged from 1.36 to 2.28 while tolerance statistics varied from 0.44 to 0.74 signifying a lack of perfect multicollinearity (menard, 1995; myers, 1990). the three diagnostic test statistics indicated that the assumption of lack of perfect multicollinearity had been met. findings the dissemination of climate-smart practices in mbeere sub-county is undertaken by public (n = 22, 17.3%), private (n = 25, 19.7%) and/or both sectors (n = 64, 50.4%). this shows that about half of the farmers in the area were receiving information on the practices from both private and public extensionists. the public sector extensionists included county agricultural officers as well as researchers from universities and research stations such as kenya livestock and research organization, and kenya forestry services. organizations such as agrochemical companies, churches, and community-based organizations (cbos) formed a part of the private sector extensionists that provided advice to farmers. however, a significant number of farmers (n = 16, 12.6%) had no access to climate-smart extension education. this indicates the need for extension service to be expanded to cover more farmers in the area so as to raise the uptake of climate smart practices. this implied that there was inadequate delivery of extension services in disseminating csa and can be taken to mean that extension agents’ particularly those working for the state were not doing enough to disseminate a diverse mix of csa practices to farmers. a gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.203 52 fact that was further alluded by some farmers (n = 38, 29.9%) who indicated that they had not received information relating to climate-smart information. moreover, the mean annual number of contacts involving farmers and extension agents was very low (m = 2.03, sd = 2.23). the finding confirms the results of previous research in the county which reported a lack of access to quality information to farmers (kavita, 2018). many of the farmers who did not have direct access to extension advise relied upon radio programs (m = 3.45, sd = 1.06) and indigenous knowledge (muthee et al., 2019). one of the most common radio stations that provided agricultural information in local language to a majority of farmers was inooro fm. the use of indigenous knowledge may have resulted from the farmers’ continued engagement in traditional agriculture that is largely rain-fed. access to information and effective adoption of climate-smart practices the first objective sought to determine if farmers with access to information differed significantly from those without based upon the adoption levels of climate-smart practices. an independent samples t-test was performed to test the hypothesis. table 1 presents the descriptive and t-test results for access to information and adoption levels of climate-smart practices. the results indicated that farmers who received climate-smart information (n = 84, m = 60.52, sd = 9.71) compared to farmers not receiving the information (n = 38, m = 55.21, sd = 9.68) demonstrated significantly higher practices adoption levels, t (120) = -2.80, p = 01. the resulting cohen’s d was 0.55 signifying a medium effect (cohen, 1992). this implied that access to information had a medium effect on adoption of climate-smart practices. it is also clear from the findings that a significant number of farmers were not receiving agricultural information in the sub-county. since the farmers receiving information reported higher adoption scores, it can be taken to mean that improving access to climate-smart information would improve the adoption of the practices (jack & tobias, 2017). table 1 descriptive and t-test statistics for access to information and effective adoption of climatesmart practices (n = 122) group a n m sd t df p receiving information 84 60.52 9.71 -2.80 120 .01 not receiving information 38 55.21 9.68 note. a = 1 = yes, 0 = no; levene’s p = .49 table 2 presents the means and standard deviations of cultural aspects that are thought to influence effective adoption of climate-smart practices. the results indicated that the prevailing cultural values such as respect and responsibility (m = 3.00, sd = 1.60), bias on particular kinds of food (staple food) (m = 2.88, sd = 1.44), inability of extension agents to communicate in the local language (m = 2.80, sd = 1.65), and illiteracy levels structures (m = 2.76, sd = 1.22) were likely to deter the adoption of climate-smart practices to a great extent. gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.203 53 table 2 descriptive statistics for cultural elements a and effective adoption of climate-smart practices b (n = 120) cultural elements m sd prevailing cultural values such as respect and responsibility 3.00 1.60 bias on particular kinds of food (staple food) 2.88 1.44 inability of extension agents to communicate in the local language 2.80 1.65 illiteracy levels 2.76 1.22 political interference 2.09 1.20 rigid social structures 1.95 .96 negative attitude towards the practices 1.88 1.16 unfavorable societal taboos 1.83 1.16 production resource acquisition (inheritance) e.g. women cannot inherit land 1.83 1.07 gender roles; male and female roles 1.65 .99 conservation of societal traditions such as women taking farm decisions 1.54 .93 note. a 1 = not at all; 2 = slight extent; 3 = moderate extent; 4 = great extent; 5 = very great; b = not at all, 2 = rarely; 3 = sometimes; 4 = occasionally; 5 = always; effective adoption of climatesmart practices, m = 58.95, sd = 10.07 previous research shows that extension competency and farmers’ education levels are among the main determinants of agricultural technologies adoption rates (suvedi et al., 2017). the applicability of the practices would require a clear understanding of the disseminated information. as such farmers must be educated for a complete grasp of the concepts to be realized. in situations where the farmers are not educated, the extension agent must be able to deliver the message in a language that is easily understandable to the clients. this can also be enhanced by applying a mix of extension methods such as experiential learning (field days and field demonstrations) that would allow the uneducated farmers to observe the practices in the course of the implementation. a majority of the farmers also felt that gender roles (m = 1.65, sd = 0.99) and conservation of societal traditions such as women taking farm decisions (m = 1.54, sd = 0.93) were less likely to affect effective application of the practices. this implied that culture played a pivotal role in the dissemination and adoption of climate-smart practices. a confirmation of an observation made by rogers (2003) that culture is a critical pillar in agriculture as it can either impede or enhance diffusion and adoption of agricultural innovations. effective adoption of climate-smart practices the adoption of csa practices was assessed through summated scores of five-points likert-type items. the scale for adoption of practices was comprised of 16 items (table 4) each item consisting of five points; giving a total of 80 points. an assessment of the adoption rates of the practices revealed that out of the 127 farmers who were engaged in the study, only 13 (10.24%) were utilizing the practices sustainably (table 3). however, a majority of the farmers (n = 72, gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.203 54 56.69%) frequently applied the practices in their farms. the poor adoption rates (n = 26, 20.47%) witnessed among some farmers may have been contributed by inefficiencies and/or ineffectiveness on the part of the extension agents, cultural barriers, farm, and farmer related factors (mwamakimbula, 2014; mwangi & kariuki, 2015). as shown in table 3, the adoption scores ranged from 40 to 79. on average (m = 59.08, sd = 9.83) a majority of farmers had fairly adopted the practices. this calls for a concerted effort among the stakeholders to improve the adoption so as to successfully manage the climate changes being experienced. table 3 distribution of farmers by the adoption scores a (n = 127) adoption scores frequency (f) percent (%) 40 – 47 26 20.47 48 -55 16 12.60 56 – 63 35 27.56 64 – 71 37 29.13 72 – 79 13 10.24 note. a 1 = not at all, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = occasionally, 5 = always; m = 59.08, sd = 9.83 as shown in table 4, timely planting (m = 4.44, sd = 0.85), terracing (m = 4.28, sd = 1.06), cover-cropping (m = 4.28, sd = 1.09), use of organic manure (m = 4.26, sd = 1.13), and use of legumes in crop rotation (m = 4.22, sd = 1.08) were among the most frequently applied practices. this shows that a majority of farmers in the area concentrated on land-use system practices at the expense of other climate change mitigation practices. the integration of trees with crops and/or livestock (m = 3.19, sd = 1.35), use of improved livestock breeds (m = 2.89, sd = 1.36), and the cultivation of crops with zero or minimum tillage (m = 2.63, sd = 1.41) were only utilized from time to time. based on the findings, many of the practices were applied from time to time in a year rather than in a sustainable manner so as to cushion farmers from the risks associated with changes in climate (asfaw & lipper, 2016). gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.203 55 table 4 descriptive statistics for adoption of climate-smart practices (n = 127) practice a m sd timely planting 4.44 .85 use of terraces 4.28 1.06 use of cover crops 4.28 1.09 use of organic manure 4.26 1.13 use of legumes in crop rotation 4.22 1.08 intercropping to maximize space 4.20 1.22 use of drought resistant crop varieties 3.94 1.51 use of mulching 3.72 1.27 diversified crop and animal breeds 3.65 1.24 use of disease resistant varieties 3.63 1.63 contour farming 3.46 1.28 diversification of water sources e.g. rainwater harvesting 3.24 1.49 water saving irrigation methods 3.03 1.40 agroforestry 3.19 1.35 use of improved livestock breeds 2.89 1.36 minimum tillage 2.63 1.41 note. a = 1 = not at all, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = occasionally, 5 = always culture and effective adoption of climate-smart practices objective two sought to examine if cultural elements were significant predictors of effective adoption of climate-smart practices. multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine if cultural elements were significant predictor of effective adoption of climate-smart practices. the analysis revealed that a combination of cultural elements explained a significant variation in the adoption of climate-smart practices, [𝑅! = .21, 𝑅"#$! = .13, 𝐹(11,108) = 2.66, 𝑝 = .001] as shown in table 5. specifically, the cultural elements accounted for 21% of the variance and this shows that culture had a medium effect on the adoption of the practices (field, 2017). the resulting model was summarized as follows; effective adoption = 57.13 + (.01 traditions) (1.48 language) + (1.72 structures) + (1.72 values) + (1.32 food type) + (1.39 politics) (.73 literacy) – (.58 taboos) – (.74 attitude) – (.42 inheritance) – (2.43 gender roles) + ε gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.203 56 table 5 regression analysis for cultural elementsa to effective adoption of climate-smart practicesb (n = 120) variables b se b β p (constant) 57.13 3.51 .00 societal traditions .01 1.07 .00 .99 local language -1.48 .66 -.24 .03 social structures 1.72 1.05 .16 .11 cultural values 1.72 .81 .27 .04 kinds of food (staple food) 1.32 .87 .19 .13 politics 1.39 .85 .17 .11 literacy levels -.73 .83 -.09 .38 societal taboos -.58 .96 -.07 .55 attitude towards the practices -.74 .98 -.09 .45 inheritance of resources -.42 1.05 -.05 .69 gendered roles -2.43 1.11 -.24 .03 note. a 1 = not at all, 2 = slight extent, 3 = moderate extent, 4 = great extent, 5 = very great; b 1= not at all, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = occasionally, 5 = always; f (11, 108) = 2.66, p = 0.01 r2 = 0.21, r2 adjusted = 0.13 it was also found (table 5) that local language (b = -1.48, t = -2.25, p = .03), cultural values (b = 1.72, t = 2.13, p = .04), and gender roles (b = -2.43, t = -2.18, p = .03), significantly predicted effective adoption. however, societal traditions (p = .99), social structures (p = .11), kind of food (p = .13), politics (p = .11), literacy levels (p = .38), taboos (p = .55), attitude towards the practices (p = .45), and inheritance (p = .69) were not significant predictors. this implied that increased inability of extension agents to communicate in the local languages would inhibit effective diffusion of climate-smart practices and subsequently slow the adoption levels. an enhancement of the prevailing cultural values in the sub-county would provide a conducive environment for the dissemination of the practices thus, increase the adoption. however, an increase in gender roles demarcation would reduce the adoption rates for the practices. this means that language, cultural values, and gendered roles are very important cultural aspects that extensionists must put into consideration when planning and implementing extension education programs not only on climate-smart but also in other areas of agriculture. failure to incorporate culture in the programs would then result in inefficiencies. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the adoption of climate-smart practices in mbeere north sub-county was moderately effective. this was due to minimal dissemination of information relating to the practices; a service offered by private and public sector extensionists (gikunda et al., 2022). as such a majority of the farmers utilized indigenous knowledge and own experiences which were culturally embedded. timely planting, terracing and cover cropping were the most frequently practices gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.203 57 utilized. although the majority of the farmers were receiving climate-smart information, a reasonable number had no access to it. this establishes a climate-smart extension education need that calls for a collaborative effort between the private and public sector extensionists operating in the area. the utilization of mass extension methods such as the use of text messages, radio, and television programs should be expanded to supplement the few individual farm visits, off –farm, and field demonstrations that are occasionally applied. this would also go a long way in addressing the problem of high extension to farmer ratio (davis, 2008). culture was key to effective dissemination and adoption of climate-smart practices (gikunda et al., 2021). among the cultural elements, language, cultural values, and gendered roles were more likely to inhibit or enhance the diffusion and adoption processes. however, politics, societal traditions, taboos, attitude, social structures, kind of food, and farmers’ literacy levels were less likely to influence the processes. the increasing inability of frontline extension workers to communicate in the local language repressed effective dissemination of csa practices and subsequent adoption rates. to address the problem, communications barriers should be removed through learning of local languages by extensionist, translation of extension messages to local languages, and among others. a mix of staff with in-depth understanding of the local languages would also address the communication problem as well as enhancing community diversities and/or co-existence. entrenchment and continued transfer of the cultural values to the upcoming farmers should be sustained to expand the adoption of the practices. this is due to the finding that cultural values favored csa adoption. clarity of roles in the communities also favored the utilization of the practices and as such it should be carried over generations. therefore, it is important for the agents to attune the extension programs especially those related to csa in line with the clients’ cultural values and traditions in order to boost the adoption rates. this study focused on the relationship between culture and adoption of the practices therefore, research is needed to establish the influence of culture on effective dissemination of the csa practices since dissemination is positively correlated to adoption. references anuga, s. w., gordon, c., boon, e., & surugu, j. m. 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(2010). climate change and agriculture: impacts, adaptations, and mitagation.organization for economic cooperation and development (oecd). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51996928_climate_change_and_agricultur e © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ruth et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 3, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. taylor ruth, assistant professor, university of nebraska-lincoln, 143 filley hall p.o. box 830937, lincoln, ne 68583, taylor.ruth@unl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5269-9154 2. blake colclasure, assistant professor, doane university, 1014 boswell ave., crete, ne 68333, blake.colclasure@doane.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8375-286x 3. nathan conner, associate professor, university of nebraska-lincoln, 143 filley hall p.o. box 830937, lincoln, ne 68583, nconner2@unl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0063-4110 4. tessa durham brooks, associate professor, doane university, 1014 boswell ave., crete, ne 68333, tessa.durhambrooks@doane.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8699-6253 5. andrea holmes, professor, doane university, 1014 boswell ave., crete, ne 68333, andrea.holmes@doane.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2963-1952 1 hemp on the horizon: understanding the influences on industrial hemp purchases t. ruth1, b. colclasure2, n. conner3, t. d. brooks4, a. holmes5 abstract the industrial hemp market is expected to grow in upcoming years due to increased use in food, paper, and personal care products, opening new opportunities for farmers across the united states. an increase in hemp products provides an opportunity to better understand consumer preferences and to educate consumers on hemp. the purpose of this research was to understand what influences consumers’ purchases of hemp products. this study was guided by the spiral of silence theory, which proposed that people will conform their attitudes and behaviors to match the perceived majority’s opinion. students in college-level introductory science courses were surveyed and their attitude toward industrial hemp, perceptions of others’ attitude toward industrial hemp, and knowledge on hemp were measured. data were analyzed using means, frequencies, and logistic regression. most respondents reported not having purchased a hemp product in the past six months. the only predictors of hemp purchases were gender and attitude. when accounting for spiral of silence variables and personal characteristics, females were more likely than males to purchase hemp products. extension educators should partner with hemp growers and processors to discuss how people are commonly using hemp products and to communicate to producers how consumers are using the products. keywords agricultural production, consumer choices, spiral of silence mailto:taylor.ruth@unl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5269-9154 mailto:blake.colclasure@doane.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8375-286x mailto:nconner2@unl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0063-4110 mailto:tessa.durhambrooks@doane.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8699-6253 mailto:andrea.holmes@doane.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2963-1952 ruth et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 2 introduction and problem statement the 2018 united states farm bill removed industrial hemp from its list of federally controlled substances (united states department of agriculture [usda], n.d.), and opened opportunities for farmers and consumers across the country. the industrial hemp industry made $1.1 billion in 2018 and is anticipated to double by 2022 (woods, 2019). globally, industrial hemp markets are projected to continue to grow as hemp use in skincare, food, paper, beverage, and even automotive products continues to increase (global market insight, 2022), thus opening new opportunities for farmers across the country. nebraska is one of the many states allowing growers to apply for licenses to grow hemp (nebraska department of agriculture, 2019). while hemp is grown to have no more than 0.3% of the psychoactive compound, tetrahydrocannabinol (thc), it is often grown to have high levels of cannabidiol (cbd), a non-psychoactive compound (grinspoon, 2019). despite hemp products containing minimal levels of thc (chandra et al., 2019), some lawmakers were against the legalization of hemp. for example, a nebraska state senator said, “the hemp bill's a trojan horse bill for marijuana. if you don't want your children or grandchildren getting easy access to drugs…don't vote for this bill” (young, 2019, para. 6). nebraska lawmakers’ vocal opposition and association of hemp and marijuana may have led to a social stigma associated with hemp production and use. this stigma and a general lack of knowledge related to hemp may impede sales of hemp products in nebraska, and growers may find it difficult to successfully market their product despite the current global demand (global cannabinoids, 2019). past research has determined extension agents possess positive attitudes toward communicating contentious topics (leal et al., 2020), but for agents to best help the industry and growers succeed, they will need to know the social influences on consumers’ decisions to purchase industrial hemp products. theoretical and conceptual framework this study was guided by the spiral of silence theory, which proposed that people will conform their attitudes and behaviors to match the perceived majority’s opinion (noelle-neumann, 1974). a person’s fear of isolation from the group can cause them to change their opinion or remain silent when their opinion is incongruent from the group’s opinion (noelle-neumann, 1974). their likeliness to share their opinion to the group is reliant on the a) strength of their attitude, b) perceived majority opinion toward the topic, and c) perceptions of future trends in attitude toward the topic (noelle-neumann, 1974). when people have weak attitudes toward a topic and believe the public to hold opposite attitudes, they will typically remain silent. however, if they perceive the future trends in attitude to align closely with their own, they will be more likely to speak out on the issue (noelle-neumann, 1974). the spiral of silence theory was applied to the concept of industrial hemp due to the polarized opinions around the commodity (cherney & small, 2016). unfortunately, relevant, peerreviewed literature related to public opinion and use of industrial hemp has been limited, likely https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 ruth et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 3 due to its only recent declassification as a controlled substance (usda, n.d.). hiller connell (2010) conducted a study to understand the barriers to purchasing eco-conscious apparel made from hemp fibers and concluded that lack of knowledge and negative attitude were the major internal barriers to purchasing apparel made from hemp. other studies have determined that only 14% of americans have tried cbd oil and mostly use it for pain, anxiety, or insomnia (brenan, 2019). researchers in poland also concluded that consumers had limited knowledge toward hemp, yet they possessed positive attitudes toward the medicinal properties of hemp (borkowska & bialkowska, 2019). the positive perceptions of hemp appeared to be the result of association with marijuana (borkowska & bialkowska, 2019). while public opinion research related to industrial hemp has been limited, there has been plenty of research related to the support or opposition to legalizing/decriminalizing marijuana in the us that may provide insight for this study. galston and dionne (2013) concluded attitude toward marijuana legalization was mostly ambivalent, and while support for legalization is growing, opposition to legalization has been intense. researchers also found support for marijuana legalization from liberals but concluded conservatives were not as vocal in neither their support nor opposition (cruz et al., 2016; galston & dionne, 2013). additionally, gender and age have been found to influence support for marijuana legalization, with men and younger people being the most supportive of the issue (galston & dionne, 2013). there is a clear gap in the literature for understanding how people decide to purchase industrial hemp. concepts from the spiral of silence may provide a baseline understanding for how societal and peer pressures (cruz et al., 2016; noelleneumann, 1974) could inform industrial hemp purchases. for the purpose of this research, public support of industrial hemp has been operationalized as the purchase and use of industrial hemp products. in addition to the spiral of silence variables (attitude toward industrial hemp production, perceptions of others’ attitudes, and future trends in attitudes toward industrial hemp), knowledge (brenan, 2019; hiller connell, 2010), political ideology (cruz et al., 2016; galston & dionne, 2013), gender (galston & dionne, 2013), and rural hometown were included in the conceptual model. whether or not the respondents lived in a rural hometown was included in the model because these respondents were from areas that could possibly grow industrial hemp in the near future. personal characteristics, spiral of silence variables, and industrial hemp knowledge were expected to have an influence on industrial hemp purchases. purpose developing a better understanding of consumers’ preferences and perception of industrial hemp products will provide practical information that can be used to help educate people on industrial hemp production and products. the purpose of this research was to understand what influences consumers’ industrial hemp products purchases. the following objectives guided this study: 1. identify respondents’ hemp purchasing behaviors in the past six months. 2. identify respondents’ knowledge of industrial hemp. https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 ruth et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 4 3. identify respondents’ attitude, perceptions of others’ attitudes, and perceived future trends of attitudes toward industrial hemp. 4. analyze how personal characteristics, knowledge, attitude, perceptions of others’ attitudes, and perceived future trends of attitudes toward industrial hemp predict industrial hemp purchases. methods quantitative methods were used to fulfill the purpose of this study. this research was part of a larger industrial hemp project to educate doane university students about hemp production. the population consisted of students in introductory science courses (n = 139), and 111 students (n = 111, 79.9%) completed the 25-question paper survey prior to the educational presentations. approximately half of the respondents were female (56.3%, n = 63), and most students identified as white (85.8%, n = 95), and a minority as hispanic, latino, or spanish origin (5.4%, n = 6). political beliefs consisted of very liberal (3.6%, n = 4), liberal (9.8%, n = 11), moderate (48.3%, n = 54), conservative (27.7%, n = 31), very conservative (7.1 %, n = 8), and unknown (3.6%, n = 4). the respondents consisted of freshmen (77.7%, n = 87), sophomores (13.4%, n = 15), juniors (7.1%, n = 8), and seniors (1.8%, n= 2). additionally, some of the respondents indicated they were from a rural hometown (42.0%, n =47) and the rest of the respondents indicated they were from an urban/suburban area (58.0%, n = 65). hemp use was measured with a check-all-that apply question. respondents were asked to select all industrial hemp products they had purchased in the past six months. for objective four, this variable was transformed into a dichotomous variable where the respondent had either purchased at least one industrial hemp product or had not purchased an industrial hemp product in the six months before the study. attitude toward industrial hemp and perceptions of others’ attitude toward industrial hemp were measured on the same 8-item, 5-point, bipolar semantic differential scales that were adapted from prior research (ruth et al., 2019), and included statements like “good/bad” and “beneficial/not beneficial.” statements were coded so that positive adjectives were a five and negative adjectives were a one. the statement stem for attitude toward industrial hemp was, “i believe growing industrial hemp in the us is…” and the statement stem for the perceptions of others’ attitudes variable was, “i believe the majority of americans think growing industrial hemp is…” both indexes were averaged, and attitude toward industrial hemp (cronbach’s  = .94) and perceptions of others’ attitudes toward industrial hemp (cronbach’s  = .97) were found to be reliable (field, 2013). perceptions of future trends in attitudes were measured with a 7-item, 5point likert-type scale adapted from ruth et al. (2019), with labels ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. the average of the items was calculated to create the construct (cronbach’s  = .80). knowledge of industrial hemp was measured with 20 true/false statements, which have been reported in a prior study by item (colclasure et al., 2021). respondents were also given the option https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 ruth et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 5 to select “i do not know.” these statements were adapted from us government documents about industrial hemp (congressional research service, 2019; usda, n.d.). the knowledge construct was found to be reliable with a kr20 of .84 (kuder & richardson, 1937). prior to distribution, the survey was reviewed by a panel of experts to address the validity (ary et al., 2010) and was piloted with 20 students in a soil science class. panel members included a professor of chemistry and co-founder of a hemp processing company, an associate professor of biology with a focus in crop genetics, an assistant professor of environmental science with a focus in agriculture, and an assistant professor of agricultural communications. all data were analyzed using spss version 25. objectives one through three were answered using means, frequencies, and standard deviations. a logistic regression was used for objective four. the dichotomous variable for industrial hemp use was treated as the dependent variable; use of industrial hemp was coded as a 1 and no use was coded as a 0. attitude, perceptions of others’ attitudes, perceptions of future trends in attitudes, knowledge, and political ideology were all treated as continuous predictor variables. the continuous variables in the model were normally distributed and had a skewness and kurtosis between +/2 after the removal of two outliers. categorical variables were dummy coded so the category with the largest frequency was treated as the control (gender – men, hometown – urban/suburban; field, 2013). findings hemp purchasing behaviors respondents were asked to select how many hemp products they had purchased in the past six months, and the range was between 0 and 5, with a mean of .53 (sd = .93). the majority of respondents in the study reported not having purchased an industrial hemp product in the past six months (64.9%, n = 72), while 35.1% (n = 39) had purchased at least one industrial hemp product in the past six months. the most frequently purchased hemp product was makeup or cosmetics (18.0%, n = 20), followed by cdb oil (14.4%, n = 16), consumables (6.3%, n = 7), and pet products (5.4%, n = 6) (see table 1). less than 5% of the sample had used the remaining hemp products. https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 ruth et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 6 table 1 hemp products purchased in the past six months product n % makeup or cosmetic products (skin cream) 20 18.0 cannabidiol (cbd) oil 16 14.4 consumables (e.g. gummies) 7 6.3 pet products made from hemp 6 5.4 hemp fiber 4 3.6 hemp protein (e.g. powder supplements) 4 3.6 hemp seed oil 1 0.9 hemp milk or juice 0 0.0 hempcrete 0 0.0 hemp knowledge respondents answered a total of 20 true or false knowledge questions, and the range for correct answers was zero to 18. on average, students answered 8.15 questions correctly (m = 8.15, sd = 4.28). individual item responses can be found in table 2. the majority of respondents knew hemp crops could be harvested for oils and fiber (84.7%, n = 94), that cannabinoids found in hemp could have medical benefits (77.5%, n = 86), and that hemp contained cbd (64.0%, n = 71). however, respondents were unable to correctly answer questions about federal regulation of hemp, how hemp is grown/processed, and whether or not hemp contained thc. https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 ruth et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 7 table 2 knowledge related to hemp correct incorrect/ don’t know answer % n % n hemp crops can be harvested for oils and fiber. t 84.7 94 15.3 17 cannabinoids found in hemp can have medical benefits. t 77.5 86 22.5 25 hemp contains cannabinoids, such as cbd. t 64.0 71 36.0 30 the plant parts used in hemp production include fiber, grain, ... t 55.9 62 44.1 49 hemp is a federally illegal crop in the united states. f 53.2 59 46.8 52 the level of thc in hemp is similar to the level of thc in marijuana. f 53.2 59 46.8 52 similar to marijuana, hemp can be smoked to get a “high” or “buzz”. f 51.4 57 48.6 54 there are no genetic differences between hemp and marijuana. f 50.5 56 49.5 55 hemp and marijuana are both classified as cannabis. t 49.5 55 50.5 56 hemp contains 0.3% or less thc. t 40.5 45 59.5 66 cbd from hemp is federally legal. t 40.5 45 59.5 66 hemp is a legal crop in nebraska. t 37.8 42 62.2 69 hemp is significantly different from marijuana at a genome-wide level. t 32.4 36 67.6 75 the products from hemp and marijuana crops are used similarly. f 28.8 32 71.2 79 prior to the late 1950s, hemp in the united states was considered an agricultural commodity... f 27.9 31 72.1 80 cannabis processing is the same for both hemp and marijuana. f 21.6 24 78.4 87 current federal law classifies hemp as a scheduled i controlled substance... f 18.9 21 81.1 90 hemp is characterized by plants that are high in delta-9 thc, the dominant psychotropic compound... f 16.2 18 83.8 93 hemp must be grown in carefully controlled, warm, and humid cond... f 8.1 9 91.9 102 the u.s. drug enforcement administration (dea) currently has regulatory oversight over hemp... f 2.7 3 97.3 108 https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 ruth et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 8 hemp perceptions on average, respondents in the study reported slightly positive attitudes toward growing industrial hemp in the us (m = 3.52, sd = .80) but perceived others to have neutral attitudes toward the production of hemp (m = 2.79, sd = .92). item responses can be found in table 3. respondents agreed they perceived hemp to be “beneficial” (m = 3.95; sd = 0.91), “positive” (m = 3.81; sd = 0.99), and “acceptable” (m = 3.79; sd = 0.99) but reported more neutral responses to believing hemp was “essential” (m = 3.15; sd = 1.00) and “crucial” (m = 2.96; sd = 0.78) respondents’ perceptions of u.s. attitudes was neutral across all adjective pairs. table 3 attitude toward hemp and perceptions of u.s. attitudes toward hemp attitudes toward growing hemp perceptions of u.s. attitudes toward growing hemp m sd m sd beneficial/not beneficial 3.95 0.91 2.97 1.10 positive/negative 3.81 0.99 2.85 1.05 acceptable/unacceptable 3.79 1.00 2.83 1.08 good/ bad 3.79 1.07 2.78 1.12 important/unimportant 3.44 1.02 2.81 1.02 necessary/unnecessary 3.22 1.01 2.61 1.05 essential/not essential 3.15 1.00 2.72 1.12 crucial/trivial 2.96 0.78 2.72 0.93 note. items coded so that negative adjectives were a 1 and positive adjectives were a 5. when asked how they believed others would feel about the growth of industrial hemp in the us in the future, respondents agreed attitudes would be favorable (m = 3.67, sd = .52). respondents agreed or strongly agreed that people would become more accepting of hemp in the future (83.8%, n = 93) and that people will be more supportive of hemp in the future (73.0%, n = 81; table 4). however, only 45.0% (n = 50) of respondents agreed or strongly agreed people will not worry about hemp in the future. https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 ruth et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 9 table 4 perceptions of future trends in attitudes toward hemp strongly disagree/disagree neither agree nor disagree agree/ strongly agree in the future… n f % f % f % people will be less accepting of hemp.a 111 4 3.6 14 12.6 93 83.8 people will be supportive of hemp. 111 3 2.7 27 24.3 81 73.0 people will be more fearful of hemp.a 110 7 6.4 29 26.4 74 67.2 people will recognize the value of hemp. 111 5 4.5 36 32.5 70 63.1 people will be appreciative of hemp. 111 2 1.8 42 37.8 67 60.4 people will be less tolerant of hemp.a 111 11 9.9 42 41.4 58 52.2 people will not worry about hemp. 111 25 22.5 36 32.4 50 45.0 aindicates statement was reverse coded for analysis predicting hemp purchases a logistic regression was run for the final objective to predict the purchase of industrial hemp. the model was statistically significant (2 (7) = 25.13, p < .01) and could account for approximately 30% of the variance in the likelihood to purchase industrial hemp products (pseudo-r2 = 0.30). the only predictors of industrial hemp purchases were gender and attitude (see table 5). when accounting for spiral of silence variables and personal characteristics, females were more likely than males to purchase industrial hemp products. additionally, as attitude toward growing hemp increased by one point, the log odds of the likelihood to purchase industrial hemp products increased by 2.69. https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 ruth et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 10 table 5 likelihood of purchasing industrial hemp products predictor b odds p constant -2.00 0.14 .42 gender -1.36 0.26 .01* attitude 0.99 2.69 .02* knowledge 0.11 2.04 .12 rural town 0.71 2.04 .16 politics -0.46 0.63 .42 others’ attitude -0.22 0.81 .47 future trends -0.22 0.80 .71 * p < .05. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations despite the low knowledge of industrial hemp, the respondents did hold slightly positive attitudes toward it, which aligned with research on industrial hemp in poland (borkowska & bialkowska, 2019). respondents also perceived others to have neutral attitudes of industrial hemp. this neutral perception may mean nebraska’s historical stance on marijuana legalizations and vocal senators on the topic of industrial hemp (young, 2019) were not perceived to represent the majority opinion of the state. another explanation is the students in the sample are simply not engaged in all the political conversations in nebraska. younger people, like those in the sample, have been found to be the most supportive of marijuana legalization (galston & dionne, 2013), and the respondents in the study may hold similar views. the logistic regression model included the variables from the spiral of silence, industrial hemp knowledge, and respondent characteristics. the model was statistically significant and accounted for a moderate amount of variance in predicting industrial hemp purchases (cohen, 1988). males were less likely than females to purchase industrial hemp. galston and dionne (2013) had concluded men were more supportive of marijuana legalization than women. however, the different contexts of marijuana and industrial hemp would likely account for this difference in findings. additionally, the influence of gender in the model may reflect the products purchased in this study, which commonly included makeup and skincare products. the only other predictor in the model for industrial hemp purchases was attitude, and respondents with more positive attitudes were more likely to purchase the products. interestingly though, the other variables from the spiral of silence were not predictors of industrial hemp purchases. this finding may reflect the respondents’ agreement that the public would possess positive attitudes toward industrial hemp in the future. when people believe their attitude aligns with the future trends, they are more likely to express that opinion and be less concerned with their fear of isolation (noelle-neumann, 1974). although the model did not https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 ruth et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 11 exactly reflect the spiral of silence, the respondents’ own attitudes might be the most predictive of the behavior because they perceive others to feel similar to themselves and do not feel societal pressure related to the topic of industrial hemp products (noelle-neumann, 1974). despite confusion between marijuana and industrial hemp (cherney & small, 2016) and a general lack of knowledge in the sample, knowledge was not a predictor of industrial hemp use. hiller connell (2010) concluded lack of knowledge and negative attitudes were barriers to purchasing clothing made from industrial hemp. because the attitudes in the sample were mostly positive, the lack of knowledge may not have mattered as much when predicting industrial hemp purchases. while the findings from this study are not generalizable past the student population, this research can serve as a starting point to understanding the influences on consumers’ purchasing behaviors for industrial hemp products. the findings from this study should be considered by extension specialists and agricultural communicators to help support this re-emerging industry. extension educators should partner with local, industrial hemp growers and processors in their area to discuss how people are commonly using hemp products. communicating to producers how consumers are using the products could lead to strategic decisions to help increase sales and production of certain products. findings from this study should be used to assist hemp producers in marketing and selling their product. thus expanding the industrial hemp industry and improving agricultural practices. additionally, this research should be replicated with respondents across nebraska as well as the us to allow the findings to be generalizable to the public. including questions about attitudes toward marijuana along with attitudes toward industrial hemp would be useful to understanding if the public holds similar or different attitudes toward the two products. acknowledgements we thank science faculty at doane university for their time and for allowing us to survey their students. references ary, d., jacobs, l. c., & sorensen, c. 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(2019, may 22). hemp bill moves forward with amendment despite argument that it's 'trojan horse bill for marijuana'. lincoln journal star. https://journalstar.com/legislature/hemp-bill-moves-forward-with-amendmentdespite-argument-that-its-trojan-horse-bill-for-marijuana/article_0b4462b6-9fc2-5745b36f-a0db6b35dbbd.html © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/v3i3.189 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2010.00865.x https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02288391 https://www.jhseonline.com/article/view/1048 https://nda.nebraska.gov/hemp/2019%20nda%20hemp%20program%20annual%20summary.pdf https://nda.nebraska.gov/hemp/2019%20nda%20hemp%20program%20annual%20summary.pdf https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1974.tb00367.x https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547018819935 https://www.farmers.gov/manage/hemp https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/24/newly-legalized-hemp-industry-set-to-create-a-jobs-boom-in-the-us.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/24/newly-legalized-hemp-industry-set-to-create-a-jobs-boom-in-the-us.html https://journalstar.com/legislature/hemp-bill-moves-forward-with-amendment-despite-argument-that-its-trojan-horse-bill-for-marijuana/article_0b4462b6-9fc2-5745-b36f-a0db6b35dbbd.html https://journalstar.com/legislature/hemp-bill-moves-forward-with-amendment-despite-argument-that-its-trojan-horse-bill-for-marijuana/article_0b4462b6-9fc2-5745-b36f-a0db6b35dbbd.html https://journalstar.com/legislature/hemp-bill-moves-forward-with-amendment-despite-argument-that-its-trojan-horse-bill-for-marijuana/article_0b4462b6-9fc2-5745-b36f-a0db6b35dbbd.html microsoft word 283-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 2, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. jessica r. spence, ph.d. student, virginia tech, 214 litton-reaves hall, blacksburg, va 24061, jessicaraespence@vt.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3789-3477 2. tobin redwine, instructional assistant professor, texas a&m university, 2116 john kimbrough blvd, college station, tx 77845, tredwine@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9975-8169 3. tracy rutherford, professor and department head, virginia tech, 214 litton-reaves hall, blacksburg, va 24061, trutherford@vt.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3875-4791 4. kim dooley, professor, texas a&m university, 2116 john kimbrough blvd, college station, tx 77845, k-dooley@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5654-5988 74 unanticipated unity and independence: a photovoice of ugandan gender-based agriculture issues j. r. spence1, t. redwine2, t. rutherford3, k. dooley4 article history received: november 19, 2022 accepted: may 5, 2023 published: june 5, 2023 keywords uganda; agricultural development; feminist theory; photovoice abstract globally, women are major contributors to agricultural productivity efforts, yet they face challenges in being as productive as their male counterparts. in uganda, the male-dominant realities of agriculture are as strong as the country’s dependence upon it. in this country, women are responsible for the majority of agricultural production, despite facing a plethora of gender-based barriers. therefore, this photovoice study aimed to discover gender-based agriculture issues from the perspective of female ugandan agriculture producers to make applicable recommendations for improvements in research, practice, and extension. through this study, we found major themes of both technical challenges in agriculture as well as abstract social constructs that hindered the productivity of women farmers. despite these issues, ugandan women agriculture producers display unity in self-identification and pride as women farmers. therefore, we recommend efforts be made to improve education for, research on, and extension efforts targeted toward women farmers as well as training for women and men in these communities to end gender-based violence that is currently used as a tool for control over women in developing, agriculturally-based countries. spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 75 introduction and problem statement productive and sustainable global agriculture is critical for a healthy, worldwide human population (jones & ejeta, 2016). when we rely upon agricultural producers to feed the global population, it is vital to note that of the 570 million farms across the globe, 83% lie within subsaharan africa (lowder et al., 2016; ricciardi et al., 2018). across africa, particularly within smallholder farming-based societies, women are often tasked with more agricultural labor than men (ugwu, 2019). in addition to this workload disparity, women in developing countries take on major responsibilities as primary housekeepers, homemakers, and childcare providers when compared to their male counterparts (satyavathi et al., 2010). specifically, in sub-saharan africa, uganda’s gender-based disparities within women’s agricultural production are higher than that of other countries in the region, such as niger, ethiopia, and nigeria (doss et al., 2018; palacios-lopez et al., 2017). the problem is women farmers in uganda are hindered by societally imposed, gender-based issues such as farm work imbalance, disparities in home and childcare, as well as a lack of resources (doss et al., 2018; palacios-lopez et al., 2017; satyavathi et al., 2010; ugwu, 2019). to better understand these individuals, research must explore barriers to production amongst its most productive individuals: women farmers. theoretical and conceptual framework feminist theory views interactions between men and women through a power hierarchy lens and brings to light inequalities due to gender (keedle et al., 2019; lindsley et al., 2019). a major goal within feminist research is to better understand, and thusly remove, inequalities in gender that contribute to societal structures (hirudayaraj & shields, 2019), and it fundamentally “seeks to unmask gendered patterns in human relationships, whether in public organizations or in the family to promote more equitable and emancipatory actions among all members in society” (morton & lindquist, 1997, p. 349). scholars in feminist theory argue both women and men are biological beings, but the institutional subordination of women is a social construct and not determined through biology (reddock, 2000). biological aspects are fixed and cannot be changed, but “what is social is subject to change and should be the focus of attention for feminist theorists” (reddock, 2000, p. 37). feminist theory’s application within studies of women in developing nations has been previously used in similar contexts (bryceson, 2020). feminist theory lends itself to the present study because the socially constructed gender biases in ugandan society are evident in the literature (doss et al., 2018; palacios-lopez et al., 2017; satyavathi et al., 2010; ugwu, 2019). however, it is vital to note southern feminist theorists denounce traditional western feminism as it tends to reproduce imperatives within colonization when theorizing the struggles of women in postcolonial contexts (oyewumi, 1997; spurlin, 2010). approaching this study with a framework of southern feminist theory is crucial to this population, as uganda is a oncecolonized country, and its people still face issues resulting from colonialism. women in uganda, spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 76 specifically those who rely on agriculture as an economic and social means for survival, face daily challenges because of institutional gender-based disparities. purpose the purpose of this study was to utilize photovoice, a method aligned with feminist theory and one that empowers its participants, to explain the reality of women farmers in northern uganda via participatory methods to make participant-informed recommendations for change and improvement upon the gender-based issues they experience (gervais & rivard, 2013; wang & burris, 1997). the research question guiding this study was: rq1: what struggles and problems within agriculture do ugandan women farmers experience? rq2: can specific improvements be made based on these problems? methods this study utilized a form of participatory action research known as photovoice (wang & burris, 1997). subjects observed themselves, their environment, and their issues, produced self-taken photographs that documented their lives, and were observed naturalistically through the photos they produced and focus group discussion (wang & burris, 1997). this photovoice was conducted in northern uganda in july of 2019, where community and opinion leaders helped identify potential participants in community gatherings at the dokolo and apac villages in the region. as recommended by wang and burris (1997), participants were embedded and involved in their community. one member of the research team led the in-country photovoice procedures, and the methods will document the guidance from that individual. once recommended individuals volunteered, i obtained consent and then introduced the groups to the camera’s potential risks, power, and ethics (wang, 1999), photograph viewing functions, and camera protection and handling (wang & burris, 1997). i then gave instruction and practice time with the cameras and distributed them, with sd cards and batteries already inserted, to the participants. participants were prompted to take photos of their lives as women agricultural producers but were not given any further guidance on subjects or examples to not impede their interpretation and photography process. the translator and i returned at the planned meeting time to the groups after 10 days. upon our return, all 10 women (five in each meeting), and some of their young children, met us and the concluding meeting began. in this meeting i recorded audio on two devices whilst taking notes. then participants’ images were uploaded from sd cards onto my password-protected laptop for us to view each participants’ photographs and identify elements within the photos during discussion. while viewing all of their photos, participants selected 1-2 photos that gave spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 77 context to what was in each photo, told the story of each photo, and identified issues, theories, and themes through the images and their experiences (wang, 1999). while recording both focus groups, i matched each speaker with the photos they took and removed all identifying information to maintain confidentiality (jurkowski & paul-ward, 2007). next, i systematically coded (jurkowski, 2008) the transcribed interviews using the constant comparative method (ccm) as per glaser and strauss (1967). the analysis occurred in three stages: comparing incidents, a unit that represents a meaningful concept that is relevant to the research and applicable to each category; integrating categories and their properties; and delimiting the theory by analyzing with a critical feminist lens (grove, 1988; glaser & strauss, 1967). i achieved trustworthiness and credibility throughout the inquiry by participating in reflexive journaling (lincoln & guba, 1985). in the data collection process, credibility was achieved through prolonged engagement with participants in multiple meetings, field notes, audiorecording and verbatim transcription of the focus groups, the triangulation of data via photos taken and supporting focus group description and discussion, and member-checking during focus groups with a translator (lincoln & guba, 1985). i employed member-checking to ensure the translator communicated effectively and maintained transferability by providing thick, rich descriptions of my findings, including direct quotes to accompany the themes. a notable limitation of this study is the lack of verbatim translation in some parts of the focus group sessions. i performed member-checking and especially did so when this issue occurred. nonetheless, it is important to note that there is data from discussion lost in translation. to ensure confidentiality, each individual’s name referenced represents a participant through a pseudonym. positionality statement i identify as a white, american, middle-class, able-bodied, heterosexual female who is from a developed nation. i view the world through these intersectional lenses, many of which are from a place of privilege. these potential influences on the research were notable, as there were many intersectional differences between me and the participants within this study. my identity, influences, and personal biases as result of my positionality limit my ability to fully understand the participants’ and their lives, identities, and culture. findings the realities women farmers in northern uganda face were represented, through this study, by the emergent themes and subthemes of agronomic knowledge and competencies and abstract social constructs. within the major theme of agronomic knowledge and competencies, emergent subthemes were: varied agriculture practices, physical skills and fatigue, and technical challenges. the theme of abstract social constructs was described by the emergent subthemes: gender inequities and patriarchal society, women assuming majority responsibility, spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 78 physical and financial abuse, independence, need for help, visualization and self-actualization, and lastly, pride in self-identification. agronomic knowledge and competencies through the supporting incidents, generated from the participant’s explanations of their photos, agronomic knowledge and competencies is an evident theme. participants detailed their challenges with agricultural production, both as a labor-intensive livelihood and technical issues but also gave evidence to their existing knowledge and prowess within the agricultural production. this theme is explained by the supporting themes: varied agriculture practices, physical skills and fatigue, and technical challenges. varied agriculture practices with 20 incidents supporting this theme, the participants explained how they use tangible and varied agriculture practices to support both themselves and their families. participants took photos of their crops, including soybeans, ground nuts, sunflowers, simsim, and sunflowers. they displayed their practical agriculture knowledge clearly, taking photos of themselves weeding, planting, harvesting, and using the ox plow as a method—with the dokolo group collectively stating they “relate to one another through use of ox plow for plowing.” jaime said she “wanted to show the ox plow method of farming,” which is a vital technique for her success as she “cannot plant without an ox plow” as shown in figure 1. figure 1 participant photo 1: women pose in a garden with their ox plow. spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 79 physical skills and fatigue every element of agriculture implementation, even processes aided by animals, cause exhausting physical fatigue. the participants engage in varied, rigorous agriculture practices. these are necessary for production and ultimate financial and nutritional gain; however, they come at a physical cost to each individual. women use ox plows to plow fields, navigating the tough earth to ready it for planting. if ox plows are not available, they must turn the soil by hand, as gail photographed herself performing this task and stated she “wanted to show how she farms using a hand ho,” shown in figure 2. the apac group consensed that “after completing so many tasks, you feel tired.” jan commented on the work to come in the next season by stating, “next year i will need to work harder.” the dokolo group said they felt “there is no reward for hard work.” figure 2 participant photo 2: a woman weeding in her garden by hoeing the soil. technical challenges beyond physical challenges, these women face many technical challenges in their farming. from germination, transportation, weather, and pests to harvest, their barriers to their practical farming needs increase the level of difficulty to maintaining their livelihoods. the participants discussed problems with seed germination, the beginning of the planting process, and the beginning of their practical issues in farming. using her camera as a tool for communication, hallie said she “took a photo to show the challenge [she] had with first planting.” many women spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 80 of the group struggle with this issue, as jan added she too has “been struggling with successful germination.” when the original planting does not germinate and therefore become a sellable or consumable product, they lose financial gain but still need to repurchase seed to attempt planting again. hallie said she struggles because “buying seed is expensive when [she has] to rebuy from lack of germination.” a participant noted there are challenges during harvest, as well. once products are harvested, they often need to be physically moved to market to be sold. participants noted there are often issues during or finding transportation. according to participants, pests that destroy and predators that consume are both notable and constant threats to the success of harvest, family consumption, and financial gain. this issue was notable enough for cait to take a “photo of maize affected by worms that is a challenge,” visible in figure 3. figure 3 participant photo 3: two women working in a garden with pest-damaged maize crop. abstract social constructs as evident through the basis of feminist theory, the prevalent emergent theme of abstract social constructs appearing in the findings. participants discussed and detailed their duties, assigned to them by society due to their gender and societal role as women. these roles reveal a disparity between men and women, responsibilities to family and income generation, issues spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 81 with physical and financial abuse, independent work completed by women, and the resulting self-identity as women farmers. gender inequities and patriarchal society because of their gender, participants identified disparities between their roles and responsibilities versus that of men in their lives. women are not only responsible for the majority of cultivation, but also their home, childcare, and a host of other tasks. additionally, their families look to them specifically as women for education, food, and income. their physical and financial safety is not under their control either, as men often take control of the finances; this issue is perpetuated with threat of physical violence without compliance. women assuming primary responsibilities as is evident in the above themes, women participate heavily in the cultivation of their crops— but their uneven gendered responsibilities do not end outside of their gardens. childcare, food preparation, and keeping of the home are some of the additional responsibilities participants stated as shouldered by women in the family. “women have many tasks,” the apac group consensed, continuing to agree that “cooking, fetching water, firewood, everything at home, thrashing, and harvesting is the work of a woman.” not only is their time taken up by the many activities assigned to them, but these duties fall on their shoulders because of their gender. the apac group agreed, “women have many responsibilities at home.” bailey supported this in saying she is “responsible for [her] child, garden and housework.” the theme is strengthened by the dokolo group consensing that “women must cook, fetch water, raise kids—a lot of work as women.” ruby said the prevailing societal norm is that “as a woman she should not just sit, she should be doing something.” women feel they are the responsible individual for their families and specifically their children. the burden of productivity in the garden is furthered as their children look to them specifically for food, financial help, and education. many women grow certain crops specifically to be their food at home to provide sustenance for their children, as shown by the groundnut crop in figure 4. the apac group agreed, “children ask the mother about education,” emphasizing this responsibility’s corresponding gender as the father is not the one asked. this theme continues to reveal gendered nutritional responsibilities as the group consensed, “children ask the mother for food.” spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 82 figure 4 participant photo 4: a woman and her child processing groundnuts in the garden. physical and financial abuse participants said men feel entitled to the financial gain in selling crops, even if they did little to contribute to the tilling, planting, production, and harvest. the apac group consensed, “men do little work and leave the rest of the work to the woman.” pearl explained that men help in the garden in the morning but return home early and the rest of the work is left to the woman. the apac group collectively agreed on the gender-bound disparity by saying, “if the woman sells her crop herself, the man will demand money from the sale.” oftentimes, women do the work to produce the crop and after it is harvested, “the man takes the harvest to market,” said bailey, to effectively sell her production. once the crop is sold, profits may even not make it back to aid the family the women are responsible for the man may misuse money from the sale, confirmed by the apac group. when asked if the women may try to keep their money, the dokolo group agreed, “if a woman refuses to give money to the man it will bring domestic abuse.” independence an emergent theme is the effect these gender-based discrepancies have on women. firstly, they are more independent, resulting in a lack of help from their partners and others. this independence contributes to self-actualization and an evident pride in their identity as women farmers. independence often has a positive connotation, but within this theme we see two sides. one side, they are empowered, as displayed in their photos and statements like val saying she “wanted to show [herself] using an ox plow alone without help,” as shown in figure spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 83 5, and gail stating, “[she does her] own work as a woman farmer without anyone helping her.” on the other side, the independence and lack of help has negative effects. jaime said “[she’s] alone, with no money and can get defeated.” the group also agreed that “some women are depressed” due to the amount of work and responsibilities placed on them individually. figure 5 participant photo 5: a woman plows a garden independently with an ox plow. need for help although one participant spoke of her positive experience with her husband, stating, “[her] husband helps with the crops and garden,” the overwhelming majority said they felt the opposite in regard to help. pearl said, “men help with the garden and go home to rest,” although the women continue with their other responsibilities. val said she is “not happy with the lack of help.” visualization and self-actualization one of the strongest and most evident themes is supported by the focus group discussion and also the visual phenomenon that all ten participants chose to photograph themselves, as shown in figures 1 through 6. none of the women were instructed to do so, but all of them took photos of themselves in their gardens, in their homes, and with their crops and animals. this unanticipated, unified, theme among the photos sparked a larger discussion among the groups. table 1 displays how many photos from each participant were self-portraits. spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 84 table 1 number of photos and self-portraits taken, and selected by participants name total photos taken total self portraits taken percent of self-portraits ruby 173 45 26 hallie 131 57 44 pearl 107 41 38 cait 92 17 19 bailey 90 36 40 val 81 14 17 violet 71 50 70 jaime 44 30 68 gail 41 15 54 jan 28 11 27 note. when selecting photos for the focus group, all participants chose to discuss two photos, rather than one, and all participants chose a self-portrait style photograph. when asked why they made the decision to photograph themselves, the dokolo group responded, agreeing they “wanted to show their struggles as women farmers by photographing themselves,” and they “took photos of themselves to show challenges as a woman farmer.” the group also said they “wanted to show their gardens by photographing themselves.” jaime noted she “took photos of herself to show what she does, her work, and what she does by herself.” betty reflected on the method of using photography as a tool for displaying her farming, stating, “seeing [her] work in the photo makes her appreciate the work she is doing.” spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 85 figure 6 participant photo 6: a woman checking her sunflower crop in the garden. pride in self-identification the final theme is formed from the evident pride the overwhelming majority displayed in their self-identification as farmers and more specifically as women-farmers. they used their photos to display themselves as farmers, as pearl said her “photo shows [she] is a farmer.” when asked what their photo meant to them, multiple responded that they wanted me to know they were farmers, and more responded that they are women farmers. they were proud to display the actualization of their farming. cait stated she “wanted to show [me] methods used in farming.” cait also said she “wanted to show herself as a farmer preparing land,” and that she “wanted to show [me] that women can also do farming.” ruby used photography to display the grandeur in which she produces her crop by stating the “photo shows she is a farmer who grows sunflowers on a big scale.” ruby also made her camera a communication tool, stating that the “photo shows she is a woman farmer, concerned about her garden who wanted to check anything that might be wrong.” conclusions, discussion, and recommendations we found that ugandan women agriculture producers face many challenges, including those of technical challenges and those caused by gender-issues. this confirmed issues identified in the literature such as primary responsibility in the household, of childcare, and of agricultural labor spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 86 (doss et al., 2015; kasente et al., 2002; palacios-lopez et al., 2015; kristjanson et al., 2017; palacios-lopez & lopez, 2015). ugandan women faced challenges due to a lack of resources, land, and education that contribute to the technical challenges in agriculture and physical fatigue, as evident in the emerging themes of this study (doss, 2018; jafry & sulaiman, 2013; mukasa & salami, 2016; sharaunga et al., 2015; uduji et al., 2019). thus, we concluded that gender-based challenges compound existing foundational and technical challenges faced in participants’ agricultural pursuits. based on this finding, we recommended extension efforts be made specifically targeted at women in northern uganda. through the results, we concluded women in this study view their role as agriculture producers holistically and with majority responsibility (palacios-lopez & lopez, 2015). they viewed their role as producers and as providers for their children; they kept their families fed and produce income that contributes to their children’s education. self-identity was evident through the emergent theme visualization and self-actualization, as participants wanted to show themselves as women-farmers. pride is often a theme found in photovoice results due to the empowering nature of photovoice (wang & burris, 1997). through the pride in selfidentification, evident in the participant’s photos and words, we concluded they take a deep sense of pride in what they do. through adversity, they persevered. therefore, this was a resilient and resourceful population that, due to the pride in their work and coupled with the responsibility they feel toward their children and families, would be receptive to aid in the form of education, resources, and extension. we recommended increased research on how these factors can be empowered to improve women’s lives and productivity for their own success. specifically, we recommended gender-based extension efforts be made for this and similar populations. women faced gender-based issues at home confirming issues noted in the literature (doss et al., 2018; nelson et al., 2012), such as assuming majority responsibility in the eyes of their children, paying for education, providing food, and a host of other tasks. they faced additional personal responsibilities as women that affect their abilities to perform in the garden. these tasks and responsibilities burden women with a gender-based inequity between them and their male counterparts as noted in nelson et al. (2012). once in the garden, men helped with production but often left the garden early and leave more work to the women. women were motivated to produce in the garden because of the responsibilities at home to feed and use income to pay for their children’s schooling. this presented more gender-based challenges, as women often do not retain control over the income generated from agricultural production. men associated with the production take control over the funds once harvest is sold for profit— with the threat of physical violence preventing women from retaining these controls. therefore, we recommended increased research on how to best engage men and women in eliminating gender-based control and threats. in conclusion, as we found efforts to understand and further prevent the gendered cultural structure that invokes violence as a tool for control as a vital need, we must continue to proliferate not only sustainability in agriculture but social justice. women smallholder farmers must be empowered and unified by their independence and collective voices; for together, they spence et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.283 87 are louder. it is essential that we be inspired by the multifaceted challenges these women overcome daily because they are the faces of agriculture and the backbone of their country. acknowledgements we would like to thank texas a&m university’s center on conflict and development for funding the ten cameras used within this study. author contributions: spence, j. r. – conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, writingoriginal draft; redwine, t. – supervision, writing-review and editing; rutherford, t. – writingreview and editing; dooley, k. – writing-review and editing. references bryceson, d. 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(1997). photovoice: concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. health education & behavior, 24(3), 369–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/10901981970240030 world bank (2008), the growth report: strategies for sustained growth and inclusive development. commission on growth and development. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/6507/449860pub0box 3101official0use0only1.pdf. © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 263-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 2, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. taylor k. ruth, assistant professor, university of nebraska-lincoln, po box 830947, lincoln, ne 68583-0947, taylor.ruth@unl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5269-9154 2. blake c. colclasure, assistant professor, doane university, 1014 boswell ave, crete, ne 68333, blake.colclasure@doane.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8375-286x 20 cable news media’s influence on climate change beliefs: a partisan comparison t. k. ruth1, b. c. colclasure2 article history received: september 15, 2022 accepted: april 3, 2023 published: april 17, 2023 keywords media effects; selective media exposure; source credibility; media credibility; trust in science abstract the current, fragmented media landscape coupled with partisan views toward scientific issues has made it difficult for members of the public to achieve mutual understanding toward critical issues like climate change. selective media exposure, media’s credibility in reporting science and reporting climate change, trust in science, along with demographic characteristics of consumers are all expected to influence the public’s belief in climate change. however, effects may differ across partisan lines. the purpose of this study was to understand how cable news media influences illinois residents’ beliefs in climate change across political ideological groups. an online survey was completed by 506 respondents, and respondents were categorized as conservative, moderate, or liberal based on a political ideology question. differences were noted between political groups for variables of interest. most notably, liberals believed more in climate change compared to conservatives or moderates. cable news use also followed party lines, and regression analyses found the media influenced climate change beliefs disproportionately across the political groups; conservatives were influenced the most. trust in science was a positive predictor for all three groups; however, only conservatives and moderates were directly influenced by cable news media use. ruth & colclasure advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.263 21 introduction and problem statement the media landscape has evolved over the past 30 years, and, rather than seeing opposing opinions in the news, consumers gained the ability to choose from a variety of programs and select sources that presented information that already supported their views (iyengar & hahn, 2009; mullainathan & schleifer, 2005; prior, 2007). the 24/7 cable news cycle, with programs like fox news and cnn, can present politically polarized information that scholars believe shape and reinforce partisan opinions (de zúñiga et al., 2012; grieco, 2020; iyengar & hahn, 2009). one of these polarized issues in the media is climate change, and, despite scientific consensus that climate change is happening (cook et al., 2013), there is a stark divide in u.s. opinions between the democratic (liberal) and republican (conservative) parties when concerning climate change (abeles et al., 2019; antonio & brulle, 2011). in the 1990s, republican party campaigns against climate science and policy emerged, infiltrating conservative media channels and challenging the scientific consensus, which eventually led to the belief that there was scientific controversy over climate change amongst most republicans (dunlap & mccright, 2008). by 2019, only 21% of republicans believed climate change should be a top priority for u.s. policy compared to 67% of democrats (oliphant, 2019). despite climate change posing a major threat to agricultural development (food and agricultural organization [fao], 2023), public skepticism may thwart any successful efforts related to mitigation and adaptation strategies. in order to lessen the effects of climate change on agricultural development, public information campaigns related to climate change adaptation and mitigation practices will need to overcome media bias and resonate with target audiences. therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand cable news media’s influence on illinois residents’ belief in climate change across political ideological groups. theoretical and conceptual framework media effects theories, including selective exposure theory (freedman & sears, 1965) and source credibility (perloff, 2008), provided the conceptual framework for this research. freedman and sears (1965) hypothesized that people selectively exposed themselves to information in the media that supported their current attitudes, beliefs, and political predispositions. the concern associated with selective media exposure was the media would have polarizing effects on their audiences (stroud, 2011). as a result, it would be difficult for the public, along with policy makers, to achieve mutual understanding related to critical issues facing the nation (feldman et al., 2014). past research has supported the hypothesis that political ideology drives partisan selection of media sources. conservatives have typically preferred fox news compared to cnn, while liberals prefer channels like cnn and msnbc over fox news (grieco, 2020; iyangar & hahn, 2009; stroud, 2007). additionally, republicans are more likely to list fox news as their main political news source while democrats tend to use multiple news sources (grieco, 2020). feldman et al. (2012) determined that fox news typically presented climate change in a dismissive tone compared to cnn, with the latter presenting the issue as both human-caused ruth & colclasure advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.263 22 and urgent. in further support of the selective exposure theory, researchers have concluded increased exposure to fox news was associated with a weaker belief in climate change and watching cnn was associated with greater acceptance related to the scientific consensus around climate change (feldman et al., 2012). interestingly though, feldman et al. (2012) also found that republicans’ beliefs in climate change were strongly linked to cable news channel use compared to democrats. the authors concluded that republicans, while skeptical of climate change in general, were less skeptical when viewing media that supported the urgency of climate change (feldman et al., 2012). while selective media use has been linked to polarized beliefs in climate change (feldman et al., 2012; feldman et al., 2014), the media’s credibility in presenting information about science in general and climate change specifically may have an influence on beliefs. positive perceptions of source credibility have been found to have strong effects on attitude when knowledge around a topic is limited (hovland & weiss, 1951), and credibility is often linked to the honesty, expertise, and goodwill of the source (perloff, 2008). however, there has been a decline in media trust in the u.s. over recent years, resulting in only 35% of republicans trusting national news media in 2021 compared to 78% of democrats (gottfried & liedke, 2021). this decline in trust has likely influenced the media’s credibility in reporting topics related to science and climate change. socio-structural variables and belief in climate change interactions between political affiliation and other socio-structural variables have been associated with belief in climate change as well. in a sample of new zealanders, milfont et al. (2015) found that belief of climate change was higher among individuals who were younger, female, liberal, educated, and belonging to minority groups. while in the u.s., conservative white males are more likely to be climate change skeptics (mccright & dunlap, 2011). past studies have explored the role of partisan media on consumers’ beliefs in climate change (feldman et al., 2012; feldman et al., 2014); however, there is evidence that media credibility and socio-structural variables are also important to consider when trying to understand the media’s effects on consumers’ climate change beliefs. because americans have divided attitudes toward climate change despite high levels of trust in science (funk et al., 2019), trust in science was also included in this framework to provide a holistic understanding of how people across political ideologies form beliefs toward climate change. purpose the purpose of this study was to understand cable news media’s influence on illinois residents’ belief in climate change across political ideological groups. the following objectives guided this research: (a) describe the demographic characteristics of liberals, moderates, and conservatives; (b) describe the differences in trust in science between political ideological groups; (c) describe the difference in climate change beliefs between political ideological groups; (d) describe the differences in cable news media use between political ideological ruth & colclasure advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.263 23 groups; and (e) determine how demographics, trust in science, cable news use, and media credibility predict illinois residents’ beliefs in climate change across political ideological groups. methods we used a quantitative survey design to fulfill the purpose of this survey. the population for our study was illinois residents 18 years or older. we distributed an online survey via a qualtrics panel to illinois residents in april of 2019. while this data was collected prior to the 2020 covid-19 pandemic, it still presents meaningful findings related to how the media can influence public opinion when accounting for political ideology. additionally, trust in science has only slightly decreased since the time of this study (kennedy et al., 2022), and trust in the media already differed across political groups, although the difference has widened (gottfried & liedke, 2021). we used quota sampling to help increase the generalizability of the sample by matching respondents’ demographics to the 2017 illinois census demographics for gender, race, income, and education. we received a total of 506 responses that met the criteria for our quota. the demographics are presented in further detail in objective 1. our study examined six questions along with demographic questions from a 29-question instrument. these questions asked about respondents’ trust in science, media use, belief in climate change, perceived credibility of climate change in the news, perceived credibility of science in the news, and political ideology. the sample had 176 liberals, 185 moderates, and 145 conservatives. we measured cable news use with a check-all-that-apply question that asked respondents what news organizations they received news from in an average week. there were a total of 30 options (including “other”) for respondents to choose from. for the purpose of this study, only three cable news sources were used for analysis and selected to represent a conservative-leaning source (fox news), a liberal-leaning source (cnn), and a moderate source (abc news; grieco, 2020; mitchell et al., 2014). fox news and cnn were specifically selected due to their historical polarized presentation of climate change (feldman et al., 2012). in the sample, 35.0% used abc news, 31.6% used cnn, and 30.6% used fox news. we measured media’s credibility (cronbach’s a = .81) when reporting science with a 5-item, 5point, bipolar semantic differential scale adapted from frewer et al. (1996). respondents were asked to mark the appropriate answer from a set of adjectives to complete the phrase, “i believe the information presented in the media about science is…” we used the same scale to measure media’s credibility (cronbach’s a = .90) when reporting climate change, but the prompt was altered to say, “i believe the information presented in the media about climate change is…” both constructs were created by calculating the average for the items. we measured belief in climate change (cronbach’s a = .95) with a 7-item, 5-point likert-type scale. the scale ranged from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree, with a neutral middle. this scale was adapted from langer research associates (2018) and milfont et al. (2015). trust in science (cronbach’s a = .81) was adapted from the national science board’s (2018) science and engineering indicators report and was measured with 10 items on a 5-point likert-type scale with the same labels as belief in climate change. demographic questions were also included. ruth & colclasure advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.263 24 the questionnaire was reviewed by a panel of experts to assess the face validity of the instrument, and we conducted a pilot study to ensure the online instrument was working and the constructs were reliable. all data were analyzed in spss statistics version 25. we used descriptive statistics and anovas to answer objectives 1 through 3. a multilinear regression was used to fulfill objective 5. the data file was split so separate regressions were run for liberal, moderate, and conservative groups to understand how the conceptual framework predicted climate change belief across the groups. assumptions for the multilinear regression and anovas were met prior to analysis. findings objective 1: describe the demographic characteristics of liberals, moderates, and conservatives the demographic characteristics for the sample along with the respondent groups of liberals, moderates, and conservatives can be found in table 1. conservatives were mostly white (90.3%) males (53.8%) with an average age of 49.38 (sd = 15.00). approximately, one-third (31.3%) of the conservatives’ highest level of education was high school, nearly 40% earned at least $75,000 a year, and a quarter of the conservative respondents lived in a rural county (25.5%). moderate respondents were mostly female (54.6%) with an average age of 42.27 (sd = 17.43), and their demographic characteristics reflected the demographics for the sample. approximately one-third of the moderate respondents’ highest level of education was high school (31.3%). more than half of the moderate respondents made less than $50,000 a year (54%). liberal respondents were mostly female (56.3%) and had the largest representation of african american or black (22.7%) or hispanic (13.1%) respondents out of the three groups. this was the youngest group at 39.22 (sd = 14.31), and the majority of liberal respondents had earned at least a 4-year degree (47.8%). only 11.4% of the liberal respondents lived in a rural area. ruth & colclasure advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.263 25 table 1 description of respondents across political ideological groups sample (n = 506) liberals (n = 176) moderates (n = 185) conservatives (n = 145) % % % % gender male 47.2 43.8 45.4 53.8 female 52.8 56.3 54.6 46.2 race/ethnicity white 76.5 67.0 74.6 90.3 black or african american 15.2 22.7 15.1 6.2 hispanic 10.3 13.1 12.4 4.1 asian, native hawaiian, or pacific islander 5.7 8.0 5.9 2.8 american indian or alaskan native 0.4 0.0 1.1 0.0 two or more races 1.2 1.7 1.6 0.0 other 1.0 0.6 1.6 0.7 education high school degree or less 28.9 23.0 31.3 31.3 some college, no degree 23.1 19.9 26.5 22.8 2-year degree 9.3 8.5 9.7 9.7 4-year degree 23.7 29.0 20.0 22.1 graduate school or professional school 15.0 18.8 12.4 13.7 household income less than $25,000 21.7 22.2 25.9 15.9 $25,000 -$49,999 24.1 21.0 28.1 22.8 $50,000 $74,999 19.0 20.5 15.1 22.1 $75,000 $149,999 26.9 25.0 23.8 33.1 $150,000 or more 8.2 11.4 7.1 6.2 children living at home 38.9 40.9 40.0 35.9 rural county 16.0 11.4 13.0 25.5 objective 2: describe the differences in trust in science between political ideological groups liberals (m = 3.83, sd = 0.73), moderates (m = 3.70, sd = 0.60), and conservatives (m = 3.58, sd = 0.57) agreed they trusted science. an anova determined there was a significant association between political ideology and trust in science (f(2,503) = 5.65, p < .01); however, the effect size was small (h2 = 0.02; cohen, 1988). follow-up tests indicated that liberals had a higher trust ruth & colclasure advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.263 26 in science compared to conservatives (p < .01, table 2). there were no differences between moderates and liberals or moderates and conservatives. table 2 follow-up bonferroni tests between groups and trust in science j i mean diff (j-i) se p-value liberal moderate 0.13 0.07 0.16 conservative 0.24 0.07 0.00** note. **p<.01 objective 3: describe the difference in climate change beliefs between political ideological groups when broken down by group, liberals (m = 4.23, sd = 0.73) and moderates (m = 3.83, sd = 0.80) agreed that climate change was happening while conservatives neither agreed nor disagreed that they believed in climate change (m = 3.00, sd = 1.20). an anova determined there was a statistically significant association between political ideology and climate change belief (f(2,501) = 78.16, p < .01, h2 = 0.24). liberals believed more in climate change compared to moderates or conservatives (p < .01) and moderates believed more in climate change compared to conservatives (p < .01; table 3). table 3 follow-up bonferroni tests between groups and climate change beliefs j i mean diff (j-i) se p-value liberal moderate 0.43 0.10 0.00** conservative 1.27 0.10 0.00** moderate liberal -0.43 0.10 0.00** conservative 0.84 0.10 0.00** conservative liberal -1.27 0.10 0.00** moderate -0.84 0.10 0.00** note. **p<.01 objective 4: describe the differences in cable news media use between political ideological groups the respondents’ cable news use is reported in table 4. the largest percentage of liberals watched cnn (40.9%), while moderates watched abc news (41.6%) and conservatives watched fox news (42.1%). chi-square analyses determined there were significant differences across political ideological groups for watching fox news (c2(2) = 21.10, p < 0.01, cramer’s v = .20) and watching cnn (c2(2) = 17.24, p < 0.01, cramer’s v = .20). there was a larger percentage of liberals or moderates watching cnn compared to conservatives. additionally, there was a ruth & colclasure advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.263 27 smaller percentage of liberals watching fox news compared to moderates or conservatives. there were no differences in the percentage of each group for watching abc news (c2(2) = 5.66, p = .06). table 4 political ideological groups’ cable news media use liberals (n = 176) moderate (n = 185) conservative (n = 145) total (n = 506) %(n) %(n) %(n) %(n) fox news 18.8(33)a 33.0(61)b 42.1(61)b 30.6(155) abc news 31.3(55)a 41.6(77)a 31.0(45)a 35.0(177) cnn 40.9(72)a 32.4(60)a 19.3(28)b 31.6(160) note. a letter key was assigned to each column category. subscripts of the same letter denote frequencies that are not statistically different from one another between the corresponding categories at an alpha level of 0.05. liberals (m = 3.40, sd = 0.85), moderates (m = 3.19, sd = 0.82), and conservatives (m = 2.89, sd = 0.86) believed the media was somewhat credible when reporting science. however, an anova determined there was a statistically significant association between political ideological group and the media’s credibility for reporting science (f(2,503) = 9.90, p < .01, h2 = .03). similarly, liberals (m = 3.40, sd = 1.05), moderates (m = 3.17, sd = 0.96), and conservatives (m = 2.60, sd = 1.14) believed the media was somewhat credible when reporting climate change. an anova was statistically significant for an association between political ideology and the media’s credibility for reporting climate change (f(2,503) = 24.08, p < .01, h2 = .09). the follow-up tests for both anovas are reported in table 5. there was a significant difference between liberals’ and conservatives’ perceptions of the media’s credibility in reporting science (p < .01); liberals believed the media to be more credible. there were no differences between liberals’ and moderates’ perceptions of the media’s credibility in reporting climate change, but conservatives perceived the media to be less credible than both moderates and liberals (p < .01). table 5 follow-up bonferroni tests between groups and media’s credibility media’s credibility in reporting… i j mean diff (i-j) p-value science liberal moderate 0.20 0.07 conservative 0.42 0.00** climate change conservative liberal -0.80 0.00** moderate -0.57 0.00** note. **p<.01 ruth & colclasure advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.263 28 objective 5: determine how demographics, trust in science, cable news use, and media credibility predict illinois residents’ beliefs in climate change across political ideological groups the findings for objective 5 can be found in table 6. the model was statistically significant across all three political ideological groups. the model was able to explain 29% of the variance in climate change belief for liberals (r2 = .29, f(16,157) = 3.98, p < .01), 30% for moderates (r2 = .40, f(16,168) = 4.54, p < .01), and 45% for conservatives (r2 = .45, f(16,128) = 6.47, p < .01). for liberals, the only significant predictors were having a graduate/professional degree and trust in science. liberal respondents with a graduate or professional degree had a stronger belief in climate change compared to those with a high school education or less (b = 0.59, p < .01). additionally, as trust in science increased for liberal respondents, belief in climate change increased as well (b = 0.39, p < .01). the predictors in the model for moderate respondents differed from the liberal respondents. watching fox news, trust in science, and the media’s credibility in presenting climate change information were significant predictors. moderate respondents who watched fox news were less likely to believe in climate change compared to those who did not watch fox news (b = -0.31, p = .01). additionally, as trust in science (b = 0.37, p < .01) or credibility of climate change information (b = 0.18, p = .02) increased, belief in climate change increased. predictors for conservatives’ beliefs in climate change included watching abc news, credibility of climate change information, and trust in science. conservatives who watched abc news were more likely to believe in climate change compared to those who did not watch (b = 0.42, p = .03). positive perceptions of the media’s credibility in reporting climate change were associated with increased beliefs in climate change (b = 0.54, p < .01), and as trust in science increased, so did beliefs in climate change (b = 0.31, p = .04). ruth & colclasure advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.263 29 table 6 predictors for liberals’, moderates’, and conservatives’ beliefs in climate change liberals moderates conservatives b p b p b p constant 2.35 0.00 1.71 0.00 0.43 0.48 children 0.06 0.57 0.01 0.91 0.18 0.31 education some college 0.30 0.06 0.05 0.72 0.01 0.96 2-year degree 0.08 0.72 0.18 0.37 0.17 0.59 4-year degree 0.28 0.09 -0.07 0.69 -0.24 0.34 graduate school or professional degree 0.59 0.00** 0.27 0.17 0.28 0.32 income $25,000 $49,999 -0.09 0.60 0.25 0.10 -0.19 0.51 $50,000$74,000 -0.13 0.45 -0.16 0.39 -0.03 0.93 $75,000 or more -0.14 0.43 0.25 0.13 0.06 0.82 males 0.09 0.40 -0.17 0.12 -0.20 0.27 rural county -0.30 0.08 -0.09 0.58 -0.23 0.22 cnn 0.13 0.25 0.13 0.28 0.22 0.31 abc news -0.02 0.85 0.01 0.95 0.42 0.03* fox news -0.14 0.33 -0.31 0.01** -0.32 0.06 climate change news credibility 0.05 0.43 0.18 0.02* 0.54 0.00** science news credibility 0.01 0.88 0.05 0.55 0.05 0.70 trust in science 0.39 0.00** 0.37 0.00** 0.31 0.04* r2 0.29 .30 .45 f 3.98 0.00** 4.53 0.00** 6.46 0.00** note. *p < .05, ** p < .01 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the results from this study illustrated an asymmetrical influence of cable news media effects on climate change beliefs across political ideology groups. when considering trust in science, liberals possessed a higher trust in science compared to conservatives; however, the small effect size makes this difference almost negligible (cohen, 1988). similarly, liberals believed more in climate change compared to moderates or conservatives. these findings were consistent with previous research that political affiliation was associated with climate change beliefs (abeles et al., 2019; antonio & brulle, 2011). there appeared to be political affiliation related to cable news media use as well. as expected, the largest percentage of conservatives watched fox news, while moderates watched abc news, and liberals watched cnn, which supported the theory of selective media exposure (freedman & sears, 1965). additionally, ruth & colclasure advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.263 30 conservatives were found to believe the media was less credible when reporting science or climate change compared to liberals, which was consistent with relevant literature (gottfried & liedke, 2021). overall, respondents’ trust in science, belief in climate change, perceptions of credibility, and media use diverged across party lines, most notably between liberals and conservatives. interestingly, the conceptual model did not have equal effects across the political ideological groups and could account for approximately 30% of the variance in climate change beliefs for liberals and moderates and 45% of the variance for conservatives, which were large effect sizes (cohen, 1988). this finding supported feldman et al.’s (2012) conclusion that republicans’ views of climate change were strongly linked to media use compared to democrats. however, it should be noted that liberals typically receive news from multiple news outlets (grieco, 2020), which may have influenced these results. despite past literature concluding that fox news influenced audiences’ beliefs in climate change (feldman et al., 2012; feldman et al., 2014), watching it was not a predictor for conservatives’ beliefs. however, watching abc news was a positive predictor of climate change belief for this group. abc news was considered a “moderate” channel (mitchell et al., 2014) and is assumed to have reported climate change with limited bias. this finding reflected feldman et al.’s (2012) conclusion that conservatives were more accepting of climate change when exposed to media that reported its urgency. trust in science and source credibility were also found to positively influence belief in climate change, but credibility questions only asked about media in general and did not specify cable news media, which may have also influenced these findings. it has been well documented that climate change is a leading threat facing the future of global food production (nhemachena et al., 2020; praveen & sharma, 2019). to help lessen the effects of climate change on agricultural development (fao, 2023), there will need to be public support for policy and practice related to adaptation and mitigation strategies. agricultural development practitioners will need to develop targeted public information campaigns to inform attitudes and behaviors related to climate change and should consider segmenting their audiences by political ideology. while it can be difficult to overcome the effects of selective media exposure, working with reporters at “neutral” news organizations to share scientific information can help reach potentially polarized audiences when communicating about climate change. however, practitioners will also need to address trust in science and perceptions of the media’s credibility when communicating about climate change to see shifts in climate change beliefs. therefore, public information campaigns should not only focus on the severity of climate change but also provide information about how the research was conducted and what news sources provide accurate and unbiased information around the topic. inviting researchers and reporters to hold discussions at community events could be one way to begin to foster trust between the public, scientists, and the media. in an effort to expand this research, qualitative interviews or focus groups with individuals from each political ideological group should be conducted to better understand how they utilize cable news media and how media effects influence their climate change beliefs. expanding this research to explore news media sources more broadly, including talk radio, podcasts, and newspapers, would also provide a greater understanding for the influence of news media on climate change beliefs. conducting ruth & colclasure advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.263 31 content analyses for how these news media sources present climate change would also provide greater context for future research. additionally, replicating this study on a national scale and in other countries would also help to build a more holistic framework for developing audiencecentered public information campaigns related to climate change. acknowledgements this study was funded through the university of illinois at urbana champaign’s college of college of agricultural, consumer, and environmental science teaching enhancement grant. t. ruth – investigation, formal analysis, writing original draft. b. colclasure – draft introduction and discussion. references abeles, a. t., howe, l. c., krosnick, j. a., & macinnis, b. 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(2011). niche news: the politics of news choice. oxford university press on demand. © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 269-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 1, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. shelli d. rampold, assistant professor, university of tennessee, 2621 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996, srampold@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4815-7157 2. jamie greig, assistant professor, university of tennessee, 2621 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996, jgreig@utk.edu, https://orcid/org/0000-0002-7588-6374 3. julia gibson, communication specialist, osborn barr paramore, 900 spruce st., st. louis, mo 63102, juliagibson730@yahoo.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4890-452x 4. hannah nelson, research technician, department of agricultural leadership, education, and communications, university of tennessee, 2621 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996, hanrnels@vols.utk.edu, https://orcid/org/0000-00030963-1450 48 gmo or gm no? segmenting a consumer audience to examine their perceptions of genetically modified products s. d. rampold1, j. greig2, j. gibson3, h. nelson4 article history received: september 22, 2022 accepted: january 12, 2023 published: january 31, 2023 keywords audience segmentation; education; income; genetic modification; shopper responsibility abstract this study aimed to examine tennessee consumers’ perceptions of genetically modified (gm) products and how those perceptions and preferences differ based on consumers’ characteristics. survey respondents held overall neutral but slightly negative perceptions of gm products. while they agreed gm products could help increase food production, they also perceived gm products to cause illnesses such as cancer, autism, allergies, and gluten intolerance. respondents also expressed beliefs that gm products are not good for the environment. participants in the middle-income bracket had more positive perceptions of gm products than those in the lower and higher brackets. respondents who always did the majority of the grocery shopping also had significantly more negative perceptions of gm products than respondents who were responsible for the majority of the grocery shopping about half the time. there should be targeted and simplified messaging for industry practitioners to reduce the information load. specifically, research suggests gm messaging that emphasizes subjective norms, utilizes infographics, is congruent with consumer values, and highlights gm benefits rather than risks. our results also indicate that information campaigns targeting different audience segments, namely income brackets, and grocery shopping responsibility, are viable solutions to increase consumer gm product perceptions. rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.269 49 introduction and problem statement according to the u.s. food and drug administration (2020), genetically modified (gm) organisms include animals, plants, and all microorganisms that are altered genetically using technology for transferring specific dna from one organism to another, generally involving modifications to dna. there are currently ten verified gm crops grown and sold in the united states (u.s. food and drug administration [fda], 2022). however, gm products have been the subject of much debate across the united states and other regions, especially regarding the safety of gm products for human consumption (national academies of sciences, engineering, and medicine [nasem], 2016). specifically, some are concerned that gm products can lead to allergies, autism, and gastrointestinal disorders (nasem, 2016). others have praised gm products for their economic and productivity contributions to farmers and community members (fda, 2022). there is substantial research regarding the pros and cons of gm products (e.g., nasem, 2016; ruth et al., 2018; vecchione et al., 2014; wunderlich & gatto, 2015). however, methods to determine consumers’ level of gm product understanding and how that understanding affects purchasing habits and perceptions of gm products are not yet concrete. despite these challenges, researchers have maintained there is a need to examine u.s. consumers’ perceptions of and attitudes toward gm technology in the food and agriculture sector (gibson et al, 2022; ruth et al., 2018). such information can help direct future research and communication strategies on gm agricultural science (ruth et al., 2018). research to examine and better understand the variances in different consumer groups’ perceptions of gm products is needed to help ensure the presence of a consumer market base capable of supporting gm technology. theoretical and conceptual framework audience segmentation and social marketing are often deployed to help utilize resources more effectively and ensure an initiative has a maximum impact (andreasen, 2006). in agricultural communication research, such methods have been used to identify strategies to address issues or tailor messaging to specific subgroups (gibson et al., 2022; warner et al., 2017). audiences can be segmented by various factors, such as gender, income, education, geographic region, race, and ethnicity. rather than consider the “general consumer audience,” researchers can apply concepts of segmentation to describe consumer groups and more effectively target communication messages. in this study, we used characteristics of income, education, shopper responsibility, knowledge level, and political affiliation to describe differences in consumers’ perceptions of gm products. the following sections provide a synthesis of prior literature relevant to the grouping variables of interest selected for this study. knowledge and education in prior gm research, consumers’ perceptions of gm products have been linked to contentspecific factual knowledge of gm products (vecchione et al., 2014), self-perceived knowledge rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.269 50 or familiarity (rose et al., 2019), and a general understanding of science and the scientific process (wunderlich & gatto, 2015). vecchione et al. (2014) found that adults in new jersey with more knowledge of gm products were more likely to have a positive attitude about gm products and vice versa. however, wunderlich and gatto (2015) found that more than half of u.s. consumers knew very little about gm products. while educational attainment may not speak to individuals’ factual content knowledge of gm products (rose et al., 2019), it may represent their general ability to comprehend scientific information to make informed decisions. further, segmenting audiences and developing targeted messages based on gm knowledge levels can be difficult due to a lack of ability to identify how to best get gm product information to consumers. however, education and income can speak to broader, well-researched constructs like socioeconomic status or the use of different information sources that influence gm perceptions (funk & kennedy, 2016; stanton et al., 2021; wunderlich & gatto, 2015). income income and educational attainment are examined due to consistent correlations between the two (bjorklund & jantti, 2020; zwick & green, 2007). observed relationships between income and gm attitudes or perceptions have varied across prior research, though extant research focuses on non-us consumer perceptions (cui & shoemaker, 2018; hwang & nam, 2021). for example, cui and shoemaker (2018) found that higher-income chinese consumers were significantly more likely to oppose gm products than those in lower-income groups. hwang and nam (2021) had similar results in a korean sample. the present research attempts to fill in the u.s.-based research gap. political affiliation politics have long influenced the advancement and dissemination of gm products, both in the united states and other countries, through regulatory approaches and audience-driven news media coverage of gm technology (lucht, 2015; pjesivac et al., 2020). in a meta-analysis of gm media coverage, pjesivac et al. (2020) maintained that news messages in conservative areas were often framed around gm's and other biotechnology's economic potential. in contrast, news messages in more liberal regions highlighted potential environmental concerns and health risks of gm technology. due to the political landscape surrounding gm products, a consumer’s party affiliation may provide insight into their understanding and perceptions of gm products (lucht, 2015; mcfadden, 2016). shopper responsibility shopping responsibility can be an indicator of familiarity regarding exposure to gm products. wunderlich and gatto (2015) found those who were more familiar with gm products were more resistant to bioengineering methods. however, grunert et al. (2004) observed an increase in positive attitudes toward gm products after participants were exposed to a positive sensory experience with such products. rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.269 51 purpose this study aimed to examine tennessee (tn) consumers’ perceptions of gm products as well as investigate how these perceptions and preferences differ based on consumers’ characteristics. further, this research was conducted to inform the best approaches to marketing products to target audiences. four objectives guided this study: 1. describe the demographic characteristics of respondents 2. describe tn consumers’ perceptions of gm products 3. describe tn consumers’ self-perceived knowledge of gm products 4. determine if statistical differences exist in tn consumers’ perceptions of gm products based on self-perceived knowledge of gm products, education level, income, political affiliation, and shopper responsibility methods a third-party company, qualtrics, was contracted to recruit respondents and obtain a nonprobability opt-in sample of tn residents. qualtrics and panel partners employ digital fingerprinting technology and ip address checks to avoid duplication and ensure validity when obtaining non-probability opt-in samples in market research (european society for opinion and market research, 2019). the population of interest was tn residents aged 18 or older. the online link to the questionnaire was distributed to a total of 1,115 tn residents. respondents who did not complete all items of the instrument, did not select the appropriate answers to attention filters (e.g., select “strongly agree” for this answer), or did not fall within the parameters of being a tn resident of 18 years of age or older were excluded from analyses. useable responses were obtained from 501 residents for a 44.93% participation rate. the questionnaire included 13 items and was divided into three sections to capture participants’: (a) perceptions of gm products; (b) self-perceived knowledge of gm products; and (c) demographic characteristics, including education level, income bracket, political affiliation, and shopper role/responsibility. a researcher-developed questionnaire was reviewed by a panel of three faculty members with experience in survey design and science communication and marketing for readability, layout and style, clarity of wording, and accuracy of scientific content (colton & covert, 2007). revisions were made to the original questionnaire to remove double-barreled questions, improve readability, and ensure construct items had clear positive or negative perception implications. the panel deemed the final instrument acceptable. in addition, a pilot test was conducted with 50 respondents to ensure survey item validation, check for low-quality responses, assess initial scale estimates for the instrument’s constructs (α = .81), and identify any other errors associated with survey flow and readability. internal consistency reliability estimates for the instrument’s construct (i.e., gm perceptions) were calculated for the pilot and primary data using cronbach’s alpha (field, 2013). the pilot reliability estimates for the gm perceptions construct was .81 and was deemed acceptable. rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.269 52 respondents’ perceptions of gm products were assessed using eight items reflective of commonly reported positive and negative perceptions of gm products held by consumers (e.g., “gm organisms are bad for your health” and “gm organisms help increase food production”). responses were collected using a five-point likert scale, and a construct mean was computed. the internal consistency reliability estimate for this scale was α = .88. to assess self-perceived gm knowledge, respondents were asked how they would describe their knowledge of gm products using a 5-point ordinal scale. lastly, demographic items included the categorical variables: income, educational attainment level, political affiliation, and shopper role. shopper role was assessed using a single item in which respondents indicated how often they do the majority of the grocery shopping on a 5-point ordinal scale. data for objectives one, two, and three were analyzed using descriptive statistics. for research objective four, one-way analysis of variance tests (anova) were employed. a statistical significance level of .05 was established a priori for all statistical tests. tukey’s hsd post hoc tests were used when variances were equal, with games-howell used for unequal variances (field, 2013). before employing one-way anova, levene’s test was utilized to ensure the assumption of equality of error variances was not violated. robust tests of equality of means included welch’s statistic for tests that failed the assumption of homogeneity of variance. exclusion, selection, and non-participation biases are limitations of non-probability opt-in sampling methods (baker et al., 2013). due to such limitations, caution should be used when attempting to generalize the findings of this study. instead, these findings should be considered based on the study’s sample to contribute to the larger literature on gm food. a lack of quota sampling was also a limitation of this study, as the population sample included considerably more female respondents than male respondents, which is not reflective of the tn population. the remaining demographic characteristics were reflective of the state population. due to the approach of audience segmentation, these findings can still provide valuable insight regarding gm perceptions among specific demographic groups. due to attempts to draw a sample reflective of the demographic characteristics of the state population, unequal group sizes caused limitations in this study, particularly regarding the violation of anova assumptions. future research of this nature intended to segment consumer audiences should perhaps be designed with quotas set for grouping variables over state population characteristics. findings objective one objective one was to describe the demographic characteristics of respondents in this study. this objective provides context for the audience segmentation procedures used in the data analysis. respondents in this study were primarily female (f = 378; 75.4%), white (f = 408; 81.4%), and between the ages of 20 to 29 (f = 101; 20.2%) and 30 to 39 (f = 130; 25.9%; table 1). the largest number of respondents reported having completed high school (f = 150; 29.9%) or some college (f = 142; 28.3%) as their highest level of education, and most (f = 423; 84.4%) made less than $80,000 annually. additionally, more than half of respondents (f = 279; 55.7%) rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.269 53 reported doing most of the grocery shopping in their household. most respondents selfidentified as republican (f = 166; 33.1%), democrat (f = 147; 29.3%), or politically moderate (f = 216; 43.1%). table one provides a complete breakdown of the demographic characteristics of respondents. table 1 demographic characteristics of respondents variable f % gender male 111 22.2 female 378 75.4 age 18 to 19 10 2.0 20 to 29 101 20.2 30 to 39 130 25.9 40 to 49 85 17.0 50 to 59 76 15.2 60 to 69 69 13.8 70 to 79 29 5.8 80+ 1 0.2 ethnicity hispanic/latino(a)/chicano(a) 12 2.4 not hispanic/latino(a)/chicano(a) 489 97.6 race white 408 81.4 black 67 13.4 asian 7 1.4 american indian 2 0.4 multi-racial 16 3.2 other 1 0.2 education less than 12th grade (did not graduate high school) 22 4.4 high school graduate (includes ged) 150 29.9 some college, no degree 142 28.3 2-year college degree (associate, technical, etc.) 65 13.0 4-year college degree (bachelor’s, etc.) 82 16.4 graduate or professional degree (master’s, ph.d., mba, etc.) 40 8.0 rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.269 54 income $24,999 or less 144 28.7 $25,000 to $49,999 175 34.9 $50,000 to $74,999 104 20.8 $75,000 to $149,999 60 12.0 $150,000 to $249,999 15 3.0 $250,000 or more 3 0.6 political affiliation republican 166 33.1 democrat 147 29.3 independent 110 22.0 non-affiliated 69 13.8 political beliefs very liberal 37 7.4 liberal 78 15.6 moderate 216 43.1 conservative 113 22.6 very conservative 57 11.4 residence a farm in a rural area 32 6.4 rural area, not a farm 160 31.9 urban or suburban area outside of city limits 159 31.7 subdivision in a town or city 109 21.8 downtown area in a city or town 41 8.2 how often do you do the majority of the grocery shopping in your household? never 5 1.0 sometimes 42 8.4 about half of the time 70 14.0 most of the time 105 21.0 all the time 279 55.7 objective two objective two was to describe respondents’ perceptions of gm products. the mean score for respondents’ overall perceptions of gm products was 2.89, with scores ranging from 1.00 to 4.88 (sd = .75; table 2). analysis of individual gm perception items revealed respondents agreed that gm products help increase food production (m = 3.58; sd = .97). however, respondents also somewhat agreed gm products can cause illnesses such as cancer, autism, allergies, and gluten intolerance (m = 3.33; sd = 1.07) as well as disagreed that gm products are good for the environment (m = 2.81; sd = 1.04; table 2). rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.269 55 table 2 respondents’ level of agreement with characteristics of gm products item m sd genetically modified organisms help increase food production. 3.58 .97 genetically modified organisms can cause illnesses such as cancer, autism, allergies, and gluten intolerance.a 3.33 1.07 genetically modified organisms are bad for your health.a 3.32 1.05 genetically modified organisms are harmful to pollinators.a 3.31 .91 genetically modified organisms provide safe, sustainable alternatives for consumption. 3.01 1.07 genetically modified organisms are beneficial. 2.96 1.06 genetically modified organism are good for the environment. 2.81 1.04 genetically modified organisms are more nutritious than other products. 2.63 1.01 construct m = 2.89; sd = .75 note. response scale: 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = somewhat disagree; 3 = neither agree nor disagree; 4 = somewhat agree; 5 = strongly agree a denotes items reverse coded for inclusion in construct mean calculation objective three objective three was to describe respondents’ self-reported knowledge of gm products. regarding gm knowledge, more respondents (f = 204; 40.7%) self-identified as slightly knowledgeable compared to other knowledge categories (table 3). few respondents (f = 12; 2.4%) self-identified as extremely knowledgeable about gm organisms. table 3 frequency distribution of respondents’ degree of knowledge of gm and organic products item and responses f % knowledge of gm organisms not knowledgeable at all 137 27.3 slightly knowledgeable 204 40.7 moderately knowledgeable 121 24.2 very knowledgeable 27 5.4 extremely knowledgeable 12 2.4 objective four objective four sought to examine statistically significant variances in respondents’ perceptions of gm products based on self-perceived knowledge of gm products, education level, income, and political affiliation. no significant variance in gm perceptions were observed between selfperceived gm knowledge groups [f(4,496) = .866., p = .45], education level groups [f(5, 495) = 1.49, p = .19], or political affiliation groups [f(4, 496) = 2.22, p = .07]. rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.269 56 however, significant differences in gm perceptions were observed between income groups, f(5, 495) = 2.51, p = .029 (table 4). tukey’s hsd post hoc revealed respondents in the income group of $25,000 to $49,999 had significantly less positive perceptions of gm products than respondents in the $50,000 to $74,999 group and $75,000 to $149,999 group (table 5). additionally, the gm perceptions of respondents with an income of $250,000 or higher were significantly less positive than those in the $50,000 to $74,999 group and the $75,000 to $149,999 group. significant differences in gm perceptions were also observed based on respondents’ degree of grocery shopping responsibility. levene’s test was significant for shopper role (p = .003); therefore, welch’s robust f-statistic was reported, f (4, 496) = 3.21, p = .027 (table 4). gameshowell’s multiple comparisons revealed that respondents who did the majority of the shopping half of the time (gm perceptions m = 3.12; sd = .68) had significantly higher gm perceptions than those who always did the majority of the shopping for their household (m = 2.80; sd = .81; p = .01; table 5). table 4 anova summary table of gm perceptions by income bracket and shopper responsibility ss df ms f p eta (η2) income bracket between groups 7.02 5 1.40 2.51 .029 .025 within groups 276.72 495 .559 total 283.74 500 frequency of doing majority of grocery shopping between groups 6.69 4 1.67 3.21* .027 .024 within groups 277.04 496 .559 total 283.73 500 * denotes welch’s f reported rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.269 57 table 5 descriptive results of gm perceptions by income bracket s and shopper responsibility groups 95% confidence interval variable gm perception m sd lower bound upper bound income bracket $24,999 or less 2.88 .71 2.77 3.01 $25,000 to $49,999 2.77 .75 2.66 2.88 $50,000 to $74,999 3.00 .80 2.84 3.15 $75,000 to $149,999 3.03 .73 2.83 3.15 $150,000 to $249,999 2.83 .80 2.39 3.27 $250,000 or more 2.04 .87 -.16 4.25 frequency of doing majority shopping role never 2.93 .87 1.82 4.03 sometimes 3.04 .63 2.84 3.23 about half the time 3.11 .68 2.95 3.28 most of the time 2.85 .66 2.72 2.90 always 2.88 .75 2.81 2.94 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the findings from this research provide insight into developing educational and marketing communication materials that enhance consumers’ knowledge and understanding of gm products. this is particularly useful for communicating gm product information, as there has been an abundance of misinformation and concerns among consumer groups. first, respondents held overall neutral but slightly negative leaning perceptions of gm products. while they agreed gm products help increase food production, they also believed that gm products could harm the environment and cause illnesses such as cancer, autism, allergies, and gluten intolerance. these results show that while some information about the actual characteristics of gm products is reaching the public, the public is also being exposed to and retaining beliefs in misconceptions. public intake of truth mixed with non-truth in gm-related information may be due to “information overload,” where the public is exposed to so much information they cannot process fact from non-factual information (li, 2017). as such, industry practitioners should target and simplify messages to reduce the information load. specifically, research suggests using gm messaging that (a) emphasizes subjective norms (silk et al., 2005), (b) utilizes infographics (lee et al., 2021), (c) is congruent with consumer values (fischer et al., 2021), and (d) highlights gm benefits rather than risks (pham & mandel, 2019). second, very few respondents self-identified as very or extremely knowledgeable about gm products; most respondents self-reported “slight” to “moderate” knowledge of gm products. rampold et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.269 58 we found no significant variance in gm perceptions between self-perceived knowledge groups. some prior research has shown that self-reported knowledge does not directly correlate to attitudes toward gm products (rose et al., 2019) or willingness to use gm products (lu, 2016). this may also explain why the present study did not find significant differences in gm perceptions across education levels. more importantly, u.s. consumers report relying on the internet for gm information (funk & kennedy, 2016), often using sources that are not factchecked and peer-reviewed, which leaves room for misinformation and can negatively impact consumers’ future science information gathering and product purchasing behavior. therefore, where individuals receive their gm product information, and the content of those messages, may impact consumer opinions on science topics and purchasing behaviors more than selfperceived knowledge does. future research should explore this topic further. lastly, audience segmentation can be a viable approach to enhancing consumers’ gm product perceptions (burke et al., 2020; guenther et al., 2018; silk et al., 2005). the results of the present study provide examples of audience characteristics, namely income and grocery shopping responsibility, that could be targeted by information campaigns. respondents in the lowest and highest income groups ($25,000 to $49,999 and $250,000 or more) reported the most negative perceptions of gm products compared to other income categories. additionally, respondents who indicated doing most or all grocery shopping had more negative perceptions than those who sometimes or never helped with shopping. consumer shopping roles are a beneficial consumer category to target, as this information is readily available via online and instore consumer account data. therefore, communication campaigns designed to improve gm product perceptions that target income and shopping groups with negative gm product perceptions may be a helpful audience segmentation strategy. analyses of perception formation should be the focus of future studies to inform why perceptions vary between income and shopping frequency groups. however, further studies will be needed to understand how the public receives, processes, interprets, and retains information about gm products to inform future communications efforts more precisely. references andreasen, a. r. 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(2007). new perspectives on the correlation of sat scores, high school grades, and socioeconomic factors. journal of educational measurement, 44(1), 23–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3984.2007.00025.x © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 329-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. jamie greig, assistant professor, the university of tennessee, knoxville, 320a morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle, knoxville, tn 37996, jgreig@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7588-6374 2. kevin cavasos, postdoctoral associate, the university of tennessee, knoxville, 236 plant biotechnology building, 2505 e j chapman drive, knoxville, tn 37996-4500, kcavasos@tennessee.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8376-6954 3. christopher boyer, professor, the university of tennessee, knoxville, 302-i morgan hall, knoxville, tn 37996, cboyer3@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1393-8589 4. susan schexnayder, senior research associate, the university of tennessee, knoxville, 238 plant biotechnology building, 2505 e j chapman drive, knoxville, tn 37996-4563, schexnayder@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-7072 103 diffusion of innovation, internet access, and adoption barriers for precision livestock farming among beef producers j. greig1, k. cavasos2, c. boyer3, s. schexnayder4 article history received: march 24, 2023 accepted: august 3, 2023 published: august 21, 2023 keywords rural connectivity; beef producers' perceptions; technology trialability; adoption complexity; policy recommendations abstract this study examined the relationship between internet access type and perceptions of precision livestock farming (plf) technologies among beef producers in a specific state. using data collected from an internetbased survey of beef producers (n = 137), this study conducted an exploratory factor analysis to construct variables corresponding to diffusion of innovation (doi) attributes that influence innovation adoption. findings indicate producers with cable, cellular, and broadband internet access had more favorable perceptions of plf technologies in terms of barriers to adoption, while those with no internet access or satellite connections reported higher perceived complexity with the use of plf technologies. trialability and observability varied across internet types, suggesting hands-on experience and practical demonstrations might be more impactful for certain groups. beef producers with satellite internet connections were more likely to perceive the need to trial plf technologies before adoption. this study highlights the importance of internet access in rural areas and its potential impact on the adoption of plf technologies, offering valuable insights for industry stakeholders and policymakers to promote the adoption of plf technologies. greig et al. advancements in agricultural development 10.37433/aad.v4i3.329 104 introduction and problem statement precision livestock farming (plf) is a data-driven management approach that uses technology to optimize livestock performance and well-being. these technologies have the potential to benefit the livestock industry by enhancing animal welfare, increasing productivity, and reducing the environmental footprint of livestock operations (berckmans, 2017; neethirajan, 2017). in recent years, there has been growing interest in understanding the factors that influence the adoption of these technologies among livestock producers (banhazi et al., 2012; eastwood et al., 2019). internet access and connectivity are crucial for the successful implementation of plf technologies, as they facilitate real-time monitoring and analysis of data. however, the availability and quality of internet access may vary among beef producers, potentially influencing their perceptions of plf technologies and consequentially their adoption of plf technologies (groher, 2020). for instance, rural areas often have limited internet connectivity, which may act as a barrier to technology adoption (vogels, 2021). studies have identified several factors that influence the adoption of plf technologies, including the cost of the technology, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and compatibility with existing systems (boehlj & langemeier, 2021; fastellini & schillaci, 2020). additionally, the availability of technical support, training, and knowledge sharing can significantly impact the adoption process (läpple & kelley, 2013; rose et al., 2016). moreover, social factors, such as the influence of peers, local networks, and the role of extension services, can also affect the adoption of farming technologies (ramirez, 2013). examination of the influence of internet access type on plf technology adoption among beef producers, however, has been limited to date. an improved understanding of the technology-related factors that influence producers’ plf technology adoption decisions is crucial for developing targeted strategies to facilitate the adoption of plf technologies among beef producers. by addressing these barriers and tailoring support and interventions to suit the specific needs of producers, it is possible to enhance animal welfare, increase productivity, and reduce the environmental impact of livestock operations. theoretical and conceptual framework the diffusion of innovation (doi) theory has served as a foundation for research on technology adoption for several decades. developed by rogers (1962), this theoretical framework has proven useful in understanding how and why individuals and organizations adopt new technologies. by examining the five key attributes of a technology that affect adoption— complexity, compatibility, relative advantage, trialability, and observability—researchers can gain insights into the adoption process and identify potential barriers or facilitators (miller, 2015). greig et al. advancements in agricultural development 10.37433/aad.v4i3.329 105 complexity, as an attribute of doi theory, has been widely studied, with research indicating that technologies perceived as less complex are more likely to be adopted (tornatzky & klein, 1982). this is because potential adopters may be hesitant to adopt a technology that they perceive as difficult to learn or use (venkatesh et al., 2016). compatibility is another essential attribute, as it addresses how well the new technology aligns with the existing values, needs, and practices of potential adopters (tornatzky & klein, 1982). studies have shown that technologies that are more compatible with current practices are more likely to be adopted (miller, 2015). relative advantage, or the perceived benefit of the technology compared to existing alternatives, is a critical component of technology adoption (miller, 2015). research has demonstrated that potential adopters are more likely to adopt a technology when they perceive it to have a significant advantage over alternatives (tornatzky & klein, 1982). this can include benefits such as increased efficiency, cost savings, or improved performance (moore & benbasat, 1991). cost-benefit analysis is often a consideration in determining the relative advantage of technology adoption, with expense being an important factor to weigh (miller, 2015). as rogers notes, the cost of technology is an important factor to consider, as adopters will perform a cost-benefit analysis that will ultimately influence adoption decisions (rogers, 1962). trialability, the ease with which potential adopters can test or experiment with the technology, has been shown to influence adoption rates (miller, 2015). when potential adopters can try out a technology before adopting, they are more likely to understand the benefits and make a more informed adoption decision (venkatesh et al., 2003). this is especially relevant for complex technologies, where hands-on experience can help to reduce perceived complexity (moore & benbasat, 1991). lastly, observability is the extent to which the results of using the technology are visible to others (rogers, 1962). technologies with higher levels of observability tend to have higher adoption rates, as potential adopters can see the benefits firsthand and are more likely to be persuaded by the success of others (miller, 2015). diffusion of innovation theory provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the plf technology adoption process, including the perceived barriers to plf adoption among beef producers. an improved understanding of how producers perceive individual plf technologies with respect to the five doi attributes (complexity, compatibility, relative advantage, trialability, observability), and whether and how these perceptions are influenced by internet connection type, can inform the design, manufacturing and marketing of plf technologies and enable researchers and practitioners to better facilitate their successful adoption. greig et al. advancements in agricultural development 10.37433/aad.v4i3.329 106 purpose the purpose of this study was to understand the barriers to the adoption of plf technologies among beef producers in tennessee and how these barriers differ across various types of internet access. the specific objectives of this study were to: (a) identify the doi attributes that may serve as barriers to the adoption of plf technologies among beef producers in tennessee, (b) explore potential differences in the perceived barriers to plf technologies adoption across different types of internet access, and; (c) assess the relationship between the type of internet access and the importance of perceived barriers to adopting plf technologies. methods survey design and procedure this study collected data from a survey promoted via email in 2022 among tennessee beef cattle producers and administered using the qualtrics online survey platform. the survey targeted producers who participated in the tennessee agriculture enhancement program, a cost-share program that assists tennessee agricultural producers in making long-term investments in their operations, and was designed to elicit respondent perceptions toward various plf technologies and identify factors that influence their adoption. a pretest sample was first used to test the survey instrument and obtain feedback from producers to incorporate into the final version of the survey; it included six sections that addressed livestock numbers, farm size, cattle marketing, perceptions and use of plf technologies, risk preferences, and socio-demographic information. out of the 6,858 producers contacted by email, a total of 201 responses were received. after removing respondents who did not complete responses to the plf barrier and internet type questions, a total of 137 complete responses were retained for analysis. exploratory factor analysis factors perceived to be barriers to the adoption of plf technologies were elicited with the question: “to what extent do you agree or disagree that the following are barriers associated with using any precision livestock farming technologies on your operation?” ten potential barriers were provided and rated on a likert scale of agreement (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). the importance of having real time continuous information on 11 specific aspects of respondents' operations was rated on a 7-point scale of agreement (1 = not important, 7 = extremely important) and elicited with the statement: “rate the importance of having real-time, continuous information for your operation for the following.” factors representing the five doi attributes were extracted from survey responses using principal component analysis (pca) (watkins, 2018). variables with high factor loadings, an indication of a strong relationship between them, were grouped under the same factor (watkins, 2018). variables representing each doi attribute were then constructed by averaging the values of the variables comprising the respective attribute groupings. greig et al. advancements in agricultural development 10.37433/aad.v4i3.329 107 descriptive analysis descriptive statistics were calculated to determine the distribution of internet access types among the surveyed beef producers in tennessee and their perceived barriers to adopting plf technologies. cross-tabulation analysis was performed to examine the distribution of the barriers to adoption across different internet access types. chi-square tests were used to determine whether observed differences in the distribution of barriers across internet access types were statistically significant (upton & cook, 2001). multivariate and post-hoc tests multivariate tests, including multivariate analysis of variance (manova) and multivariate regression analysis, were conducted to assess whether the type of internet access significantly influenced the perceived barriers to adoption among tennessee beef producers (warne, 2014). univariate tests, including anova and multiple regression analysis, were used to examine the relationships between internet access types and each constructed doi variable separately (cardinal & aitken 2005). post-hoc tests, including tukey's honestly significant difference and scheffé's test, were used to examine pairwise comparisons between different internet access types to identify which specific internet access types significantly differed from each other in terms of their influence on the doi variables (abdi & williams, 2010; klockars & hancock 2000). findings efa results in this study, we aimed to construct variables representing the five doi attributes (complexity, compatibility, relative advantage, trialability, and observability) to better understand the barriers related to the adoption of plf technologies among tennessee beef producers. the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) measure of sampling adequacy and bartlett's test of sphericity were used to assess the suitability of the data for factor analysis (dziuban & shirkey, 1974; tobias & carlson 1969). the rotated component matrix (table 1) was used to interpret the factor loadings, which represent the correlations between the variables and the extracted factors. variables with high factor loadings (ideally greater than 0.4 or 0.5) were grouped under the same factor. greig et al. advancements in agricultural development 10.37433/aad.v4i3.329 108 table 1 plf technology barriers rotated component matrix component 1 2 3 4 5 the technologies are too complex for my employees to learn .862 .201 .028 .077 .024 the technologies are too complex for me to learn .857 .217 .192 .088 .071 i need to be able to try out the new technology before committing to it .665 .044 .510 .081 .036 i don't have enough time to learn the new system .122 .892 .045 .145 .155 i need to see the technology working on a farm before i consider it .234 .851 .242 -.039 -.023 my operation is too small to benefit from these tools .136 .143 .893 .118 .101 i am not sure the technology fits with my production operations .289 .555 .628 .008 -.102 i don't have good internet .106 .046 .087 .957 .004 the technologies are too expensive .192 .200 .158 .083 .842 i do not trust that my data stay private .248 .301 .238 .335 -.502 the final allocation of items to the doi variables was determined as follows (table 2): table 2 doi variables and items doi barrier variable item(s) complexity the technologies are too complex for me to learn (barriers_complexforme) the technologies are too complex for my employees to learn (barriers_complexforemployees) i don’t have enough time to learn the new system (barriers_time) compatibility i am not sure the technology fits with my production operations (barriers_unsure) my operation is too small to benefit from these tools (barriers_smalloperation) relative advantage the technologies are too expensive (barriers_expensive) trialability i need to be able to try out the new technology before committing to it (barriers_trytech) observability i need to see the technology working on a farm before i consider it (barriers_seetechwork) greig et al. advancements in agricultural development 10.37433/aad.v4i3.329 109 descriptive statistics in the descriptive and selection phase for internet types, we aimed to understand the distribution of various internet access types among beef producers in tennessee who participated in the survey. the binary variables representing the internet types were no internet, dsl, broadband, cable, satellite, and cellular. no participant selected dial-up, so this variable was removed from the analysis. cellular was the most common type of internet service among respondents, followed by broadband and cable. fewer respondents reported having dsl, satellite, or no internet service with the least common type of internet service among respondents being satellite (table 3). table 2 frequency of internet types among respondents (n = 137) internet type frequency cellular 55 broadband 37 cable 20 dsl 16 no internet 16 satellite 15 *respondents may have selected more than one internet type we attempted to determine whether specific barriers to technology adoption were associated with certain types of internet access by comparing the constructed doi variables (complexity, compatibility, etc.) across the different internet types. as some respondents selected more than one type of internet, each type was examined independently. this is discussed further in the findings. perceived complexity and compatibility of plf technologies were lower for respondents with broadband (2.42, sd = 0.98), dsl (2.38, sd = 1.11), and cable (2.72, sd = 0.82) connections compared to no internet access (complexity: 2.77, sd = 0.88; compatibility: 3.34, sd = 0.79) and satellite (complexity: 2.80, sd = 1.30; compatibility: 2.93, sd = 1.28) (table 4) greig et al. advancements in agricultural development 10.37433/aad.v4i3.329 110 table 3 internet types and barrier variable means internet type complexity compatibility relative advantage trialability observability no internet access 2.77 (0.88) 3.34 (0.79) 3.81 (1.05) 4.38 (0.72) 4.06 (0.85) dsl 2.38 (1.11) 2.91 (0.95) 3.38 (1.15) 3.69 (1.20) 3.44 (1.21) broadband 2.42 (0.98) 2.99 (0.92) 3.70 (0.70) 4.08 (0.98) 3.59 (1.12) cable 2.72 (0.82) 3.40 (1.14) 3.40 (1.10) 4.10 (1.12) 4.00 (1.17) satellite 2.80 (1.30) 2.93 (1.28) 3.40 (1.40) 3.20 (1.21) 3.20 (1.08) cellular 2.39 (1.00) 3.05 (1.09) 3.60 (1.10) 4.00 (1.12) 3.75 (1.31) note. standard deviation in parentheses relative advantage was rated highest by respondents with no internet access (3.81, sd=1.05), followed by those with cable (3.40, sd = 1.14), cellular (3.60, sd = 1.10), broadband (3.70, sd = 0.70), dsl (3.38, sd = 1.15) and satellite (3.40, sd = 1.40). trialability was rated highest by respondents with no internet access (4.38, sd = 0.72), followed by cable (4.10, sd = 1.12), broadband (4.08, sd = 0.98), cellular (4.00, sd = 1.12), dsl (3.69, sd = 1.20) and satellite (3.20, sd = 1.21). observability was rated highest by respondents with no internet access (4.06, sd = 0.85), followed by those with cable (4.00, sd = 1.17), cellular (3.75, sd = 1.31), broadband (3.59, sd = 1.12), dsl (3.44, sd = 1.21) and satellite (3.20, sd = 1.08). in general, findings suggest perceived barriers to the adoption of plf technologies decrease as the type of internet access becomes faster and more reliable. for example, the mean scores for complexity, compatibility, relative advantage, trialability, and observability are generally lower for broadband and cable internet compared to no internet access and dsl. respondents with cable, cellular, and broadband internet access tend to have more favorable perceptions of plf technologies, suggesting that access to these types of connections may encourage producers to adopt these technologies. respondents with no internet access or a satellite connection rated complexity relatively higher than those with faster and more reliable types of access, suggesting technology adoption may be impacted by concerns among these groups regarding their ability to learn to use the technology. the importance of trialability and observability varies across internet types, with respondents having no internet access or using cable, cellular, and broadband connections placing a higher greig et al. advancements in agricultural development 10.37433/aad.v4i3.329 111 emphasis on these factors. this implies that hands-on experience and practical demonstrations of plf technologies might be more impactful for these groups. respondents with broadband, dsl, and cable connections rated perceived complexity and compatibility relatively lower. multivariate and post-hoc tests this analysis applied the pillai’s trace test, as it is the most robust against violations of assumptions (pillai & sudjana, 1975); the results across all multivariate tests were consistent (table 5). table 4 pillai’s trace results internet type f(df1, df2) p-value cellular 0.901(5, 131) 0.483 broadband 0.974(5, 131) 0.436 cable 0.832(5, 131) 0.529 dsl 0.222(5, 131) 0.952 no internet 0.695(5, 131) 0.628 satellite 2.390(5, 131) 0.041 from these results, there is a significant difference in the doi variables between the different internet types only for satellite internet (p = 0.041). for all other internet types, the p-values are greater than the typical significance level of 0.05, indicating no significant difference in the doi variables. to better understand the specific differences between the satellite internet type and the others, this study conducted post-hoc tests, including tukey’s hsd (klockars & hancock, 2000). the post-hoc tests identified which specific pairwise comparisons were significantly different. based on the between-subjects effects for the satellite internet type, the only significant effect was found for the dependent variable “plf technology barriers – i need to be able to try out the new technology before committing to it” (f = 7.209, p = 0.008). the other dependent variables did not show a significant effect. anova analysis indicated a significant effect of the independent variable “internet satellite” on the dependent variable “plf technology barriers – i need to be able to try out the new technology before committing to it”, f(1, 135) = 7.209, p = 0.008, partial eta-squared = 0.051. the “type iii sum of squares” for the independent variable was 8.725, with one degree of freedom and a mean square of 8.725. the “partial eta squared” value of 0.051 indicated that approximately 5.1% of the variance in the dependent variable can be explained by the independent variable, after controlling for the effect of any other variables in the model. overall, the results suggest that exposure to satellite internet has a statistically significant effect on participants’ reported technology barriers, specifically their need to be able to try out new greig et al. advancements in agricultural development 10.37433/aad.v4i3.329 112 technology before committing to it. however, the effect size is relatively small, accounting for only about 5.1% of the variance in the dependent variable. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations in this study, analysis accounted for the fact that respondents, based on their diverse working environments, may have access to more than one type of internet service. for instance, a producer might primarily utilize cellular internet in a production environment and a different type when working from an office. with this in mind, each internet type was treated as an independent variable in our multivariate analyses. this approach controlled for potential confounding variables, including instances of multiple internet access types, thereby reducing interference from other types. subsequently, post-hoc tests were employed to statistically ascertain the differences in perceptions of plf technologies across various internet types. these tests served dual purposes they provided a deeper understanding of the unique impact of each internet type and also served to reconfirm the validity of our multivariate analyses. however, it is acknowledged that this method does assume a primary internet type for each producer, which may not always be the case given the possibility of multi-isp usage. this represents an interesting dimension for future research. exploring the specific patterns of multi-isp usage among beef producers, and understanding how it influences their perception of plf technologies, could yield important insights into the intricacies of technology adoption in this sector. the analysis revealed that respondents with cable, cellular, and broadband internet access generally have more favorable perceptions of plf technologies, suggesting that access to these types of connections may encourage plf technology adoption. on the other hand, respondents with no internet access or satellite connections reported a higher perceived complexity with respect to plf technologies, which could serve as a barrier to their adoption. the importance of trialability and observability varied across internet types. respondents with no internet access or using cable, cellular, and broadband connections placed a higher emphasis on these factors, implying that hands-on experience and practical demonstrations of plf technologies might be more impactful for these groups. this corresponds with prior doi research (miller, 2015), and confirms that trialability and observability are key factors in the technology adoption process. the findings of this study are consistent with similar studies examining the adoption of plf in the beef (makinde et al., 2022), sheep (kaler & ruston, 2019), and swine (akinyemi et al., 2023) industries and have significant implications for the adoption of plf technologies and the impact of internet access in rural areas. by understanding the relationships between internet access types and perceptions of technology adoption, industry stakeholders and policymakers can design more targeted and effective interventions to promote the uptake of plf technologies among agricultural producers. by focusing on improving internet access and connectivity, as well as addressing the specific barriers to adoption faced by producers with different internet access types, policymakers can contribute to the overall growth and competitiveness of the agricultural industry. greig et al. advancements in agricultural development 10.37433/aad.v4i3.329 113 these findings can be applied by industry stakeholders, such as technology providers, agricultural extension services and farmer organizations to better understand and address the needs of their target audiences. consideration of the diverse range of internet access types among producers and the potential influence of access type on technology adoption can inform the development of effective strategies to facilitate the diffusion of plf technologies and enhance the overall productivity and sustainability of the agricultural sector. furthermore, these results suggest that targeted interventions and support, such as financial incentives, educational programs, and technology demonstrations might be more effective in promoting the adoption of plf technologies among producers with different types of internet access (pruitt et al., 2012). for instance, addressing cost barriers and providing opportunities for trialability and observability for certain users could improve their likelihood of adopting these technologies. in addition, policymakers and agricultural extension services should consider the specific needs and preferences of producers with different internet access types when designing and implementing initiatives to promote plf technology adoption. this may include tailoring the content and delivery of educational materials and support services to suit the communication preferences and technological capabilities of producers with various internet access types. this study has several limitations that should be considered when interpreting the results. first, the sample size is relatively small, and the findings may not be generalizable to all beef producers in tennessee or other rural areas. second, the study relied on self-reported data, which may be subject to biases, such as social desirability bias (vesely & klöckner, 2020) and recall bias (tarrant et. al, 1993). lastly, the study explored the relationship between internet access types and perceptions of plf technology adoption but did not delve into the underlying reasons for these relationships. future research should aim to replicate these findings using larger and more diverse samples to confirm the relationships between diffusion of innovation factors and internet access types. additionally, future research should investigate the specific factors and mechanisms that drive the observed differences in 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(2018). exploratory factor analysis: a guide to best practice. journal of black psychology, 44(3), 219–246. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798418771807 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 169-comparing+the+borich+model+with+the+ranked+discrepancy+model+for+competency+assessment+a+novel+approach.docx narine and harder advancements in agricultural development volume 2, issue 3, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. lendel k. narine, extension assistant professor and evaluation specialist, utah state university, 4900 old main hill, logan, ut 84322, lendel.narine@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-2770 2. amy harder, professor, university of florida, p.o. box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611-2060, amharder@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-2028 96 comparing the borich model with the ranked discrepancy model for competency assessment: a novel approach l. k. narine1, a. harder2 abstract in 1980, borich presented a new model that allowed errors in an individual’s judgment of selfproficiency to be offset by considering the perception of a group. the model relied upon the calculation of means for competency items measured with ordinal scales, an approach subject to debate in modern times. the purpose of our study was to explore the use of a novel approach we developed, the ranked discrepancy model (rdm), as an alternative method to the borich model for determining training needs. data obtained from an online survey of extension professionals employed by a land-grant university in the united states was used to compare the training needs identified by applying the borich model with those identified by applying the rdm. a very strong and statistically significant correlation existed between the scores derived from using both models, demonstrating a high level of consistency between models. researchers conducting competency research should consider adopting the rdm given its suitability for delivering results that closely resemble findings from the borich model while providing improved rigor in methods and increased detail about training needs. keywords gaps, needs, professional development, extension narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 97 introduction and problem statement in 1980, borich introduced a new model for assessing educator training needs. borich’s (1980) use of the group mean to describe the perceived importance of a competency and weight an individual’s proficiency gap revolutionized how training needs were identified by accounting for errors inherent in an individual’s judgment of what was important to know or do. agricultural and extension education practitioners and scholars alike embraced the borich model (e.g., elhamoly et al., 2014; umar et al., 2017; waters & haskell, 1988), and we count ourselves among its many adopters. however, usage of the borich model is worth reflecting upon more than forty years later to determine its appropriateness for contemporary needs assessment research. one reason to revisit the borich model is due to an unsettled debate over the use of means to describe items measured on ordinal scales. means derived from individual ordinal items are an inherent part of calculating the mean weighted discrepancy scores (mwds) needed in the borich model. arguments can be found for and against using means of ordinally-scaled items (e.g., boone & boone, 2012; norman, 2010). the controversy over using means for individual ordinal items impacts the potential acceptance of research conducted using the borich model within the broader scientific community. a new analytical method is needed to help researchers identify competency training needs efficiently and avoid getting caught in the ordinal mean debate, while preserving the underlying rationale of the borich model. theoretical and conceptual framework the borich model is primarily used to determine priority competencies for professional development (borich, 1980) and is appropriate for use when assessing the needs of a sample, such as extension professionals or agricultural teachers. the borich model relies on identifying gaps – called discrepancy scores between a respondent’s perceived ability to perform a particular competency and how important that competency is for job success. the discrepancy score is the difference between how a respondent rates their ability and importance using ordinal scales. in a borich assessment, a discrepancy suggests an individual does not have sufficient ability to perform an important competency, therefore, a gap exists between the ideal and current conditions. a deviation between an ideal and current condition, or what should be and what is, represents the underlying nature of a need as described by witkin and altschuld (1995). for example, a respondent may rate a competency as having above average importance for their job success, but self-report having below average ability. this calculation is analogous to identifying gaps in a quantitative needs assessment process; a gap or discrepancy exists when a current condition is less than an ideal condition (boyle, 1981; english & kaufman, 1975; witkin & altschuld, 1995). next, the borich model uses the perceptions of the sample to estimate a competency’s actual importance (borich, 1980) by calculating the sample mean for importance. this approach helps to overcome individual errors in judgment. each respondent’s discrepancy score is weighted by narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 98 multiplying it with the sample mean for importance for a given competency, resulting in an individual’s weighted discrepancy score. finally, a mwds is calculated by averaging the weighted discrepancy scores for the entire sample. the mwds are then used to determine training needs, with positive scores indicating a need for intervention and negative scores indicating a need does not exist since ability exceeds importance. herein lies two problems with the borich model. first, the weighted discrepancy score is dependent on the use of item means for importance. recall that a respondent provides a single judgment of the importance of a competency based on an ordinal scale, resulting in the use of the controversial ordinal scale means (kuzon et al., 1996). while suitable for reliable psychometric constructs consisting of multiple normally distributed ordinal items, assessing the mean value of a single ordinal item is generally not recommended by researchers (dillman et al., 2014; sullivan & artino, 2013). second, the mwds for each competency does not follow an immediately clear and interpretable standardized range. a mwds ranges from -4 to 20 when using a 5-point response scale. however, any time a researcher opts to use anything except a 5point response scale (e.g., a 7-point importance scale ranging from not at all important to extremely important), the mwds range changes, creating difficulties in comparing competency needs across different studies. valid reasons exist for using scales with varying numbers of response anchors. dillman et al. (2014) stated a unipolar scale such as the type used for assessing competency training needs would be acceptable with only four scale points and this format would decrease the burden on the respondent. conversely, preston and colman (2000) found the scores obtained from using 7to 10-point scales were more reliable, had improved criterion validity coefficients, and better discriminating power as compared to scales with fewer points. if borich findings can only be compared across studies when researchers use a 5-point response scale, then this is a limitation of the borich model. we propose use of the ranked discrepancy model (rdm) as an alternative to the borich model. application of the rdm is only appropriate when certain conditions exist: (a) cross-sectional data (ary et al., 2014) is gathered from a sample or census of a target population at one point in time, (b) data for each variable or item is paired on two ordinal scales with an equivalent number of response anchors, and (c) the objective is to assess discrepancies between two clearly identified states or conditions for each item. these conditions are also necessary for the application of borich’s (1980) model for determining training needs. the rdm circumvents the two major drawbacks of the borich model. as a descriptive approach, the rdm avoids the use of means for single items measured with ordinal scales (i.e., individual competency items). it also provides an intuitive standardized score that represents the discrepancy or gap in ability compared to a known state of equilibrium, which is consistent with early needs assessment literature, namely lewin’s (1939) field theory of motivation. there are three steps in the rdm. an illustrated step-by-step example is included after the findings. first, calculate the number of occurrences in the sample when respondents’ ability ratings are: (a) less than respondents’ importance ratings (negative ranks = nr), (b) more than respondents’ importance ratings (positive ranks = pr), or (c) equal to respondents’ importance ratings (tied ranks = tr). second, convert the number of occurrences for nr, pr, and tr into narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 99 percentages. third, assign relative weights (w) to nr% (wnr = -1), pr (wpr = 1), and tr (wtr = 0). the resulting ranked discrepancy score (rds) is a standardized score ranging between -100 to 100. the rds has an equilibrium of 0, with negative scores indicating a priority need or discrepancy in ability, and positive scores indicating the absence of a gap or need. like the mwds, the rds provides a snapshot of the professional capacity of an organization with respect to a competency area. therefore, a negative, equilibrium, or positive rds does not imply every individual of the sample has inadequate or adequate capacity to perform a specific competency. it assesses priority professional development needs of the sample as whole by accounting for the ability of all individuals within the sample. like borich (1980), the rdm does not take a deficit approach to identifying needs by only considering those with negative ranks. in addition, the rdm does not rely on a sample mean for importance, instead, it capitalizes on the frequency distribution of each item. this approach is widely regarded is an appropriate way to handle ordinal items (sullivan & artino, 2013), even with nonnormally distributed data. the frequency distribution of importance and ability ratings directly influences the rds via nr%, pr%, and tr%. the rdm is intended to be an intuitive approach to handling paired needs assessment data. the rds represents the severity of a need and allows for direct comparison and priority ranking between competencies. purpose the purpose of the study was to explore the use of the rdm as an alternative method to the borich model for determining training needs. the objectives were to: 1. describe the unweighted rank frequencies and rds for program planning and program evaluation competencies. 2. compare mwds and rds for program planning and program evaluation competencies. 3. describe the relationship between scores resulting from the application of the borich model and rdm. methods our study used borich-type data from a competency assessment conducted at the university of florida in 2021. a convenience sample of county agents was taken by surveying those who were registered (n = 276) for an annual professional development symposium. with a 58.30% response rate, the sample consisted of 161 individuals (n = 161). however, an examination of the dataset revealed several incomplete responses and/or majority missing values. partial responses were removed from the dataset, and the final usable sample was 122 county agents (n = 122, 44.20%). a small number of missing values (< 1% of observations) in the final dataset were determined to be missing at random. for each competency item, missing values were replaced with the corresponding sample mean for that item to maintain the initial distribution properties of the data (dodeen, 2003). narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 100 survey data were gathered using a researcher-made questionnaire (ary et al., 2014). the questionnaire consisted of a list of extension core competency items related to program planning and evaluation. selected items were consistent with previous studies in the subject area (e.g., harder et al., 2010; lakai et al., 2012; lindner et al., 2010; maddy et al., 2002; narine & ali, 2020; scheer et al., 2011; suvedi & kaplowitz, 2016). there were 17 competencies in program planning and 15 competencies in program evaluation. following borich’s (1980) approach, respondents were first asked to rate their ability to perform each competency using a 5-point ordinal scale with the following options: 1 = none, 2 = below average, 3 = average, 4 = above average, and 5 = exceptional. following, respondents were asked to rate the degree to which each competency was important to their job success using a 5-point ordinal scale with the following options: 1 = none, 2 = below average, 3 = average, 4 = above average, and 5 = essential. data were analyzed using the borich model and rdm to compare findings. complete details about how to calculate training needs according to borich (1980) can be found by visiting the original reference. negative ranks (nr), positive ranks (pr), and tied ranks (tr) were calculated using ibm spss statistics (version 27) by performing the wilcoxon rank test between paired responses (i.e., observations for ability and importance) for each competency item. the first variable entered in the option window was perceived importance, then paired with self-assessed ability. an automatic output table with nr, pr, and tr was generated. then, rank values (i.e., number of occurrences for nr, pr, and tr) from the spss output table were exported to microsoft excel to perform steps 2 and 3. after finding the number of occurrences of nr, pr, and tr for each competency item, the next step was to convert the three rank counts into percentages. the final step was to apply weights to nr%, pr%, and tr%. the rds was calculated as follows: rds = nr% (-1) + pr% (1) + tr% (0). in practice, the last expression in the equation (tr% [0]) naturally drops off, leaving rds = nr% (-1) + pr% (1). however, tr is important to the model as it affects percentages for nr and pr. with weights applied, the rds equals -100 if all individuals have a negative discrepancy in ability relative to a competency’s importance (i.e., 100% nr). a negative rds trending to -100 reflects the magnitude of the discrepancy for one competency item and is directly comparable to the rds for other competencies. in contrast, the rds will equal (+) 100 when all individuals have a positive discrepancy in ability relative to a competency’s importance. as mentioned, the rds should be interpreted as representing the overall capacity of the sample to perform a competency; it indicates the needs of the sample as a whole. findings table 1 provides the unweighted rank frequencies used to calculate the rds for program planning competency items. after applying weights to nr (-1), pr (1), and tr (0), the rds shows discrepancies in each item from the point of equilibrium (0). all items in table 1 had a negative rds, indicating a gap in ability to perform all program planning competencies. the rds also shows the magnitude of the gap since all items are directly comparable on a standardized score narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 101 between -100 and 100. based on the results, the top three priority competency items for attention are to (a) develop long-term program objectives (rds = -61), (b) conduct a needs assessment for your program (rds = -60), and (c) use the results of a needs assessment for planning (rds = -57). table 1 ranks and ranked discrepancy scores for program planning program planning ranks (%) rds nr pr tr develop long-term (social, economic, environmental) program objectives 63 2 35 -61 conduct a needs assessment for your program 69 9 22 -60 use the results of a needs assessment for planning 61 4 34 -57 develop medium-term (behavior change) program objectives 56 5 39 -51 translate needs assessment information into a situation statement 54 7 39 -48 develop long-term extension program plans (extending beyond 2-3 years) 52 7 41 -46 establish programming priorities 48 6 46 -43 align program priorities at the local level with the extension roadmap 48 8 43 -40 organize an effective program advisory committee 46 7 48 -39 assess available local/community resources 44 7 49 -38 conduct interviews to obtain information for planning 45 8 47 -37 develop short-term (knowledge, attitude, skill, aspiration) program objectives 44 8 48 -36 develop an annual plan of work 44 9 47 -35 develop a logic model for a planned program 44 11 44 -33 develop monthly work schedule 35 10 55 -25 consult professionals with knowledge and experience about planning educational activities 34 12 53 -22 develop weekly work schedule 33 13 54 -20 table 2 shows the unweighted rank frequencies and rds for program evaluation competency items. based on the rds, there was a gap in ability to perform all competency items related to evaluation. the largest discrepancy identified by the rds was to “conduct follow-up surveys to measure behavior change” (rds = -58). narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 102 table 2 ranks and ranked discrepancy scores for program evaluation program evaluation ranks (%) rds nr pr tr conduct follow-up surveys to measure behavior change (e.g., practices adopted) 60 2 39 -58 write interview and/or focus group questions 59 4 37 -55 establish measurable objectives for evaluating the success or failure of a program 59 5 36 -54 communicate evaluation information to stakeholders 60 6 34 -54 use evaluation results to improve your program 57 4 39 -52 clearly distinguish between program outputs and outcomes 54 2 44 -52 develop intended outcomes that relate to the measurable objectives 57 7 37 -50 analyze findings from evaluation activities 52 2 45 -50 write survey questions 57 7 35 -50 interpret findings from evaluation activities 52 4 43 -48 prepare reports on program outcomes using evaluation findings 53 5 42 -48 design valid preand post-tests 54 8 38 -46 align local impact data with uf/ifas extension roadmap 51 7 42 -43 use online survey tools such as qualtrics to collect data 50 8 42 -42 monitor extension program activities 36 7 57 -29 table 3 provides a comparison between the borich model and rdm for program planning competency items. both models confirmed a discrepancy in ability for all program planning competencies. in table 3, competency items were ranked based on the discrepancy in ability, which is translated as priorities for professional development; a positive mwds and negative rds indicate a need for professional development. in table 3, the top three priority competencies were the same for the borich model and rdm. further, nine of the top 10 items were equivalent across models, with the only exception being “align program priorities at the local level with the extension roadmap.” this item was ranked 11th in the borich model and 8th in the rdm. meanwhile, “develop short-term program objectives” was ranked 10th in the borich model and 12th in the rdm. lastly, the five items of lowest priority were equivalent across both models. narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 103 table 3 mwds compared to rds for program planning planning scores rank by model mwds rds borich rdm develop long-term (social, economic, environmental) program objectives 4.04 -61 1 1 conduct a needs assessment for your program 3.77 -60 2 2 use the results of a needs assessment for planning 3.34 -57 3 3 develop medium-term (behavior change) program objectives 2.88 -51 4 4 translate needs assessment information into a situation statement 2.64 -48 6 5 develop long-term extension program plans (extending beyond 2-3 years) 2.77 -46 5 6 establish programming priorities 2.42 -43 8 7 align program priorities at the local level with the extension roadmap 2.08 -40 11 8 organize an effective program advisory committee 2.48 -39 7 9 assess available local/community resources 2.21 -38 9 10 conduct interviews to obtain information for planning 1.88 -37 12 11 develop short-term (knowledge, attitude, skill, aspiration) program objectives 2.09 -36 10 12 develop an annual plan of work 1.86 -35 13 13 develop a logic model for a planned program 1.75 -33 14 14 develop monthly work schedule 1.27 -25 15 15 consult professionals with knowledge and experience about planning educational activities 1.17 -22 16 16 develop weekly work schedule 0.97 -20 17 17 table 4 compares rankings of program evaluation competency items between the borich model and rdm. like program planning, both models confirmed there were discrepancies in all competency items relating to evaluation. the top three priority items were similar across models, albeit with differed ordering. while “communicate evaluation information to stakeholders” was ranked as the highest priority in the borich model, “conduct follow-up surveys to measure behavior change” was ranked highest in the rdm. similar to program planning items, nine of top ten evaluation competency items were consistent across models. while “analyze findings from evaluation activities” was ranked 12th in the borich model, it was ranked 9th in the rdm. also, “design valid preand post-tests” was ranked 9th in the borich model, but ranked 12th in the rdm. narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 104 table 4 mwds compared to rds for program evaluation evaluation scores rank by model mwds rds borich rdm conduct follow-up surveys to measure behavior change (e.g., practices adopted) 3.73 -58 2 1 write interview and/or focus group questions 3.48 -55 3 2 communicate evaluation information to stakeholders 3.75 -54 1 3 establish measurable objectives for evaluating the success or failure of a program 3.40 -54 4 4 clearly distinguish between program outputs and outcomes 3.27 -52 7 5 use evaluation results to improve your program 3.28 -52 6 6 write survey questions 3.37 -50 5 7 develop intended outcomes that relate to the measurable objectives 2.96 -50 10 8 analyze findings from evaluation activities 2.89 -50 12 9 prepare reports on program outcomes using evaluation findings 3.03 -48 8 10 interpret findings from evaluation activities 2.92 -48 11 11 design valid preand post-tests 2.97 -46 9 12 align local impact data with uf/ifas extension roadmap 2.60 -43 14 13 use online survey tools such as qualtrics to collect data 2.63 -42 13 14 monitor extension program activities 1.65 -29 15 15 figure 1 illustrates the observed distances between mwds and rds. absolute z-scores were used for comparison due to the inverted interpretation of scores between models; a positive mwds in the borich model and a negative rds in the rdm represent a need or discrepancy. the figure shows a clear relationship between mwds and rds; scores followed a similar pattern across all 32 competency items. a pearson’s test revealed a very strong correlation between scores (r = 0.98), demonstrating a high level of consistency between models. narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 105 figure 1 relationship between scores in the borich model and ranked discrepancy model analytical steps in the rdm getting started: gather borich-type competency data. figure 2 provides a sample item from a competency assessment questionnaire. figure 2 program planning item in a competency assessment figure 3 shows sample raw data in spss for five respondents. on the left shows the value labels for each respondent (i.e., row), and on the right shows the coded value. the sample data view is the first place to observe the number of occurrences in the sample when respondents’ ability ratings are: (a) less than respondents’ importance ratings (negative ranks = nr), (b) more than respondents’ importance ratings (positive ranks = pr), or (c) equal to respondents’ importance ratings (tied ranks = tr). for example, respondent 1 has a positive rank, respondent 2 has a negative rank, and respondent 4 has a tied rank. 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 competency items (i = 32) z-mwds (abs) z-rds (abs) narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 106 figure 3 sample competency data viewed in spss step 1: calculate the number of occurrences for negative ranks (nr), positive ranks (pr), and tied ranks (tr) in spss (see figure 4). in spss, run the test as follows: • analyze → nonparametric tests → legacy dialogs → 2 related samples. • for each competency item, enter responses for importance (variable 1) and ability (variable 2). • repeat entries in pairs for each competency item. figure 4 the wilcoxon test window in spss (v. 27) the resulting spss output will provide negative ranks, positive ranks, and tied ranks as shown in figure 5. narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 107 figure 5 ranks generated in the output window for the wilcoxon test in spss (v. 27) step 2: convert the number of occurrences of nr, pr, and tr into percentages in excel. copy output from spss to excel and calculate nr%, pr%, and tr%. figure 6 shows the data structure in excel. from figure 5: • nr% = (nr/sample size) x 100 → (3/5) x 100 = 60 • pr% = (pr/sample size) x 100 → (1/5) x 100 = 20 • tr% = (tr/sample size) x 100 → (1/5) x 100 = 20 figure 6 basic data structure of rdm data in excel step 3: assign relative weights to nr% (wnr = -1), pr% (wpr = 1), and tr% (wtr = 0). from figure 6, weights were assigned by multiplying the percentage for each rank by the corresponding weight as follows: • nr% x (-1) → 60 x (-1) = -60 • pr% x (1) → 20 x (1) = 20 • tr% x (0) → 20 x (0) = 0 the final ranked discrepancy score (rds) is calculated by summing the weighted score for each rank as follows: • nr% (-1) + pr% (1) + tr% (0) = rds → (-60) + 20 + 20 = -40 narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 108 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations we sought to determine if the rdm could serve as a suitable alternative to the borich model. our goal was to retain borich’s (1980) emphasis on using group perception to determine when or if gaps in competency should be considered priorities for training. our findings support the utility of the rdm approach as a compatible alternative to the borich model. the comparison of rds to mwds showed a great deal of consistency in rankings, despite the rdm discarding the use of the group mean in calculations seen in borich’s (1980) model. nine of the 17 program planning competencies had the same ranking when calculated using the rdm and borich model approaches. no ranking was more than three places apart and five rankings were within one place of each other. for program evaluation, the same trend was observed. four of fifteen competencies had the same ranking when calculated with either model while another four competencies were within one place apart. the remaining competencies were no more than three places apart. the visual comparison of absolute zscores and the results of the correlational analysis further confirm that a strong relationship exists between competency gaps identified by the rdm and borich model. an implication of our finding is that calculating the group mean is not required for determining competency gaps. researchers conducting competency research should consider adopting the rdm given its suitability for delivering results that closely resemble findings from the borich model. adopting the rdm allows researchers to avoid their work being scrutinized for the use of means for individual ordinal items (e.g., boone & boone, 2012; norman, 2010). the standardization of rds, regardless of how many scale items are used to measure importance and ability, offers researchers the improved ability to compare their work with prior studies of the same competencies to determine how closely their findings match others. another advantage of the rdm is that it decreases the complexity of interpreting results. the borich model yields positive mwds when training is needed. in our opinion, this is not intuitive given that many readers will have matriculated through a school system in which the goal was to score as close to 100 as possible to demonstrate mastery of a subject. we borrowed the same logic for the rdm. instead of positive scores indicating a lack of competence, the rdm provides a negative rds when training needs are greater (i.e., there are many individuals lacking sufficient ability and few individuals with an abundance of ability), which more clearly conveys that a problem exists that should be corrected. therefore, the rds demonstrates the magnitude of a discrepancy and maintains the underpinnings of a need as described by witkin and altschuld (1995), or a motivational force as discussed by lewin (1939). the use of a standardized range between -100 and 100 with the rdm is cognitively easier to interpret than a range that varies based on the number of response anchors, but often runs from -4 to 20 with the borich model using a 5-point semantic scale. however, as seen in our findings, mwds often range between 2 and 4, making it seem like the magnitude of a training need is quite small even when a score of 4 indicates a serious gap in proficiency. the example of developing long-term program objectives illustrates the difference; compare the mwds of narine and harder advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 109 4.04 (maximum possible score = 20) versus the rds of -61 (minimum possible score = -100). the rdm does a superior job at showing the magnitude of the gap. we want to be clear that the proper use of rdm approach requires the consideration of all three rank categories: pr, nr, and tr. the reason is that the rds scores represent the capacity of the sample, inclusive of individuals who are excellent at a given competency and those who lack the necessary ability. for example, developing long-term objectives has a slightly higher rds (-61) than conducting a needs assessment (-60), despite a greater percentage of nr for the latter competency. however, there is 9% of the sample that reported greater ability than necessary for conducting needs assessments while only 2% of the sample said the same for developing long-term objectives. cumulatively, this sums up to a greater amount of capacity for conducting needs assessments in the overall sample. in practice, knowing what percentage of the sample has more ability than needed is helpful for assessing whether professional development strategies based on peer-to-peer learning, mentoring, or coaching may be effective. a skilled staff development professional should develop interventions that build upon existing assets, including human capacity. quantitative research in extension often relies on ordinal data; we commonly operationalize constructs to test theories and develop ordinal rating scales to measure psychological variables. as such, the borich model has been widely applied in extension over the past forty years due to its ability to provide meaningful insights on the professional development needs of professionals. however, with ongoing philosophical and statistical debates in academia, we must be able to justify our analytical approaches to the wider scientific community. the rdm provides an 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(1995). planning and conducting needs assessments: a practical guide. sage. © 2021 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 181-describing+tennessee+consumers%e2%80%99+use+of+gmo+information+channels+and+sources-2.docx gibson et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 2, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. julia gibson, communication & strategic media coordinator, livestock marketing association, university of tennessee, 6911 w 161st ter. apt. 5316, stilwell, ks 66085, juliagibson730@yahoo.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4890-452x 2. dr. jamie greig, assistant professor , university of tennessee, 320 morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle dr., knoxville, tn 37996, jgreig@vols.utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7588-6374 3. dr. shelli d. rampold, assistant professor, university of tennessee, 320 morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle dr., knoxville, tn 37996, srampold@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4815-7157 4. hannah nelson, research technician ii, university of tennessee, 320 morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle dr., knoxville, tn 37996, hanrnels@vols.utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0963-1450 5. dr. christopher stripling, professor & department head, university of tennessee, 320 morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle dr., knoxville, tn 37996, cstripling@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5045-3492 1 can you cite that? describing tennessee consumers’ use of gmo information channels and sources j. gibson1, j. greig2, s. rampold3, h. nelson4, c. stripling5 abstract the purpose of this study was to better understand where and how tennessee consumers receive information about genetically modified (gm) products by examining the use of informational channels and sources among consumers with negative-leaning, neutral, and positive-leaning perceptions of gm products. twenty percent of respondents were categorized as having negativeleaning perceptions, roughly two-thirds held neutral perceptions, and only 10% of respondents had positive-leaning perceptions. the use of information channels was similar across all perception groups, with websites, word-of-mouth communication, television, and social media as the primary channels used. however, respondents with negative gm perceptions primarily used food bloggers, family, and friends as informational sources, while those with positive-leaning perceptions used food scientists, usda professionals, and agricultural producers. the findings of this study offer implications for a variety of audiences and communication goals, whether such goals be to market to an existing consumer base or develop an educational campaign to address misconceptions among consumer groups. keywords gmo perceptions, grouping, public opinion, survey, communication gibson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.181 2 introduction and problem statement genetically modified organisms (gmos) have become widely used in agriculture in recent years, largely due to the rapidly increasing human population and related challenges, such as decreasing land area and water resources (long & ort, 2010; oliver, 2014). many consumers, often younger (hefferon & anderson, 2016), middle class (kahn, 2021), and women (funk, 2020), are against the use of gmos for a myriad of reasons, such as concern about the effects on human health and consequences of altering an organism’s genome (kahn, 2021; oliver, 2014; yang & chen, 2016), the impact on natural biodiversity and the environment (fischer & hess, 2021; trivedi et al., 2016), a lack of perceived benefits for consumers (fresco, 2001; kahn, 2021), and social and ethical issues associated with gmo technology (fischer & hess, 2021). in the early to mid-1990s, there were more scientific articles published about gmos than news articles, but in 1999, yearly published gmo news articles far exceeded academic articles (wunderlich & gatto, 2015). global online gmo content in the media has been found to be 90% – 95% negative (abbott et al., 2001; abbott & lucht, 2001). online news titles and google search pages have been found to have more negative than positive terms related to gmos, while federal websites use positive and negative terms equally (jiang et al., 2018). the framing of science and health-related topics, as well as access to this information, can influence public opinions about agriculture (jiang et al., 2018). therefore, it is necessary to understand the sources, the individuals or institutions that originate a message, and channels, the means by which a message gets to receivers, that individuals utilize for gmo information (o’keefe et al., 1998; stone et al., 1999; tucker & napier, 2002). theoretical and conceptual framework information sources sources can include government and academic institutions, businesses and non-government organizations, and individuals, such as friends, family, neighbors, opinion leaders, and so forth (söderlund & lundin, 2017). many consumers turn to online sources for their gmo information, which tend to discuss very different gmo topics. for example, jiang and colleagues (2018) found that only 10% of the most central gmo-related words were shared by federal websites, highly trafficked websites, and online news sources, and 42% to 78% of words were unique to each source. online news titles were most often argumentative and featured more negative than positive terms for gmos, while federal websites focused on regulatory processes (jiang et al., 2018). there is a lack of trust in media sources, as 56% of americans say news media are doing a very or somewhat bad job covering issues about gmo foods; this figure rises to 73% when compared to those with higher self-reported science knowledge (funk & kennedy, 2016). interestingly, the sources that individuals turn to for information are often not the same sources they cite as credible (sharma et al., 2008; wilkins et al., 2018). for example, individuals often find scientists and agricultural officers to be the most credible (funk & kennedy, 2016; sharma et al., 2008). local leaders, like opinion leaders and progressive farmers, are often cited gibson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.181 3 as the second most credible source (kumar sharm et al., 2008). word-of-mouth communication between friends, family, and neighbors were also frequently used and perceived as highly credible (sharma et al., 2008). yet, studies still show the internet is one of the most preferred methods for obtaining gmo information (aleksejeva, 2014; cui & shoemaker, 2018). information channels channels can traditionally be grouped into personal networks (e.g., family, friends, opinion leaders, printed media, and electronic media) (csótó, 2011), though the internet has largely influenced recent dissemination of gmo-related information because it is quick and accessible. a recent study found participants’ stated preferred interpersonal method of gaining science knowledge was word-of-mouth communication and personal experiences, but participants actually used media outlets, especially digital ones, most often to gain science information (brondi et al., 2021). however, printed and electronic media portrayal of the gmo debate has fundamentally shaped individual beliefs so that gmos are inherently bad. for instance, fischer and hess (2021) found swedish newspaper coverage of gmos was intense and mostly negative in the mid-1990s but became less negative over time; by the end of the study period, most articles were neutral. studies show low gmo knowledge tends to disproportionately relate to reliance on mass media as a source of gmo information (aleksejeva, 2014; turker et al., 2013; wunderlich & gatto, 2015), which may, in part, be due to more mass media articles about gmos than academic ones (wunderlich & gatto, 2015). purpose the two objectives that guided this study were to describe respondents with negative, neutral, and positive perceptions of gmo products based on their use of: 1. information channels 2. information sources we utilize this framework as opposed to other suitable theories in the field, such as the prism or risp frameworks for several reasons. first, the information sources and channels framework has roots in the interdisciplinary diffusion of innovations theory (rogers, 1995), which posits that adoption of new innovations is influenced by information and opinions shared among potential users (macvaugh & schiavone, 2010). second, the prism framework considers the use of information as an output rather than a process (aqil et al., 2009), while information sources and channels acknowledge that information about scientific innovations can be ephemeral and biased. third, the risp model focuses on risk communication and use of this model would imply that gmo innovations are inherently risky. however, future research could expand the following methods by using other frameworks to strengthen our understanding of how individuals receive and process gmo information. gibson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.181 4 methods population and sample the population of interest was tennessee residents aged 18 or older. an online link to a questionnaire was distributed to a total of 1,115 tennessee residents who opted-in using a third-party company, qualtrics. qualtrics recruits participants through actively managed market research panels and social media platforms, and they employ digital fingerprinting technology and ip address checks, as well as work with panel partners who also employ such methods (european society for opinion and market research, 2019). opt-in participant recruitment is a form of convenience, or river, sampling and is not random. participants must be willing to be contacted when responses are needed (baker et al., 2013). the online link to the questionnaire was distributed by qualtrics to tennessee residents, and responses were collected gradually from qualtrics’ recruitment pools until there were 500 responses that met the study criterion. useable responses were obtained from 501 residents for a participation rate of 44.93%. due to the sampling techniques of opt-in sampling, participation rates are reported rather than true response rates (baker et al., 2013), which may be a limitation of this study. non-probability panels are also considered non-representative of the target population and are subject to the potential for exclusion, selection, and non-participation biases (baker et al., 2013). to better examine the extent to which the sample was reflective of the larger population, demographic characteristics of respondents were compared to tennessee demographic data. comparisons revealed the percentage of females compared to males was not representative of the tennessee population, which is a limitation of the current study. more respondents in this study identified as female (n = 378; 75.4%) than male (n = 378; 22.2%), and few identified as nonbinary (n = 9; 1.8%) or other (n = 3; 0.6%). compared to other race categories, more respondents identified as white (n = 408; 81.4%), followed by black (n = 67; 13.4%). compared to other education categories, the largest number of respondents reported having completed high school (n = 150; 29.9%) or some college (n = 142; 28.3%). lastly, most (n = 423; 84.4%) made less than $80,000 annually. limitations of non-probability online sampling procedures include the potential for exclusion, selection, and non-participation biases (baker et al., 2013). in this study, the percentage of females compared to males is not representative of the tennessee population. instrumentation respondents’ perceptions of gmo products were assessed using nine items reflective of commonly reported perceptions of gmo products held by consumers (e.g., gmos are bad for your health and gmos help increase food production). responses were collected using a fivepoint likert scale: 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = somewhat disagree; 3 = neither agree nor disagree; 4 = somewhat agree; and 5 = strongly agree. a construct mean was computed to represent respondents’ overall perceptions of gmo products, and negatively worded items were reverse coded. respondents were then categorized based on their gmo perceptions score: negativeleaning perceptions = 1.00–2.33; neutral perceptions = 2.34–3.67; and positive-leaning perceptions = 3.68–5.00. these same parameters have been previously used for grouping gibson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.181 5 purposes in other areas of agricultural education and communications research (haynes & stripling, 2014). respondents’ use of information sources was assessed using twelve items. respondents were asked to indicate how much information about gmo products they had obtained from each source, and responses were collected on a 5-point ordinal scale: 1 = none at all; 2 = a little; 3 = some; 4 = a lot; and 5 = a great deal. lastly, respondents’ use of information channels was assessed using the previously described format but with seven information channel items (e.g., social media, television). the questionnaire was reviewed for content and face validity by a panel of experts consisting of three faculty members with experience in science communication and marketing. the questionnaire was evaluated for readability, clarity, and style (colton & covert, 2007). a field test was conducted with fifty respondents to ensure survey item validation, check for low quality responses, and assess initial scale estimates. pilot and post hoc reliability estimates for gmo perceptions were calculated using cronbach’s alpha (pilot α = 0.87; posthoc α = 0.89), which are acceptable levels according to field (2013). data analysis data were analyzed using the spss 27 statistical software package. descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages, were used reported for all objectives. median scores were also reported with frequency distributions as the measure of central tendency (boone & boone, 2012). findings objective one for all objectives, respondents were grouped into one of three categories based on their gmo perceptions. ninety-eight respondents (19.56%) were in the negative-leaning perceptions group, 343 (68.46%) were in the neutral perceptions group, and sixty (11.98%) were in the positive-leaning perceptions group. a description of how respondents were grouped is provided in the instrumentation section. objective one was to describe respondents with negative, neutral, and positive perceptions of gmo products based on their gmo information channels. respondents with negative-leaning perceptions of gmo products (n = 98) received varying degrees of information via a variety of channels (see table 1). compared to the other channels listed, more respondents in the negative perceptions group received at least some information about gmo products from websites (n = 82; 83.7%), word-of-mouth communication (n = 80; 81.6%), social media (n = 72; 73.5%), and television (n = 70; 71.4%). negative-leaning respondents who received information about gmo products from health books (n = 55; 5.6%) reported receiving a lot (n = 10; 10.2%) or a great deal (n = 12; 12.2%) of information via that channel. lastly, more than half of the negative-leaning respondents reported receiving no information at all from radio (n = 68; 60.2%) and newspaper (n = 68; 69.4%) channels. gibson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.181 6 table 1 information channel use among respondents with negative-leaning perceptions of gmo products (n = 98) channel none at all a little some a lot a great deal median n % n % n % n % n % mdn websites 16 16.3 24 24.5 32 32.7 17 17.3 9 9.2 3.00 word-of-mouth 18 18.4 30 30.6 31 31.6 12 12.2 7 7.1 3.00 social media 26 26.5 22 22.4 28 28.6 15 15.3 7 7.1 3.00 health books 43 43.9 16 16.3 17 17.3 10 10.2 12 12.2 2.00 television 28 28.6 35 35.7 26 26.5 6 6.1 3 3.1 2.00 radio 59 60.2 19 19.4 15 15.3 2 2.0 3 3.1 1.00 newspaper 68 69.4 20 20.4 8 8.2 1 1.0 1 1.0 1.00 note. response scale: 1 = none at all; 2 = a little; 3 = some; 4 = a lot; 5 = a great deal. respondents with neutral perceptions of gmo products (n = 343) did not report receiving a lot or great deal of information from any single information channel (table 2). of the channels that were utilized, the largest number of respondents (n = 222; 64.7%) reported receiving at least a little information about gmo products from television. in addition, more than half of the respondents in this group received at least a little information from websites (n = 204; 59.5%), social media (n = 179; 52.2%), and word-of-mouth (n = 196; 57.1%). regarding the lesser utilized channels, more than half of the neutral respondents did not obtain any gmo product information from health books (n = 207; 60.3%), newspapers (n = 208; 60.6%), or radio channels (n = 236; 68.8%). table 2 information channel use among respondents with neutral perceptions of gmo products (n = 343). channel none at all a little some a lot a great deal median n % n % n % n % n % mdn television 121 35.3 98 28.6 84 24.5 34 9.9 6 1.7 2.00 websites 139 40.5 93 27.1 65 19.0 28 8.2 18 5.2 2.00 social media 164 47.8 89 25.9 47 13.7 29 8.5 14 4.1 2.00 word of mouth 147 42.9 103 30.0 68 19.8 17 5.0 8 2.3 2.00 health books 207 60.3 53 15.5 54 15.7 20 5.8 9 2.6 1.00 newspaper 208 60.6 79 23.0 42 12.2 9 2.6 5 1.5 1.00 radio 236 68.8 53 15.5 33 9.6 12 3.5 9 2.6 1.00 note. response scale: 1 = none at all; 2 = a little; 3 = some; 4 = a lot; 5 = a great deal. lastly, respondents with positive-leaning perceptions of gmo products (n = 60) also did not receive a great deal of information about gmo products through any single information channel (table 3). compared to the other channels listed, more respondents in this group gibson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.181 7 received at least a little information from websites (n = 50; 83.3%), television (n = 49; 81.7%), and word-of-mouth (n = 45; 75.0%). in addition, slightly more than half of the respondents in the positive-leaning group reported receiving at least a little information from social media (n = 39; 65.0%) and health books (n = 50; 30.0%). positive-leaning respondents reporting receiving no information from newspapers (n = 37; 61.7%) and radio channels (n = 41; 68.3%). table 3 information channel use among respondents with positive-leaning perceptions of gmo products (n = 60) channel none at all a little some a lot a great deal median n % n % n % n % n % mdn websites 10 16.7 16 26.7 15 25.0 15 25.0 4 6.7 3.00 television 11 18.3 25 41.7 16 26.7 5 8.3 3 5.0 2.00 social media 21 35.0 16 26.7 10 16.7 9 15.0 4 6.7 2.00 word of mouth 15 25.0 23 38.3 14 23.3 7 11.7 1 1.7 2.00 health books 30 50.0 10 16.7 14 23.3 5 8.3 1 1.7 1.50 newspaper 37 61.7 17 28.3 3 5.0 3 5.0 0 0.0 1.00 radio 41 68.3 11 18.3 5 8.3 3 5.0 0 0.0 1.00 note. response scale: 1 = none at all; 2 = a little; 3 = some; 4 = a lot; 5 = a great deal. objective two objective two sought to describe the gmo information sources respondents with negative, neutral, and positive perceptions used. overall, respondents with negative-leaning perceptions of gmo products did not receive a lot or a great deal of information from any single source (table 4). of the sources listed, more respondents in this group obtained at least some information about gmo products from food bloggers (n = 64; 65.3%), family (n = 64; 65.3%), and friends (n = 61; 62.2%). in addition, roughly half of the negative-leaning respondents reported receiving at least a little information from usda professionals (n = 53; 54.1%) and other consumers (n = 43; 43.9%). many respondents in this group reported receiving no information at all about gmo products from college classes (n = 67; 68.4%), universities (n = 69; 70.4%), or tennessee extension services (n = 72; 73.5%). gibson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.181 8 table 4 information source use among respondents with negative-leaning perceptions of gmo products (n = 98) source none at all a little some a lot a great deal median n % n % n % n % n % mdn food bloggersa 34 34.7 32 32.7 19 19.4 8 8.2 4 4.1 2.00 family 37 37.8 25 25.5 28 28.6 6 6.1 2 2.0 2.00 food scientists 47 48.0 18 18.4 17 17.3 10 10.2 6 6.1 2.00 friendsb 34 34.7 29 29.6 28 28.6 3 3.1 2 2.0 2.00 usda professionalsa 45 45.9 23 23.5 16 16.3 7 7.1 6 6.1 2.00 other consumers 41 41.8 28 28.6 22 22.4 4 4.1 3 3.1 2.00 agricultural producers 55 56.1 16 16.3 18 18.4 4 4.1 5 5.1 1.00 work/coworker 56 57.1 20 20.4 14 14.3 6 6.1 2 2.0 1.00 former high school class 63 64.3 16 16.3 15 15.3 3 3.1 1 1.0 1.00 college classd 67 68.4 13 13.3 8 8.2 4 4.1 3 3.1 1.00 universitiesb 69 70.4 15 15.3 6 6.1 3 3.1 3 3.1 1.00 tennessee extension servicesb 72 73.5 15 15.3 4 4.1 4 4.1 1 1.0 1.00 note. response scale: 1 = none at all; 2 = a little; 3 = some; 4 = a lot; 5 = a great deal a responses missing from 1 participant. b responses missing from 2 participants. c responses missing from 3 participants. respondents in the neutral gmo perceptions group did not receive much information from any of the sources listed, with all sources having a median value of 1.00 for response distribution (table 5). when compared to the other sources, more respondents in this group reported receiving at least a little information from usda professionals (n = 161; 46.9%), family members (n = 154; 44.9%), friends (n = 153; 44.6%), and agricultural producers (n = 152; 44.3%). many respondents in this group (n = 239; 69.7%) reported receiving no information at all about gmo products from tennessee extension services. gibson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.181 9 table 5 information source use by respondents with neutral perceptions of gmo products (n = 343) source none at all a little some a lot a great deal median n % n % n % n % n % mdn usda professionalsa 182 53.1 77 22.4 48 14.0 26 7.6 7 2.0 1.00 familyb 189 55.1 64 18.7 65 19.0 17 5.0 6 1.7 1.00 agricultural producersb 191 55.7 76 22.2 45 13.1 20 5.8 9 2.6 1.00 friendsb 190 55.4 72 21.0 60 17.5 15 4.4 4 1.2 1.00 food scientistsc 207 60.3 56 16.3 48 14.0 18 5.2 10 2.9 1.00 high school classc 202 58.9 65 19.0 46 13.4 20 5.8 6 1.7 1.00 food bloggersc 201 58.6 70 20.4 48 14.0 12 3.5 8 2.3 1.00 work/coworkera 207 60.3 71 20.7 43 12.5 14 4.1 5 1.5 1.00 other consumersd 206 60.1 72 21.0 41 12.0 13 3.8 6 1.7 1.00 universitiese 233 67.9 39 11.4 43 12.5 15 4.4 6 1.7 1.00 tennessee extension servicesf 239 69.7 39 11.4 40 11.7 12 3.5 7 2.0 1.00 college classc 245 71.4 36 10.5 34 9.9 16 4.7 8 2.3 1.00 note. note. response scale: 1 = none at all; 2 = a little; 3 = some; 4 = a lot; 5 = a great deal a responses missing from 3 participants. b responses missing from 2 participants. c responses missing from 4 participants. d responses missing from 5 participants. e responses missing from 7 participants. f responses missing from 6 participants. respondents with positive-leaning perceptions of gmo products received at least a little information from the various information sources (table 6). compared to the other sources, more respondents in the positive-leaning perceptions group received at least a little information from food scientists (n = 42; 70.0%), usda professionals (n = 40; 66.7%), and agricultural producers (n = 36; 60.0%). in addition, more than half of the positive-leaning respondents reported receiving at least a little information from family (n = 32; 53.3%) and friends (n = 32; 53.3%). few respondents in this group (n = 19; 31.7%) received any amount of information about gmo products from tennessee extension services. gibson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.181 10 table 6 information source use by respondents with positive-leaning perceptions of gmo products (n = 60) source none at all a little some a lot a great deal median n % n % n % n % n % mdn usda professionals 20 33.3 14 23.3 17 28.3 8 13.3 1 1.7 2.00 food scientist a 18 30.0 17 28.3 19 31.7 4 6.7 1 1.7 2.00 agricultural producers 24 40.0 17 28.3 12 20.0 4 6.7 3 5.0 2.00 college class 33 55.0 8 13.3 6 10.0 11 18.3 2 3.3 1.00 family 28 46.7 12 20.0 14 23.3 5 8.3 1 1.7 2.00 universitiesa 33 55.0 11 18.3 6 10.0 6 10.0 3 5.0 1.00 former high school class 35 58.3 8 13.3 9 15.0 5 8.3 3 5.0 1.00 food bloggersa 32 53.3 12 20.0 7 11.7 8 13.3 0 0 1.00 friends 28 46.7 18 30.0 12 20.0 1 1.7 1 1.7 2.00 other consumersa 31 51.7 14 23.3 12 20.0 1 1.7 1 1.7 1.00 work/coworker a 33 55.0 13 21.7 12 20.0 0 0 1 1.7 1.00 tennessee extension servicesa 41 68.3 8 13.3 6 10.0 3 5.0 1 1.7 1.00 note. response scale: 1 = none at all; 2 = a little; 3 = some; 4 = a lot; 5 = a great deal. a responses missing from 1 participant. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations conclusions the findings of this study provide insight regarding how respondents with varying perceptions of gmo food products receive their information about such products. segmenting consumers based on their gmo perceptions (i.e., negative-leaning, neutral, and positive-leaning) can guide recommendations for a variety of audiences and communication goals, whether such goals be to market gmo products to existing consumer bases or develop an educational campaign to address gmo misconceptions. further, while this is a state-based study and the ability to generalize is limited, these findings contribute to the larger body of literature pertaining to consumers’ gmo information-seeking behaviors. twenty percent of respondents were categorized as having negative-leaning perceptions of gmo products, roughly two-thirds held neutral perceptions, and only 10% of respondents had positive-leaning perceptions of gmo products. websites, word-of-mouth communication, television, and social media were the primary information channels used by all perception groups. respondents with neutral perceptions, however, did not utilize any information channel to much extent. regarding information sources, respondents in the negative group received information primarily from food bloggers, family, friends, and other consumers. respondents in the neutral group received information from usda professionals, family gibson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.181 11 members, friends, and agricultural producers. lastly, a slight shift toward more scientific-based sources, such as food scientists, usda professionals, and agricultural producers, was observed among respondents with positive-leaning perceptions of gm products. overall, these findings reveal that individuals are actively seeking only “some” gmo information and most often, are not seeking any information at all, regardless of perception leanings. more importantly, participants’ preferred methods of receiving gmo information are not factchecked and peer reviewed, leaving room for misinformation. misinformation about the covid-19 pandemic has been found to increase information avoidance and heuristic processing, as well as decrease the measures individuals took to prevent and treat covid-19 (kim et al., 2020). misinformation about gmo soybeans was associated with feelings of anxiety and a lack of trust in scientists and the government (jiang & fang, 2019), which in turn leads to individuals using these sources less for information. the challenge then is for agricultural communicators to find ways to reach people about gmos without them having to seek out the information themselves through unreliable sources. discussion and recommendations the relatively high use of informal information channels like websites, family, friends, and word-of-mouth communication across all perception groups is consistent with prior findings (cui & shoemaker, 2018; tucker & napier, 2002; wolske et al., 2020). the findings from the current study and prior research suggest that segmenting consumers based on their gmo perceptions may be unnecessary to examine information channels. however, it may be advantageous to segment consumer audiences by socioeconomic variables or measures of trust in science when analyzing information channel use (funk et al., 2020). though for informational sources, segmenting respondents into perceptions groups has provided beneficial insight for practitioners and researchers. across perception groups, relatively little information about gmo products was obtained from tennessee extension services, which suggests room for extension’s involvement in this area, perhaps through working with agricultural communicators to develop educational campaigns for consumers, workshops for producers, or marketing materials for producers to use to promote understanding of gmo science to consumers with negative or neutral perceptions. this raises the question of how well positioned extension specialists or agents are in terms of collaborating with agricultural communicators. additionally, we need to examine the roles and effectiveness of agents, specialists, and agricultural communicators in facilitating dialogue about gmo products between producers and consumers. producers in tennessee should also continue to converse with their supportive consumer base, which may, in turn, facilitate positive discussions among consumers via personal networking (chen et al., 2021; csótó, 2011; wolske et al., 2020). regarding future research, qualitative inquiry is needed to examine how the language and tones of usda messages are perceived by consumers and shape their perceptions. similar research is needed to explore the role of food bloggers or similar influencers on consumers’ perceptions of gmo products. research should also seek to identify the potential for evidencegibson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.181 12 based food blogs from university researchers or other scientists. to help accomplish this, consumers’ perceived trust in science and scientists should be further examined (runge et al., 2018; xu & lu, 2019), and methods of increasing consumers’ trust in evidence-based blogs from universities or scientists should be established. lastly, considering roughly two-thirds of respondents in this study fell within the neutral perceptions category, research should continue to explore the phenomena of neutral public opinions on controversial topics such as gmos. this area of research is of the upmost importance to efforts to better develop and disseminate evidence-based information to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions. references abbott, e. a., lucht, t., jensen, j. p., & jordan-conde, z. 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(2016). governing gmos in the usa: science, law and public health. journal of the science of food and agriculture, 96(6), 1851–1855. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.7523 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 4, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. presley nickens, graduate research assistant, university of tennessee, 101 mccord hall, 2640 morgan circle dr., knoxville, tn 37996, pnickens@vols.utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3030-370x 2. david r. ader, assistant director of the smith center for international sustainable agriculture, university of tennessee, 101 mccord hall, 2640 morgan circle dr., knoxville, tn 37996, dader@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3360-5017 3. max c. miller ii, graduate research assistant, department of agricultural and environmental sciences, tennessee state university, mmille60@my.tnstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3667-3063 4. pao srean, dean of the faculty of agriculture & food processing, national university of battambang, road 5 krong, battambang, sreanpao@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2330-9660 5. tom gill, director of the smith center for international sustainable agriculture, university of tennessee, 101 mccord hall, 2640 morgan circle dr., knoxville, tn 37996, tgill4@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1367-8684 6. sovanneary huot, graduate research assistant, pennsylvania state university, armsby building university park, pa 16801, neary.psu@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3214-256x 39 conservation agriculture and cover crop adoption by smallholder farmers in cambodia: understanding perceptions, challenges, and opportunities for soil improvement p. nickens1, d. r. ader2, m. miller3, p. srean4, t. gill5, s. huot6 article history received: august 17, 2023 accepted: november 21, 2023 published: december 6, 2023 keywords soil fertility; mixed methods; sustainable agriculture abstract practical solutions for soil conservation are needed to ensure sustainable food production. conservation agriculture and the use of cover crops are promising strategies for soil improvement in agricultural systems. these strategies are being promoted in cambodia to address rapidly declining soil fertility; however, there is a lack of insight into the perceptions of cambodian smallholders towards cover cropping within a conservation agriculture approach. a greater understanding of the utilization and perceptions of cover crops is needed to increase adoption and prevent further soil degradation. this study utilized a mixed methods approach with quantitative data from a farmer survey and qualitative data gathered from follow-up interviews with farmers. analysis shows that farmers understand what conservation agriculture is and reported benefits, including increased yields, after practicing conservation agriculture. conservation agriculture was viewed as a way to protect the environment and increase soil fertility, particularly by using cover crops. however, farmers reported that the use of cover crops as part of a conservation agriculture approach faces challenges, preventing further adoption. understanding the benefits and challenges for farmers can help improve adoption, leading to improved soil and more resilient agricultural systems. further research on how to address the challenges presented by farmers is needed. mailto:pnickens@vols.utk.edu https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 mailto:dader@utk.edu https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 mailto:mmille60@my.tnstate.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3667-3063 mailto:sreanpao@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2330-9660 mailto:tgill4@utk.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1367-8684 mailto:neary.psu@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3214-256x nickens at al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 40 introduction and problem statement cambodia, with its agricultural-based economy, is at risk of depleting one of their most precious resources —soil. cambodian soils are being lost at a tremendous rate due to continuous cultivation and rainfall patterns (le et al., 2018). a loss of soil fertility is a limiting factor for rice production, the largest agricultural sector in cambodia; thus, environmentally-conscious strategies that do not risk rice production are needed (suong et al., 2019). to address this issue, a climate-smart approach that takes conservation agricultural practices into account has been suggested. conservation agriculture (ca) aims to minimize soil disturbances, diversify cropping systems, and improve soil fertility through the addition of cover cropping and crop rotation practices (chapuis et al., 2019). cover crops are an essential part of a ca approach, offering soil health benefits and assisting in carbon sequestration. cover crops are associated with improvements in soil physical, chemical, and biological properties (adetunji et al., 2020). benefits such as increased organic matter, yield, and available nutrients (adetunji et al., 2020) have the potential to positively impact depleted soils in cambodia. a greater understanding of the utilization and perceptions of cover crop production by smallholders is needed to further expand the adoption of cover crops under a ca approach. the problem we seek to address is the lack of insight into the perceptions of cambodian smallholders towards cover cropping and what factors motivate them to adopt cover crops and conservation agriculture practices into their agricultural systems. the knowledge gained from this research can help increase cover crop adoption to remedy depleted cambodian soils, consequently boosting fertility to meet the forty-two percent production increase needed to meet rice demands by the year 2050 (ray et al., 2013). theoretical and conceptual framework cambodia has experienced mass deforestation as a result of the conversion of agricultural land driven by market demand for cash crops (kong et al., 2019). deforestation paired with degradative farming practices such as conventional tillage has negatively impacted soil health, with 5.93 million tons per hectare per year of soil lost in 2018 (sourn et al., 2022). the resulting erosion has a negative effect on agricultural productivity, soil fertility, and biodiversity, thereby affecting the livelihoods and economies of those residing in degraded areas (sourn et al., 2022). to remedy this spiral of events, a conservation agriculture approach is needed to restore soil health and fertility. a study by le et al. (2018) found that conservation agricultural practices implemented in cambodia had four times less sediment loss and an increase in soil organic carbon (soc) stocks compared to conventional tillage methods. conservation agriculture is associated with an increase in yields, reduced labor, and conservation of natural resources on cambodian farms (edralin et al., 2017). previous studies have investigated the decision-making process and perceptions of cambodian smallholders on the topic of conservation agriculture. kong et al. (2021) created a simulation game to better understand why cambodian farmers would adopt conservation agriculture. the results suggested that farmers would choose ca approaches in the absence of cash crops when https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 nickens at al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 41 crop productivity declined. sumner et al. (2017) used a mixed methods approach to understand the perceptions of ca through the lens of gender. the study found that ca was perceived to reduce labor for both genders; however, the decision to adopt was dependent on access to resources, the ability to make decisions within the home, and available space. women were more involved in the household finances while men had greater control over input selection and agricultural production; however, the decision to transition to ca was largely a joint decision (sumner et al., 2017). a specific focus on the farmer perceptions of cover cropping, a practice implemented in ca, is absent from the related literature. it has been well established that cover crops implemented under a ca system improve soil health (hin et al., 2021; suong et al., 2019). after an analysis of field data, miller (2022) found a positive correlation between cover crop biomass and maize yield in cambodian field trials. farmers who had practiced ca for more than one year reported advancements in soil health, yield, or profitability (miller, 2022). unfortunately, the adoption of cover cropping technology has lagged among cambodian smallholders (hin et al., 2021). an understanding of the perceived advantages, disadvantages, barriers, and production practices can help researchers better understand the underlying causes of the lack of adoption. thus, this study utilized the theory of planned behavior (ajzen, 1991) for the conceptual framework. purpose the purpose of this research is to explore smallholder perceptions of cover crops within conservation agriculture in cambodia. an increased understanding of the research questions can better inform future strategies to increase adoption, thus leading to improved soil health. the research questions presented for this study are: 1. what are the conservation agriculture practices, particularly cover crop practices, being implemented by the farmers surveyed and what is their perception of the results? 2. why do cambodian farmers choose to implement cover cropping on their farms? what are the perceived advantages and disadvantages of cover cropping for a cambodian farmer? 3. what are the perceived impacts of conservation agriculture, and in particular, cover cropping, on soil health and fertility? 4. what are the perceived challenges preventing cambodian farmers from practicing cover cropping? methods this research follows a mixed method approach, using both quantitative and qualitative data gathering techniques (creswell, 2014; creswell & plano clark, 2018). mixed methods research in agriculture, by using both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis techniques, allows researchers to gain a more comprehensive understanding of agricultural issues by exploring both the measurable and subjective aspects of a phenomenon (harrison & getz, 2015). mixed methods can improve the robustness and triangulation of results (leedy & ormrod, 2012) and can provide insights into the attitudes and experiences of farmers, which https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 nickens at al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 42 may not be captured through one method alone. mixed methods research in agriculture can lead to a more nuanced understanding of complex agricultural issues and can inform policies and improve the efficiency of extension and outreach programs. in this research, the intent was to gather information from farmers to understand the situation of conservation agricultural practices and help inform policies and extension programs that are promoting soil health and conservation agriculture in cambodia. the farmers were selected because they chose to participate in a cover cropping project led by the local government center known as the cambodian conservation agriculture research for development center (cardec). these farmers have been engaging with cardec in battambang province to increase the adoption of conservation agricultural practices, specifically cover cropping, with mainly the use of the crotalaria species. the mixed methods approach was executed by utilizing quantitative data from a farmer survey (n = 57), and qualitative data gathered from in-depth interviews with a subset of the farmers surveyed (n = 14). cambodian enumerators, from the national university of battambang, who have experience with farmer surveys, were contracted to implement the survey in the khmer language. trustworthiness was established with the interviewees by using in-country enumerators from a local university. in-depth interviews were conducted by the authors with the use of khmer translators. a simple survey instrument was developed to gather basic information about the current ca and cover crop use by the farmers. the survey was tested at the national university of battambang on a group of faculty and graduate students to ensure its validity. the survey consists of close-ended questions to capture data on the farmer themselves (age, years farming, etc.), their resources (land, irrigation etc.), and their practices (tillage, planting, etc.). the survey also contained questions about their use and perceptions of ca and cover crops. the survey responses were collected on paper and then input into excel. all research protocols were approved by the university institutional review board (16-03351-xp). ibm spss statistics (version 24) was used to analyze the survey data. the qualitative methodology for this study employed a semi-structured interview format. a total of 14 on-farm, in-depth interviews were conducted between the dates of december 16, 2022 and december 25, 2022. interviews lasted on average 40 minutes and included questions pertaining to farmer perceptions, experiences, and observations of ca and cover crops. farmers were selected to represent individuals who have been practicing ca for varying lengths of time, which ranged from first year to veteran practitioners. interviewees were also chosen to include farmers with operations under diverse crop rotations and in multiple agro-ecological contexts (upland and lowland). field notes and interview guides were used to collect the interview data. the qualitative data was analyzed by reviewing the responses and organizing them based on themes. we present both findings from the farmer survey and the interviews. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 nickens at al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 43 findings survey results show that respondents have an understanding of what both cover cropping and conservation agriculture are and the benefits they can provide (table 1). reported ca practices included growing cover crops, crop rotation, implementing no-till, and reducing fertilizer usage. smallholders reported that cover cropping information came from projects provided by the provincial department of agriculture, cardec, smart agro (private sector seed company), machine service providers, and other farmers. 93% of smallholders reported that they grew cover crops once a year (table 1). juncea (or sun hemp) was the primary type of cover crop grown. farmers reported their motivation for growing cover crops: to improve soil, feed animals, produce seeds for sale, or improve diversity on their land. on average, farmers had been practicing ca for 3.1 years. 61.4% of respondents reported that their yields increased after practicing conservation agriculture (table 2). after planting a cover crop, 28.1% of smallholders reported that they plowed the land. table 1 smallholder profile, n=57 parameter % or m f demographics male 86.0 49 age 48.5 hectares farmed 11.5 hectares of cover crops 2.8 farming practices/ experience experienced past rice harvest loss (due to pest, weather, etc.) 77.2 44 knows about cover crops 100.0 57 knows about conservation agriculture 94.7 54 gets cover crop seed from project 33.0 19 grows a cover crop once per year 93.0 53 broadcasts cover crop seed 77.2 44 table 2 percent of farmers, perceived impacts of ca, n=57 parameter % f increased water-holding capacity 86.0 49 increased drought resistance 70.2 40 increased insect resistance 40.4 23 increased yield 61.4 35 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 nickens at al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 44 in the interview portion, many farmers said that they began practicing ca after observing the results of other farmers who practice ca or after attending a ca demonstration. in one interview a farmer stated, “other farmers have noticed my improvements as a result of ca and have asked me about my practices. i have side-by-side plots to show other farmers to promote ca.” respondents suggested the following reasons prevent farmers from adopting ca: lack of information, concerns about machinery availability, budgetary restrictions, and negative preconceptions about ca. preconceptions stem from a belief that plowing multiple times is required to obtain high yields, with concerns about insects residing in soil surface residue, difficulties plowing after cover crops, timing of commodity crop harvest, and tillage requirements for certain commodity crops. “i believe many farmers still do not understand ca, which may make others hesitant to adopt it, despite many seeing positive results of farmers practicing ca,” the same smallholder said. ensuring farmers are well-informed is integral to the adoption of ca, as a retired government official also stated, “i believe widespread adoption of ca is important, but may not take place unless the government makes a more concerted effort to promote it.” smallholder perceptions cambodian smallholder farmers stated advantages of practicing ca included improved soil properties, erosion mitigation, added soil organic matter, reduced chemical inputs, added soil moisture retention, and reduced input costs. one farmer stated, “ca is an essential practice, especially for annual crops. it should be widely adopted for the sake of crop diversity and the improvement of soil quality.” another farmer who had been practicing ca for three years said, “i am more comfortable with ca, because of its reduced impact on the environment and it is a healthier way of life for my family.” disadvantages of practicing ca included climate, drought, difficulty in implementing ca practices, lack of equipment, difficulty in obtaining cover crop seeds, uneven land, associated pests, and a high cost to initiate ca practices. when asked what could be done to improve current ca practices in the survey portion of the study, many respondents suggested increased advertisement of ca techniques (35.1%) followed by more machinery (14%), water systems improvement (8.8%), and greater farmer participation (7%). an overwhelming majority of 94.7% of survey respondents stated that ca protects the environment (see table 3). during an interview, one smallholder who has been farming since childhood said, “if cambodian farmers can implement ca it would benefit their land and the environment while helping them adapt to climatic changes in the future.” to adapt to climate change, other smallholders stated that they implemented growing cover crops, crop rotations, or disease/weather-resistant varieties. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 nickens at al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 45 table 3 ca perceptions, n=57 parameter % agree f improves soil fertility 96.5 55 protects the environment 94.7 54 requires low production costs and increases crop yield 75.4 43 sustainably improves soil 94.7 54 provides higher income than conventional tillage 78.9 45 reduces soil erosion 93.0 53 controls pests 64.9 37 barriers smallholder responses suggested that seed and machinery accessibility were barriers to production. however, when asked about cover crop seeds, farmers reported that seed was reasonably priced (100%) and easy to find (82.5%). respondents reported that their farms were accessible by large agricultural machines (100%). clear barriers to ca implementation were unsuccessful cover crop reproduction and crop failure due to a lack of water (table 4). “seed germination,” one farmer stated about both cover crops and corn, “depends on rainfall under ca more than conventional tillage, as the soil is not as fine and the seed is not covered as well upon broadcasting or planting. this is the primary challenge of practicing ca.” table 4 barriers to cover crop implementation, n=57 parameter % f cover crop reproduction unsuccessful 64.9 37 cover crop failure due to water 64.9 37 not enough water to grow cover crops 42.1 24 no water system 17.5 10 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this article sought to address the lack of insight into the perceptions of cambodian smallholders towards cover cropping and what factors motivate them to adopt cover crops and conservation agriculture practices into their agricultural systems. these practices are vital components of the efforts to restore soil health and fertility in depleted cambodian soils. a greater understanding of the utilization and perceptions of cover crop production by smallholders is needed to further expand the adoption of cover crops under a ca approach. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 nickens at al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 46 most farmers surveyed both understood and implemented cover cropping and ca practices. increased yield, water holding capacity, soil fertility, and income were favorable outcomes of implementation reported by smallholders. ca was cited as a way to protect the environment, adapt to climate change, and sustainably improve the soil in cambodia. clear barriers to implementation were negative preconceived notions about cover cropping, cover crop failure due to water (whether an excess or deficit), and unsuccessful cover crop reproduction. farmers stated a disadvantage to ca was difficulty in finding cover crop seeds (see smallholder perception); however, when specifically asked about seed availability, a large majority of respondents said seeds were easy to find (see barriers). recommendations for future research in this area should seek to delineate ca practices from cover cropping, since survey responses indicated that at times ca was used interchangeably with the term cover cropping. while closely associated, cover cropping falls under the umbrella of ca. smallholder responses indicated there is an evident need to address cover crop seed reproduction, water-related barriers, and increased government support of cover cropping. based on the presented benefits of ca and cover crops, we recommend that practitioners continue to increase ca adoption and communicate their experience with their communities. the insights into smallholder perceptions, motivations to adopt, challenges, and opportunities presented by this study can provide guidance on where to focus future soil health related research and programs in cambodia. acknowledgements this research was supported by the usaid bureau for food security and resilience and the feed the future innovation lab for collaborative research on sustainable intensification managed by the kansas state university and was led by the university of tennessee institute of agriculture (usaid federal award no.: aid-oaa-l-14-00006; subaward no.: 5587-ut-ksu6056). the contents of this article are the responsibility of the university of tennessee and do not necessarily reflect the views of usaid or the united states government. presley nickens writing-original draft, writing-review and editing, formal analysis; david r. ader writing-original draft, writing-review and editing, investigation, conceptualization, data curation, funding acquisition, supervision; max miller writing-original draft, investigation, data curation; pao srean funding acquisition, supervision; tom gill funding acquisition, 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(2017). conservation agriculture and gendered livelihoods in northwestern cambodia: decision-making, space and access. agriculture and human values, 34, 347–362. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-016-9718-z © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.387 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0066428 https://doi.org/10.21307/jofnem-2019-085 https://doi.org/10.3390/su14074066 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-016-9718-z microsoft word 261-final.docx nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 4, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. heather r. nesbitt, graduate assistant, university of florida, 310 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, heather.nesbitt@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5339-8516 2. debra m. barry, assistant professor, university of florida, 1200 n park rd, plant city, fl 33563, dmbarry@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9579-3872 3. kati m. lawson, lecturer, university of florida, 1200 n park rd, plant city, fl 33563, katilawson@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6271-8120 4. john m. diaz, associate professor, university of florida, 1200 n park rd, plant city, fl 33563, john.diaz@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-8759 30 best practices for mentoring: an exploratory study of cooperating teacher and student teacher perspectives h. r. nesbitt1, d. m. barry2, k. m. lawson3, j. m. diaz4 abstract with nearly one-half of u.s. teachers leaving the profession within the first five years of their career, focusing on retention is an ongoing effort. providing quality mentorship during the student teaching internship provides further support to new teachers preparing to enter the classroom. cooperating teachers play a pivotal role in the success of these student teachers. however, little is known about the mentoring process between the cooperating teachers and their student teachers. this study compares the perspectives of the cooperating teacher and their student teacher on the frequency of 17 best practices employed by the cooperating teacher during the student teaching experience. the results suggest cooperating teachers rate themselves as utilizing 16 of the 17 best practices of a cooperating teacher more frequently than their paired student teacher observed. in addition, the student teachers rated their observed frequency for five of the 17 best practices employed by their mentor teacher between rarely and often, implying potential weaknesses in the preparation of the cooperating teacher. differences between the perceived practices of the cooperating teachers and the observed frequencies of these practices by their student teachers warrants further research in the preparation and support of cooperating teachers in their roles as mentors. keywords agricultural education, internship, mentorship, retention, teaching nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.261 31 introduction and problem statement attempts at teacher retention occurs through a variety of efforts and programs and is often focused on the first years of teaching because 44% of teachers leave the profession within the first five years of starting their teaching careers (ingersoll et al., 2018). increasing self-efficacy during the student teaching experience has been linked to a higher intention to teach, with previous research indicating the importance of an effective cooperating teacher (ct) relationship as a major component (edgar et al., 2011; kasperbauer & roberts, 2007; roberts, 2006; rocca, 2005). higher teacher self-efficacy can help to lower teacher burnout and increase retention (swan et al., 2011). roberts (2006) developed a model for ct effectiveness; however, confusion from cooperating teachers as to their exact role during the internship experience remains (dunning et al., 2011; ganser, 2002). to support the relationship of the ct and student teacher (st), and provide guidance on how to utilize observation, feedback, and appropriate mentorship, cts need be prepared and supported for their role (young & macphail, 2005). to support the mentor-mentee relationship of the ct and their st, korte and simonsen (2018) indicated the need to implement best practices of mentoring. formalized mentoring should be structured during pre-service teacher experiences to support growth and development, as well as teacher self-efficacy (korte & simonsen, 2018). previous research indicated that cts tend to shy away from critical feedback and teaching observations overall (zimpher et al., 1980). however, when cts have been given guidance and training for their role, they are more likely to provide quality feedback to student teachers (mcintyre & killian, 1987). theoretical and conceptual framework the theoretical foundation for this study was rooted in constructivism, where assumptions are made that learners construct their own knowledge through experiences in a variety of social environments (vijaya kumari, 2014; vygotsky, 1978). constructivism posits that students who are learning a new skill are more likely to be successful if they are taught by someone advanced or experienced in that area. this is further realized by the description of instructional scaffolding, where the construction of new ideas can be strengthened and formed with a firmer foundation (oyster & bobbit, 2020; seifert & sutton, 2009). higher education institutions are often criticized in this area as they typically elicit only a few means for evaluating student perspectives and outcomes within the broader purposes of the institution (burke, 2005). assessments will often extend beyond measuring knowledge acquisition to include behavioral evaluations, assessing the frequency for which students and teachers are carrying out certain practices. for example, it is common for assessments to ask students and teachers to report current or past participation, frequency, or duration in certain activities (gonyea, 2005). according to astin (1993), the main advantage and potential rationale for using self-reported data for evaluative purposes in educational context is feasibility. astin (1993) claimed that selfnesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.261 32 report questionnaires, while exhibiting lower fidelity, have a greater bandwidth to collect data. many times, self-reported data from survey/questionnaires are often the only practical source of certain types of information because they are quicker and more economical to implement than objective testing or observational studies. one must consider that many desired outcomes are difficult to measure empirically, and in cases where measures are available, they are often costly and impractical (gonyea, 2005). an issue that threatens the credibility of self-reported data is social desirability bias (sdb). sdb has the potential to present a challenge in conducting this line of research, including cooperating teacher assessments in the context of higher education (chichekian & shore, 2016). sdb is the desire of respondents to edit their responses before communicating such to researchers to present themselves in a more positive light (beretvas et al., 2002). respondents may feel a need to present themselves favorably to the interviewers or researchers to preserve their self-esteem (king & bruner, 2000). sdb can compromise evaluations in one of two ways: (a) overreporting of socially desirable behavior (such as performing teaching best practices) and underreporting of socially undesirable behavior (e.g., extensive absence), and (b) attenuation, inflation, or moderation of relationships between variables (king & bruner, 2000). this causes discrepancies in student and teacher responses and the researchers’ ability to generalize results. the development of effective mentoring programs and models can help to strengthen preservice teacher skills and assist in a successful start to a career in teaching (he, 2010). the areas of mentorship explored in this study support major tenets of successful mentorship characteristics and build on the work of previous research that has identified areas of focus for ct effectiveness (he, 2010). roberts’ (2006) model of cooperating teacher effectiveness focused on the areas of teaching/instruction, professionalism, st/ct relationship, and personal characteristics. the area of st/ct relationship from roberts’ 2006 study and findings from stewart et al. (2017) make a case for mentoring and its imperative role in the development of student teachers. further advancement of the nuanced understanding of the participation of cts has the potential to help researchers better facilitate the significant role of the ct and the development of the next generation of school-based agricultural educators (clarke et al., 2014). purpose the purpose of this study was to compare the frequency of best practices for mentoring as selfreported by cts with the perspectives of their paired sts. three objectives guided this study: 1. determine the frequency of use of best practices for mentoring behaviors from the perspective of cts. 2. determine the frequency of use of best practices for mentoring behaviors from the perspective of sts. 3. compare the perspectives of cts and sts for the frequency of best practice mentoring behaviors. nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.261 33 methods this exploratory study compared the frequency of best practices for mentoring behaviors of cts and the perspective of these behaviors from the viewpoint of their sts. this study utilized survey research methods. the data collected were part of a larger research project that explored ct needs for professional support and the use of best practices for mentoring. the university of florida department of agricultural education and communication instituted a ct and st workshop aimed at developing skillsets and increasing the understanding of expectations for both sts and the cts. the population for this study included the university of florida department of agricultural education and communication’s cts who served in their role during the spring semester of 2021 (n = 7), as well as the university of florida’s] sts who were under their supervision for that term (n = 7). data were collected following the conclusion of the 14-week student teaching internship. the survey questionnaires were delivered using qualtrics software. all participants were assigned a study identification number to complete paired analysis of the sts and cts responses. analysis of data was conducted using statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 26. of the seven cts, six responded to the survey; all seven sts responded to the survey. because of the nature of this comparative study, the data for the unmatched st were not analyzed. the questionnaire listed 17 best practices for mentoring behaviors in the areas of professional support, social support, and role modeling (table 2). the 17 best practices for cooperating teachers used in this study were derived from the work of alemdağ and şimşek (2017) and their focus on practicum experiences of pre-service teachers, as well as russell and russell (2011) and the implications for more formal mentoring programs. to ensure content validity, the behaviors were vetted by three agricultural education faculty at the university of florida. the construct used in this study was piloted in 2019 with 15 cts who had served in that role during the spring 2019 semester. the construct measured the frequency of use of best practices for mentoring and had a cronbach’s alpha of α =. 82. for the 2021 cohort, this same construct had a cronbach’s alpha of α = .72 for the ct instrument and α =.94 for the st instrument. the respondents were asked to rate the frequency of use of the behavior utilizing a frequency scale with response options of (1) always, (2) often, (3) sometimes, (4) rarely, and (5) never. the only variation in the instruments for the cts and sts was the use of first-person pronouns for cts. cooperating teachers self-reported on frequency of use of best practices for mentoring behaviors that they implemented, while sts reported on their observation of best practices mentoring behaviors of their cts. researchers analyzed the overall mean scores for cts and sts for each of the 17 mentoring behaviors. a paired samples t-test was used to analyze the set of matched pairs of data. using histograms as suggested by lomax and hahs-vaughn (2012), all dependent variables were distributed normally prior to analysis. the matched samples consisted of the student teacher nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.261 34 and the cooperating teacher, who worked together collaboratively during a 14-week student teaching spring 2021 internship. findings objective 1 of the seven ct’s surveyed, six responded. participants had an average rating of 1.52 (sd = .67). this shows that cooperating teachers perceived that they exhibited best practices for mentoring an average between often and always (see table 1). of the 17 best practices for mentoring behaviors, cooperating teachers rated themselves significantly lower for two behaviors, i.e., the use of observational data as the basis for feedback sessions (m = 2.17, sd = .75) and encouragement of the student teachers to maintain active memberships in florida association of agricultural educators (faae), national association of agricultural educators (naae), and florida association for career and technical education (facte) (m = 2.83, sd = 1.17) (see table 2). it is important to note that the standard deviation for encouragement of the student teachers to maintain active memberships in faae, naae, and facte was larger than 1.0, which reflects a broader range of responses from participants. table 1 cooperating teacher and student teacher frequency of best practices for mentoring behaviors. respondents n m sd cooperating teachers 6 1.52 .67 student teachers 6 1.79 .80 note. the ratings on the scale were (1) always, (2) often, (3) sometimes, (4) rarely, and (5) never. nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.261 35 table 2 cooperating teacher’s frequency scores for perceived demonstration of best practices for mentoring behaviors. behavior n m sd encouraged the student teacher to maintain active memberships in faae, naae, and facte 6 2.83 1.17 used observational data as the basis for feedback sessions 6 2.17 .75 communicated openly with my student teacher/intern 6 1.67 .82 involved my student teacher in all of my roles as a teacher 6 1.67 .52 discussed strategies for effectively managing time, priorities/projects, and email 6 1.67 .82 provided weekly comprehensive feedback on performance in an uninterrupted setting 6 1.50 .55 encouraged the student teacher to take the lead in evaluating their teaching 6 1.50 .84 made an effort to introduce my student teacher to the school community 6 1.50 .55 discussed effective student discipline strategies with my student teacher for maintaining a productive learning environment 6 1.50 .55 shared approaches for effectively managing the administrative aspects of teaching, including building effective relationships with administrators and other teachers 6 1.50 .55 communicated regularly with my student teacher/intern 6 1.33 .52 supported my student teacher’s effort by staying attuned to their mindset, attitude, and well-being 6 1.33 .52 talked to my student teacher about how to become an excellent teacher through all phases of their career 6 1.33 .82 made an effort to help my student teacher develop positive views of teaching 6 1.17 .41 coached my student teacher on strategies for developing a positive rapport with students 6 1.17 .41 shared my approaches for sae program development and supervision 6 1.00 0 shared my philosophy for ffa advising 6 1.00 0 note. the ratings on the scale were (1) always, (2) often, (3) sometimes, (4) rarely, and (5) never. objective 2 all seven student teachers responded to the survey, but for the purposes of this study and alignment of responses for the paired t analysis, one student teacher was removed from the data set. respondents had an average rating of 1.79 (sd = .80) for their observation of mentoring best practices. overall, the frequency observed by student teachers was closest to often (see table 1). when reviewing individual best practices, there were five that had a mean nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.261 36 score between 2.00-4.00 (see table 3), indicating a frequency between rarely and often. the following behaviors were included in that range of 2-4: shared approaches for sae program development and supervision; shared philosophy for ffa advising; shared approaches for effectively managing the administrative aspects of teaching, including building effective relationships with administrators and other teachers; encouraged the student teacher to maintain active memberships in faae, naae, and facte; and discussed strategies for effectively managing time, priorities/projects, and email. three ct behaviors had standard deviations larger than 1.0, indicating a broader range of participant responses: encouragement to maintain active memberships in faae, naae, and facte, sharing approaches for sae program development, and sharing philosophies for ffa advising. table 3 student teachers’ frequency scores for observed best practices of mentoring behaviors demonstrated by their cooperating teachers. behaviors n m sd encouraged to maintain active memberships in faae, naae, and facte 6 3.83 1.48 shared their approaches for sae program development and supervision 6 2.00 1.10 shared their philosophy for ffa advising 6 2.00 1.27 shared their approaches for effectively managing the administrative aspects of teaching, including building effective relationships with administrators and other teachers. 6 2.00 .89 shared strategies for effectively managing time, priorities/projects, and email. 6 2.00 .63 involved me in all of my roles as a teacher 6 1.83 .75 talked to me about how to become an excellent teacher through all phases of their career 6 1.83 .98 discussed effective student discipline strategies with me for maintaining a productive learning environment 6 1.83 .75 was attuned to my mindset, attitude, and well-being 6 1.67 .41 encouraged to take the lead in evaluating my own teaching 6 1.67 .41 made an effort to introduce me to the school community 6 1.67 .82 coached me on strategies for developing a positive rapport with students 6 1.67 1.21 communicated regularly with me 6 1.50 .55 provided weekly comprehensive feedback on performance in an uninterrupted setting 6 1.50 .55 made an effort to help me develop positive views of teaching 6 1.50 .55 communicated openly with me 6 1.33 .52 used observational data as the basis for feedback sessions 6 1.33 .52 note. the ratings on the scale were (1) always, (2) often, (3) sometimes, (4) rarely, and (5) never. nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.261 37 objective 3 when comparing the perspectives of the cooperating teachers and student teachers, the cooperating teachers had an overall slightly higher frequency for their self-reporting of best practice mentoring behaviors (m = 1.52, sd = .67) than the student teachers who would have received the mentoring and observed these behaviors (m = 1.79, sd = .80) (see table 1). only one instance occurred of an overlap in lower frequency behaviors from both groups, indicating agreement that the behavior was not implemented at a high frequency. the behavior at an equally low frequency included the encouragement of the student teacher to maintain active memberships in faae, naae, and facte (see table 2 & 3). a paired samples t-test was conducted to determine if a difference existed in the mean scores of the cooperating teachers’ frequencies and the mean scores of the paired student teachers. descriptive statistics in tables 4 and 5 show missing data for pair 4. this was due to the same reported responses by cooperating teacher and student teacher for both the self-reported and observed best practices mentoring behaviors. the t-test was run to determine if a significant difference existed within pairs (see table 6). one paired sample was removed from the data set because of matching responses. the results indicated that the reported frequency for best practice mentoring behaviors were statistically significantly different for pair 3 (t = -2.135, df = 16, p = .049), and pair 5 (t = -3.246, df = 16, p = .005). effect size was calculated as d = .37. using cohen’s (1988) guidelines, this is a small effect size. table 4 paired samples statistics for cooperating teachers’ and student teachers’ frequency of best practices for mentoring behaviors. m n sd se pair 1 ct1 1.41 17 .51 .12 st1 1.88 17 .99 .24 pair 2 ct2 1.77 17 .66 .16 st2 1.70 17 .99 .24 pair 3 ct3 1.24 17 .56 .14 st3 1.65 17 .86 .21 pair 4 ct4 1.41 17 .51 .12 st4 1.00 17 .00 .00 pair 5 ct5 1.35 17 .61 .15 st5 2.41 17 1.23 .30 pair 6 ct6 1.94 17 1.14 .20 st6 2.00 17 .75 .18 note. ct = cooperating teacher; st = student teacher nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.261 38 table 5 paired samples correlations for cooperating teachers’ and student teachers’ frequency of best practice mentoring behaviors n correlation p pair 1 ct1 & st1 17 .23 .38 pair 2 ct2 & st2 17 .56 .02 pair 3 ct3 & st3 17 .44 .08 pair 4 ct4 & st4 17 . . pair 5 ct5 & st5 17 .04 .87 pair 6 ct6 & st6 17 .44 .08 note. ct = cooperating teacher; st = student teacher table 6 paired samples t-test for cooperating teachers’ & student teachers’ frequency of best practice mentoring behaviors paired differences t df sig. (2tailed) m sd se 95% confidence interval lower upper pair 1 ct1 st1 -.47 1.00 .24 .99 .05 -1.93 16 .07 pair 2 ct2 st2 .06 .83 .20 -.37 .48 .29 16 .77 pair 3 ct3 st3 -.41 .80 .19 -.82 .00 -2.13 16 .05 pair 5 ct5 st5 -1.06 1.34 .33 -1.75 -.37 -3.25 16 .01 pair 6 ct6 st6 -.12 1.05 .26 -.66 .42 -.46 16 .65 note. ct = cooperating teacher; st = student teacher. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study begins to provide a better understanding into the mentor-mentee relationship between the cooperating teachers and student teachers. first, the cooperating teachers felt successful in their implementation of the behaviors after receiving training prior to the mentor experience as supported by the constructivist foundation of the study (vijaya kumari, 2014; vygotsky, 1978). however, the cooperating teachers’ self-reported data could potentially be explained by their desirability to look successful when completing the survey questionnaire (i.e., sdb) (beretvas et al., 2002). based on literature about self-reported data, regarding the mentoring they received, student teachers’ perceptions may provide a more accurate representation of what has occurred (beretvas et al., 2002; goneya, 2005). nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.261 39 our recommendation for cooperating teachers is to self-assess their use of the 17 best practice behaviors before, during, and after each experience with a student teacher. cooperating teachers should ideally incorporate best practices at a high frequency when mentoring student teachers, striving to make the time for formal observations, as well as regular feedback and reflection time with their mentees. we recommend that the university faculty who partner with cooperating teachers take the time to assess potential gaps in the knowledge and understanding of best practices for mentoring student teachers. once identified, these gaps could help provide teacher educators with guidance on how to adjust professional development to meet the needs for the preparation and support of cooperating teachers. we recommend that similar studies be conducted with a larger sample size and recognize the findings from this study are not generalizable due to the small sample size and lack of random selection of participants. the needs of the cooperating teachers may vary according to current practices being implemented as well as the experiences of the cooperating teachers. it would be helpful to partner with other institutions to implement similar professional development and support measures to gain a richer perspective. in addition to collecting survey data, we recommend the use of observational data to gain a more robust view of the mentoring experience from both perspectives. exploring the perspectives of cooperating teachers through interviews would help researchers obtain additional insight into how teachers implement mentorship best practices. gaining a deeper understanding on ways that cooperating teachers are actively mentoring student teachers could help researchers clarify best practices for future cooperating teachers. we are currently conducting interviews to better grasp how cooperating teachers specifically implement best practices for mentoring student teachers during the internship experience. additional research should be conducted to explore additional ways to support the implementation of best practices that are being utilized less in the student teaching experience. furthermore, research regarding the differences between cooperating teachers’ and student teachers’ perceptions is needed to better understand why student teachers observed less practices than the cooperating teachers perceived they used. this type of research could also provide insight on potential needs to modify current mentoring models in teacher education. young & macphail (2005) stressed the importance of preparation and support of cooperating teachers, and results from this exploratory study may provide some guidance for teacher educators toward their needs regarding student teacher mentorship. acknowledgements we would like to thank the florida cooperating teachers and student teachers who participated in our study. author contributions: h. nesbitt analysis, writing-review & editing; d. barry investigation, analysis, writing-original draft, review & editing; k. lawson writing-review and editing; j. diaz writing-original draft. nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.261 40 references alemdağ, e., & şimşek, p. ö. 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(1980). a closer look at university student teacher supervision. journal of teacher education, 31(4), 11-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/002248718003100405 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 161-.docx gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 1, 2021 agdevresearch.org 1. raphael gikunda, lecturer, chuka university, po box 109, chuka, rgikunda@chuka.ac.ke, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7154-7025 2. mary jepkurui, graduate student, university of arkansas, fayetteville, 72701, ar, marysamoei@yahoo.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8845-0000 3. simion kiptoo, graduate student, chuka university, po box 109, chuka, skiptoo43@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0619-7030 4. mathew baker, professor & department head, texas a&m, 2116 tamu, college station, tx 77843-2116, mathew.baker@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0556-744x 32 quality of climate-smart agricultural advice offered by private and public sectors extensionists in mbeere north subcounty, kenya r. gikunda1, m. jepkurui2, s. kiptoo3, m. baker4 abstract this research adds to the knowledge of extension education by revealing the quality of climate-smart agricultural (csa) advice offered by private and public extension sectors. the study was aimed at addressing the paucity of empirical data that exists relating to the quality of csa advice. using a semi-structured questionnaire, the descriptive and correlational study gathered data from a systematic sample of 115 farmers. there was a moderate positive correlation between extension effectiveness and adoption of csa. there were significant differences between public, private, and both sectors in relation to the quality of information disseminated. the quality of private sector’s advice was significantly lower than that of public sector and both sectors. there was no significant difference in quality of advice between public sector and both sectors. the quality of csa advice was generally fair, however, heightened dissemination of csa practices by both sectors of extension would yield better quality advice thus improve the adoption of the practices among farmers. keywords adoption, climate change, extension education, effectiveness gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.161 33 introduction and problem statement the climatic changes currently being experienced in the globe have resulted in reduced livestock and crop yields thus threatening farmers' livelihoods especially in rural areas (oduniyi & tekana, 2019; world bank, 2015). the climate risks are expected to increase in the coming decade especially in less developed countries. globally, more than a billion farmers are facing climate-related risks and hazards (nagargade et al., 2017). it is estimated that between five to 170 million people will be food insecure by 2080 in africa as a result of climate change (rosegrant et al., 2008). to mitigate the climate risks such as heat stress, flooding, and drought, climate-smart agriculture (csa) was developed. csa has the potential to improve productivity, the resilience of farming systems, and mitigate climate change (ministry of agriculture, livestock, and fisheries [moalf], 2017; netherlands enterprise agency, 2019). csa encompasses verified practices such as mulching, intercropping, minimum tillage, crop rotation, integrated crop-livestock management, agroforestry, improved grazing, and improved water, management (jirata et al., 2016; world bank & ciat, 2015). csa also encompasses practices such as improved weather forecasting, early-warning systems, and climate-risk insurance. technologies such as remote sensing, global positioning systems, and cloud sensing have been incorporated into csa farming systems (adamides, 2020). it is projected that between 140 and 300 billion us dollars annually are needed in less developed countries to adopt csa fully by 2030 (united nations environment programme [unep], 2016). although a significant amount of resources have been secured to promote the dissemination and application of csa farming systems, many of the smallholder farmers lack adequate skills and knowledge in the subject (jirata et al., 2016). additionally, the effects of widespread application of the practices have not been investigated (de pinto et al., 2020). sustained incorporation of csa into national agriculture and food security programs is a necessity in realizing greater resilience to climate change in africa, asia, and latin america. safe access and control of land, water, and natural resources will be critical for improved utilization of csa practices (united states agency for international development [usaid], 2016). kenya has not been able to realize the benefits of csa due to the low adoption rates resulting from poor policies formulation and implementation. this has been worsened by duplication of roles and inefficiencies among institutions mandated to enforce the policies. however, a variety of initiatives involving the diffusion and adoption of csa are largely ongoing (world bank, 2012). effective csa drives require sufficient mechanisms for creating, documenting, and diffusing knowledge through the use of effective procedures and institutional engagements. climate information and policies are very essential to address the impacts of climate variability (jirata et al., 2016). opportunities to increase adaptation and mitigation to climate change go beyond cultivation to postharvest handling, value chains, and the larger agri-food system that connects farmers with consumers. the adoption of csa farming practices can be enhanced through innovative county extension delivery systems and public-private service providers’ partnerships (gikunda et al., 2021; usaid, 2016). this comprises the institutions and players engaged in offering extension and associated services. gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.161 34 awareness creation on climate change adaptation and mitigation is crucial and should encompass structures of information sharing through field visits and demonstrations (wambugu et al., 2014). notwithstanding the recognized significance of csa by local and international institutions and the continued initiatives in the system’s awareness creation, the dissemination and uptake of the csa innovations and practices is still largely an ongoing, challenging process (sala et al., 2016). even though literature on the adoption and impact of csa is growing (kurgat et al., 2020), researchers have largely neglected to focus on the effectiveness of extension and quality of information disseminated by different sectors. the provision of extension services particularly by the private sector has also been skewed towards high potential regions (muyanga & jayne, 2008). mbeere north being a semi-arid region may have been underprivileged. a gap that this research was set out to address. methods a descriptive correlational survey was conducted in mbeere north sub-county involving a population of 2,047 farmers (chimoita et al., 2017). the design was deemed suitable since the study was aimed at drawing a connection between culture and effective dissemination of climate-smart practices (fraenkel et al., 2015). the study utilized a sample of 115 farmers selected through systematic random sampling to ensure representativeness with regard to gender and farm sizes. fraenkel et al. (2015) observed that a sample of 100 is adequate for survey research. of the 115 farmers, 59 (51.3%) were male and 54 (47.0%) were female. the participants farm sizes ranged from 0.25 to 15 acres (m = 3.89, sd = 2.79). the research was conducted with the assistance of four enumerators selected from the study area. data collection involved a peer-reviewed semi-structured questionnaire that had been distributed to the farmers in the farms. a pilot study was conducted in embu north sub-county involving 30 smallholder farmers where 12 were male and 18 were female prior to actual data collection. the cronbach's alpha values study variables were; quality of csa information (m = 4.37, α =.72), extension effectiveness (m = 2.42, α =.72), and adoption of climate-smart practices (m = 3.89, α = .69). pearson's correlation test was performed to determine the correlation between effective dissemination and adoption of csa. a one-way analysis of variance (anova) was utilized to find out if private, public, and both sectors differed based upon the quality of csa advice. the assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variances were checked before the analysis. the objectives of the study were tested at a 95% level of significance or 0.05 alpha level apriori. tukey’s hsd post hoc test was conducted to compare the three groups of extension advice providers. effect size was estimated using omega squared. findings the study involved 115 farmers where 59 (51.3%) were male and 54 (47.0%) were female. this implied that most of the households were headed by male farmers. a majority of the farmers gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.161 35 were smallholder farmers with farm sizes ranging from 0.25 to 15 acres (m = 4.22 acres, sd = 2.91). very few farmers (n = 24, 20.9%) had received csa advice in the sub-county as a result of few contacts (m = 2.60, sd = 4.89) with the extension staff. this may have resulted from the inefficiencies and inadequacy of county extension staff. however, most of the farmers (n = 68, 59.1%) were receiving advice on general agricultural production from both private and public sector extension staff (muyanga & jayne, 2008). effectiveness of extension services the study also sought to determine the effectiveness of the extension services as shown in table 1. many of the farmers stated that information disseminated was easy to apply (m = 4.16, sd = 1.00, materials provided were written in simple language (m = 4.06, sd = 1.09), and extensionists utilized local languages (m = 4.03, sd = 1.14). nonetheless, extension service providers were moderately effective in the dissemination of csa information. the information provided was generally moderately met the farmers’ needs (m = 3.99, sd = 1.15), offered at the right season (m = 3.81, sd = 1.09), up to date (m = 3.80, sd = 1.07), resulted in csa practices adoption (m = 3.77, sd =1.34), and timely manner (m = 3.73, sd =1.17). the deficiency in effectiveness may have been brought about by inadequate extension resources resulting in few farmer-extension staff contacts as reported by odhong’et al. (2018). many of the farmers received information from mass media such as television and radio programs that did not necessarily target their needs and may not have been adequate to drive adoption. table 1 descriptive statistics for effectiveness of extension (n = 115) statementa m sd the practices disseminated are easy to apply 4.16 1.00 the materials provided are written in simple language 4.06 1.09 extension providers utilize local languages to ease the understanding of the diffused information 4.03 1.14 the information provided meets the needs of the farmers 3.99 1.15 csa information is provided at the right season 3.81 1.09 the information provided is up to date 3.80 1.07 most farmers have reported increased crop yields as a result of csa practices adoption 3.77 1.34 csa information is provision is done on time 3.73 1.17 access to csa information is easy 3.68 1.18 the csa information diffused by extension providers is adequate 3.65 1.30 on-farm and field demonstrations are organized to ease the understanding of most practices 3.57 1.32 there is a constant interaction between farmers and extension agents on csa 3.36 1.33 note. a1 = not effective, 2 = slightly effective, 3 = moderately effective, 4 = effective, 5 = very effective. gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.161 36 adoption of climate-smart practices table 2 shows the application rates of the climate-smart practices among farmers in mbeere north. among the three categories of csa practices, cropping such as timely planting (m = 4.43, sd = .87), intercropping (m = 4.30, sd = 1.18), and crop rotation (m = 4.30, sd = .98) were frequently applied as compared to livestock management, and soil and water management practices. this may have stemmed from the fact that that a majority of the cropping practices did not require advanced knowledge and skills as compared to soil and water management practices such as terracing that requires engineering knowledge. many of the farmers utilized indigenous knowledge acquired through experiences and observations since they had limited access to extension advice. table 2 descriptive statistics for adoption of climate-smart practices (n = 115) practicea m sd cropping management practices timely planting 4.43 .87 intercropping to maximize space 4.30 1.18 use of legumes in crop rotation 4.30 .98 use of drought-resistant crop varieties 4.15 1.37 use of disease-resistant varieties 3.99 1.45 livestock management practices use of organic manure 4.30 1.12 diversified animal breeds 3.65 1.19 use of improved livestock breeds 2.96 1.34 soil and water management practices use of cover crops 4.35 1.02 use of terraces 4.26 1.07 use of mulching 3.66 1.29 diversification of water sources e.g., rainwater harvesting 3.38 1.43 contour farming 3.29 1.29 agroforestry 3.23 1.28 water-saving irrigation methods 3.11 1.35 minimum tillage 2.70 1.40 note. a1 = not at all; 2 = rarely; 3 = sometimes; 4 = often; 5 = always. extension effectiveness and adoption of climate-smart practices extension effectiveness, quality of advice, and adoption of csa practices were assessed through summated scores of likert-type items. the scale for extension effectiveness was comprised of 12 items hence the scores ranged from 1-60. table 3 presents the correlation between extension effectiveness, quality of csa advice, and adoption of csa practices. quality of advice involved four items with a maximum sum of 20 points, adoption of csa practices had 16 items with a total 80 points. there was a moderate positive correlation between extension gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.161 37 effectiveness and adoption of csa, r = 0.38, p = < 0.05. this implied that as the level of extension effectiveness increases, the adoption of csa practices also increases. the correlation between quality of advice and adoption of csa was positive and substantial, r = 0.57, p = < 0.05 (davis, 1971). this meant that the adoption of practices would increase with improved quality of advice. quality of advice was positively and moderately related to extension effectiveness, r = 0.40, p = < 0.05. this showed that improved extension effectiveness would enrich the quality of csa advice. table 3 pearson correlation statistics for adoption of csa by quality and effective dissemination (n = 115) variables 1 2 3 1. effective disseminationa .40* .38* 2. quality of climate-smart informationb .57* 3. adoption of climate-smart practicesc note. a = scale = 160; b = 120; c = 180. quality of extension advice table 4 presents the quality of csa advice offered to farmers in mbeere north. among the quality elements, relevance (m = 3.85, sd = 1.10) and accuracy (m = 3.78, sd = 1.06) emerged top. however, the quality of advice was observed to be fair. this may have been contributed by extension staff in-competencies, advise that is not packaged to meet the needs of the farmers, easy to understand, and inaccurate. many of the county extension agents were not from the area thus had difficulties communicating with the local farmers especially those with no formal education. the failure of the agents to make regular follow-ups to ensure that farmers adopted the practices appropriately may have compromised the quality of the advice. table 4 descriptive statistics for quality of csa advise (n = 98) quality elementsa m sd relevance 3.85 1.10 accuracy 3.78 1.06 depth of coverage 3.60 1.03 ease to understand 3.60 1.16 note a = 1 = very poor; 2 = poor; 3 = fair; 4 = good; 5 = excellent. objective two sought to determine if private, public, and both sectors differed significantly based upon the quality of csa advice. a one-way anova was conducted to determine if the quality of climate-smart practices disseminated to farmers was dependent upon the extension provider. the extension provider groups included public, private, and a combination of private and public extensionists. as presented in table 5, public sector extension (m = 45.27, sd = 6.92) gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.161 38 was found to provide better quality advise compared to the private sector (m = 39.20, sd = 9.23). however, a joint effort by the private and public sector extension bore a better quality advise than the individual sectors (m = 48.04, sd = 10.07). this may have resulted from the diverse aspects of agricultural information and experiences that emerge from the various sources (mamun-ur-rashid & qijie, 2016). table 5 descriptive statistics for the quality of climate-smart information disseminated by private and public extension agents (n = 115) group of farmers n ma sd public extension 22 45.27 6.92 private extension 25 39.20 9.23 both sectors 68 48.04 10.07 note. a =1 = very poor; 2 = poor; 3 = fair; 4 = good; 5 = excellent. the results in table 6 show that there were significant differences between public, private, and both sectors in relation to the quality of information disseminated, f (2) = 12.98, p = < 0.05, ω = .33 (medium effect). as reported in table 5, the quality of the private sector's advice (39.20 ± 10.94) was significantly lower than that of the public sector (45.27 ± 6.92, p < 0.05) and both sectors (48.04 ± 10.07, p = < 0.05). a tukey hsd post hoc test revealed that there was no significant difference in quality of advice between public sector and both sectors (p > .45). this may have resulted from the fact that the main role of public extensionists is to advise farmers while the private sector, particularly the agrochemical companies, are principally involved in marketing agrochemicals (muyanga & jayne, 2008). the narrow scope of advice packages of the private sector extensionists may also have contributed. nonetheless, the quality of private sector extension has been observed to be better than that of public extension (ayansina et al., 2015). the main agrochemical companies working in the area included amiran, osho, and bayer. the agrochemical extensionists organize occasional field days and demonstrations for diffusing agricultural information. among the private sector extensionists, agrochemical retailers (agro-vets) were the main agents of csa information diffusion. other private extension institutions included community-based organizations and non-governmental organizations. table 6 analysis of variance for quality of climate-smart advice by private sector extension, publicsector extension, and both sectors combined (n =115) source ss df ms f p between groups 1432.56 2 716.28 8.14 < 0.05 within groups 9851.23 112 87.96 total 11283.79 114 note. tukey’s hsd = p = .45; ω = .33. gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.161 39 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations csa advice in mbeere north was being offered by public and private sector extensionists. the quality of csa advice offered by private and public sector extension was fair although very few farmers had access to it. however, the quality of public extensionists' advice was better than that of the private sector. collaborative efforts involving both private and public sectors resulted in better quality csa advice. this is so because the sectors enhanced the qualities of one another. whenever public sector agents organized field days, exhibits, and agricultural shows, private sector agents would be invited to participate. this provided private sector extensionists with opportunities to supplement the public agents’ advice thus enhancing the quality. there is need for sustainable public-private partnerships to sustain provision better quality advice. the limited access to extension advice, particularly that offered by public extension staff, may be attributed to content that was not focused on farmers' needs, lack of adequate staff, staff inefficiencies, limited transport facilities, and language barrier (gikunda et al., 2021; odhong’et al., 2018). these factors may have compromised the quality of extension. to improve on the quality of extension service, the county government of embu needs to commit much more human, financial, and transportation resources (antwiagyei & stringer, 2021). this will not only facilitate timely delivery of extension services but also advice that targets the needs of the farmers since there will be much more contacts between the farmers and the agents. agrochemical companies also need to hire qualified extension agents who will not only market the products but also provide quality advice to farmers. it also emerged that extension effectiveness is a basic necessity to improved adoption of csa practices. however, many of the extension workers were found to be moderately effective in the dissemination of csa practices. this due to inability to meet some of the needs of the farmers and also the untimely delivery of some services. the county extension staff should be closely monitored and facilitated to ensure that agricultural information gets to the farmers at the right time. for extension programs to be beneficial to the farmers, the programs should be founded on the needs of the farmers. the adoption of csa practices was found to be good as most farmers depended on indigenous knowledge accumulated over years. soil and water management practices were primarily utilized by a majority of farmers to manage perennial soil erosion that was largely contributed by the topography of the area. there is need for public extension agents to organize training programs on soil and water conservation that would boost farmers indigenous knowledge and improve the efficiency, design, and construction of better structures such as terraces, contour bunds, and gabions. most of the farmers practiced agroforestry and mixed farming systems to minimize the risks associated with erratic rainfall patterns as agriculture is majorly rainfed. there is a need to design and implement intricate csa programs involving both sectors of extension to improve the adoption levels of the practices in mbeere north. the county government of embu would increase the adoption of csa by facilitating extension workers gikunda et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.161 40 through the provision of alternative means of transport like bicycles and motorbikes that require minimal operational costs. increasing the number of extension staff by hiring frontline extension workers and close supervision to ensure efficient service delivery are also core to advance csa adoption. a confirmatory study in other parts of the country with similar conditions as mbeere north such as northeastern would be worthwhile. a comparative study should be conducted in high potential areas to find out if private sector extension is skewed towards those areas. references adamides, g. 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(tre) easterly iii, assistant professor, university of florida, 307c rolfs hall po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611-0540, tre.easterly@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2807-512x 2. frank hodnett, professor, new mexico state university, p.o. box 30003, msc 3501, las cruces, nm 88003, fhodnett@nmsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3081-4342 3. mary rodriguez, associate professor, the ohio state university, 2120 fyffe road, columbus, ohio 43210, rodriguez.746@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8716-2787 19 examining student involvement in the total program in small schools in new mexico r. g. (tre) easterly iii1, f. hodnett2, m. rodriguez3 abstract the dynamics facing rural development and school policy in new mexico has limited merging and redistricting efforts in small schools in isolated rural communities. this has created a situation where small schools exist in several rural communities in the state. these programs often include schoolbased agricultural education as a program offering. the dynamics of the schools can impact how the total program approach commonly used in agricultural education can be implemented. the purpose of the study was to explore how agriculture teachers in small schools in new mexico developed their own institutional polices and worked with the policies established by the school to involve students in the total program. a qualitative case study with six teachers was conducted. the themes emphasized the nuanced nature of the programs as well as the importance of relationships with students, parents, community members, and school staff to implement these programs. the teachers faced challenges related to balancing student time and working with athletics for scheduling. successful programs cater to the context of the school and community by getting to know the students they serve. advice and best practices provided by the teachers were discussed. recommendations were provided related to establishing and maintaining relationships. keywords rural, school-based agricultural education, united states, case study easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.177 20 introduction and problem statement the average student population size for high schools in the united states is 850 students. over the last 50 years, school consolidation in the united states has caused this number to steadily increase. schools with less than 300 secondary students attending school in a district make up less than 1% of schools (national center for educational statistics, 2020). this novelty means issues surrounding small schools are not a common topic of research. in the western united states, geographic isolation and large distances between programs prevent redistricting efforts. the results are schools that exist in small, rural towns with relatively low student populations (lavalley, 2018). rumberger and thomas (2000) found larger school sizes led to higher dropout rates. however, there are some reports of “u” shaped dropout trends with smaller schools having higher incidences of dropouts than moderately populated schools (bradley & taylor, 1998; foreman-peck & foreman-peck, 2006; leithwood & jantzi, 2009; sawkins, 2002). for many of these programs in rural western towns, school-based agricultural education (sbae) programs are a logical choice to include in the school curriculum because of the opportunities in the communities and interest of the students. sbae programs are traditionally implemented using a total-program approach that includes involvement in classroom instruction, involvement in student organizations, and experience, workplace, or service learning through supervised agricultural experiences (croom, 2008; national ffa organization, n.d.). the execution of this model relies on student involvement beyond the time in the classroom (talbert et al., 2014). theoretical and conceptual framework student involvement is essential for sbae programs. astin (1999) developed the student involvement theory to explain how students engage at secondary institutions. according to astin, student involvement is the quantity and quality of the physical and psychological energy that student invest in an experience. by examining various aspects of student life such as living on campus, investment in coursework, interaction with faculty/staff, or being involved in campus student organizations, astin was able to draw links between dropout rate and involvement. in the theory, student time is considered a resource students choose to devote to various activities. astin postulated that institutional policies have an impact on how much time and energy students spend in pursuits that lead towards persistence in college. the theory states that the more a student is involved in the overall educational experience, the greater the amount of student learning and personal development (astin, 1999). for this study, we applied the student involvement theory as a frame through which to explore the small secondary schools. this study sought to examine how agriculture teachers in small schools structure their agricultural education programs and ffa chapters to utilize the resource of student time most effectively. students have a limit on their time and energy to be involved. further, students balance their investments between family, friends, jobs, and other outside factors. students in agricultural education are also faced with competing engagements in which easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.177 21 they may choose to invest their time. institutional policies can have an impact on how students devote their time and can impact their success (astin, 1999). the research related to school size and extracurricular participation is limited. leithwood and jantzi (2009) conducted a review of research and found only four studies published between 1996 and 2007 which found extracurricular participation to be higher among students in smaller schools (coladarci & cobb, 1996; crosnoe et al., 2004; feldman & matjasko, 2007; mcneal, 1999). since 2007, the research in this area continues to be limited. regardless of school size consideration, sbae teachers continually rate competences related to student involvement in programs including ffa program management, training teams, and administering programs as areas of considerable need for their own professional development (dibenedetto et al., 2018). purpose the purpose of the study was to explore how agriculture teachers in small schools in new mexico developed their own institutional polices and worked with the polices established by the school to involve students in the ffa. the study was guided by the following overarching research question: how do agriculture teachers in small schools in new mexico make their programs successful? methods this qualitative study used case study methodology to explore how agriculture teachers in small schools in new mexico implement agricultural education programs (bronk, 2012; merriam, 2002). case studies allow researchers to provide a thick, rich description of how teachers in small programs implement their programs. according to bronk(2012), an exemplar case study examines programs that exemplify a construct in a highly developed manor. this choice to highlight the exemplary programs as individual cases was supported by the research question. for this study, the population was all sbae teachers in small programs in new mexico. small programs were defined as those schools classified as ‘a’ according to the new mexico activities association for basketball, which had less than 99 students enrolled in grades 9–12. there were 40 programs who qualified for this case, 24 of the programs had agricultural education programs. the sample for the study yielded six programs which were considered exemplary. these programs were determined to be exemplary because they engaged students in the total program of agricultural education and have achieved measures of success or recognition including peer recognition, service in leadership positions in teacher groups, or other forms of accomplishments. the state supervisor of agricultural education was asked to confirm these individuals met the criteria of the study. six teachers were identified, contacted, and all agreed to participate in the study. semistructured interviews were conducted over the phone and recorded. in person interviews were easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.177 22 not possible because of the remote nature of the programs and video conferencing was not feasible due to limited internet capabilities of some of the schools. the qualitative interview guide was developed to explore questions related to decisions teachers make in their programs. questions were also asked to confirm the size of the program and to ensure they met terms of the exemplar case. the interviews lasted approximately one hour and all recordings were transcribed by hand by the research team. the research team included (a) an assistant professor in agricultural education, (b) a professor in extension education, and (c) an associate professor in agricultural leadership. two of the researchers had a working relationship with the participants through agricultural education programming. the third researcher was involved in the data analysis portion including overseeing the dependability and confirmability audit to ensure the findings were connected to the data. results were reported using thick, rich descriptions of the participants to allow the reader to determine transferability to other settings (creswell & miller, 2000). investigator triangulation and member checks were employed to ensure trustworthiness (lincoln & guba, 1985). through the triangulation, two themes were combined, and the wording of the themes was refined. member checks provided confirmation of the major themes. data were analyzed through thematic analysis using open coding (braun & clarke, 2006). all six teachers had more than five years of teaching experience and their agricultural education student program involvement ranged from 17% to 86% of the total student population. pseudonyms were given to all participants. angie had been teaching for 12 years total and 10 at her current school. her school had a total of 44 students from 7th–12th grade, 38 of which were enrolled in her courses. beth had been a teacher for ten years and has been in her role for just over a year. the school she worked in had 55 students total enrolled in 7th–12th grade, 36 of which were in her program. casey had been a teacher for three years in the same program with five years of teaching experience. the school had 120 students from 7th–12th grade, of which 70 are enrolled in the agricultural education program. daniel had been teaching for 25 years, 15 in his program. he has served in a leadership position in the agriculture teachers association. the town’s population was 143 people. because of the remote location of the town, students rode a bus from around 70 miles on either side of the school. there were 79 students enrolled in kindergarten (k)–12; 28 students in his program. elenore had been teaching for 17 years in the same program. the school had 12 students enrolled in 7th–12th grade; eight were in the agriculture program. tom taught in a program with 300 students from k–12. there were 50 students in the agricultural education program. he had been teaching for 31 years and 20 years at the current school. subjectivity statement as a research team, we all have a passion for formal and nonformal education of agriculture and related topics. all three of us have taught in either the high school, non-formal, and higher education settings. however, none of us have had direct experience working in small programs as defined in this study. one member of the research team has nine years of work with schoolbased agricultural education programs. another member of the research team has 32 years of non-formal education experience and has worked closely with school-based programs. their easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.177 23 research as faculty specifically focuses on supporting agricultural educators. while the third researcher did not teach in a formal agricultural secondary program, she is familiar with the context and brings her passion for rural communities to this work. findings theme 1: small programs are unique. to be successful, programs must cater to the school and community context. the first theme that emerged highlighted how small programs have nuanced differences compared to larger schools. one of the most prevalent differences is that the students in the school do multiple activities across the school programming. tom noted, “in a small school, every kid plays ball. they're all going to play every sport, also in everything else that's in school, drama or our student council or anything else going on, cheerleading. their time is very limited.” they also engage in these many activities with their peers. angie expressed this by saying, “the kids do everything together.” this involvement creates a demand on student time. students in these rural areas also had familial obligations that do not mirror those of urban areas. in addition to the involvement in school, the students in these schools are expected to be involved in family ranches. according to daniel, the majority of the kids are ranch kids. when branding time comes, well, they're out of school for three or four days or when gathering comes, they're out of school for three or four days or [when] shipping comes, they're out of school for three or four days. they're expected to trabajar at the rancho, you know? beth noted some of her students have a house nearby the school where they stay during the week, but go to the family ranch to work on the weekends, making engagement for weekend activities difficult. elenore cast a different view of the ranching lifestyle of her students. she noted, “they kind of get ranching a little bit, but the parents don't really talk to them about it much. there's a difference between being raised on a ranch and understanding how ranches work.” the constant pull of involvement outside of school and multiple opportunities within school puts a strain on students. while providing opportunities to students, the constant pull can have negative effects. according to angie “these kids do everything. they're exhausted. they're tired. we pushed them hard academically, they're pushed hard athletically. they don't have a break ever.” even though students are involved in a lot of activities, the agriculture program in these schools is typically the only option for elective courses. according to angie, “i've kinda saturated my market. i mean, i'm the only elective and so i can count on one hand how many kids i don't have in program.” similarly, elenore noted being one of two options students can choose for their elective courses. despite the demand on time, the teachers see the value of participation and communicate that value to students. daniel urges the students to get involved. easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.177 24 i tell them you live in [small town] america where the populations are 143 and most of those are old people like me, this is your chance to judge, do a little bit of work…get out of town and, and meet some people. angie similarly noted she hopes students will be, “willing to take risks” and “get out of their comfort zone,” by trying new things in their program. even if students are committed to be involved in the agricultural education program, the size of these programs places limitations on the scope of the involvement. according to elenore, “when you only have eight kids, you can't really run a lot of contests.” angie noted, “the kids are so busy. sometimes i have to make decisions, but the kids just don't have time for that. they can't do that. that's one more thing. and is that really an important thing for our chapter?” despite the challenges of a small program, the benefits seem to outweigh the barriers. when comparing his experience working in a larger school, daniel noted, “you go to a little school and you think i'm in the bahamas or tahiti. it takes as much work. but in reality, it doesn't take as much work. and you really, really appreciate that little school.” an additional benefit of the size of the program is the close relationships of the students. according to angie, “the school operates like a family.” this family atmosphere extends beyond the school day. daniel, for example, had students stay at his house that is next door to the school on a morning they were leaving early for a contest, so they did not have to leave at 4:30 a.m. theme 2: fostering relationships is essential for program success. a major theme emerged related to relationships, specifically relationships with administrators, coaches, and individuals in the communities. every participant mentioned how both internal and external relationships are necessary for program success. according to elenore, “success is due to the relationship and support of others. i have really good support from my superintendent, and i have excellent support from our school board members and my fellow staff members and from our community.” likewise, beth acknowledged the importance of parental support: i have a very, really supportive group of parents right now. and that's a big part too know it starts at home with the parents pushing their kids to study or reminding the kids to make sure that kids can make practices and contests. while establishing relationships may not be unique to small programs, there are some differences for small programs in rural new mexico. according to casey, everything from lifestyle or at the county fair to taking the kids on a conference, you got to build those as those relationships, both with the students and with the parents and the community. because once you have that buy in from the communities that are more likely to send their younger brother, younger sister into your program, especially in such a small school. if mom and dad were in ffa back in their day, they're more likely to send their kids to ffa, now or they're going to encourage those kids to enter that project. because of the small nature of the schools these programs operate in, there are demands for involvement which lead to relationship building opportunities amongst teachers. angie noted easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.177 25 the importance of being aware when other programs have events going on and not trying to work against them. she noted, it's easy in a small program to put your blinders on and think your program's the only one, but it's going take a lot of steps back. these kids are trying to keep a lot of programs afloat and if you can recognize that and then work with those other programs instead of against them, i think the results are better. casey supported students in athletics by volunteering. according to casey, i've always been a sports fan. so i approached the athletic director. i said, hey, if you need somebody to keep books or a clock or something for basketball games holler at me, i'm more than willing to help. i got to do every single basketball game. . . .i'm able to show those kids. i support them through their other activities outside of ffa. i'm able to show their parents, you know, i'm not only your ag teacher, i'm also a, a strong supporter of your kid. i want them to be successful on and off the court. i want them to be successful in my shop, in my classroom. tom similarly noted that he helped with the athletic program. according to tom, “[i] drive the bus for them a lot. go to probably every basketball and football and volleyball game, i'm also the announcer at the games and stuff. so i'm very involved in sports. and the kids know it.” this involvement helped to build relationships in the school as well as showing the students the teachers care about them beyond what they do in their agriculture courses. casey worked to change the culture of the program, shifting from an ‘either or’ approach to a more inclusive one. i've worked very closely with the athletic director because before i came here it was always you do basketball or you do ffa. there is no in between. there were exceptions to that rule of course, but that was kind of the culture. i have been working our athletic director and basketball coaches. we're too small of a school to make a kid choose. (casey) beth noted, in a small school you have to share your students and they're going to be, the kids that are involved in ffa are going to be the kids that are involved in everything else that's available at that school. so it's just really important to develop that relationship with the coaches and the parents so that you can make practices work, you can make contest work, otherwise your chapter, you're just going to kind of flail around. you're not going to get anything really done. although this cooperation was expressed as essential, there was one incident of a breakdown of relationship. elenore reported competing against another program in her school. she stated, “the teacher that teaches the media program is equally as enthusiastic and in love with her program as i am with mine. and so sometimes the kids get a little pulled … it's very challenging.” several of the participants noted working early with the school to put ffa events on the calendar so teachers and coaches know when to expect students to miss time. daniel and easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.177 26 elenore also noted bringing the school sports schedule to the agriculture teachers meeting to plan large ffa events at the state level. elenore noted, “all of my ffa activities are already on our school calendar for next year. and the coach has already come to me the ad and asked me when my ffa events are and we don't fight about it.” the theme of using community support came up less frequently. casey provided a vivid example of partnering with a veterinarian to work with the vet science team. according to casey, “they come out once a week. they spend an hour, two hours with my kids this year and they, they try to bring live specimens for the kid to look at.” angie had a differing thought about community involvement noting challenges with delegating tasks and managing volunteers. beth noted the benefit of community support programs make the program visible in the community so when they, “can continue to have that community support that we need financially and when we want to go do things like if you go to nationals.” theme 3: student buy-in is required for success. student buy-in was expressed to be required for program success by all participants. elenore put this simply by stating, “you can’t have a successful program without good kids.” several themes emerged related to strategies for gaining student buy-in. the most prevalent, was showing the students the teacher cares about them. the participants expressed the importance of being warm and open because the students can choose to be in their class or program. even as the students in these small schools have limited options for elective courses, the teachers still work to create a warm environment for students. according to daniel, “they can elect to take it or they can elect not to take it. and so, i'm not the grim reaper…i'm an entertainer. they have fun.” tom similarly noted, “it is an elective class. they don't have to be there. i had to give [them] a reason to want to come. i keep my classes fun. you know, i try to tell them first day of class, ffa means fun.” there were also themes of focusing on high expectations for students. beth noted, “i'm a very driven person and i expect a lot from my students. i have very high expectations and i hold their feet to the fire.” she shared a story about her first year in the program when the students did not perform well at a state contest. i made them all go to the awards ceremony even though we weren't anywhere near being on the board. and i say, we're going to sit through this and you're going to watch every single one of these kids that did well and worked hard walk across that stage and you're going to clap for them. and when we got home i said, how does that feel to sit there and watch every one of those kids walk across the stage? and they all agreed that it wasn't fun. so the next year i said, well next year you need to work really hard so that you guys are the ones walking across that stage. while this direct approach can be effective, it is typically balanced with a more compassionate approach. angie emphasized balance between caring and expectations. she stated, to be able to build a program, we have [to have a] healthy student teacher relationship, because if you don't have a relationship with a student, then they don’t want to work for you. . . . because they know i care about them as a teacher, they're more likely to trust my judgment and want to want to work for me and please me. easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.177 27 the teachers found success in providing opportunities where the students can feel accomplished in their work. according to elenore, “you've got to make it where every single one of those kids feels valued and worth something in the program.” casey accomplished this by making his course and programmatic offering more diverse. he noted, “if i could diversify my curriculum a little bit more, i was able to retain those students who would have otherwise found family, consumer science or computer science or band.” casey continued to note he diversified his program by adding leadership and animal science components to his classes in addition to agriculture mechanics. similarly, angie noted working towards building a wellrounded program to value the students’ interests. she did this by finding opportunities for students to get involved in areas other than career development events. according to angie, “maybe it is event coordination, banquet coordination or community service …or building things in the shop. for us, that's big.” there were also mentions of being humble and open with the students. daniel shared that when he started in the school, he offered humility to earn the respect of his students. you see [the former teacher’s] boots? i said, those are his boots right there. i had one of my boy’s baby shoes i pulled out of my pocket. i said, these are my shoes right here. i'm not trying to fill his boots. i just want to grow into my own and we'll grow together. advice and best practices the teachers were also asked to give advice and provide best practices for other teachers in small programs. first, participants expressed the need to be patient as they try to build a program. several of the participants noted they were successful when they added things to their programs slowly and intentionally. beth noted when she took over the program, there were 15 students doing 10 contests, and not doing any of them very well. “the next year i just paired it down i found a couple of people that could help teach me about the contest and paired it down and just gave them like five options” (beth). once she selected a hand full of contests, she told the students: “if you become really successful at these five contests, then we'll consider adding another contest.” participants felt that the best advice for program management was to determine what was best to increase student engagement. the number of contests and how to determine how to choose them differed amongst the participants. tom participated in the most contests working 11 teams. daniel reported working with 4–8 contests per year depending on the student interest. angie, beth, and casey reported training 4–6 teams with additional leadership development events at different times of the year. elenore worked with 2–3 teams depending on the student interest. the participants chose their contests differently. daniel and casey reported providing sign-up sheets for all contests and identifying what the students wanted to do. both angie and beth, focused on specific contests that matched what was taught in their program. when working the teams, the teachers all preferred in-person practices. angie reported the most out of school hours in practice having hourlong practices starting at 6:00 a.m. and ending after school at 8:00 p.m. with a total of eight practice blocks for each team. beth similarly noted dedicating an hour practice per week for each contest. instead of individual practices, tom held block practices in the afternoons after basketball practice where students would work on various contests independently. the teachers also noted varying strategies with structuring easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.177 28 officer teams. some teachers operated officer teams with constitutional positions, others utilized a full slate of officers and committee structures. elenore noted that all students in program were essentially officers. tom noted the positions on the parliamentary procedure team were the same as his officer position. finally, the participants offered additional advice related to seeking support from other agriculture teachers. the participants noted themes of seeking support and being able to help younger teachers. casey, beth, and elenore mentioned using community resources and support to help. beth noted her success as a beginning teacher was a result of reaching out to other teachers. she noted, “i reached out to the teachers that were more seasoned than me because i was first year teacher and just asked for help … i went to workshops and tried to learn as much as i could.” conclusions, discussion, and recommendations our study found that agricultural educators in new mexico employed three main approaches for successful programming: catering programs to the school and community context, fostering supportive relationships, and developing student buy-in. at first glance, these themes are not surprising and could be recommended regardless of program size. however, where the themes come to life and hold substantive meaning is how these teachers execute these themes in their programs. when talking about their students, the participants did not talk about a lack of student engagement, supporting leithwood and jantzi’s (2009) findings that students participate at higher levels in smaller schools. in fact, the teachers in these programs have to balance the issue of overworking the students. the teachers also noted the students tend to move in a uniform block rather than separating into identifiable groups. teachers in small schools could benefit from making sure their offerings are diverse enough to meet the interest of students and fitting into the community context. relationships were deemed critical to program operation. chief among these relationships was the interaction with those in charge of athletics in the school. the teachers in the study worked collaboratively to make sure the programs existed symbiotically. to facilitate this relationship, we suggest teachers in small schools work to foster a healthy relationship with both internal and external stakeholders. spending time to get to know the context of the school and community would greatly support student’s program engagement. a theme emerged related to student buy-in being important for success. these teachers worked to build support for students through a careful balance of warm, fun openness and high expectations of hard work. developing this balance could be difficult, especially for someone stepping into a new role in a small school. further research could illuminate how teachers establish and maintain this balance with their students. we also inquired about best practices and advice for successful programs. a consensus did not exist for specific aspects of program management including number of teams, types of practices, and methods for selecting officer teams. ultimately, participants felt that teachers easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.177 29 needed to approach program management in the ways that best suited their personal preferences and those of the students. this study provides an example of what works for successful programs in rural new mexico and can provide some insight into small programs in other states. we recommend that teachers carefully consider the context as they make decisions on how to offer components of agricultural education programs. we also recommend that agriculture teachers in small schools find ways to work with fellow school staff, stakeholders, and students to make programming decisions. carefully integrating these decisions will make the most of students’ commitment of time beyond the classroom, which is needed for successful programs (talbert et al., 2014) student involvement theory seeks to explain how students engage in programs (astin, 1999). the findings of this study show students in these small schools are active in most opportunities that are available to them. perhaps because they have fewer opportunities, they felt compelled to participate. a qualitative investigation from the student’s perspective could illuminate the student decision making process related to participation in school programming. important questions for future investigation could focus on the appropriate level of time commitment for students, as well as working with student to develop time-management strategies. the unique context of agricultural education programs at small schools warrants specific consideration. decisions related to delivery of agricultural education programs and ffa events at state and national levels should consider how those decisions will impact programs with low numbers of students. references astin, a. w. 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(n.d.). agricultural education: about ffa. https://www.ffa.org/agricultural-education/ easterly et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i1.177 31 newcomb, l. h., mccracken, j. d., warmbrod, j. r., & whittington, m. s. (2004). methods of teaching agriculture (3rd ed.). pearson/prentice hall. rumberger, r. w., & thomas, s. l. (2000). the distribution of dropout and turnover rates among urban and suburban high schools. sociology of education, 73(1), 39–67. https://doi.org/10.2307/2673198 sawkins, j. w. (2002). examination performance in scottish secondary schools: an ordered logit approach. applied economics, 34(16), 2031–2041. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840210124559 talbert, b. a., vaughn, r., croom, b., & lee, j. s. (2014). foundations of agricultural education (3rd ed.). pearson education, inc. © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 343-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. caitlin lunzmann, graduate student and assistant, university of florida, 134 grinter hall, gainesville, fl 32611, caitlin.lunzmann@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4591-5569 2. nicole stedman, associate provost and dean, university of florida, po box 115500, gainesville fl, 32611, nstedman@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7970-1798 3. ange asanzi, phd student, university of florida, 406 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, a.asanzi@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4999-858x 4. amy clerget brown, assistant professor, rocky mountain college, 600 cole drive #1064, red lodge, mt 59068, amy.brown@rocky.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6378-025x 5. damilola ajayi, doctoral candidate, university of florida, 406 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, d.ajayi@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0204-5416 6. rigo chaparro, graduate student, university of florida, 7117 sw archer road lot 2629, gainesville, fl 32608, rchaparro@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9082-6911 79 contextualizing organizational frames: teaching leadership to faculty in agricultural and natural resources c. lunzmann1, n. l. p. stedman2, a. asanzi3, a. m. c. brown4, d. ajayi5, r. chaparro6 article history received: may 23, 2023 accepted: august 9, 2023 published: august 21, 2009 keywords undergraduate education; natural disasters; case study abstract possessing leadership skills has been determined to be an essential requirement within the workplace. a multi-level leadership program was designed to help provide undergraduates with more exposure to leadership principles. the program team was created through the collaboration of multiple universities found within the southeastern united states. through a 14-week online training program followed by a field experience, participants were exposed to bolman and deal’s organizational frames. participants then created cased studies grounded in this leadership framework and based on the data that was collected during their field experiences. this study quantitatively analyzed the consistency with which each of the frames were used. from the 16 published case studies on the multi-institutional project’s website, assessment questions were analyzed based on which frame/frames were being referenced. findings from this study identified a similar use of each of the frames throughout all the case studies. further research should be conducted to better understand each participant’s comprehension of the organizational frames prior to the development of their case studies. lunzmann et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.343 80 introduction and problem statement when considering employability, leadership currently ranks fourth, according to the national association of colleges and employers’ (2018) list of key attributes employers seek in students. with employers and colleges recognizing the importance of this attribute, the need for it to be taught throughout higher education arises. in a study that examined a southern land grant educational institution, it was found that the leadership development of their students was inadequate (stokes, 2022). in fact, teachers and administrators stated that they felt that students’ leadership development was more of an implied goal rather than a key responsibility (stokes, 2022). upon reviewing literature, parrella et al. (2023) found that agricultural students need to master more than just discipline-specific skills, they need employability skills. the reality is that when employers are hiring, they look for both technical, knowledge-based skills and soft skills concerned with social abilities such as leadership (crawford et al., 2011). thus, professions in agricultural leadership education are growing, which requires programs to develop agricultural leadership educators (velez et al., 2014). in response to the need to develop leadership skills, a multi-institutional project developed a faculty-oriented leadership education program. through this program faculty members would create and have access to multiple case studies that they could incorporate into technical curriculum to teach leadership principles. the case studies were derived from real life events and focused on the lived experiences of communities, schools, and individuals who had experienced natural disasters in an agricultural context. the result of this project was unique perspectives attempting to apply leadership principles into a teaching tool that could be taught by any faculty at the undergraduate level. the aim of this study was to provide a preliminary assessment of how these faculty members incorporated the four frames of leadership into their case studies. theoretical and conceptual framework the use of bolman and deal’s (2017) organizational frames played a critical role in the creation of the leadership education program for faculty. the selection of the theory was intentional as it would be both learned by faculty and then used to develop the case studies. the intent of bolman and deal (2017) in the creation of this theory was to consolidate a universal view of leadership into four frames of leadership: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic. the four frames could be used to provide a holistic view of an organization and face complexities that go beyond just the leader and their followers. the structural frame is focused “architecture” in place that supports an organization’s pursuit of its strategic goals (bolman & deal, 2017; p. 51). one key aspect of the organizational structure is the manner in which expectations are communicated for the allocation of work and the coordination of efforts. this frame puts emphasis on what the individual does and his/her specific responsibilities. this frame assumes that organizations work to reach established goals, that specialized labor is more efficient, that control and coordination help different units work lunzmann et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.343 81 together, that the best work is done through rational thought, that effective structure is best fit to the current situation of the organization, and that when performance is faltering via structure, it should be fixed with restructuring. meanwhile, the human resource frame assumes that the organization exists to meet human needs (bolman & deal, 2017). the idea is that both the organization and the humans who exist within that organization have needs. when those needs are met by both, then the organization succeeds and is productive. motivation is also considered within this frame, especially in terms of what inspires people to work. this frame is influenced both by maslow’s (1954) hierarchy of needs and macgregors’s theory of x and y (1960). the political frame focuses on how decisions are made and how resources are allocated (bolman & deal, 2017). this frame identifies leadership roles and communication that exist within the organization. this frame assumes that organizations are groups of different individuals that each have different values, beliefs, and perceptions, that most important decisions are about dividing up scarce resources, that resources can create conflict, and that goals and decisions are a result of negotiation amongst individuals and interest groups. it is through this frame that bolman and deal (2017) highlight the impact of power, coalitions, authorities, decision making, partisans, morality, and conflicts in organizations. the final frame is the symbolic frame, which is based on how individuals within an organization use symbols and how those symbols give meaning or importance within the organization (bolman & deal, 2017). it assumes that importance is not defined by what happens but by what it means and that any action can be interpreted differently by different people. the idea is that when faced with situations that cause uncertainty, symbols can help people find answers that can lead to long term resolve, and the culture that exists within the organization helps to tie members of the organization together. bolman and deal (2017) pushed leaders to embrace a holistic multi-frame approach when they look at their organizations. instead of limiting themselves to one theory or angle of leadership, the organizational frames provide important insight into many realities found within their organizations. gallos (1993) supported this with their finding that multi-frame thinking was an effective method of teaching leadership. in 2020, sowcik and stein created a best practices option for how to use the frames in rapidly changing situations. similarly, the faculty leadership program in this study used a multi-frame approach when teaching faculty participants within the context of agriculture and natural resource disasters. the organizational frames were then used as the framework for each of the participants’ case studies that were evaluated. purpose the purpose of this study was to quantitatively analyze how frequently faculty participants used each of bolman and deal’s (2017) organizational frames as assessment questions in the case studies they created. lunzmann et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.343 82 methods overall, the study was conducted by performing a quantitative analysis of published case studies designed by the faculty participants of the leadership program and examining the assessment questions each case study posed. multi-level experiential leadership program the leadership program was built upon 40 faculty who were selected from colleges of agriculture throughout the southeastern united states. faculty came from a range of disciplines within agriculture. participants were first required to complete a 14-week online academy. the online academy consisted of seven modules which focused on the impacts of agricultural disasters, using leadership as a lens, bolman and deal’s structural and human resource frames, bolman and deal’s symbolic and political frames, contextualizing leadership, creating case studies, and teaching with case studies. upon completion of the online academy, participants were divided into three generalized groups. over multiple years, each group was sent to the site of a different natural disaster. faculty participants were exposed to experiences and perspectives reflective of the impacts of a natural disaster event by local industry representatives. this included anything that was real or relevant to how these representatives responded to the crisis. at the conclusion of the field experience, principles of the organizational frames were reviewed, and applications were made to ensure that participants left with a strong understanding of the frames. using the data and experiences collected on site, the participants had four months to create a discipline-specific case study that could be used to educate undergraduate students on basic leadership principles using bolman and deal’s (2017) organizational framework. case studies were chosen as the method of education because they offered faculty an opportunity for professional development by learning how to use a new instructional technique. once all parts were finalized, the case studies were submitted to the project design team who reviewed all elements providing feedback and guidance on the use of the frames. at that time, the cases were sent to fellow peers, participants, and graduate students for a final revision process. once reviewed, all material was digitized and published online. frequency of frames analysis this study employed a quantitative research design based on data published from the multiinstitutional project’s leadership program. the 16 case studies currently published on the larger program’s website were reviewed to identify how faculty used each of bolman and deal’s (2017) four frames. of the 16 cases, two were eliminated from the review as they were written by the leadership program’s facilitators. assessment questions from the published case studies were reviewed by two investigators. questions were sorted into each of bolman and deal’s (2017) organizational frames based on each case study author’s labeling. any discrepancies were discussed by the lead investigator and two reviewers. one case study was found without labeling or clear intent of each frame in the assessment questions, while another used a project lunzmann et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.343 83 for assessment rather than questions. therefore, they were eliminated from the study, and a total of 12 case studies which included a total of 201 questions were reviewed. each case study was assigned a numeric label from one to 12 in order to maintain confidentiality. for the purpose of this study, r was used to analyze descriptive and inferential statistics. the descriptive statistics calculated included frequency counts, percentages, and means. these were used to describe the number of times the different organizational frames were used both within and across the case studies. in order to test for homogeneity of variance across the groups, the test for normality of data was first carried out using histograms. the histograms showed that the data were not normally distributed, thus a non-parametric levene’s test was carried out. findings analysis on assessment questions in the case studies indicated that the four frames as identified by bolman and deal (2017) were used often, as well as questions which combined the frames. specifically, as seen in figure 1, the case study analysis reveals that both structural (27.3%) and symbolic frames (27.3%) were used the most in study 1 while structural frame related questions (40%) took precedence in study 2. study 3 adopted majorly structural frame questions (58.8%), whereas symbolic questions (33.3%) were mainly used for study 4. although, the human resource frame (42.9%) was dominant in study 5, political (37.5%) and combined frames (37.5%) were prioritized in study 6. furthermore, about a third of the questions used in studies 7 and 8 were embedded within political and combined frames, respectively. it was noted that 30.8% of the questions adopted in study 9 fell under the symbolic frame while structural (29.4%) and combined (29.4%) questions were used in study 10. it is interesting to know that for study 11, there was equal distribution amongst the human resource (20%), symbolic (20%), combined frames (20%). however, political frame’s use was prevalent (25%). though study 12 had the structural (21.7%) and political (21.7%) frames as notable frames, the symbolic frame (26.1 %) was dominant. lunzmann et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.343 84 figure 1 frequency of use of each of bolman and deal’s frames within each case study it was discovered that across all case studies, as seen in figure 2, the mean number of structural questions used in all the studies was 4.33 (sd = 2.27) while human resource related questions was 3.3 (sd = 1.61). on average, the researchers employed political frame questions approximately three times (sd = 2.41) while symbolic and combined frames had on average of 3.25 (sd = 2.25) and 2.67 (sd = 1.61) questions, respectively. the levene’s test for homogeneity of variance (f = 0.8123; p = 0.5227) reveals that there was no significant variation among the frames employed across the studies. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 pe rc en ta ge o f q ue st io ns w ith in e ac h ca se s tu dy study label structural human resources political symbolic combined lunzmann et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.343 85 figure 2 distribution of average frequency of each of bolman and deal’s four frames in assessment questions across all studies the frames were also compared across the case studies, as seen in figure 3. this figure shows the distribution of questions from each study within each frame. for example, of the 26% of questions that were structural, it was discovered that this frame was widely used in study 3 (19.2%) and was equally used in study 7 (9.6%), 9 (9.6%), 10 (9.6%), and 12 (9.6%). the human resource frame was more dominant in study 5 (15%), followed by study 7 (12.5%) and 9 (12.5%). however, it is evident that this frame was used across all the studies with no exemption. meanwhile, the political frame was majorly used in study 7 (18.4%) and 9 (18.4%) and were followed by study 11 (13.2%) and 12 (13.2%) respectively. amongst all the studies, study 9 employed the highest level of symbolic frame questions (20.5%), followed by study 12 (15.4%) and study 4 (12.8%). while combined frame questions were mostly used for study 8 and 10 (15.6%), this frame was also used in study 3 (12.5%) and 10 (12.5%). structural 26% human resources 20% political 18% symbolic 20% combined 16% lunzmann et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.343 86 figure 3 frequency of use of each of bolman and deal’s frames across all case studies conclusions, discussion, and recommendations it is evident that throughout the 12 case studies there is an equal distribution of questions from each of the organizational frames (bolman & deal, 2017). the creators of the case studies were able to use an almost equal amount of assessment questions from each of the frames as to maximize student learning in these cases. the frame that had the lowest amount of assessment questions was the political frame. possible explanations of this are potential lack of relevance based on participant specialties and location selected, lack of participant understanding of this frame, or personal preference of case study developers. the fact that this was the frame that was least used poses an interesting point because one of the key elements of the frame is the allocation of resources. due to the destructive nature of these storms, the resources that were once available to an organization may be impacted. thus, questions designed around this frame would be very fitting for these case studies. alternatively, the human resource frame was used across all 12 case studies. this finding could highlight the critical role human resources play in leadership during a crisis and how motivation, goal setting, and engagement can change during times of crisis. consistency can be found in the lack of preference for any frame, similar to probst’s (2011) findings. probst found that participation in leadership development programs had no effect on frame preference. additionally, it is interesting that throughout all the case studies, apart from case study 6, all used at least three of the four frames. even though case study 6 did not use all four frames, the 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% structural human resource political symbolic combined pe rc en ta ge o f q ue st io ns w ith in e ac h fr am e frame study 12 study 11 study 10 study 9 study 8 study 7 study 6 study 5 study 4 study 3 study 2 study 1 lunzmann et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.343 87 study still incorporated assessment questions from two of the four frames. these findings support roddy’s (2010) dissertation work which also found that most headmasters use more than one frame. durocher (1995) found that almost half (45.3%) of his participants reported using more than two of the frames. these findings do contrast the work of bensimon (1989), who found that most higher education presidents prefer the use of one frame as a guiding leadership development model. these findings have multiple potential meanings. the first is that participants of the field experience may have a sufficient knowledge of the frames and found application of each frame within the sites that they toured. the second is that those same participants may not have a strong understanding of the frames and instead of going into depth on the one or two that best fit their data from the natural disaster, they chose to ask broader questions that incorporated basic principles of each frame. additionally, the feedback provided to the participants by the team experts could have encouraged the use of frames differently, which is a potential limitation. either way, there is a need for further research to identify participants’ mastery of the organizational frames after their field experiences and prior to the development of their case studies. the complexity of a holistic approach to leadership can pose a challenge for participant understanding (kellerman, 2014). therefore, it is recommended that future research focus on how to best educate participants of the multi-level experiential leadership program on bolman and deal’s (2017) organizational frames. the impact of participant comprehension of the frames is key to identifying why all frames are being used evenly and will help identify if participants are not going more into depth due to a lack of knowledge of how to incorporate the frames within their case studies. the researchers recommend the implementation of a qualitative study that examines participant experiences during the onboarding, training, field experience, and case study development stages of the program. additional research that should be considered is collecting data on the impacts of these case studies on students’ leadership development. acknowledgements the program in this study was funded by a usda/nifa higher education challenge grant, project #2019-70003-29092, and facilitated by the university of florida, texas a&m university, auburn university, and the university of tennessee. c. lunzmann – conceptualization, methodology, writing-original draft, reviewing and editing, validation; n. stedman – conceptualization, methodology, writing-reviewing and editing, a. asanzi – investigation, validation; a. brown – investigation, validation; d. ajayi – formal analysis, writing-original draft; r. chaparro – writing-reviewing and editing. references bolman, l. g., & deal, t. e. (2017). reframing organizations: artistry, choice, and leadership (6th ed). john wiley & sons. lunzmann et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.343 88 bensimon, e. m. (1989). the meaning of "good presidential leadership": a frame analysis. the review of higher education, 12(2), 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.1989.0024 crawford, p., lang, s., fink, w., dalton, r., & fielitz, l. (2011). comparative analysis of soft skills: perceptions of employers, alum, faculty and students. michigan state university. https://www.aplu.org/wp-content/uploads/comparative-analysis-of-soft-skills-what-isimportant-for-new-graduates.pdf durocher, e. a. (1995). leadership orientations of school administrators: a survey of nationally recognized school leaders (publication no. 9620148) [doctoral dissertation, columbia university]. proquest dissertations & theses global. https://www.proquest.com/docview/304190984/a8ad3e7790ac421dpq/1?accountid= 10920 gallos, j. v. (1993). teaching about reframing with films and videos. journal of management education, 17(1), 127–132. https://doi.org/10.1177/105256299301700115 kellerman, b. (2014). hard times: leadership in america. stanford university press. maslow, a. h. (1954). motivation and personality. harpercollins. national association of colleges and employers. (2018). job outlook 2018. national association of colleges and employers. parrella, j. a., esquivel, c., leggette, h. r., & murphrey, t. p. (2023). preparing agricultural leaders: an assessment of agricultural students’ perceived importance and development of employability skills. the journal of agricultural education and extension, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224x.2023.2179086 probst, m. b. (2011). an analysis of leadership frame preference of academic administration: using the bolman and deal four frame model (publication no. 3450562) [doctoral dissertation, capella university]. proquest dissertations & theses global. https://www.proquest.com/docview/864832430/b044e400a08a454cpq/1?accountid= 10920 roddy, t. p. (2010). frame analysis of the self-perceived leadership orientations of headmasters of the independent schools association of the southwest, southern association of independent schools, and the association of independent schools of greater washington member schools (publication no. 3430581) [doctoral dissertation, university of new orleans]. proquest dissertations & theses global. https://www.proquest.com/docview/808582369?pqorigsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true lunzmann et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.343 89 sowcik, m., & stein, m. (2020). navigating the unprecedented: leading remotely unexpectedly. edis, 2020, aec691/wc354. https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-wc354-2020 stokes, t. (2022). understanding how university organizational structure impacts leadership development for college students (publication no. 28969732) [doctoral dissertation, university of florida]. proquest dissertations & theses global. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2672286840?pqorigsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true velez, j., moore, l., bruce, j., & stephens, c. (2014). agricultural leadership education: past history, present reality, and future directions. journal of leadership studies, 7(4), 65–70. https://doi.org/10.1002/jls.21312 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 275-final.docx ray et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 4, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. nicole ray, assistant professor, fresno state university, agricultural sciences 234a, fresno, ca 93740, nicoleray@mail.fresnostate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1539-0879 2. robert strong, associate professor, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx 77843-2116, r-strong@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5279-4808 3. courtney meyers, professor & graduate studies coordinator, texas tech university, po box 42131-lubbock, tx 794092131, courtney.meyers@ttu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9099-3613 43 measuring the perceived usefulness of social media professional learning networks to elevate agricultural development n. ray1, r. strong2, c. meyers3 abstract elevating agricultural development requires attention to aspects beyond production such as education and professional development. individual demands for professional development have influenced the augmentation of recreational social media platforms as vicarious and functioning professional networks as well. the study’s purpose was to understand agricultural education teachers' perceived usefulness of professional social media use to better prepare themselves for positively impacting agricultural development. a random sample of secondary agriculture teachers responded to a self-administered survey instrument. new teachers perceived social media to be useful and also reported a greater number of minutes of use per week for professional purposes; this trend declined with increased years of teaching. behaviors which teachers reported, in combination with their perceived usefulness and reported use, suggested professional social media use is supportive of andragogical assumptions. the elements of teachers’ professional learning network activities instrument could serve as a valuable tool in explaining the variance in teachers’ professional social media use. data can be used to inform the development of online professional learning experiences and in preparation of new professionals. future research should explore the extent to which learning networks prepare agricultural preservice teachers and offer professional learning for practicing teachers to improve online and social media communications for all learners. keywords secondary agriculture instructors, evaluating digital learning, online engagement, innovation adoption ray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.275 44 introduction and problem statement improving educational access to individuals working in any aspect of the agricultural sector is an often-overlooked feature of agricultural development (chaleta, et al., 2021). of the united nations’ 17 sustainable development goals, goal 4 highlights the need for quality inclusive education with effective learning environments for all (li et al., 2021). improving the volume of individuals with access to quality education is a fundamental component of goal 4 (chankseliani & mccowan, 2021; huynh et al., 2019). 5g networks have proliferated professional learning networks’ availability, which allows users to access the communal knowledge of instructors or researchers across the globe (strong et al., 2022; zhou et al., 2022). online resources and enhanced accessibility have motivated teachers to follow others, exchange solutions, and broaden individual professional development experiences through social media outlets (prestridge, 2019). hillman et al. (2021) suggested social media are communal locations that serve as a conduit for professionals and nonprofessionals to improve learning respective to areas of interest. social media has emerged as low-cost broad dissemination platforms for individuals seeking knowledge to improve their professional needs (ahn et al., 2022; luo et al., 2020). markham et al. (2018) indicated social media can provide professional development experiences, identify collaborators and social systems for shared professional goals, and allow participation in discussion boards focused on professional discrepancies. azorín et al. (2020) found digital professional learning networks can be a bridge from educational institutions to stakeholders yearning for professional development without resources or time to participate in face-to-face opportunities. professional learning networks offer instructors digital peer relational support at the instructors’ time, location, and convenience (chiu et al., 2022). doleck et al. (2021) suggested professional learning networks optimize digital learning experiences that enable teachers to instigate self-empowered communal learning. theoretical and conceptual framework knowles et al. (2015) suggested adult training programs are developed and implemented to meet learners’ needs. the teachers’ professional learning network (pln) activities model was created by krutka et al. (2016) to illustrate attributes of teachers’ pln participation. the five pln elements are engaging, discovering, experimenting, reflecting, and sharing and include teachers’ social media usage as a professional (krutka et al., 2016). the first attribute, engaging, highlights methods educators use to participate in their pln and results from self-motives and self-identified training discrepancies (krutka et al., 2016). visser et al. (2014) reported impactful professional development as the primary motive of teachers’ professional twitter usage due to increased professional social networks and perceived ray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.275 45 beneficial content. davis (2015) suggested autonomy is a benefit twitter provides teachers in evaluating if and how often they read posts, comment, like, and retweet. krutka et al. (2016) described discovery as serendipitous experiences with techniques, resources, and ideas due to pln participation. teachers experienced teaching methods, delivery strategies, and examples of lesson plans, even though they had not sought the information, due to their participation in web-based platforms (dabbagh & kitsantas, 2012; krutka et al., 2016). twitter #edchat users indicated the information channels the platform exposed teachers to including additional resources and new ideas from peer users was an asset (davis, 2015). experimentation is testing new information, regardless of purpose or intention, such as teaching strategies or curricula from pln engagement (krutka et al., 2016). ranieri et al. (2012) found members who participated in facebook groups where members did not have personal ties to other members in a face-to-face manner were more likely to pursue new projects as a result of their interaction within the facebook group. inversely, those in thematic groups did not experience as many new ideas as a result of their facebook membership because new ideas were less likely to surface in a homogeneous group. the element of pln experimenting (krutka et al., 2016) encompasses teachers' learning process of implementing their learning in classrooms. reflection addresses the teacher’s consideration of outputs and changed behavior based on their exposure and implementation to new ideas, curriculum, and instructional strategies (krutka et al., 2016). davis (2015) found examples of twitter chat participants reflecting online and being challenged to examine their thinking by other chat participants. twitter was used to inform mexican farmers about loan applications (strong et al., 2014). educators reported using twitter for taking notes and reflections in real time while in attendance at conferences, and those not in attendance reported following conferences through other’s tweets (visser et al., 2014). krutka et al. (2016) suggested sharing describes the knowledge contributed by a teacher. teachers shared strategies, outside sources, websites, and other resources in discussions with other teachers (davis, 2015). the five elements may be joined to other model attributes to better comprehend the multidimensional complexity of plns and their purposeful or unintentional opportunities for teacher advancement (krutka et al., 2016). knowles et al. (2015) postulated andragogical assumptions are underscored by adults’ readiness and motivation to pursue individual learning goals. teacher autonomy to participate in professional learning to address problem-centered training needs is a downstream result of engaging in social media (davis, 2015). krutka et al. (2016) reported diverse benefits for teachers resulting from social media exchanges such as access to additional content, new social systems of like-minded professionals, avenues to additional resources, and vicarious opportunities to broaden their global network of educational professionals. ray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.275 46 purpose the study’s purpose was to identify california teachers’ professional social media perceived usefulness and teachers’ school-supported professional learning, juxtaposed to teachers selfreported professional social media participation. specifically, research objectives were: 1. describe self-reported participation of professional social media usage. 2. assess the variance among perceived usefulness of school supported professional learning and perceived usefulness of professional social media engagement. 3. examine teacher career phases effects on social media perceived usefulness compared to reported professional social media participation. methods a qualtrics survey was emailed to a random sample of agriculture teachers in a single administration. this study utilized a web-based 58-item survey instrument (see appendix a) that measured several constructs in the sample of 464 california teachers (fraenkel et al., 2019). relevant literature in the area of qualitative (davis, 2015), mixed methods (visser et al., 2014), and quantitative studies (greenhow & lewin, 2016; ranieri et al., 2012; xing & gao, 2018) were consulted to develop the instrument used in this study. participants answered several demographic questions, but the only one reported in this manuscript relates to the number of years teaching. participants were then categorized based on their self-reported number of completed years of teaching: new (1-3 years), early career (4-10 years), mid-career (11-16 years), late career (17 and over). the web-based survey explored several constructs through its 58 items. the instrument was developed with consideration of existing literature (dillman et al., 2014; lindner et al., 2001). demographic variables allowed for description of career phase, highest degree, age, location, teacher preparation path, course assignments, gender, and declaration of whether or not they were the only teacher on their site with specific courses in their teaching assignment. for the purpose of this study, social media was defined with the examples of snapchat, google+, pinterest, twitter, and facebook. survey respondents reported their professional use in minutes per week for social media platforms. using davis’ (1989) scale, with only minor edits, teachers’ perceived usefulness of professional social media use was compared to their perceived usefulness of their school sponsored professional learning. the questionnaire was delivered via qualtrics. participants responded to six items on a seven-point likert scale with anchors of 1 = extremely likely, 2 = quite likely, 3 = slightly likely, 4 = neither likely nor unlikely, 5 = slightly unlikely, 6 = quite unlikely, 7 = extremely unlikely. a post hoc analysis supported the instrument as reliable (field, 2013), with a cronbach’s α = .96 for the construct of teachers’ perceived usefulness of social media in their professional learning, and a cronbach’s α = .97 for the construct of school sponsored professional learning perceived usefulness. the elements of the online teacher engagement instrument explores the conceptual model of trust et al. (2016). the items in the instrument were drafted to explore the teachers’ online ray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.275 47 behavior based on the definitions of each component of the trust et al. (2016) model. teachers responded using a seven-point likert scale: 1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = somewhat agree, 4 = neither agree nor disagree, 5 = somewhat disagree, 6 = disagree, and 7 = strongly disagree. all constructs were considered reliable in post hoc analysis, as they were above field’s (2013) threshold of cronbach’s α = .80. individual construct reliability coefficients were: sharing cronbach’s α = .94, active engagement cronbach’s α = .92, passive engagement cronbach’s α = .88, experimenting cronbach’s α = .98, reflecting cronbach’s α = .85, and discovery cronbach’s α = .94. the exploratory factor analysis of the instrument identified six factor loadings with acceptable eigenvalues (over 7). of the factors that loaded, five were named to match the krutka et al. (2016) model; however, the element of engagement was subdivided into active and passive by the researchers in this study based on the ability of researchers to observe these behaviors. active engagement represents behaviors that could be observable by researchers, for example, making a post asking for a resource. passive engagement represents behaviors that are not likely observable by researchers, for example, searching a folder for a resource or reading a post but not responding. findings the elements of online teacher engagement scale has six constructs, sharing (m = 4.07, sd = 1.05), active engagement (m = 3.34, sd = 1.70), passive engagement (m = 3.18, sd = 1.54), discovery (m = 2.65, sd = 1.23), experimenting (m = 2.64, sd = 1.09), and reflecting (m = 2.73, sd = 1.15). the attribute of sharing had the least agreement grand mean of the six constructs (m = 4.07, sd = 1.50). the lowest perceived usefulness of social media item was “i connect other teachers to resources. for example, tagging them or mentioning them in posts or retweets or sending them direct messages” (m = 3.62, sd = 1.83). “i share my feelings online” (m = 4.76, sd = 1.65) had the lowest level of agreement (see table 1). table 1 descriptive statistics for sharing (n = 164) items m sd i share my feelings online. 4.76 1.65 i post, tweet, share about my personal experiences relating to teaching. 4.33 1.87 i share my opinion online. 4.33 1.72 i share ideas online. 3.98 1.78 i share resources online. 3.77 1.76 i respond to others posts with text and/or links to discuss my past experiences. 3.70 1.87 i connect other teachers to resources. for example, tagging them or mentioning them in posts or retweets or sending them direct messages. 3.62 1.83 note. m = 4.07, sd = 1.50. 1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = somewhat agree, 4 = neither agree nor disagree, 5 = somewhat disagree, 6 = disagree, and 7 = strongly disagree. ray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.275 48 active engagement was measured with two items (see in table 2). “i ask for resources” was the item earning the highest agreement (m = 3.14, sd = 1.75), and “i ask questions and/or for advice” earned the lowest level of agreement (m = 3.55, sd = 1.80). table 2 descriptive statistics for active engagement (n = 164) items m sd i ask questions and/or for advice. 3.55 1.80 i ask for resources. 3.14 1.75 note. m = 3.34, sd = 1.70. 1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = somewhat agree, 4 = neither agree nor disagree, 5 = somewhat disagree, 6 = disagree, and 7 = strongly disagree. the passive engagement construct was measured with four items and earned (m = 3.18, sd = 1.54). “i search for resources i need by looking in group shared folders and drives” yielded the highest level of agreement (m = 2.62, sd = 1.59). in table 3, the least agreement was item “i search for resources i need by searching hashtags or key term searches within the social media platform,” (m = 3.48, sd = 1.87). table 3 descriptive statistics for passive engagement (n = 164) items m sd i search for resources i need by searching hashtags or key term searches within the social media platform. 3.48 1.87 i search for people and/or groups i would like to connect with. 3.46 1.92 i interact with things others have posted by using features such as liking, pinning, sharing, retweeting. 3.15 1.82 i search for resources i need by looking in group shared folders and drives. 2.62 1.59 note. m = 3.18, sd = 1.54. 1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = somewhat agree, 4 = neither agree nor disagree, 5 = somewhat disagree, 6 = disagree, and 7 = strongly disagree. the construct of discovery earned agreement (m = 2.65, sd = 1.23). the most agreeable item as depicted in table 4 was “i discover new teaching resources i had not intentionally set out to find” (m = 2.33, sd = 1.26). the discovery item earning the least agreement was “i connect to individuals i might not have otherwise connected with” (m = 2.98, sd = 1.59). ray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.275 49 table 4 descriptive statistics for discovery (n = 164) items m sd i connect to individuals i might not have otherwise connected with. 2.98 1.59 i get connected to new teaching strategies i had not intentionally set out to find. 2.66 1.33 i become more aware of opinions and perspectives which are different than my own. 2.65 1.42 i learn about new technologies and digital tools even though i wasn’t searching for them. 2.57 1.33 i get exposed to new ideas i didn’t specifically go searching for. 2.38 1.23 i discover new teaching resources i had not intentionally set out to find. 2.33 1.26 note. m = 2.65, sd = 1.23. 1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = somewhat agree, 4 = neither agree nor disagree, 5 = somewhat disagree, 6 = disagree, and 7 = strongly disagree. the experimenting construct earned a grand mean score of m = 2.64 and sd = 1.09. “i test ideas other teachers have suggested” (m = 2.51, sd = 1.09) earned the most agreement (see table 5). the least agreement was produced by item “i make changes to how i teach my curriculum” (m = 2.86, sd = 1.27). all experimenting items earned some level of agreement. table 5 descriptive statistics for experimenting (n = 164) items m sd i make changes to how i teach my curriculum. 2.86 1.27 i experiment with new approaches to teach my students. 2.69 1.67 i experiment with new teaching strategies in my classroom. 2.63 1.16 i make changes to my teaching practices. 2.63 1.16 i experiment with new curriculum resources. 2.52 1.12 i test ideas other teachers have suggested. 2.51 1.09 note. m = 2.64, sd = 1.09. 1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = somewhat agree, 4 = neither agree nor disagree, 5 = somewhat disagree, 6 = disagree, and 7 = strongly disagree. reflecting was the least ranking construct (m = 2.73, sd = 1.15). teachers indicated somewhat agree with the item series respective to personal reflection of online engagement. “i am reflecting on how i can become a more effective teacher” (m = 2.51, sd = 1.29) earned the most agreement (see table 6). ray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.275 50 table 6 descriptive statistics for reflecting (n = 164) items m sd i reflect on my experiences relating to ideas i found on social media. 3.10 1.40 i spend time thinking about the teaching resources i am currently using. 2.59 1.24 i am reflecting on how i can become a more effective teacher. 2.51 1.29 note. m = 2.73, sd = 1.15. 1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = somewhat agree, 4 = neither agree nor disagree, 5 = somewhat disagree, 6 = disagree, and 7 = strongly disagree. perceived usefulness of social media and school sponsored professional learning are identified by item for each construct with descriptive statistics in table 7. of all the individual items, the statement “makes it easier to perform my duties as a teacher” had the most agreement for professional social media use (m = 2.71, sd = 1.39), and the least level of agreement for mandatory school-sponsored professional learning (m = 3.94, sd = 1.41). teachers perceived their professional social media use (m = 2.85, sd = 1.24) to be more useful than their mandatory school sponsored professional learning (m = 3.83, sd = 1.29). table 7 perceived usefulness of professional social media use and mandatory school sponsored professional learning (n = 164) item professional social media usea mandatory school sponsoredb m sd m sd results in significant changes to my teaching 3.14 1.40 3.89 1.38 results in improved learning outcomes for my students 2.88 1.32 3.75 1.35 improves my effectiveness as a teacher 2.84 1.29 3.86 1.41 enhances my effectiveness as a teacher 2.82 1.33 3.75 1.35 improves my ability to prepare and deliver high quality instruction for my students 2.72 1.32 3.80 1.36 makes it easier to perform my duties as a teacher. 2.71 1.39 3.94 1.41 note. professional social media use total m = 2.85, sd = 1.24. mandatory school sponsored pl total m = 3.83, sd = 1.29. instrument adapted with permission from the perceived usefulness scale by davis (1989). perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. mis quarterly, 13(3), 319-340. six-point likert-type scale, coded as 1 = extremely likely, 2 = quite likely, 3 = slightly likely, 4 = neither likely or unlikely, 5 = slightly unlikely, 6 = quite unlikely, 7 = extremely unlikely. pl = professional learning. a in response to “using social media professionally...” reliability cronbach’s α = .96. b in response to “mandatory school sponsored professional learning…” reliability =.97. overall, teachers perceived social media for professional purposes (m = 2.85, sd = 1.24) to be more useful than their school sponsored professional learning (m = 3.83, sd = 1.29). this ray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.275 51 difference, .98, 95% confidence interval [.74, 1.21], was significant t(163) = 8.15, p = < .01, which represents a large effect size, r = .54 (cohen, 1988; lakens, 2013). new teachers have the greatest difference between their perceived usefulness of social media and perceived usefulness of school sponsored professional learning scores. early career teachers express the least perceived usefulness of school sponsored professional learning. in general, as years of teaching increases, the perceived usefulness of social media in professional learning decreases, with the exception of the mid-career teachers, who had the lowest perceived usefulness. while there was no significant difference for new and early career teachers in their perceived usefulness of social media, when mid and late (n = 72) teachers are compared as a group to new and early teachers (n = 92), there was a significant difference. the difference of -.60, 95% confidence interval [-.98, -.22] was significant, t(162) = -3.17, p = <.01 represents a small effect size, r = .24 (cohen, 1988; lakens, 2013). objective three described the effects of the teacher career phase on perceived usefulness of social media compared to teachers’ professional social media use in minutes. table 8 shows teachers perceived usefulness by career phase (n = 164) for the perceived usefulness of social media, where a low score indicates the highest level of perceived usefulness, and high score indicates a level of low perceived usefulness. new teachers had the highest perceived usefulness of social media, and mid-career had the lowest (see table 8). table 8 perceived usefulness of social media and weekly minutes of professional social media use by teacher career phase phase perceived usefulness of social media social media use in minutes per week n m sd m sd mid 22 3.36 1.31 125.09 119.86 late 50 3.11 1.29 107.29 119.85 early 50 2.79 1.15 179.08 217.42 new 42 2.35 1.05 196.05 155.84 note. perceived usefulness of social media m = 2.85, sd = 1.23. total social media use m = 154.29 minutes per week, sd = 167.71. career phases based on years completed, coded as new = 1-3 years, early career = 4-10, mid-career = 11-16, late career = 17 and over. 1 = extremely likely, 2 = quite likely, 3 = slightly likely, 4 = neither likely or unlikely, 5 = slightly unlikely, 6 = quite unlikely, 7 = extremely unlikely. a reported in minutes of use on a combination of all social media platforms per week. table 9 illustrates an analysis of variance depicting there was a significant difference between teacher career phase on perceived usefulness of social media, f(3, 160) = 4.61, p = <.01, ω2 = 0.22, representing a low effect size (cohen, 1988; lakens, 2013). ray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.275 52 table 9 one-way analysis of variance for perceived usefulness of social media by teacher career phase career phase n m sd f p mid-career 22 3.37 1.32 4.61 .00* late career 50 3.11 1.30 early 50 2.79 1.15 new 42 2.35 1.05 note. career phases based on years completed, coded as new = 1-3 years, early career = 4-10, mid-career = 11-16, late career = 17 and over. 1 = extremely likely, 2 = quite likely, 3 = slightly likely, 4 = neither likely or unlikely, 5 = slightly unlikely, 6 = quite unlikely, 7 = extremely unlikely. * p < .05 in a comparison of early career teachers to all other groups, there was a significant difference t(160) = -3.36, p = <.01, with a small effect size (r = .26). no significant differences in perceived usefulness of social media was identified when comparing late career to mid-career teachers, or late to early career teachers. there was however a significant difference t(160) = -3.03, p = <.01 with a small effect (r =.23) when late and new career teachers were compared (cohen, 1988; lakens, 2013). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the elements of teachers’ professional learning network activities instrument revealed factor loadings in constructs that were largely supportive of the conceptual model developed by krutka et al. (2016). only a slight suggested modification of differentiating between active and passive engagement is suggested by the researchers of this study. each construct represents a type of behaviors teachers report using in their online professional learning, which are supportive of a body of literature suggesting that professionals are engaging online for their professional learning purposes (chiu et al., 2022; davis, 2015; doleck et al., 2021; hillman et al., 2021; luo et al., 2020; markham et al., 2018; prestridge, 2019). the type of self-directed, time sensitive, and problem-based learning teachers reported is supported by knowles’ et al. (2015) assumptions. there was a significant linear trend of teacher career phase on perceived usefulness of social media indicating that as the career phase increased, the perceived usefulness of social media decreased. while study participants believed their professional social media use was more beneficial than school supported learning experiences, there was still a positive relationship. for example, teachers that perceived their social media wasn't useful also didn't think their school sponsored professional learning was useful. teachers reporting high perceived usefulness for professional learning with social media also reported increased social media use for professional purposes in minutes per week, which is supportive of literature surrounding teachers’ social media use (prestridge, 2019). ray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.275 53 the attributes of teachers’ professional learning network activities instrument and the resulting research could serve as a valuable tool in explaining the variance in teachers’ professional social media use. this data can inform the creation of online professional development and learning experiences to prepare new professionals (seitz et al., 2022). the second implication of this study relates to the teachers’ career phase. new and early career teachers perceived social media to be beneficial for their professional growth, and also reported the highest use of social media in minutes per week. therefore, career preparation programs for these young professionals should include development of robust individualized professional online networks that include social media applications (ray, 2019). according to chaleta et al. (2021), ensuring access to professionals is not always a priority. therefore, teacher educators must anticipate their credential candidates will not have adequate access to professional learning once they enter the field and therefore must consider how they can support their preservice teachers in developing robust online professional networks as preservice teachers, then continue to support them through especially their new and early career phases. as suggested by azorín (2020), institutions should take an active role in developing online learning experiences because new and early career teachers reported the most usage and perceived usefulness of online learning experiences in this study. researchers should explore mid-career teachers' deviation from the trend of decreasing selfreported social media use and perceived usefulness. researchers should utilize the use of teachers’ professional learning network activities attributes survey instrument in other populations to explore the reliability and applicability in more contexts. elevating agricultural development requires many aspects beyond production (chaleta et al., 2021). additional inquiries are needed to understand extension professionals’ use and perceived usefulness of social media professional learning networks (mikwamba et al., 2021; strong et al., 2022). research is necessary to discern the extent learning networks prepare agricultural preservice teachers and offer professional learning for practicing teachers to improve online and social media communications for all digital and face to face learners. acknowledgements we would like to thank the cooperating california teachers who participated in our study. this project was supported by usda hatch project tex09890: the adoption impact of food and agricultural sciences curricula on public health. author contributions: n. ray investigation, analysis, writing-original draft, review & editing; r. strong investigation, analysis, writingoriginal draft, review & editing; c. meyers writing-original draft, review & editing. references ahn, j., briers, g., baker, m., price, e., djebou, d. c. s., strong, r., piña, m., & kibriya, s. 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(2022). digital ethnography of an online professional learning community based on wechat for chinese early childhood teachers. computers & education, 191, 104617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2022.104617 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 205-final_copy.docx looney et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 3, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. lauren m. looney, graduate student, oklahoma state university, lauren.looney@okstate.edu https://orcid.org.0000-0002-6007-914x 2. paul m. montgomery, graduate student, oklahoma state university, paul.montgomery@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7371-6489 3. m. craig edwards, professor, oklahoma state university, craig.edwards@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4436-4450 4. d. brian arnall, professor, oklahoma state university, b.arnall@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org.0000-0002-6294-8150 5. william r. raun, professor, oklahoma state university, deceased 40 producers’ adoption behaviors for precision agriculture (pa) technologies to improve nitrogen use efficiency: diffusion of innovations theory as an explanatory lens l. m. looney1, p. m. montgomery2, m. c. edwards3, d. b. arnall4, w. r. raun5 abstract advancements in precision agriculture technologies enable producers to achieve higher yields; however, in some cases, these innovations have not reached widespread adoption despite years of availability. we sought to understand producers’ adoption experiences with two precision agriculture technologies: nitrogen (n)-rich strips and the sensor based nitrogen rate calculator (sbnrc). these technologies can help producers optimize their application of nitrogen fertilizer on growing crops, especially small grains such as wheat. using rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations theory as an explanatory framework, this descriptive-exploratory study examined the adoption behaviors of producers from two midwestern states. rogers’ (2003) theoretical lens guided instrument development and interpretation of results. to better understand the effects of change agents’ actions and potential adopters’ behaviors during the innovation-decision process, more research is needed regarding disenchantment discontinuance and replacement discontinuance, the potential for pro-innovation bias, and of the innovation attribute compatibility. the future development of precision agriculture technology with the perceptions of potential adopters in mind, especially those averse to adoption and continuance, may assist in overcoming barriers to widespread diffusion. keywords innovation-decision process, nitrogen fertilizer, sustainability looney et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.205 41 introduction and problem statement lee et al. (2021) reviewed precision agriculture (pa) adoption literature from 1999 to 2020 as published in peer-refereed journals. they concluded that producers’ adoption of pa was not occurring at its highest potential because communication was lacking between change agents and farmers regarding the technology’s attributes (lee et al., 2021). nitrogen (n)-rich strips (nrs) and the sensor based nitrogen rate calculator (sbnrc) are examples of pa tools available for more than 20 years (desta et al., 2017). these technologies help producers optimize their use of n, the most limiting nutrient for plant growth, and augment more sustainable production practices. if adopted together, the tools represent a technology cluster (rogers, 2003). widespread use of such, however, is limited, uneven, or non-existent among producers who ostensibly would benefit from adopting the technologies. nrs are “an integral part of correctly determining the appropriate amount of n needed by the crop mid-season” (desta et al., 2017, para. 1) and could prevent producers from under-applying or over-applying n fertilizer. using the sensors, handheld and other modes, to calculate n rates, is made possible by the nrs indicating whether a crop responds to the application of additional fertilizer. understanding why producers adopt or reject an innovation can guide the development of new tools and techniques, reveal needed modifications of existing technologies, and inform researchers and extension educators about how to better serve their stakeholders. camp (2001), however, asserted that “a major stumbling block for many researchers in conceptualizing research is the development of an adequate theoretical framework for a study” (para. 2). another failing can be using data collection instruments without embedding relevant observables or variables of interest resonating with a study’s theoretical frame. we sought to avoid this oversight by using rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations to guide this investigation. theoretical and conceptual framework diffusion of innovations theory has been used in many studies across various settings and contexts, including for the advancement of agriculture and its many practices and forms worldwide (rogers, 2003). often, effectiveness of the diffusion of new technologies can be attributed to the efforts of change agents affecting potential adopters’ willingness to adopt and implement such innovations (rogers, 2003). rogers (2003) described change agents as individuals who influence clients’ innovation-decisions toward a new tool or practice as deemed desirable by a change agency. change agents work to guide potential adopters through the innovation-decision process during which they either adopt or reject an innovation (rogers, 2003). they usually describe and often demonstrate the characteristics or attributes of an innovation that influence its rate of adoption (rogers, 2003). rogers (2003) described five characteristics or attributes, terms he used interchangeably, most likely to influence the adoption of an innovation, especially during the persuasion stage of the innovation-decision process: relative advantage, compatibility, observability, trialability, and complexity. relative advantage is how beneficial an innovation is perceived by potential looney et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.205 42 adopters, especially as compared to the innovations superseding it. compatibility is how well an innovation is perceived by potential adopters as meeting their needs and conforming with existing attitudes, practices, and societal norms. observability reflects the extent to which potential adopters can see innovations perform and their results prior to adoption. trialability, either partially or entirely, is the opportunity for potential adopters to use an innovation before deciding to adopt. complexity is the degree of difficulty potential adopters perceive associated with implementing an innovation and such negatively influences the rate of adoption (rogers, 2003). at first, change agents usually engage potential adopters with knowledge of an innovation and then use its attributes with the intent to persuade them to decide to adopt it. if an individual chooses to adopt, they move to the implementation stage (rogers, 2003). thereafter, the adopter may transition to the confirmation stage for continued adoption and use, or instead discontinuance may occur if the innovation was not sufficiently compatible or failed to provide the relative advantage it initially promised. rogers (2003) called this disenchantment discontinuance, i.e., the later decision to actively reject an innovation was due to an adopter’s dissatisfaction with its performance. another reason for adopters discontinuing the use of an innovation may be replacement discontinuance (rogers, 2003); in this instance, the former innovation is superseded by another that arises which adopters prefer more. in the diffusion of new innovations, communication channels and the effectiveness of change agents’ efforts are often imperative to informing and persuading potential adopters. for these innovations, the channels employed to reach producers included interpersonal and mass media. oklahoma state university plant and soil science extension personnel used interpersonal forms of communication to connect with producers, and their university’s online resources acted as channels of mass media communication, e.g., the issuance of bulletins and use of social media. these resources served as a landing page for existing users and potential adopters to gain knowledge and understanding of the pa technologies. such was described by rogers (2003) as how-to knowledge regarding an innovation’s proper use or implementation. personal connections and relationships among members of a social system also can be important catalysts influencing an innovation’s adoption (rogers, 2003). interactions between and among change agents, opinion leaders, and potential adopters, which often involve creating awareness-knowledge, using persuasion, decreasing perceptions of complexity or uncertainty, and offering opportunities for observability and trialability, can positively affect an innovation’s rate of adoption (rogers, 2003). purpose we sought to understand producers’ adoption behaviors regarding this pa technology in two midwestern states. our four objectives included (a) understanding producers’ perceptions of the technologies’ attributes, as defined by rogers (2003); (b) knowing when, how, and from whom they had learned about and received training on the technologies; (c) knowing whether looney et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.205 43 their adoption was continuing, or rejection had occurred and why; and (d) identifying ways to improve diffusion, adoption, and use of these and related technologies in the future. methods this was a descriptive-exploratory study. other than mostly anecdotal data, very little information existed about adopters’ perceptions of the pa technologies we studied, i.e., n-rich strips and sbnrc. in 2020, we developed a survey instrument to collect data on the adoption behaviors of crop producers in two midwestern states regarding pa technologies. our qualtrics online questionnaire included forced-choice (yes/no), likert-type scale, and open-ended items. producers’ perceptions of rogers’ (2003) key attributes of an innovation were assessed by nine response items. five-point, likert-type response scales were developed to measure producers’ views on relative advantage and complexity of the pa technologies, n-rich strips and the sbnrc. for example, their perceptions of the relative advantage (rogers, 2003) associated with using the pa technologies were measured using the following response scale: 1 = no value to 5 = high value. and rogers’ (2003) attribute of complexity was assessed with a perceived level of difficulty scale: 1 = not difficult to 5 = very difficult. other items were developed to determine the year during which producers likely adopted, as an indicator of innovativeness (rogers, 2003); from whom they learned about the innovations; number of related trainings attended; and their highest levels of education. a panel of experts, including two plant and soil scientists and an agricultural education and extension educator, reviewed the instrument to verify its face and content validity. a group of key informants (rogers, 2003), including producers and crop service providers, also provided guidance during the instrument development phase. the online questionnaire was distributed through a listserv of subscribers (n = 564) who had requested to receive updates on research and extension meetings from the plant and soil sciences department at oklahoma state university. twenty-five requests were returned as undeliverable or defective; so, messages requesting participation in the study were delivered to 539 individuals. these listserv subscribers were a purposive sample of producers who had shown interest in the extension and research efforts of plant and soil scientists at oklahoma state university, including pa technologies, during a 10-year period. in purposive sampling, “the researcher specifies the characteristics of the population of interest and locates individuals with those characteristics” (johnson & christensen, 2017, p. 268). in this study, however, the possibility of coverage error existed due to its sampling frame (dillman et al., 2009), i.e., adopters who were not listserv subscribers went unsolicited and some subscribers may not have adopted nor been interested in pa technologies. this limits the generalizability of our results. dillman et al. (2009) recommendations for data collection were followed: a prenotice electronic mail message was sent to the intended respondents; an invitation message with a link to the online survey questionnaire was sent next; and two follow up, reminder electronic mail messages were sent to increase the response rate. sixty or 11.13% of the producers responded looney et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.205 44 to the questionnaire. they farmed in three counties of kansas and in 33 oklahoma counties. as appropriate, some data were analyzed using descriptive statistics via the qualtrics data collection and management platform; yes/no and likert-type responses to the online survey questionnaire were counted and related percentages calculated. respondents’ answers to the instrument’s open-ended questions were sorted and categorized according to corresponding innovation attributes, as negotiated and determined by the researchers. rogers (2003) assertions about and descriptions of attributes were consulted by members of the research team to determine the placement of respondents’ comments in the attributional categories. one researcher had taught rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations theory at the graduate level for two decades and two others were graduate students who completed said course. findings most of the producers were white/non-hispanic males (f = 49, 81.67%) and reported having earned bachelor’s degrees or higher levels of education. the group’s mean age was 57 years, they had farmed for about 30 years on average, and two-thirds farmed 1000 acres or less. the crop for which most used the technologies was wheat (f = 52, 53.61%), forages were second (f = 9, 9.28%), and corn third (f = 8, 8.25%). the most cited communication channel for knowing about the pa technologies was the oklahoma cooperative extension service (f = 51, 85.00%). as a group, the producers reported attending an average of about two extension meetings each year. with the possibility of recall problem (rogers, 2003) notwithstanding, producers’ selfreported adoption of n-rich strips ranged from 1995 to 2019; their adoption spiked around 2005 and again from about 2010 to 2012 (see figure 1). figure 1 producers’ self-reported adoption of n-rich strips over time, 1995 to 2020 note. forty-two of the 60 respondents (70.00%) indicated their year of adoption. as a potential complementary tool to further improve nitrogen use efficiency, the producers could have also adopted the sbnrc to use in tandem with n-rich strips, i.e., looney et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.205 45 implemented a technology cluster (rogers, 2003). slightly more than one-fifth of the respondents (f = 13; 21.67%) indicated they were using the calculator, almost one-fourth (f = 14; 23.34%) had used it but stopped, one-half (f = 30; 50.00%) reported having never used the technology, and three did not respond. producers’ perceptions of the relative advantage (rogers, 2003) associated with using the n-rich strips was measured with a likert-type scale: 1 = no value to 5 = high value. if considering the scale’s real limits, the producers perceived the n-rich strips had average value (m = 3.17; sd = 1.14) [see table 1]. rogers’ (2003) attribute of complexity was assessed with a perceived level of difficulty response scale: 1 = not difficult to 5 = very difficult. applying the same real limits, both technologies were viewed as slightly difficult to use: n-rich strips, m = 1.75 (sd = 1.01); and the sbnrc, m = 1.83 (sd = 0.92) [see table 1]. regarding producers’ opportunities to observe the use of n-rich strips prior to adoption, 70% (f = 42) said yes, and nearly two-thirds (f = 15) of the sbnrc users had first observed it in practice before adopting. as for using the pa technologies on a trial or limited basis before making their initial adoption decisions, 60% (f = 36) of the producers had tried the n-rich strips as had nearly two-thirds (f = 15) of the sbnrc users (see table 1). both attributes – observability and trialability – support the likelihood of adoption (rogers, 2003). table 1 producers’ quantified perceptions of selected attributes of two pa technologies attributes nrs a sbnrc b m sd m sd relative advantage: how much value do n-rich strips bring to your farming operation? 3.17 1.14 complexity: how difficult do you find n-rich strips or the sbnrc b to use? 1.75 1.01 1.83 .92 attributes nrs a sbnrc b f % f % observability: were you able to observe nrich strips or the sbnrc b before using in your farm operation? yes no 42 18 70.00 30.00 yes no 15 8 65.22 34.78 trialability: were you able to use n-rich strips or the sbnrc b on a trial or limited basis? yes no 36 24 60.00 40.00 yes no 15 8 65.22 34.78 looney et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.205 46 a n-rich strips; b sensor based nitrogen rate calculator. the questionnaire included open-ended items for which the producers provided 73 responses; 67 addressed the n-rich strips and five related to the sbnrc. we categorized these responses regarding which of rogers’ (2003) key attributes of an innovation the data aligned with or implied. in the case of the attributes relative advantage and compatibility, the producers’ comments varied from evidence or support for such to perceived lack of the attributes. this overall analysis and categorization resulted in 27 statements aligned with relative advantage; 34 comments expressed perceptions related to compatibility; and 11 implied that the attribute of complexity existed, and one did not (see table 2). fifty-five percent (f = 33) of the producers reported discontinuance of their adoption of the n-rich strips, which also likely implied discontinuing use of the sbnrc for those who had adopted the calculator to complement use of the strips. table 2 producers’ perceptions of selected attributes of pa technologies as written responses producers’ perceptions of relative advantage n = 18 easy indicator for need of topdressing wheat improve nitrogen use efficiency to reduce fertilizer input cost profits increase profits nitrogen efficiency limited the amount of top dress on wheat usually reduce[s] n application by about 20 lbs/acre most years i found that i was not doing too bad of a job of managing nitrogen application, so i have only had to make minor adjustments based on n-rich strips. however, since it is an extremely low cost and easy technology to implement, the value gained from making even minor adjustments is still well worth the cost. it is a good measuring stick. another way to check n save money on n applied the use of n-rich strips has saved the farm. really helps on wheat. i know whether to spend money or not. saves money somewhat valuable as education tools for producers i consult with that don’t believe n can economically increase yields. easy to use, also provides an early season yield estimate in addition to nitrogen recommendations.a best way to leverage the information gained from my n strips.a producers’ perceptions of the lack of relative advantage n = 9 [i] had extension agent evaluate first year. [i] bought sensor for 2nd and 3rd year. [i] never saw any difference. [i] quit using [it]. n-rich strips would not be worthless, but they have less value than other things that i can do with my time. seem[ed] like my fertilizer program changed very little on cost. [i]n dry years it was too late to tell. looney et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.205 47 the times i applied n-rich strips i couldn't tell if i had adequate nitrogen or the conditions just didn't allow for a proper evaluation. i never really saw a deficiency. [i] try to [n] manage by soil tests. [requires] time/labor to apply. [i] hired coop to apply most years. i’m not sure how to value them. when the strips show up it’s time to apply nitrogen for maximum or optimum yield. [i] saw no difference, labor limitations, [and] wheat not profitable, so why micro-manage?a producers’ perceptions of compatibility n = 3 can be used mostly to confirm i applied enough n learned the technique in college and they are easy to set up not difficult to use or apply. but as far as using them as an ag retailer, the results are too late. if i were a producer with my own applicator, it would be a great tool. the results from a n rich strip come too late for that year as a retailer. i have used them more for an after the fact tool. did we get enough on or where we [were] short n? if we are short, then we my need to reevaluate the amount of n that producer is applying in that farming operation. producers’ perceptions of the lack of compatibility n = 31 just finding the time to put them out before the wheat came up timing of the application as well as time associated with the application if applied myself has been the most significant factor. i’m also aware of consulting services who will apply/install the strips, but the cost has been prohibitive. most consultants require additional services or an agreement for services other than the strips. application of our nitrogen is from effluent which is pumped through center pivot. not applicable for us. we use effluent for our nitrogen and application is through center pivot. by the time we see any differences it is too late to apply n in western oklahoma. the only application i can see working with n rich strips on dryland is exactrix nh3 to provide immediate response. i rarely see my n-strips pop up until after jointing. i have had them show up as late as heading even after using the calculator to determine my fertilizer rates. in wheat, the system is very simple and easy. in corn, i find the system to be less valuable due to the need to delay mid-season n application later than ideal. the v7-8 growth stage in corn frequently coincides with the arrival of spring rains (may) for me. this causes problems getting the nitrogen applied. n-strip results have adversely been affected by lack of or excessive rainfall events. nitrogen incorporating rains can be hard to come by. sometimes they don’t show up, or they appear after my deadline to apply fertilizer. they are not difficult but the[y] are inconvenient from logistical reasons. time and resource management, while working a full-time job off the farm. timing and to many other things to do. web page could be updated, and grazed wheat indicates a need for n later than ungrazed wheat. between read time and getting the nitrogen needed applied in a wet year there can be a lag time because of ground conditions unless the farmer has a way to apply the fertilizer themselves most will still do a weed and feed app because of application cost. snow cover prevented a reading, drought years provided misleading data, plan to graze some years and nstrips not really designed for grazing. the response is too late to be able to correct the issue. don’t apply much n in the fall. useful but they slow us down so that is a drawback. we have a lot to do, and they slow us down so less valuable the more they slow us down. looney et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.205 48 many times, the strips did not become visible until after cattle were removed and top dress n applications had already occurred. we do not use n-rich strips since it is not feasible for our application. there are times that no response is observed, or response is late for adequate top dress application. too much trouble depends [on] if the farmer believes in them or not. there ha[ve] been springs where the ground has been too wet to get on and by the time able to get it applied it has been late when able to finally get it done, and some felt they ha[d] lost yield. [at one time,] not enough sensors around [but] now with sensors getting cheaper and easier to use the “shiny” has worn off for some to come back to table to buy a new sensor. [with] wheat being double cropped back late not able to get strips put out in a timely fashion. it seems to be very late to apply n by the time i can see a difference. i’m trying to utilize grid sampling and rate applied fertilizer. i do soil samples. getting urea into topsoil during dry weather periods late applied n [was] ineffective without rain; [this] clobbered me in [a] dry year.a producers’ perceptions of complexity n = 11 [i am] not sure how to use them in a pasture setting or the benefit they would have when not trying to maximize production. remembering to write down where i did the test. and remembering where i wrote it down. got on the wrong software page. hard to find, hard to interpret [a] hassle to put them out and more of a hassle to read and determine correct rate. just the commitment to getting them done. sometimes i hire nitrogen application and it’s difficult to get them to do them. maybe i don’t have a good understanding of n rich strips? wouldn’t it be the same as making another pass across the end of the field or for that matter just noticing when the manure patches show up? most fields were grazed and many times the strip was hard to see. one issue was when taking the first reading after spring green up the recommendation called for 0 lbs. of n to be applied. a few weeks after spring green up, the n-rich strip could be seen for a 1/2 mile in the field and the sensor then called for 100 lbs. this makes organizing spring top dress with n on wheat very difficult. to many numbers to mess with if it was eas[ier]a producer’s perception of the lack of complexity n = 1 not really, just the time it takes. no real difficulties note. a producers’ responses regarding the sbnrc. other responses related to the n-rich strips. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations change agents for these technologies should continue to stress the related attributes during trainings by using demonstrations and other promotional efforts to increase the likelihood of adoption. however, more work appears to be needed to avert producers’ negative reevaluations of the technologies, i.e., after having initially adopted but later rejecting such. rogers (2003) described two types of discontinuance or later rejection of innovations as either looney et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.205 49 disenchantment or replacement discontinuance. disenchantment discontinuance can be characterized as an adopter’s decision to reject an innovation after growing dissatisfied with its performance. while replacement discontinuance is when an adopter discontinues using an innovation due their having adopted an alternative in its place (rogers, 2003). although we did not explicitly measure the attribute compatibility with an anchored response scale, 34 of the producers’ 73 written responses described the pa technologies as either lacking or having compatibility with their farming practices, but the former was indicated overwhelmingly (see table 2), which implied disenchantment with the technologies. for instance, some producers noted the need for rainfall soon after applying n, but that it did not always rain, nor did they irrigate. issues also arose if their wheat was grazed by cattle for a time, which is a common practice in the producers’ states. so, the technologies were not as compatible with their farming systems as the producers may have thought when they adopted use of the strips and calculator. this perceived lack of compatibility warrants additional investigation of producers’ views on the attribute. in addition, those who described using soil testing or soil grid sampling as alternative methods for managing n use efficiency (see table 2) could be interpreted as replacement discontinuance. however, more in-depth content analysis for emergent themes in the producers’ written comments as well as personal and focus group interviews may assist in more fully understanding producers’ perceptions and related behaviors during the confirmation stage (rogers, 2003) of the innovation-decision process for these pa technologies. moreover, the views of key informants (rogers, 2003) should be sought out to understand what may have precipitated the spike in adoption of the n-rich strips that occurred around 2005 and again from about 2010 to 2012 (see figure 1). if any behaviors of change agents are identified as unique to those time periods of increased adoption; such should be considered for use in the future. in addition, more effective ways are needed to increase survey questionnaire response rates with the targeted group, e.g., paper instruments completed during in-person meetings or instantaneous access to online questionnaires via qr codes (hill et al., 2013) may lead to higher response rates. further, randomly selecting producers’ locations from which to query fertilizer suppliers and crop service providers about trends in the purchase of n-fertilizer over time could assist in mitigating the recall problem (rogers, 2003) confounding many ex post facto survey research studies. rogers (2003) supported the use of archival data to address this threat to the veracity of findings and thereby avoid drawing spurious conclusions. the elephant in the room that frequently permeates and may confound or even obscure a clear-eyed understanding of an innovation’s introduction, diffusion, adoption, continuance, or rejection is the phenomenon of pro-innovation bias, which rogers (2003) indicted as a criticism of diffusion research. as such, rogers (2003) asserted: “perhaps owing to the pro-innovation bias that pervades much diffusion inquiry (see chapter 3), investigation of rejection behavior has not received much scholarly attention” (p. 178). pro-innovation bias is the view often held by many change agencies, with agricultural scientists or cooperative extension services personnel no exception, that all members of a targeted social system, i.e., potential adopters, a) should adopt an innovation and do so rapidly and b) no reinvention of the innovation is needed looney et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.205 50 or should occur (rogers, 2003). in other words, the potential adopters’ less than positive, skeptical, or hesitant perceptions of an innovation’s attributes coupled with preexisting sociocultural norms also likely to influence their adoption decisions are frequently overlooked, underappreciated, misinterpreted, or even summarily dismissed by the actors fomenting change. an assessment of the potential for pro-innovation bias regarding the pa technologies studied may better inform and even modify the behaviors of change agents promoting these innovations and increase the likelihood of producers continuing to implement such in the future. references camp, w. g. (2001). formulating and evaluating theoretical frameworks for career and technical education research. journal of vocational education research, 26(1). http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/jver/v26n1/camp.html desta, b., arnall, b., & raun, b. (2017, april). the evolution of reference strips in oklahoma – oklahoma state university. https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/the-evolution-ofreference-strips-in-oklahoma.html dillman, d. a., smyth, j. d., & christian, l. m. (2009). internet, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: the tailored design method (3rd edition). john wiley & sons. hill, p., mills, r., peterson, g., & smith, j. (2013). breaking the code: the creative use of qr codes to market extension events. journal of extension, 51(2). https://archives.joe.org/joe/2013april/tt4.php johnson, r. b., & christensen, l. (2017). educational research: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches (6th edition). sage. lee, c. l., strong, r., & dooley, k. e. (2021). analyzing precision agriculture adoption across the globe: a systematic review of scholarship from 1999–2020. sustainability, 13(18), 10295. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810295 rogers, e. m. (2003). diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). the free press. © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 287-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 2, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. tyler granberry, assistant professor, the university of tennessee, 114c mccord hall, 2640 morgan circle dr, knoxville, tn 37996, tgranber@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7981-0027 2. matthew lambert, graduate research assistant, louisiana state university, 137 julian c. miller hall, lsu, baton rouge, la 70803, mlamb37@lsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3329-3244 3. jeffery s. beasley, professor, louisiana state university, 226 julian c. miller hall, lsu, baton rouge, la 70803, jbeasley@agcenter.lsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9626-0701 4. jeff s. kuehny, professor, louisiana state university, 4560 essen ln, baton rouge, la 70809, jkuehny@agcenter.lsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3853-744x 5. lisa fultz, associate professor, louisiana state university, 310 sturgis hall, lsu, baton rouge, la 70803, lfultz@agcenter.lsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2461-6016 6. shelli d. rampold, assistant professor, the university of tennessee, 321d morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle dr, knoxville, tn 37996, srampold@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4815-7157 34 perceptions of organic practices among turfgrass professionals in louisiana t. granberry1, m. lambert2, j. s. beasley3, j. s. kuehny4, l. fultz5, s. d. rampold6 article history received: january 10, 2023 accepted: april 4, 2023 published: april 19, 2023 keywords sustainable practices; organic fertilizers; organic pesticides abstract landscape contractors are increasingly interested in organic products for louisiana’s residential and commercial turfgrass areas. however, the use, motivations, and barriers to adopting organic practices in the commercial turfgrass and landscape industry sector are not well documented. this study examined the perceptions of organic landscaping practices among members of the louisiana turfgrass association. the study’s participants were primarily men aged 31 to 60, with six to 25 years of landscaping experience. most turfgrass professionals were applying organic fertilizers and believed future organic product use would increase due to consumer demands and potential governmental regulation. turfgrass professionals responded that they understood the usda definition of organic but were less familiar with organic materials review institute (omri) labeling. greater efficacy and access to organic products coupled with increased extension and educational efforts may increase louisiana turfgrass professionals’ choices to adopt organic practices; however, more research is needed to better understand the adoption processes at play. granberry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.287 35 introduction and problem statement turfgrass is a major component of residential and commercial landscapes, and its use has expanded in the united states due to the shift from rural to urban and suburban residency (cromartie, 2017; johnson et al., 2013; robbins & birkenholtz, 2003). highly managed urban and suburban landscapes provide recreational spaces, enhance property aesthetics and value, and help improve the quality of life and environment in the areas where they are found (jim & chen, 2010). to maintain lush ground cover, professionals who manage turfgrass have traditionally relied on conventional fertilizers and pesticides (carey et al., 2012). however, concern for human exposure to fertilizers and pesticides and recognition of well-documented environmental impacts associated with their use has contributed to a public perception that organic practices are safer alternatives for turfgrass management (aziz et al., 2015; motavalli et al., 2008). adoption of organic practices has occurred more readily in public spaces versus residential and commercial landscapes in the united states due to legislation that limits the use of pesticides and fertilizers (marhsall et al., 2015). for example, new york and connecticut passed legislation restricting pesticide application on school grounds, with new york extending those restrictions to include school athletic fields (bartholomew et al., 2015; haight, 2004). similarly, florida has enacted legislation to protect against water impairment focused on residential and commercial fertilizer applications (hartman et al., 2008; hochmuth et al., 2012). landscape professionals are increasingly interested in organic products for louisiana’s residential and commercial turfgrass areas. however, the use, motivations, and barriers to adopting organic practices in the commercial turfgrass and landscape industries are not well documented. therefore, a need exists to better understand landscape and turfgrass professionals’ perceptions of organic products and practices. theoretical and conceptual framework ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior (tpb) was utilized as the theoretical framework for this study. the tpb proposes that three conceptually independent determinants influence an individual’s intention to engage in a behavior: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral controls (ajzen, 1991). through the lens of the tpb, an individual’s attitudes toward a behavior refer to their positive or negative evaluations of the behavior in question, which, in the context of this study, took the form of the perceptions of turfgrass professionals toward organic practices in their industry (ajzen, 1991, 2005). additionally, subjective norms in the tpb are perceived social pressures towards a particular behavior (ajzen, 1991). for example, suh et al. (2016) found that, for do-it-yourself consumers, purchases of organic landscaping fertilizers positively correlated with their perceptions of the importance of landscaping within their communities or neighborhoods. for turfgrass professionals, perceptions of social pressure may come from customers, professional organizations, or governmental agencies (millington & wilson, 2013). the final determinant of behavioral intention postulated by the tpb is perceived granberry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.287 36 behavioral control, which refers to the level of difficulty in performing the behavior perceived by the individual (ajzen, 1991). in terms of implementing organic turfgrass and landscaping practices, anticipated obstacles may include increased costs, perceptions of low efficacy, or a lack of knowledge related to organic products. although the impact of factors like environmental beliefs, perceptions of neighborhood landscaping, and expected value held by homeowners on their purchase frequency of organic lawncare products have been investigated, it is unclear if these characteristics translate to behavioral intentions in the commercial setting (suh et al., 2016). ajzen (1991) posited that, in general, favorable attitudes and perceived subjective norms related to the behavior, coupled with a high level of perceived behavioral control, led to greater intention to perform the behavior being considered. in the context of this study, developing a better understanding of the attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral controls held by turfgrass industry professionals who have chosen to adopt organic practices, as well as those who have chosen not to adopt, was critical to exploring the behavioral-intention processes associated with the tpb (ajzen, 2005). purpose this descriptive study aimed to examine the perceptions of organic practices held by turfgrass industry professionals in louisiana. the following objectives guided the study: 1. describe the prevalence of organic practices among turfgrass professionals in louisiana. 2. examine the demographic characteristics of adopters and non-adopters of organic landscaping practices among turfgrass professionals in louisiana. 3. assess the perceptions of organic practices held by adopters and non-adopters of organic landscaping practices among turfgrass professionals in louisiana. 4. identify the knowledge of organic practices held by adopters and non-adopters of organic landscaping practices among turfgrass professionals in louisiana. methods the target population of this study was the active membership of the louisiana turfgrass association (n = 310) at the time the study was conducted. the louisiana turfgrass association (lta) is a non-profit professional organization for adults working in the turfgrass and landscaping industries throughout the state, which frequently provides professional development and industry networking opportunities for its members (louisiana turfgrass association, 2023). members of the lta traditionally include golf course superintendents, sports field managers, sod producers, landscape contractors, and other professionals related to the turfgrass and landscaping industries (louisiana turfgrass association, 2023). we collaborated with lta leaders to distribute an online survey to their members via qualtrics to assess their perceptions of organic landscape and turfgrass practices. because of the relatively small size of the organization and the availability of contact information for all active members, a census was chosen as the most appropriate sampling method (dillman et al., 2014). granberry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.287 37 an online survey developed by the researchers, in collaboration with experts in turfgrass production and agricultural and extension education, served as the data collection instrument for this study. the instrument was designed to collect data relevant to participants’ perceptions of organic practices and demographic information. content and face validity for the instrument was established by a panel of experts consisting of turfgrass production faculty and social science researchers with experience in survey design. additionally, cronbach’s alpha was calculated to analyze the post-hoc reliability of the scales measuring knowledge, which yielded alpha values above an acceptable level (α = .74). knowledge was measured by two items, one for participants’ knowledge of the usda definition of organic, and another for their knowledge of omri (eisinga et al., 2013). data collection began in december 2021 and was conducted using a mixed-mode delivery approach guided by dillman et al.’s (2014) method. first, an email invitation containing a description of the study and a link to the survey was distributed to all members on the louisiana turfgrass association’s membership roster. two follow-up reminder emails were distributed to nonrespondents in 10-day increments following the initial invite. an alternative mode of data collection was also offered during the 2022 lta annual conference. conference attendees were provided a qr code for the online survey and asked to participate in the study if they had not done so via email invitation. the mixed-mode delivery of the survey instrument yielded usable responses from 91 of the 310 members for a response rate of 29.4%. ibm spss v.27 was utilized to generate descriptive statistics for this study. to test for nonresponse bias, early respondents (those responding prior to the second reminder, n = 51) were compared to late respondents (n = 40) on the variable ‘perception of the term organic’, using a two-tailed independent t-test at the .15 alpha level; the power of the test was .82 for a medium effect (cohen’s d = 0.50 [cohen, 1988]). although the selected level of significance was higher than the traditional social science threshold of .05, the nature of this research led us to the decision that the risk of a type ii error, where researchers inappropriately generalize results to a larger population, was of greater consequence than a type i error, and .15 was selected as a less conservative level of significance to achieve reasonable power for the t-test (cohen, 1988; johnson & shoulders, 2017; mitchell & jolly, 2010). there was no significant difference between early (m = 3.08, sd = 0.82) and late (m = 3.24, sd = 0.86) respondents, t(89) = -0.83; p = .41. therefore, the findings were generalized to the population (johnson & shoulders, 2017; lindner et al., 2001; miller & smith, 1983). findings objective one examination of the current organic practices of turfgrass professionals in louisiana revealed that the vast majority of respondents (n = 64; 70.3%) reported using organic products within the preceding 12 months as part of their business. this item was used as a filter variable; respondents who indicated they used organic products were asked which products they granberry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.287 38 applied, while those who indicated they had not used organic products were asked about their perceived barriers to adoption (see table 1). table 1 of the participants who had adopted organic practices, over 90% reported using organic fertilizers, and over 40% reported using organic insecticides. alternatively, of the respondents who indicated that they had not applied organic products, doubt associated with product efficacy was the most frequently perceived barrier (n = 10; 38.5%), followed closely by a lack of knowledge of available organic products (n = 7; 26.9%). objective two the instrument’s demographic portion revealed most respondents in both the adopter and non-adopter categories identified as male (see table 2). additionally, nearly three-quarters of respondents in both categories were between 31 and 60 years of age. the years of experience in the turfgrass and landscaping industries held by adopters of organic practices closely resembled a normal distribution, with the apex of respondents within the range of 16 to 25 years. nonadopters were similar in years of industry experience, however, the largest percentage (f = 7; 25.9%) fell within the range of six to 15 years. differences in position within their respective companies approached an even split between adopting owners (f = 33; 52.4%) and employees (f = 30; 47.6%), with percentages of non-adopters mirroring the percentage distribution among business owners (f = 14; 51.9%) and employees (f = 13; 48.1%). the adopter and non-adopter categories diverged in average annual sales of the companies they prevalence of organic product use among lta members item f % do you currently apply organic products? (n = 91) yes 64 70.3 no 27 29.7 organic products applied (n = 64) a fertilizer 58 90.6 herbicide 12 18.8 insecticide 28 43.8 fungicide 14 21.9 other 3 4.7 primary reason for not applying organic products (n = 26) b cost prohibitive 5 19.2 less effective 10 38.5 no knowledge of available products 7 26.9 no products readily available in the local area 4 15.4 a percentages total greater than 100% due to the multiple selection nature of this item. b response missing from one participant granberry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.287 39 represented. although companies with annual sales totaling less than $250,000 comprised the largest percentage of respondents for both groups, nearly half of respondents who adopted organic practices (f = 31; 48.5%) represented companies with annual sales of $500,000 or greater. conversely, over half of non-adopters (f = 17; 62.9%) represented companies with sales totaling less than $500,000. table 2 demographic characteristics of adopters and non-adopters of organic landscaping practices adopters (n = 64) non-adopters (n = 27) item f % f % gender female 6 9.4 2 7.4 male 57 89.1 25 92.6 prefer not to answer 1 1.6 0 0.0 age 18 – 30 years old 6 9.4 1 3.7 31 – 45 years old 19 29.6 9 33.3 46 – 60 years old 25 39.1 11 40.7 more than 60 years old 14 21.9 6 22.2 industry experience five years or fewer 8 12.5 5 18.5 6 –15 years 14 21.9 7 25.9 16 – 25 years 19 29.6 6 22.2 26 – 35 years 14 21.9 5 18.5 more than 35 years 9 14.1 4 14.8 position within company a owner 33 52.4 14 51.9 employee 30 47.6 13 48.1 company’s average annual sales b less than $250,000 20 31.1 12 44.4 $250,000 $499,999 8 12.5 5 18.5 $500,000 $999,999 10 15.6 3 11.1 $1,000,000 – $2,999,999 6 9.4 1 3.7 $3,000,000 $4,999,999 5 7.9 3 11.1 $5,000,000 $9,999,999 0 0.0 1 3.7 $10,000,000 or greater 10 15.6 0 0.0 a response missing from one participant b responses missing from seven participants granberry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.287 40 objectives three and four the findings related to objectives three and four provided insight into respondents’ perceptions and knowledge of organic terminology in the turfgrass industry. more than three-quarters of organic practice adopters (f = 55; 85.9%) reported slightly positive or positive feelings toward the term organic in relation to turfgrass products (see table 3). despite their choice not to adopt organic practices, over half of the non-adopters also reported slightly positive or positive feelings toward the term organic. table 3 perceptions and knowledge of organic terminology among lta members % item n nf snf spf pf perception of the term organic adopters 64 0.0 14.1 40.6 45.3 non-adopters 27 11.1 29.6 33.3 25.9 n nk sk mk vk knowledge of usda definition of organic adopters 64 1.6 28.1 43.8 26.6 non-adopters 27 7.4 48.1 29.6 14.8 knowledge of omri adopters 64 37.5 20.3 29.7 12.5 non-adopters 27 70.4 14.8 11.1 3.7 note. perception scale: 1 = negative feelings (nf), 2 = slightly negative feelings (snf), 3 = slightly positive feelings (spf), 4 = positive feelings (pf); knowledge scale: 1 = no knowledge (nk), 2 = somewhat knowledgeable (sk), 3 = moderately knowledgeable (mk), 4 = very knowledgeable (vk) the majority of adopters claimed to be at least moderately knowledgeable about the usda definition of organic, with 26.6% asserting they were very knowledgeable. alternatively, over half of the non-adopters claimed they were somewhat knowledgeable or had no knowledge related to organic as defined by the usda. beyond their knowledge of definitions, the largest percentages of both respondent categories claimed no knowledge of the organic materials review institute (omri), the regulating body for products used in usda-certified organic production programs (organic materials review [omri], 2022). although nearly two-thirds of adopters stated at least some knowledge of omri, over 70% of non-adopters held no knowledge of the organization. regarding their belief toward the increased prevalence of organic product use in the turfgrass and landscape industries, over 85% of adopters (f = 55; 87.3%) and 70% of non-adopters (f = 19; 70.4%) indicated that they believed these practices would increase in use in the future (see table 4). this item was used as a filter variable, and a follow-up question was delivered to the granberry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.287 41 74 respondents who affirmed their belief in the increased future use of organic turfgrass and landscaping products. table 4 lta members’ beliefs regarding future organic product use adopters (n = 63) non-adopters (n = 27) item f % f % do you believe the use of organic products will increase in the turfgrass/landscape industries in the future? a yes 55 87.3 19 70.4 no 8 12.7 8 29.6 primary reason for increased use (n = 65)b increased customer requests 19 40.4 6 33.3 increased governmental regulation 8 17.0 8 44.4 increase availability 10 21.3 1 5.6 marketing opportunities for landscaping companies 6 12.8 2 11.1 temporary popularity 4 8.5 1 5.6 a response missing from one participant b responses missing from nine participants the follow-up question sought to identify these respondents’ primary reason driving their perception. more than one-third of the adopters believed that increased customer requests (f = 19; 40.4%) would create increased use of organic products, while almost half of the nonadopters ((f = 8; 44.4%) suspected increased governmental regulation as the most frequent justifications for that belief. similar to their perceptions of increased use, over half of respondents in both categories believed that organic products were safer than non-organic products (see table 5). to better understand this perception, this dichotomous item was used as a filter variable, and a follow-up question was administered to the 56 respondents who stated that they believed organic products were safer than non-organic alternatives. granberry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.287 42 table 5 lta members’ beliefs about organic product safety adopters (n = 62) non-adopters (n = 26) item f % f % do you believe organic products in the landscaping industry are safer than non-organic products? a yes 39 62.9 17 65.4 adopters (n = 62) non-adopters (n = 26) item f % f % no 23 37.1 9 34.6 primary reason for believing organic products are safer (n = 51) b applicator safety 11 30.6 2 13.3 customer safety 7 19.4 4 26.7 environmental safety 18 50.0 9 60.0 a responses missing from three participants b responses missing from five participants the most frequently cited reason for believing that organic turfgrass products were safer than non-organic was increased environmental safety, a perception held by at least half of responding adopters (f = 18; 50.0%) and non-adopters (f = 9; 60.0%). perceptions of increased use and safety were largely in line with an interest in gaining knowledge about organic products, expressed by over three-quarters of organic adopters (f = 48; 76.2%) and non-adopters (f = 21; 77.8%) (see table 6). granberry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.287 43 table 6 lta members’ interest in future leaning about organic products adopters (n = 63) non-adopters (n = 27) item f % f % are you interested in learning more about organic landscape products? a yes 48 76.2 21 77.8 no 15 23.8 6 22.2 preferred format for learning about organic landscape products (n = 64) b in-person training 24 55.8 7 33.3 web-based training videos 9 20.9 9 42.9 web-based informational pages 10 23.3 5 23.8 a response missing from one participant b responses missing from five participants however, the most frequently preferred learning format to support this interest varied across the two groups. a majority of adopters who were interested in furthering their learning about organic products preferred in-person training seminars (f = 24; 55.8%). the most frequent preference among interested non-adopters, however, was web-based training videos (f = 9; 42.9%), followed by one-third who preferred in-person training, similar to their adopting counterparts. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study aimed to describe the characteristics of lta members related to their perceptions of organic management practices. the commercial application of organic products, particularly fertilizers, was relatively widespread among lta members. the majority application of organic fertilizers aligns with their availability, as natural fertilizers have a long history in production agriculture, bolstered by increased availability in urban environments (heckman, 2006). this extensive adoption in louisiana has occurred despite a lack of regulation observed in several other states. nonadopters’ reasoning for their choice to avoid organic products included a lack of efficacy beliefs and knowledge about organic products. the lta members in the study were predominantly male and between 31 and 60 years old. the high participation of males in the turfgrass industry found in this study was anticipated and in alignment with carroll et al. (2021) work. although most lta members represented companies with average sales totaling less than $1 million, company size based on annual sales was noticeably smaller among those who had not adopted organic practices. the narrow comparative number of respondents representing ownership and employees coupled with the distribution of average annual sales indicates a mixture of respondents who manage familygranberry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.287 44 owned businesses and larger regional companies or state agencies with higher non-ownership employee participation. the membership combination of business owners and employees holds the potential for further analysis of views of organic product usage in the turfgrass industry. the greatest consensus among adopters and non-adopters was a belief that the use of organic products in the landscape and turfgrass industries will increase in the future. despite a lack of regulation related to conventional fertilizer and pesticide use in louisiana, non-adopters perceived governmental regulation as the driving force behind increased future use. this perception was juxtaposed against that of the adopters, who widely believed increased customer requests and product availability would increase demand for organic practices, implying that differences in communication networks or information sources, specifically key players, may exist between the two groups (worley et al., 2021). despite widespread adoption and moderate knowledge of the usda definition of organic, an understanding of the role of omri in selecting organic products was low. therefore, the question is raised, is the choice to apply organic products due to increased knowledge, or does knowledge develop following the decision to use the products? ajzen (2005) proposed that personal, social, and informational background factors can affect the determinants of behavioral intention. informational factors, like knowledge and experience, support the assertion that increased knowledge about organic practices is influential in the intent to adopt them (ajzen, 2005). similarly, a subjective norm can be interpreted from increased customer requests as the primary reason respondents believed that organic product usage would increase in the landscaping industry (ajzen, 1991, 2005). increased customer requests and perceptions of improved safety may also contribute to the attitudes toward adopting organic practices and perceived behavioral controls associated with the tpb. (ajzen, 1991). more research is warranted on landscape and turfgrass professionals’ behavioral intention processes regarding organic practices. a primary limitation of this study was a relatively low response rate. a higher number of participants in future studies would allow for enough statistical power to systematically evaluate the relationships among the characteristics of the participants (johnson & shoulders, 2019). additionally, extension specialists in louisiana should seek to capitalize on the expressed interest in learning more about organic landscape products, the widely held belief in expanded future use, and a lack of knowledge as a barrier to adoption by providing training about organic products in both in-person and web-based formats. granberry et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.287 45 acknowledgements we thank the louisiana turfgrass association for their cooperation and assistance in data collection for this study. author contributions: t. granberry – methodology, formal analysis, investigation, writingoriginal draft; writing-review and editing; m. lambert – conceptualization, investigation, writing-original draft; j. beasley – conceptualization, investigation, writing-original draft, supervision; j. kuehny – formal analysis, writing-review and editing; l. fultz – conceptualization, investigation; s. rampold – writing-review and editing. references ajzen, i. 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(2021). a quantitative approach to identifying turfgrass key players. advancements in agricultural development, 2(1), 83–95. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.85 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 229-final_copy.docx coyle & strong advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 3, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. david coyle, master of science, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx 77843, dpcoyle@gmail.com https://orcid.org/000-0002-8486-1689 2. jennifer strong, associate professor, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx 77843, dr.jen@tamu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6718-6434 29 conceptualizing high-impact practices within the frame of agricultural leadership education: a content analysis d. coyle1, j. strong2 abstract the use of high-impact practices in undergraduate leadership courses is a common and effective way of developing students studying agriculture. however, each of the ten high-impact practices (hips) recognized by the association of american colleges and universities (kuh, 2008) are not equally studied or utilized by leadership educators. this study will provide a content analysis of the use of hips as a leadership pedagogy in undergraduate education. in the studies analyzed, which were grouped by categories of hips, only five of the ten main hips were represented. these were undergraduate research, diversity and global learning, internships, service learning, and capstone courses and projects. the analysis revealed each hip resulted in one or more of kuh’s (2008) proposed learning outcomes. based on these findings, the researchers suggest hips be used more frequently in agricultural leadership curriculum and call on scholars to study the ten hips more closely. keywords internships, undergraduate research, global learning, community-based learning, service learning coyle & strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.229 30 introduction and problem statement creating courses and programs, which engage students in critical thinking and develop their leadership capacity, is a common struggle for educators in the field of agriculture (arum & roska, 2011; peek et al., 2017; strong et al., 2013; strong et al., 2021). traditional agricultural leadership education programs are built upon experiential learning pedagogies but there are no discipline specific accepted best practices (williams et al., 2005). the use of high-impact practices is one method educators can overcome this challenge. high-impact practices, or “hips”, are pedagogies that seek to enhance student involvement in the learning process by exposing them to non-traditional forms of education. according to the association of american colleges and universities, these practices should be conducted in order to achieve key learning outcomes, which are essential in the professional world (kuh, 2008). these outcomes include knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, intellectual and practical skills, personal and social responsibility, and integrative and applied learning (kuh, 2008). lane and murphrey (2020) found the study of international experiences, through the lens of kuh’s (2008) high-impact framework has increased but is limited to describing kuh’s hip categories and not focused on the impact of kuh’s learning outcomes. in the field of agricultural leadership education, high-impact practices can yield tremendous value as it pertains to the development of undergraduate students studying leadership in the context of agriculture. this study sought to analyze the use of high-impact practices across multiple collegiate leadership programs. separate studies were grouped based upon the type of hip that was utilized and were examined for common outcomes and themes. the researchers then discussed the findings from the content analysis in order to determine best practices of using hips in leadership education, and to identify opportunities for further research. theoretical and conceptual framework kuh’s (2008) research on high-impact practices served as the base for this study. studies were grouped according to which of the ten hips were examined, which are: 1. first year seminars and experiences 2. common intellectual experiences 3. learning communities 4. writing-intensive courses 5. collaborative assignments and projects 6. undergraduate research 7. diversity/global learning 8. service learning, community-based learning 9. internships 10. capstone courses and projects (kuh, 2008) according to kuh (2008), high-impact practices should achieve several vital learning outcomes. the first learning outcome is knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, coyle & strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.229 31 which is achieved predominantly through science, math, social science, humanities, history, language, and arts courses (kuh, 2008). the second learning outcome is the development of intellectual and practical skills, including inquiry and analysis, critical and creative thinking, written and oral communication, quantitative literacy, information literacy, and teamwork and problem solving (kuh, 2008). personal and social responsibility is the third mentioned learning outcome, which entails civil knowledge and engagement, intercultural knowledge and competence, ethical reasoning and action, and foundations and skills for lifelong learning (kuh, 2008) finally, integrative and applied learning, which includes “synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies,” is the fourth vital learning outcome (kuh, 2008, p. 4). these learning outcomes, and whether they were achieved in the analyzed studies, functioned as the standard for our content analysis. purpose the leadership education, training, and development of undergraduate agriculture students is considered vitally important by many educators and scholars (lemons & strong, 2016; moore et al., 2011b). as such, it is important to offer courses, programs, and experiences to students that will contribute the most to their development. hips, according to kuh (2008), represent the most influential and impactful learning experiences available to students. the purpose of this content analysis was to add to the available knowledge base on the use and success of hips in undergraduate agricultural leadership education. by examining the types of hips being used and their impact, the researchers were able to draw conclusions on the use and effectiveness of hips in leadership courses and generate recommendations for future practice and research. methods in order to understand the current methods of integrating hips in leadership education, shapiro and markoff’s (1997) and krippendorff’s (2004) frameworks of content analysis were utilized. the initial search terms of “high impact practices, leadership education” were inputted into three different academic search engines: (1) web of science, (2) google scholar, and (3) texas a&m university’s library search (which includes proquest, ebsco, and j-store). these searches yielded 100 peer-reviewed results. refining the search to include the word “agriculture” narrowed the results to 21 peer-reviewed articles. cursory research focusing the parameters to include undergraduate education and including key terms from kuh’s (2008) ten high-impact practices narrowed the results to ten. these articles were selected and reviewed for commonalities, including leadership settings, type of hip, themes, and findings (klenke et al., 2016). only five of the ten high-impact practices were represented among the ten articles: undergraduate research, diversity/global learning, service learning/community-based learning, internships, and capstone courses/projects. the articles were then grouped according to these five categories. certain research articles were placed in more than one category because they included research on more than one hip. coyle & strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.229 32 in order to accurately assess whether a particular hip achieved some or all of kuh’s learning outcomes, the results of each study will be reviewed with a focus on increased knowledge, critical application of new knowledge, practical skill development and community engagement. participants’ responses as well as the authors’ conclusions will be considered when determining the overall effectiveness of a given hip in an undergraduate leadership course. once each study has been assessed, conclusions can be drawn as to the efficacy of each high-impact practice. findings undergraduate research although a less common practice in social science agricultural departments (including leadership, education, and communications), undergraduate research provides students with mentoring relationships, teaches them practical skills, and enhances their critical thinking abilities. however, in one study, an especially unique approach was taken in the creation of an undergraduate leadership teaching assistantship (odom et al., 2014). this position provided students with the same opportunities as undergraduate research, but also allowed students to serve as mentors and role models to their peers (odom et al., 2014). researchers found the hip to be successful, noting it “provides an opportunity for leadership students to apply course material and further develop their understanding of personal leadership strengths and weaknesses…” (odom et al., 2014, p. 159). in accordance with kuh’s (2008) learning outcomes for hips, the utla accomplishes three: intellectual and practical skills, personal responsibility, and integrative and applied learning. diversity/global learning at a small liberal arts university, a study was conducted to discern if students grew in intercultural competency as a result of their participation in a five-week agricultural study abroad program (armstrong, 2020). using a pre-post survey, scholars discovered students did indeed experience significant growth in their intercultural competency, specifically in the dimensions of continuous learning, interpersonal engagement, and hardiness (armstrong, 2020). the distinct increase in intercultural competency as a result of this hip achieves the kuh’s (2008) learning outcome of cultural and world knowledge. another study by kerry priest and nicholas clegorne (2015) analyzed three hips, including one based upon diversity/global learning. sociocultural conversations (a unique pedagogy practiced at kansas state university) are facilitated by the instructor, allowing students to openly and critically discuss issues of identity (priest & clegorne, 2015). testimonies from students, teaching assistants and instructors all indicate the activity was successful, forcing students to grow more comfortable with difficult conversations and practice empathy (priest & clegorne, 2015). the authors summarized that “when educators create a safe environment for sociocultural conversations, they can more intentionally challenge students to search out the root of their beliefs—without judgement—for the sake of learning and leadership coyle & strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.229 33 development” (priest & clegorne, 2015, p. 75). this hip achieves kuh’s (2008) learning outcome of increased cultural knowledge, as well as enhancing students’ personal and social responsibility. service learning & community based learning priest and clegorne (2015) also study the use of a service learning & community-based learning hip, detailing the involvement of students at the local ymca. some students first volunteered at the y simply to meet a class requirement or complete a service project, but many continued to volunteer after their first experience (priest & clegorne, 2015). according to the former ceo of this program, “students who participated in reflections, mentoring, and additional training and development opportunities remained more engaged in y programs and openly explored connections to academic coursework, personal values, and possible social innovations to meet evolving community needs” (priest & clegorne, 2015, p. 82). of kuh’s (2008) learning outcomes for high-impact practices, this assignment accomplishes personal and social responsibility, as well as integrative and applied learning by encouraging students to care for their community and critically relate their service back to coursework. in another course, instructors implemented three service learning and community-based learning high-impact practices, each coupled with a written reflection (andreu et al., 2020). the first hip required students to volunteer at a local non-profit and reflect on the experience in a paper (andreu et al., 2020). the second hip required students to contact a senior leader in the community and spend some time learning from them, followed by a reflection on the experience (andreu et al., 2020). the final hip required students to attend two meetings with a professional organization, network with at least three people at that meeting, and follow up with those three individuals. afterwards, students were responsible to write a reflection on the experience (andreu et al., 2020). the instructors received positive feedback from their students on all three hips. participants expressed increased empathy for the disenfranchised after their work with a local non-profit, enhanced confidence and professional skills after their conversation with a senior leader, and greater understanding of the professional world after following up with their three network connections (andreu et al. 2020) these activities clearly achieved several of kuh’s (2008) learning outcomes for high-impact practices, specifically personal/social responsibility and intellectual/practical skill development. meyers et al. (2014) integrated hips within agricultural leadership curriculum by focusing on teamwork and service-learning. students enrolled in a similar agricultural leadership course at two different universities were assigned to teams and then challenged to find a community partner and identify a project the student team could complete to help the partner. teams completed the identified project throughout the semester and then presented their projects to the partners and their classmates. students were also asked to complete reflection assignments throughout the semester. findings from this hip include the importance of communication and clarity with community partners, the impact of teams on hips, and the significance of clear learning objectives (meyers et al., 2014). this activity achieved kuh’s (2008) learning outcomes coyle & strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.229 34 of development of intellectual and practical skills, personal and social responsibility, and integrative and applied learning. in a fourth study, researchers examined the effect of participating in service-learning opportunities on student’s service leadership emergence and meaning schema transformation (chen et al., 2018). they define meaning schema transformation as the obtaining a new and more intricate understanding of what is being studied (chen et al., 2018). kuh’s (2008) critical thinking serves as an integral part of the meaning schema transformation process. the researchers found service-learning opportunities had a greater effect on meaning schema transformation than other forms of learning (chen et al., 2018). internships in most cases, internships are opportunities for students to work with a company for a short period of time and develop their professional skills. however, in this particular study, a new and unique high-impact practice was created, combining the typical internship experience with service learning. in this model (entitled “serviceship”), rather than working for a company, students were assigned to work for a community (hastings et al., 2018). participants in the program were assigned a specific rural community, and community leaders created and assigned a development project for the student to take on (hastings et al., 2018). the serviceship model was utilized and studied over four years, yielding very positive results. authors stated that students who participated in the experience not only completed their assigned community development project, but also became very involved with the community and its leaders (hastings et al.). one student shared that the experience “enhanced [their] appreciation for integrity, empathy, self-confidence, and social judgment skills” (hastings et al., 2018, p. 146). meanwhile, community leaders also felt the hip was a great success, with one stating, “i feel that i have learned just as much from their knowledge and their perspectives about our community and about rural [state], as they have about their experience here in our community (hastings et al., 2018, pp.145-146). these positive outcomes align with kuh’s (2008) learning outcomes of practical skill development, social responsibility, and cultural knowledge. another study examined the impact of an undergraduate apprenticeship program, designed to give students a chance to be mentored by a local professional in their field of interest (denny & hardman, 2020). while meeting with their mentor, students also participated in research and helped with activities and programs in the community (denny & hardman, 2020). this aspect of the apprenticeship program also involves aspects of community-based learning, another of kuh’s (2008) ten hips. researchers discovered students who participated in the undergraduate apprenticeship program displayed increases in their professional knowledge, scholarship, interest in their field and related post-graduate opportunities, and critical thinking (denny & hardman, 2020). according to kuh (2008), these learning outcomes (practical skill development and integrative and applied learning) are a direct indication that the undergraduate apprenticeship program was an effective hip. coyle & strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.229 35 a third study examined differences between students who participated in internships and those who did not across various indicators of resilience, such as challenge orientation and adaptability (goodenough et al., 2020). the researchers found student interns achieved and maintained a higher level of resilience than their classmates who did not (goodenough et al., 2020). although resilience is not one of kuh’s (2008) specific indicators of programmatic success, we firmly believe challenge orientation and adaptability fall under the ability to think critically. capstone courses and projects in a study on the use of capstone projects in higher leadership education, an assignment was developed called “leadership for dummies” (moore et al., 2011a). after completing the necessary core classes in their leadership major, students could participate in this project, where they were responsible to write and develop chapters of their own “for dummies” book on leadership (moore et al., 2011a). each student was instructed to critically synthesize their education into their own concise and understandable words, creating an 8–10-page chapter on every facet of leadership they choose (moore et al., 2011a). the authors describe multiple positive outcomes in their study, summarized well by one student’s feedback, who said, “the assignment helped me further understand all the leadership concepts that i chose to write about....in order to explain and relate it to real life situations i had to grasp the concept and really apply it” (moore et al., 2011a, p. 128). this ability to critically synthesize information illustrates the students’ practical skill development and integrative/applied learning, both of which are kuh’s (2008) listed learning outcomes for high impact practices. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations conclusion and discussion high-impact practices provide students with a rich academic experience that often exceeds what can be accomplished with conventional teaching methods. these practices are designed to challenge perspectives, prompt critical thinking and develop skills which are essential in the professional world. lunsford and brown (2016) concluded collegiate leadership programs should strive to connect research-based practices with leadership development. to ensure that these high standards are met, kuh (2008) lists specific learning outcomes that high-impact practices should accomplish, including cultural and world knowledge, intellectual and practical skill development, personal and social responsibility, and integrative and applied learning. each of the aforementioned high-impact practices easily achieves one or more of these learning outcomes. this content analysis found integrative and applied learning objectives were the most frequently reported learning outcome, met in seven of the articles. intellectual and practical skills (n=6) and personal and social responsibility (n=6) were the second most reported. knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world was mentioned in three studies. these findings fill the gap in the literature found in hip by lane and murphrey (2020). coyle & strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.229 36 this content analysis clearly illustrates high-impact practices are diverse, engaging, and unique ways of teaching that can be easily and effectively applied in undergraduate leadership courses and the impact of self-directed learning is imperative to document for leadership students (strong et al., 2013; strong & williams, 2014). however, perhaps the most interesting takeaway from this study is which hips were most often practiced and studied in undergraduate agricultural leadership courses. the association of american colleges and universities lists ten high-impact practices. among the articles reviewed by the researchers, only five of the ten practices were implemented and studied by agricultural leadership educators: undergraduate research, diversity/global learning, service learning and community-based learning, internships, and capstone courses and projects. first year seminars and experiences, common intellectual experiences, learning communities, writing-intensive courses, and collaborative assignments and projects were not found in our content analysis. articles were identified that addressed some of these practices but were written in a practical application or “how to” manner that did not address the assessment of effectiveness. these articles were written more for the practitioner to replicate the activities, therefore were not included in this analysis. the absence of these high-impact practices may be a result of insufficient published research, or it may be these specific pedagogies remain unused in the leadership development of undergraduate agriculture students. recommendations in order to discern why only half of kuh’s (2008) high-impact practices were studied in these ten articles, scholars would need to conduct further research. however, we believe discoveries made as a result of further inquiry could enhance the integration of hips in agricultural leadership education as a whole. future researchers could conduct a study with a large and diverse sample of agricultural leadership educators from multiple universities. these educators would be interviewed in order to determine which hip they believe would be/is most effective in their undergraduate leadership course. we hypothesize agricultural leadership educators utilize more of kuh’s (2008) hips than reported but do not translate their classroom practices into impactful research. measuring the cross-cutting skills high-impact practices develop further validates the pedagogy and adds to the body of literature and practice (andrade, 2020). if the findings from this proposed study show undergraduate leadership, diversity/global learning, service learning and community-based learning, internships and capstone projects are all preferred, then the results of this content analysis would be validated. additionally, we recommend that agricultural leadership educators continue integrating hips into their undergraduate coursework as a way of engaging students in new forms of learning and achieving positive learning outcomes. our findings revealed such pedagogies regularly yield positive results and would therefore be an asset to the practice of agricultural leadership beyond the classroom. coyle & strong advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.229 37 acknowledgements david p. coyle was the principal researcher for this article. he conducted the content analysis. jennifer strong was the co-researcher for this article. she contributed findings and recommendations. references andrade, m. s. 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(2005). teaching leadership: do students remember and utilize the concepts we teach? journal of leadership education, 4(1), 6678. https://doi.org/10.12806/v4/i1/rf2 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 2, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. lauri m. baker, associate professor, agricultural education and communication department, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, gainesville, fl 32611, lauri.m.baker@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-60773 2. ashley mcleod-morin, associate director of strategic communication, southeastern coastal center for agricultural health and safety, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, p.o. box 110126, gainesville, fl 32611, ashleynmcleod@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-9783 3. anissa m. mattox, research coordinator, uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources, university of florida, 1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, gainesville, fl 32611, azagonel@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6359-58204 135 all in a moment: continuous response measurement method for analyzing dynamic science communication content lauri m. baker1, ashley mcleod-morin2, and anissa mattox3 article history received: june 1, 2023 accepted: july 31, 2023 published: january 31, 2024 keywords perception analyzer dials; real time response measurement; dual processing theory abstract science communication strategy plays a crucial role in effectively conveying scientific information to target audiences. while various models exist for developing communication strategies, many focus on measuring the effectiveness of communication efforts and adjusting these based on audience feedback. however, traditional methods of evaluating communication effectiveness often measure one component at a time and do not consider how people make decisions in real-life situations. this paper proposes the use of continuous response measurement (crm) as a method to evaluate science communication in agricultural social science research. crm allows for real-time measurement of how individuals make decisions in response to dynamic communication content. this paper compares different types of crm, including in-person and virtual dial crm, and provides resources for researchers interested in implementing this methodology. the paper also discusses various research designs that can be used with crm, such as experimental designs, survey designs, time-series designs, focus groups, and coding content and behavior. the benefits and limitations of crm are outlined, highlighting the need for immediate feedback and real-time response in science communication campaigns. in-person crm is discussed, including the selection of stimuli, response prompts, data collection procedures, and data analysis. virtual crm is also examined, highlighting its advantages in terms of flexibility and cost-effectiveness. the paper concludes by discussing data output and analysis methods for crm data. overall, this paper serves as a methodological proposal for the use of crm in agricultural social science research, emphasizing the importance of real-time measurement and response in science communication. mailto:lauri.m.baker@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-60773 mailto:ashleynmcleod@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-9783 mailto:azagonel@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6359-58204 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 136 introduction and problem statement science communication strategy involves developing content that resonates with target audiences while emphasizing major tenants of science communication: timeliness, accessibility, trustworthiness, credibility, and usefulness. while models for developing a communication strategy vary, many models are cyclical in nature with an emphasis on measuring the effectiveness of communication efforts followed by adjusting communication based on feedback from target audiences (percy, 2023; villarreal, 2010). primary and secondary consumer research play a vital role in developing a communication strategy and evaluating the strategy. traditional methods for evaluating communication efforts include both quantitative and qualitative methodologies including surveys, sales data, behavioral observations, focus groups, interviews, and social media listening (juska, 2021). each of these methods has benefits in understanding how effective science communication is, but these tend to measure effectiveness in an artificial way, by focusing on measuring one component of a strategy at a time. however, modern behavioral economics indicates that people make decisions based on more than one factor at a time (grayot, 2020). when you ask a question on a survey about a respondent’s perceptions of a campaign, you are forcing them to think about one element of a message at a time, but in real life they are making decisions based on multiple components at a time. dual processing theory proposes that people make decisions two different ways (a) intuitively and (b) deliberately (de neys & pennycook, 2019). when you ask a question in a survey or interview you force people to deliberately decide based on one element. in a natural setting, they would decide intuitively based on a blend of message, graphics, audio, logo, color scheme, speaker characteristics, etc. for these reasons, it is imperative that researchers establish and embrace new methods for gathering real-time data from participants. currently, many methods do not allow for real-time response or immediate feedback to change course in science communication campaigns. continuous response measurement (crm) offers a way to measure how people make decisions on dynamic, communication content in real time from moment-to-moment. crm is commonly used in the communication industry for real-time measurement, but it has not yet been widely adopted in social science research (maier et al., 2009). the purpose of this paper is to propose the use of crm in agricultural social science research by describing the process and how to analyze data reaped from the method. through these objectives, the authors will also compare types of crm, including in-person dial testing and virtual dial testing, and provide resources for other researchers who want to apply this methodology in their own research. continuous response measurement to effectively respond to public concerns and solve real problems, immediate feedback is needed. one of the public criticisms of scientists during the covid-19 pandemic was a lack of transparent and immediate response (hamel et al., 2020; kenen & roubein, 2020; pollard & davis, 2021). particularly in the agriculture and natural resource sectors, immediate response is often necessary due to the essence and urgency of the industries, such as dealing with natural disasters (mike et al., 2020), food safety issues (opat et al., 2018), biosecurity risks (sellnow et al., 2017), and animal welfare issues (steede et al., 2018). crm offers a way for researchers to https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 137 operate in a more immediate way than traditional research methods while being more authentic in the way messages are measured. messages are a “continuous stream of sensory stimuli arranged in patterns,” (biocca et al., 1994, p. 15) which convey meaning through and are interpreted based on individuals’ cognitive state. purpose science communication strategy is vital for delivering content to target audiences effectively. however, a gap exists in the ability of current methods to measure real-time response and feedback. this paper aims to address this gap by reviewing relevant literature that can serve as a guide to researchers, specifically those in agricultural social science research, considering continuous response management (crm) as a methodology. the following research objectives guided this study: ro1: describe the planning process for conducting a crm study. ro2: describe how to analyze data gathered from a crm study. methods to address the research objectives of this study, research synthesis methodology was used to comprehensively review and synthesize existing literature on crm methods to explain how to plan and conduct crm studies, data analysis approaches for crm, and best practices for crm in academic settings. the authors’ search strategy included a systematic search of relevant scholarly databases (e.g., pubmed, scopus, web of science) to retrieve articles published up until january 1, 2023. additionally, grey literature, offline sources, and popular press references were explored to minimize publication bias and ensure all relevant resources were found. search terms and inclusion criteria the search strategy employed a combination of keywords and boolean operators to identify relevant studies. these keywords included the exact terms and variations of the following terms: continuous response measurement, perception analyzer dials, online/virtual dial testing, dial testing. articles were included if these met the predefined inclusion criteria based on if the articles used crm methods, explained crm planning, or analysis of crm data. study selection two independent reviewers screened the retrieved literature based on title and abstract, followed by a full-text review of potentially relevant studies. any discrepancies between reviewers were resolved through discussion or consultation with a third reviewer. articles were included if they met the predefined inclusion criteria and provided pertinent information related to the research purpose. studies were excluded if they did not meet the inclusion criteria, were duplicates, or lacked relevant data. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 138 data extraction a standardized data extraction form was utilized to extract key information from included studies, such as author information, publication year, study design, analysis methods, interventions/exposures, research stimuli, research setting. the methodological quality and risk of bias of included studies were assessed using the critical appraisal skills programme systematic review checklist (casp, 2018) by two independent reviewers. discrepancies were resolved through discussion or involvement of a third reviewer. synthesis of results and reporting an a priori qualitative narrative synthesis was conducted to deductively summarize the findings from the included studies within the framework of the two study objectives. this deductive coding approach matched the purpose of this research as recommended in qualitative coding procedures (silverman, 2019). the synthesis methods in this paper adhere to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (prisma) guidelines to ensure transparency and comprehensive reporting of the review process (page et al., 2021). findings ro1: describe the planning process for conducting a crm study. crm technologies allow for measurement in self-reported shifts in message processes using electronic technologies (biocca et al., 1994). crm has been used in public speaking, advertising, film and television, political and health communication (biocca et al., 1994), and agricultural communication (lagrande et al., 2021; opat et al., 2022; tarpley et al., 2020). research designs within this method can use experimental, survey and quasi-experimental, time-series, focus groups, and coding content and behavior designs (biocca et al., 1994). further descriptions of type of research design can be seen in table 1. the majority of previously published work, regardless of the type of research design, has focused on in-person use of crm, but crm technology providers have recently started introducing online crm options (paull, 2023). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 139 table 1 research designs using crm with design considerations and previous studies design considerations previous studies experimental experimental design is the most used design in crm research and has been used with standard betweensubject and within subject factorial design. can use crm to substitute for self-report measures. biocca & david, 1990a; biocca et al., 1987; caspi et al., 2019; jennings et al., 2021; jeon & lang, 2021; keppel, 1982; reeves et al., 1983; reeves, 1984; rossiter & thornton, 2004; thorson & reeves, 1985; west & biocca, 1992; saks et al, 2016; wöllner & auhagen, 2008. quasi experimental and survey television research typically selects this design. within this design, crm is used as an extension of a survey with survey data collected within the crm software or in a post/pre survey. in in-person settings it is difficult to obtain representative samples in this design, but the online crm option is ideal for this design. baggley, 1987; baggaley, 1986a, 1986b; biocca & david, 1990a; beville, 1985; d'ambrosio, 2019; millard, 1989; papakonstantinou et al., 2002; philport, 1980; west & bocca, 1992; west et al., 1991. time series this design works well for public opinion on scientific issues that changes over time in response to current events or legislation. it can also be used when purposeful intervention is used by the researcher to measure the effectiveness of an intervention over time. it can be used in a single group with multiple interventions, multiple groups with a single intervention, or multiple groups with multiple interventions. glass et al., 1975 (for more on time-series design generally); palmgren, 1996; wöllner & auhagen, 2008; focus groups advertising and marketing studies have historically preferred this design, but in recent years science communication researchers have also used this design. it allows for mixed method data collection with quantitative data from crm technology and qualitative data from focus group discussion about crm results from the moment-to-moment data collection. this design allows for collection of individual thoughts on dynamic content to be collected before group discussion may alter individual responses. this design also allows for deeper understanding of the meaning of crm data collection and offers participants a chance to interpret meaning rather than researchers relying solely on quantitative data analysis to decipher. baggaley, 1987; boussalis & coan, 2021; chandler et al., 2022; cummins et al., 2018; hughes, 2015; schwarzkopf, 2021. coding content and behavior crm allows for quick coding of messages, context, and interaction from live or recorded content. researchers can use the tool to record codes from multiple coders simultaneously to better understand participants behaviors and responses to content (when participants are the subject being viewed) or codes for variables like camera distance, presence of controversial images, changes in speech patterns, visual ques. biocca & david, 1990b; palmer & cunningham, 1987; waddell, & williamson, 2017. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 140 choosing a research stimulus is one of the most important steps in collecting crm data (lawson et al., 2020). crm can be used to evaluate any dynamic content from a persuasive campaign video, a political debate, a teaching presentation, or a podcast. table 2 provides a list of recommended stimuli and unique considerations for each type that arose from the themes in the literature. once a stimulus is selected, researchers must choose a response prompt. response prompts may include the trustworthiness of the content, emotion, or the persuasiveness of the message. participants can only respond to one option at a time, so it is suggested that researchers limit the options they ask participants to respond to in a study. participants respond to the prompt on a continuous scale with responses ranging from 0 to 100. table 2 recommended stimulus types for crm and considerations for each stimulus unique considerations prior studies using radio or podcasts crm use began with radio content, but modern-day researchers have used it with podcasts. while radio content and podcasts can be listened to in a group setting, it is typically content people listen to alone, so an in-person crm setting may be unnatural for this content; virtual crm may provide a more natural context for these stimuli. bolce et al., 1996; opat et al., 2022. live events, public speeches, or lectures any live event can be used with in-person crm, although outside events can be challenging for hardware with difficulty viewing screens on dials and monitors and potential for adverse weather. with a live event as stimuli, it is important to record the event so you have the content for reference later and to make sure you have a precise starting point for when dial use began with participants. alternatively live events can be recorded to use as video stimuli in in-person or virtual crm. biocca & david, 1990a; cummins et al., 2018; hughes, 2015; west & biocca, 1992. videos videos can range from lengthy heavily produced content like full length documentaries to social media videos. crm software has a minimum time of 30 seconds, so shorter social media videos need to be combined for use. the type of video content will depend on if it is most appropriate for use in a group inperson crm setting or an individual crm setting, which is more typical and effective in a virtual crm setting. biocca et al., 1987; philport, 1980; lagrande et al., 2021; reeves et al., 1983; reeves, 1984; tarpley et al., 2020; thorson & reeves, 1985. in-person crm crm is a measurement tool that allows researchers to pinpoint specific perceptions of communication messages and elements of communication in real-time (izenson, 2016). traditionally, crm is conducted in-person using handheld dials (figure 1) that participants use to respond to the research stimulus. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 141 figure 1 participant using a handheld dial in an in-person crm setting it is recommended to have participants practice using the dials before responding to the research prompt. for most participants, this is the first time they have used a crm dial. researchers should ensure the participants are comfortable using the dial and understand the prompt. for example, if the prompt is trustworthiness, the researchers should provide an example of how extremely untrustworthy and extremely trustworthy is rationalized in the study. as participants respond to the prompt, researchers should observe the participants and how they are using the dials. researchers may need to remind participants to turn their dial continuously. if a participant is inactive, researchers may need to remove their data from the study. for a thorough step-by-step guide on how to use in-person crm in an agricultural social science context, refer to lawson et al. (2020). quantitative data is automatically collected through crm software, but to gain additional insight it is recommended that researchers pause at key moments in data collection and/or at the end of data collection to show results and discuss the reasons why participants felt the way they did about the critical moments in the data. using a qualitative methodology for this questioning route is recommended. while in-person dial testing offers many unique benefits, limitations do exist. two of the most burdensome limitations are the cost and participant recruitment. software and equipment, including the console and 25 handheld dials, necessary to collect in-person crm data will cost ~ $25,000. each participant must use a handheld dial when participating in a crm study so if researchers have 25 dials, only 25 people can be included in each study session. to collect data from 120 participants, the session would need to be held at least four times. even if researchers have access to more handheld dials, it is recommended to keep the study groups a manageable size to avoid nonresponse and technical difficulties with the dials. additional costs will be incurred to recruit participants and record and transcribe qualitative data. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 142 virtual crm online crm has recently been introduced by crm technology providers, such as dialsmith so, as such, fewer academic publications exist. however, online crm provides researchers with more flexibility compared to in-person dial testing. recorded video or audio is uploaded to the dial testing platform. participants use a unique web link to view or listen to the content being tested, and participants use their own computer or tablet to indicate their moment-to-moment response. respondents receive instructions and have an opportunity to practice rating content not related to the study. a slider appears on the screen and participants are asked to respond to the research prompt by moving the slider (izenson, 2023). the feedback is automatically available to researchers through the reporting portal. visuals of the data, including moment-tomoment video overlays, are available in the reporting portal but researchers can also download raw data to conduct additional analyses. the online crm platform supports recorded audio and video files, including .mp4 and .mov files, but cannot be used to test live streaming content (paull, 2023). live stimuli must use inperson crm. since online crm participants do not have to be physically present, a more geographically diverse sample can be obtained (alzuhn, 2023). researchers are not limited by the number of handheld devices when conducting online crm so more responses can be collected over a shorter period (alzuhn, 2023). online crm can also be more cost effective, particularly when researchers have a limited number of studies they wish to conduct. costs vary depending on the type of content being tested, length of content, and number of desired participants. costs range from $1,500 to $2,000 usd to upload the content and manage the project with an additional cost to recruit participants. one distinct disadvantage to online crm is respondent engagement, particularly when testing lengthier content. when dial testing inperson, moderators can observe when participants are no longer engaging with the handheld device and can remind them to turn the dial or indicate when a response should be removed from data analysis. with online crm, researchers cannot observe participants and help with focus, but a reminder is displayed on the screen to keep rating the content if a respondent stops moving the onscreen slider. dialsmith reports that online and in-person crm results are similar in response sentiments (paull, 2023). reliability and validity as with any type of research study, establishing reliability is an important step to gathering valid and useful data. reliability is concerned with determining if the same results can be expected if measured the same way (maier et al., 2009). this can be tested in crm through test-retest, split-half, and parallel-test designs. reliability can be a challenge in test-retest because of the spontaneous nature of psychological measurement within crm studies, but some studies have obtained reliability this way. split-half is a more common method for determining reliability in crm studies, but parallel-test designs can also be used (maier et al., 2009). external validity, or generalization, in crm studies is a matter of properly designing the study regarding sampling procedures that are appropriate and representativeness of the target population. additionally, it is important to match the measurement setting as close to a real life setting as possible and select the appropriate stimuli and data collection site. like other experimental and quasi-experimental designs, pre-testing of crm instruments can help https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 143 establish validity (maier et al., 2009). for focus group designs, researchers should focus on appropriate sampling for their research questions and consider transferability to other settings. verbatim transcripts, audit trails, data triangulation, member checks, and multiple coders can be used to ensure data accuracy (lincoln & guba, 1985). limitations the cost of in-person and online crm can be a significant limitation. in-person crm requires more software and equipment, which can cost an estimated $25,000 usd. online crm can be a more cost efficient alternative but still comes with a cost of $2,000 usd or more depending on recruitment costs. limited training is available for crm data collection and analysis, which can be a limitation for researchers wanting to implement crm research. some crm software companies, such as dialsmith, offer training on their specific software at an additional cost. these companies also offer consulting services to provide input on overall study design, data collection, and data analysis. crm data is continuous, resulting in a data point per second per participant. as such, this methodology results in a large amount of data, even when working with a short stimulus and a small sample size, which can be a limitation. researchers must be extremely organized and attentive to details to effectively manage the large amount of data and tie participant responses to stimuli. ro2: describe how to analyze data gathered from a crm study. output of data from crm technologies allows researchers to interpret in multiple ways. when collecting data in-person, you can export data as: powerpoint, excel, or spss files. when conducting virtual crm, the same data output as in-person crm is provided. data visualizations are more readily available in the virtual crm interface and, when using dialsmith, a project manager can support the data output and analysis phase. analysis data can be analyzed in two different ways. we have divided this into real time and reflective analysis. real time analysis can provide immediate feedback, course correction, and/or discussion within a focus group setting. crm allows researchers to view data in real time during collection in aggregate, by a single participant, or by a specific demographic. summary statistics for each study question are projected on the researcher monitor throughout the data collection and immediately following. data are saved on the designated crm computer within the crm software for future analysis. a researcher can choose to show the results to participants to collect their perceptions of the results and to discuss peaks and valleys in the data (figure 2). this will offer additional insight beyond the quantitative data analysis and fits into the focus group design described in table 1. peaks and valleys in the data allow for visual understanding of the data through identification of high and low points. data can be grouped by other study variables to visually determine differences (figure 2). depending on the research goal, some science communication projects may be able to use the real-time data analysis to adjust communication campaigns without deeper analysis. however, to publish data in a journal, reflective analysis is needed. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 144 figure 2 example of real time data analysis demonstrating peaks and valleys note. data outputs are visualized as peaks and valleys, with 50 being the neutral point on a 100-point scale (dialsmith, 2023). reflective analysis offers additional understanding for research purposes. data can be exported from the crm software directly to spss statistical software or excel in ascii (american standard code for information interchange) file format for statistical analyses. the next steps in data analysis depend on the research questions and study design. if researchers collected survey data separately from the crm data, they need to merge the data files and clean the data. researchers may choose to run crosstabs or mean comparisons initially to understand the data. in the virtual crm option, crosstabs will be run by the project manager at dialsmith. because of the large quantity of data, researchers often chose to compress the data from 1 second increments to 5 or 10 second increments depending on the study size. normalizing the data through z scores is another step researchers may take before moving to deeper analysis, particularly when working to identify statistical significance of peaks and valleys in the data. researchers may select to identify z scores greater than 1.96 or less than -1.96 (biocca et al., 1994), or they may choose to run independent samples t-test with an a priori established level. once peaks and valleys are established as significant, then it is important to review the stimuli to determine what was happening at these critical moments. this will help researchers determine what is happening at these moments that may be affecting participants’ responses and to understand patterns in responses. researchers may decide to categorize what was happening at critical moments to interpret the data. for example, if a particular word is used in all peaks, or if a particular speaker is on screen during every valley. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 145 from this point, the data are handled similarly to how you would handle any other quantitative data set based on the study design and research questions. studies have used basic descriptive statistics and mean comparisons. however, with such large data sets, deeper analysis methods are available for use and can offer deeper understanding. beyond means and peaks and valleys, researchers can understand group differences with anova. they can also create alternative series to look at standard deviation series and absolute, mean, and percentage activity series (biocca et al., 1994). time series analysis may include autoregressive integrated moving average (atima) techniques (box et al., 2015). confirmatory factor analysis may also be an appropriate method as an extension of regression models; spectral or fourier analysis may be appropriate to understand complex problems that were periodic in nature within the crm study design (biocca et al., 1994). for those interested in a deeper understanding of data analysis related to crm, biocca et al. (1994) provides formulas, examples, and strategies. focus group designs typically combine the peak and valley analysis with qualitative data analysis methods (williams & moser, 2019) to compare quantitative with qualitative results in a mixed methods design (o’cathain et al., 2010). focus group results can offer insight into participants thought processes while viewing stimuli more than crm results alone. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the benefits of crm in agricultural social science research are abundant, including the depth of data collected, real-time response and visualization of the data, reduction of recall bias, and limiting group think. crm allows for researchers to quickly collect a large amount of data that can be analyzed in a variety of ways, including audience segmentations, experimental designs, qualitative research, and self-report items (lawson et al., 2020). even though data can be analyzed in multiple ways, data can be viewed in real-time as participants are responding and immediately exported into visualizations that can be shared with participants or relevant stakeholder groups. when asking participants to respond to a survey question or a question posed during an interview or focus group, participants must often reflect on a past event or experience and may not remember accurately. since crm is collected in real-time of the participants interacting with the stimuli, the need for recall is removed. additionally, crm offers a way to measure messaging in a dual process way while all elements of a message are considered at the same time rather than isolating one specific component. groupthink is often a limitation in qualitative research and occurs when one participant or a small group of participants influences others’ opinions (janis, 1997). in crm, you can collect individual opinions without the influence of others, but also have the option to collect qualitative data in a focus group using crm to gain individual and group insight into specific points in the data. participants respond to crm individually without the influence of other participants, limiting groupthink. crm has not been used to its full potential in agricultural social science research, but it could take science communication evaluation to the next level with quantification of perceptions and response to communication stimuli in a moment-to-moment format. multiple opportunities exist to enhance strategic science communication in agriculture and natural resources. inhttps://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 baker et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 146 person crm use can offer real time testing of science and outreach products and allow for discussion with stakeholders on the reasons behind their views on science communication products. with the instantaneous nature of social media, crm can render a similar environment and gather feedback. moreover, the immediate response and course correction offers the ability to respond rapidly during a crisis or as a crisis develops. because in-person crm requires more equipment and a larger research team, it may not be an option for all researchers. however, online crm has a lower entry point with costs allocated by online response and support for developing integration into surveys. this option also allows for help in the recruitment of participants. in addition to being a unique and useful research tool in science communication, crm also provides opportunities for extension, teaching, and leadership. notably, crm can be used to determine preferred teaching styles, perceptions of presenters, and response to messages used. utilizing crm can provide real-time insight to effective messaging, while also providing insight on how to become better teachers, presenters, and leaders. acknowledgements this publication was possible because of support from the uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture & natural resources (pie center), https://piecenter.com references alzuhn, e. 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(2008). perceiving conductors' expressive gestures from different visual perspectives. an exploratory continuous response study. music perception, 26(2), 129-143. https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2008.26.2.129 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.1298 https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2225 https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2302 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444316568.wiem01027 http://www.imrjournal.org/uploads/1/4/2/8/14286482/imr-v15n1art4.pdf https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2008.26.2.129 advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 4, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. creigh rourke, content specialist, eldon c. stutsman, 350 oak crest hill rd se, hills, ia 52235, creighr@ksu.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2320-525x 2. rachel waggie, manager of marketing & communications, kansas livestock association, 6031 sw 37th street, topeka, ks 66614, rwags@ksu.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0093-6014 3. nellie hill, assistant professor, kansas state university, 301 umberger hall, manhattan, ks 66506, nlhill@ksu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8987-3259 4. jason d. ellis, department head & professor, kansas state university, 301 umberger hall, manhattan, ks 66506, jdellis@ksu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9171-4815 5. katie starzec, assistant professor, kansas state university, 301 umberger hall, manhattan, ks 66506, kstarzec@ksu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9171-4815 10 risk information sufficiency and seeking of southeastern u.s. beef producers c. rourke1, r. waggie2, n. hill3, j. d. ellis4, k. starzec5 article history received: march 16, 2023 accepted: september 27, 2023 published: october 23, 2023 keywords cow-calf; quantitative; risk management; small operations; risk information seeking and processing model abstract of all cow-calf producers in the united states, one-third reside in the southeast where operations face unique challenges and risks due to their geographical location. cow-calf herds in the region are relatively small in terms of head counts as well as percentage of household incomes, making their operators less likely to participate in risk-reducing programs. targeted risk communication is one way to help producers better understand and manage the multiple and complex risks they face. this study adapted the risk information seeking and processing model to inform a quantitative survey method that examined southeastern u.s. beef cow-calf producers’ perceived risks area knowledge gaps and the communication channels participants used to seek risk information. participating producers were found to have gaps in knowledge for all risk areas in beef cow-calf management; the largest was economic and marketing/selling animals risks. no matter the risks area, producers prefer their risks information from magazines and extension publications. therefore, communication practitioners are encouraged to tailor risk management communications that help southeastern u.s. cow-calf producers fill their largest knowledge gaps in marketing/selling and economic risk management. furthermore, this information is of the greatest need for producers with more beef production experience and larger herd sizes. magazines and extension publications offer communicators the best channels to readily reach southeastern u.s. cowcalf producers as this is where they are currently seeking risks information. mailto:creighr@ksu.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2320-525x mailto:rwags@ksu.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0093-6014 mailto:nlhill@ksu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8987-3259 mailto:jdellis@ksu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9171-4815 mailto:kstarzec@ksu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9171-4815 rourke et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 11 introduction and problem statement beef producers strive to manage a host of interrelated operational risks (komarek et al., 2020). these factors impact producers’ production practices, profits, and their use of risk management tools (adkins et al., 2012; drouillard, 2018). risks are “things, forces, or circumstances that pose danger to people or to what they value” (stern & fineberg, 1996, p. 215). risk communication warns of potential danger with the goal of influencing positive behavior change (mccomas, 2006) by empowering the use of pragmatic and constitutive “locally relevant decision support tools” (rickard, 2021, p. 474). risk management tools and educational programs have historically targeted crop farmers more than beef producers (hall et al., 2000). understanding beef producers’ risks information needs would help communication practitioners develop targeted outreach strategies to fill these deficits (hall et al., 2003). risks are beef sectorand region-specific (adkins et al., 2012). the beef life cycle begins within the cow-calf sector, which uniquely consists of herds with breeding cows and their offspring that must be simultaneously managed (martinez et al., 2020). of the national cow herd, 20% reside in the southeast region and are owned by one-third of the nation’s beef cow-calf producers (asem-hiablie et al., 2018; drouillard, 2018). smaller than average cow-calf operations, common in the southeast region, are less likely to engage with programs that help mitigate operational risks (drouillard, 2018; usda aphis, 2020). the multiple sources of risks managed simultaneously by beef producers at differing scales have received little scholarly attention (komarek et al., 2020). the unique risks faced by southeastern u.s. cow-calf operations necessitated an investigation of their risks information sufficiency and relevant channel beliefs (asem-hiablie et al., 2018). theoretical and conceptual framework the risk information seeking and processing (risp) model served as the conceptual framework for this study. the most studied variables in the model are information gathering capacity, relevant channel beliefs, information sufficiency, and informational subjective norms (griffin et al., 2013). variables in the risp model have been studied as predictors of risk information seeking, risk information avoidance, and systematic and heuristic processing (griffin et al., 2004). three factors in the risp model—information insufficiency, relevant channel beliefs, and information gathering capacity— “are expected to combine to affect individuals’ seeking, avoidance, and processing of risk information” (griffin et al., 2013, p. 333). we pulled data from a larger study to focus on two of those factors: information insufficiency and relevant channel beliefs. within the risp model, information sufficiency is a person’s satisfactory level of knowledge and information to cope with the risk, measured as a threshold (griffin et al., 2013). alternatively, information insufficiency is the “gap between what one already knows and what one desires to know” (griffin et al., 1999 as quoted in kahlor et al., 2019, p. 2). people will strive to fill the gap between their current level of knowledge and their desired level of knowledge to achieve https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 rourke et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 12 information sufficiency and inform decision making about risks. gaps in knowledge, or information insufficiency, drive varying levels of motivation in information seeking (griffin et al., 1999). achieving information sufficiency depends on the usefulness and trustworthiness of available information (griffin et al., 2013). relevant communication channel beliefs are usually related to what an individual expects to result from using the specific channel for seeking information about risks (dunwoody & griffin, 2014). in the context of the beef industry, channels providing risks information include print magazines, extension publications, live demonstrations, conferences, and newsletters, among others (vergot iii et al., 2005). information sufficiency and relevant channel beliefs are impacted at varying levels by the characteristics of the individual (griffin et al., 2013), which may include relevant hazard experiences, political philosophies, and demographic/sociocultural variables (griffin et al., 1999). this study focuses on information sufficiency and relevant channel beliefs in an effort to support risk communicators’ efforts to target risks area information to beef producers who are attentive to such information through their channels of choice. the risp model has been applied in varying contexts, including industrial chemical risks (ter huurne et al., 2009), food choices (fischer & frewer, 2009), health risks (hovick et al., 2011; hubner & hovick, 2020; yang et al., 2022; zhou et al., 2020), climate change (yang et al., 2014b), wildlife disease management (cross et al., 2018), and genetic modification information (holt et al., 2020). information sufficiency has been found to be the strongest predictor of information seeking behaviors, even when other variables in the risp model are controlled (cross et al., 2018; liu et al., 2022). current knowledge, a variable in information sufficiency, has been found to consistently influence behavioral outcomes (yang et al., 2014a). relevant channel beliefs can have an interaction effect on the relationship between information sufficiency leading to systematic information processing (yang et al., 2022). risks exist outside of informational knowledge gaps, but in this study, we focused on risks related to information insufficiency and relevant channel beliefs in relation to risp and their connection to successfully seeking and processing new information about risks (griffin et al., 2013), or what we refer to in this study as “risk areas.” purpose the purpose of this study was to identify southeastern u.s. beef cow-calf producers’ risks information sufficiency and relevant channel beliefs, guided by these research questions: 1. to what extent did perceived risks area knowledge gaps exist for producers? 2. what communication channels did producers use to seek risks information? answers to these research questions add to the current understanding of risks information needs of southeastern u.s. beef cow-calf producers. answers to these questions also give communication practitioners information needed to (a) better understand on which topics and to what extend risks-related knowledge gaps exist, with an opportunity to better focus their https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 rourke et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 13 messaging, and (b) better understand which communication channels to use to reach producers seeking risks information. methods our population of interest was cow-calf producers who operated in the states of alabama, florida, georgia, kentucky, louisiana, mississippi, north carolina, south carolina, tennessee, virginia, and west virginia (adkins et al., 2012). university departments, state extension systems, and cattlemen’s associations sent a recruitment email to producers through their organizations’ communication channels. in the 11 states studied, there were 199,106 farms with an inventory of beef cattle (usda national agricultural statistics service, 2017). due to the number of operations and logistical and financial restrictions, the sample was compiled using nonprobability sampling, thus the results are not generalizable to a larger population (baker et al., 2013; wimmer & dominick, 2014). data collection occurred from february 8 to march 16, 2020, resulting in 504 responses. we acknowledge the data is three years old from the time of collection to publishing. however, past research on agricultural producers’ information seeking also has a publishing timeframe of 2-3 years (e.g. diekmann & batte, 2009; jensen et al., 2009; rients et al., 2022). cases were included in the data analysis of each question if the respondent answered more than half of the variables needed for analysis, resulting in 418 usable responses. participants’ (n = 355) ages ranged from 23 to 85, (m = 52.58, sd = 14.10). most participants (n = 325; 86%) indicated 51% or more of their income is from off-farm sources, consistent with national u.s. statistics (usda economic research service, 2022). description of individual characteristics is in table 1. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 rourke et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 14 table 1 individual characteristics of respondent southeastern beef cow-calf producers characteristics n % gender (n = 378) male 311 81 female 67 18 household income (n = 368) less than $19,999 1 .2 20-39,999 11 3 40-59,999 36 9 60-79,999 59 17 80-99,999 70 14 greater than $100,000 191 46 source of household income (n = 377) 51+% off-farm 325 86 51+% on-farm 52 14 education level (n = 381) some high school 1 .2 high school/ged 63 15 associate degree 40 10 trade/technical school 29 7 bachelor’s degree 123 29 master’s degree 69 17 doctorate degree 56 13 cattle production experience (n = 418) 0-9 92 22 10-19 79 19 20-29 60 14 30-39 62 15 40-49 65 16 more than 50 60 14 herd size (n = 418) 1-10 24 6 11-25 75 18 26-50 91 22 51-75 68 16 76-100 54 13 101-299 75 18 more than 300 31 7 race/ethnicity (n = 383) caucasian 373 89 african american 3 .7 american indian or alaska native 2 .5 asian 1 .2 hispanic/latino 1 .2 native hawaiian or pacific islander other 3 .7 state of operation (n = 418) alabama 8 2 florida 24 6 georgia 25 6 kentucky 140 33 louisiana 14 3 mississippi 2 .5 north carolina 13 3 south carolina 1 .2 tennessee 99 24 virginia 83 20 west virginia 9 2 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 rourke et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 15 the online qualtrics questionnaire consisted of 49 questions in seven sections. questions were asked using yes/no, multiple choice, checklist, sliding scale, and likert-type questions. sections of the questionnaire reported for this study were individual characteristics, beef risks management information channels, as well as current knowledge and perceived needed knowledge levels in the risks areas. the risks areas were animal health, breeding management, calving management, animal growth, weaning, economics, and marketing/selling animals (hall et al., 2003; martin et al., 2019a; martin et al., 2019b). individual characteristics questions included cattle production experience, operation location, and herd size. participants were asked to indicate their use of communication channels for seeking risks management information. participants were asked to rate their current knowledge level of risk areas on a scale of 0 to 100 (cross et al., 2018; griffin et al., 2008). a selection of 100 represented being an expert on the risk area, and zero meant having no knowledge of the risk area. perceived needed knowledge for the risk areas were also measured on a scale from 0 to 100 (cross et al., 2018; griffin et al., 2008). a selection of 100 on the scale represented an expert level of knowledge needed to address a risk area, and zero indicated no knowledge was needed to address a risk area. the survey questions were developed based on the risp model and a review of beef risks management literature (e.g. hall et al., 2003; martin et al., 2019a; martin et al., 2019b), then reviewed by a panel of experts to confirm face validity. due to time constraints and the accessibility of an alternative population, the survey was not pilot tested for content validity and reliability. the panel of experts consisted of two agricultural communications professors and one animal science professor with experience in animal health, beef herd management, and risk communication. panel review resulted in revisions made to the original questionnaire to improve readability and ensure item clarity (colton & covert, 2007). to address question one, knowledge gaps for each risk area were the difference between the current risk area knowledge level and the perceived needed risk area knowledge level, known as sufficiency threshold (griffin et al., 2013). a negative number result indicated a deficiency. the respondent’s current knowledge was insufficient to address operational risks. descriptive statistics addressed question two. analysis was conducted using spss v28. findings rq1: to what extent did perceived risks area knowledge gaps exist for producers? the risk areas producers perceived they had the least current knowledge of were marketing/selling animals (m = 58.9) and economic (m = 58.7). the risk areas about which producers indicated they had the most current knowledge of were weaning (m = 71.1) and calving management (m = 71.0). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 rourke et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 16 the risk areas for which producers needed the least amount of knowledge were weaning (m = 72.3) and animal growth (m = 72.9). the risk areas for which producers needed the most amount of knowledge were marketing/selling animals (m = 79.0) and animal health (m = 77.8). gaps in knowledge were the largest for the marketing/selling animals risk area, with a gap of 20.1, and the economic risk area, with a gap of -18.9. the risk areas with the smallest gap in knowledge were weaning, gap of -1.2, and calving management, gap of -5.0. the risk areas with the largest gaps were the same areas for which respondents reported the lowest current knowledge. the smallest gaps were the same risk areas for which respondents indicated the highest current knowledge, displayed in table 2. table 2 southeastern u.s. beef cow-calf producers’ current, sufficiency, and gap knowledge by risks area risks area knowledge m sd skewness kurtosis current knowledge animal health 68.72 19.18 -.62 .01 animal growth 66.15 19.81 -.58 -.33 breeding management 68.64 20.16 -.71 -.05 calving management 71.21 19.75 -.80 .13 economic 58.46 22.19 -.17 -.71 marketing/selling animals 58.63 22.69 -.29 -.51 weaning 71.15 20.68 -.91 .19 sufficiency threshold animal health 78.33 18.46 -1.16 1.51 animal growth 73.01 20.26 -.82 .28 breeding management 75.92 19.08 -.95 .76 calving management 76.25 19.30 -.99 .73 economic 77.61 19.79 -.98 .63 marketing/selling animals 79.02 20.20 -1.22 1.22 weaning 72.47 21.66 -.90 .32 knowledge gap animal health -.96 22.30 .51 2.35 animal growth -6.86 23.91 .39 1.47 breeding management -7.28 22.43 .26 1.72 calving management -5.04 23.27 .44 2.07 economic -19.15 26.86 -.10 .49 marketing/selling animals -20.39 28.39 -.17 .26 weaning -1.33 25.03 .24 1.50 note. n = 363. current knowledge and sufficiency threshold were measured on a scale of 0 to 100 on which 0 means knowing nothing and 100 means knowing everything one could possibly know about the topic (cross et al., 2018; griffen et al., 2008). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 rourke et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 17 rq2: what communication channels did southeastern u.s. beef cow-calf producers use to seek risk information? participants were asked to select all the communication channels they used to collect information on each risk area. as shown in table 3, frequencies and percentages were calculated from this data to determine the use of communication channels by risks area. magazines and extension publications were consistently chosen by respondents as their preferred communication channels, regardless of risk area. the only category of difference was the animal health risk area, in which respondents indicated they also preferred live demonstrations and newsletters. table 3 communication channels used by southeastern u.s. beef cow-calf producers to seek risks area information communication channels animal health animal growth breeding mgmt. calving mgmt. economic marketing/ selling animals weaning % % % % % % % conferences 44 32 33 32 34 30 30 dtn or similar service 1 1 1 1 3 4 1 extension publications 68 50 54 57 51 44 51 live demonstrations 61 21 27 25 14 15 21 magazines 75 56 60 60 58 45 52 newsletters 52 35 36 38 43 37 34 podcasts 7 5 5 5 6 6 5 social network channels 21 13 14 15 18 23 13 research journals 26 25 22 22 18 14 23 does not use a channel 2 12 10 10 10 15 17 note. n = 418. percentages reflect the proportion of respondents who reported using the channel. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations our findings suggest responding southeastern u.s. cow-calf producers perceived their current levels of knowledge were not enough to address any of the potential risks studied (griffin et al., 2013). in agreement with previous research (hall et al., 2003; martin et al., 2019a), marketing/selling and economics were areas the participants expressed needing more knowledge to effectively manage those potential risks. in addition to having the largest knowledge gaps, these two risk areas had the lowest average levels of current knowledge. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 rourke et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 18 this study updated understanding of the communication channels cow-calf producers use to acquire risk information in the southeastern portion of the u.s. as previously found, the primary communication channels producers used for seeking risk information were magazines and extension publications (vergot iii et al., 2005). podcasts and social networks were the least used channels. this finding aligns with yang et al. (2022), who found traditional media channels were viewed more positively than social media channels. traditional channels may be seen as more trustworthy than social media channels, leading to higher relevant channel beliefs (griffin et al., 2013; yang et al., 2022). while most respondents sought risks-related information, a few did not, as was most evident in the areas of weaning, marketing/selling, and animal growth. further investigation should identify if producers perceive they have the information-gathering capacity to use channels for reaching information sufficiency and how individuals’ characteristics impact relevant channel beliefs (griffin et al., 2013). this study was limited to beef cow-calf producers located in the defined southeastern region of the u.s. who had internet and were accessible through relationships with the organizations who disseminated the study. a pilot study was not possible but would improve instrument validity. this study’s instrument contained no multi-item constructs and respondents were not tested/retested, so data reliability could not be determined (netermeyer et al., 2003). additionally, the data was collected in 2020, three years prior to publishing. the covid-19 pandemic may have changed participants’ information seeking behaviors. however, our results reflect long-term trends in information channels used by livestock producers. jensen et al. (2009) found that in addition to veterinarians, main channels of information collection among tennessee livestock producers were extension and magazines. though it is unlikely that channels used have changed, the types of information beef producers are seeking related to marketing and economics may have as the pandemic affected marketing and selling of beef (langusch et al., 2023). future research should measure the risp model constructs holistically to assess interactive affects and outcomes for cow-calf producers (griffin et al., 2013; yang et al., 2022). expanding the sample to include all u.s. beef cow-calf producers could enhance understanding of the differences in risk information seeking and processing habits and needs of producers (adkins et al., 2012; drouillard, 2018). practitioners and researchers should seek to understand beef producers within their contexts through audience segmentation to develop tailored education and outreach strategies (hall et al., 2003; warner et al., 2017). we suggest practitioners provide risks management information, especially in the areas of marketing/selling animals and economics, through the channels most used by respondents: magazines and extension publications. marketing/selling topics may include value-added marketing and when to sell cattle versus when to retain ownership based on the producer’s aversion to risk (martin et al., 2019b). economic management risk topics include managing price variability risk related to cattle prices and inputs (hall et al., 2003; martin et al., 2019b). while social networks and podcasts are trending, these beef cattle producers were still using traditional media for their risk management information needs. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 rourke et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 19 acknowledgements c. rourke writing-review and editing, formal analysis; r. waggie writing-original draft, investigation; n. hill writing-review and editing, formal analysis; j. d. ellis writing-review and editing; k. starzec writing-review and editing. references adkins, t. s., riley, j. m., little, r. d., & coatney, k. t. 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(2020). targeting perceptions of risk from injudicious antibiotic use: an application of the risk information seeking and processing model. journal of health communication, 25(5), 345–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2020.1762140 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.309 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2017.01313 https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12071 https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470211044781 https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547014525350 https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2020.1762140 microsoft word 187-how+does+the+public+discuss+gene+editing+in+agriculture+an+analysis+of+twitter+content.docx hill et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 2, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. nellie hill, assistant professor, kansas state university, 301 umberger hall, manhattan, ks 66506, nlhill@ksu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8987-3259 2. courtney meyers, professor, texas tech university, box 42131-lubbock, tx 79409-2131, courtney.meyers@ttu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9099-3613, 3. nan li, assistant professor, university of wisconsin-madison, 226 hiram smith hall, madison, wi, 53706, nli8@wisc.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5942-552x 4. david doerfert, professor, texas tech university, box 42131-lubbock, tx 79409-2131, david.doerfert@ttu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1553-3120 5. venugopal mendu, winifred asbjornson plant sciences endowed chair, associate professor, 415 leon johnson hall, bozeman, mt, 59717-3140, venugopal.mendu@montana.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4985-2672 31 how does the public discuss gene editing in agriculture? an analysis of twitter content n. hill1, c. meyers2, n. li3, d. doerfert4, v. mendu5 abstract as people form their opinion about gene editing applications in agriculture, they are utilizing social media to seek and share information and opinions on the topic. understanding how the public discusses this technology will influence the development of effective messaging and practitioner engagement in the conversation. the purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of twitter content related to applications of gene editing in agriculture. social media monitoring facilitated a quantitative, descriptive analysis of public twitter content related to the topic. a meltwater social media monitor collected n = 13,189 relevant tweets for analysis, revealing the amount of conversation regarding gene editing in agriculture, the number of contributing twitter users, and the reach of the conversation which was relatively stable over the life of the study. in contrast, engagement with the topic rose with the sentiment of tweets becoming increasingly positive. news organization accounts had the most reach while a mix of news accounts and personal accounts garnered the greatest engagement. these results demonstrate an opportunity for agricultural and science communicators to create affirmative messaging about gene editing in agriculture delivered through news media twitter accounts potentially increasing the reach and engagement in the social system and with science communication. keywords diffusion of innovation, social media monitoring, meltwater, social systems hill et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.187 32 introduction and problem statement stigmas, misrepresentations, and uproar characteristic of public opinion about genetically modified organisms could carry over to products of gene editing, hampering their potential to meet the challenge of global food demand (rose et al., 2020; shew et al., 2018). science communicators and agriculturalists have an opportunity to stave off such negativity in favor of public appreciation for the complexities of the food system. to harness the potential, time is of the essence (doxzen & henderson, 2020; wirz et al., 2020). understanding how the public discusses gene editing applications in agriculture would help communicators develop strategies to promote the positive implications of the technology (brossard, 2019; wirz et al., 2020). in general, gene-editing technologies are used for making specific improvements to desired traits in commercial plants and animals (metje-sprink et al., 2019). this technology is advantageous because of its superior speed, precision, accuracy, and cost (metje-sprink et al., 2019). unlike genetic modification techniques, gene-editing technologies leave no detectable genetic material (metje-sprink et al., 2019). as turnbull et al. (2021) states, “scientists aver that gene editing is not ‘genetic modification’ because the method of introducing changes to the dna is no different from changes that can occur during conventional breeding or in nature” (p. 3). the increasing capabilities of gene editing elicit heightened visibility and conversation about the technology (molteni, 2019). such discussions take place, in part, online. social media plays a significant role in viewing and sharing science information as 33% of americans consider it an important way to get science news (funk et al., 2017), with 69% getting news in general via twitter (mitchell et al., 2021). people who share information on social media want to shape a smart, helpful, and informed online identity (kraft et al., 2020). people are more honest about their opinions on social media than they are in person (varma et al., 2017). twitter is an excellent means for bridging and encouraging engagement between the public and science, but there is a need to understand how science is being discussed on the platform so communicators can improve platform-specific content (lópez-goñi & sánchez-angulo, 2018). previous research has examined twitter users’ perception of human applications of gene editing (guertin et al., 2018), but a literature review did not find such research specific to agricultural applications. this study investigates how twitter users are diffusing information regarding agricultural applications of gene editing through the social system of the platform. theoretical and conceptual framework diffusion of innovation theory served as the conceptual framework for this study. this theory posits members of a social system spread information about an innovation through two-way communication using various channels over time (rogers, 2003). this study focuses on diffusion of information related to gene editing in agriculture through the social system of twitter. hill et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.187 33 science news is exchanged in this social environment to accomplish the common goal of demystifying the topic for the public (busquet & viken, 2019). an individual becomes aware of the innovation, forms a perspective on it, decides whether to adopt or reject it, takes action on their decision, then seeks validation the right decision was made (rogers, 2003). social media use is increasingly used for knowledge sharing (ahmed et al., 2019). information perceived as useful and influential to others is more likely to be shared by social media users (kraft et al., 2020). research utilizing diffusion of innovation theory has found social media sharing behaviors indicate the sender’s approval or acceptance of the information (kee et al., 2016). the complexity and far-reaching social, health, economic, and national security implications of gene-editing technology make the innovation rife with uncertainty for many (scheufele et al., 2017). with so many avenues of informational needs, people turn to multiple sources and communication channels, including social media and news media, to gather information to reduce their uncertainty (rogers, 2003; scheufele et al., 2017). when regulations, governmental guidance, and laws are established, uncertainty is reduced as availability of information increases about the technological characteristics and definitions of gene editing (whelan et al., 2020). “it facilitates their decision process (kat & oomen, 2007) and the diffusion of innovation” (whelan et al., 2020, p. 2). diffusion is affected by the norms and relationships within a social system (rogers, 2003). meng et al. (2018) utilized diffusion of innovation theory as a framework to identify mass media channels widely disseminate information via a tweet because of their large user following. additionally, interpersonal connections serve as brokers to share information across communities. tweets from brokers were retweeted by users more often, increasing the virality of the information (meng et al., 2018). zhu et al. (2020) also utilized diffusion of innovation theory to study tweets from the center for disease control. tweets with severity, efficacy, and call-for-action information were shared more rapidly and diffused to a greater number of receivers. in addition, tweets with a negative tone were shared faster and wider than positively toned tweets. tweets with fewer affiliative words (e.g., ally, together, friend) were also shared more rapidly and to a greater number of receivers. the researchers concluded tweet characteristics have significant effects on diffusion outcomes (zhu et al., 2020). siebert (2019) used diffusion of innovation theory in their framework to conduct a qualitative content analysis of tweets about the genetically-engineered aquadvantage salmon™. the author compared the themes of tweets from salmon producers and those from the public. they found producers focused on aquadvantage salmon™ as a solution to the complex food problem of meeting heightened demand for seafood while reducing environmental impact. tweets from the public discussed how natural and safe the salmon was, as well as the need for proper labeling (siebert, 2019). siebert (2019) also included the characteristics of innovations (rogers, 2003) as a means of explaining their findings regarding public hesitancy to accept aquadvantage salmon™. hill et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.187 34 purpose the purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of twitter content related to applications of gene editing in agriculture. the study was guided by the following research questions. 1. how many mentions of gene editing applications in agriculture were publicly posted on twitter between september 1, 2018 and december 31, 2019? 2. what was the social reach and engagement of those tweets? 3. what was the sentiment of those tweets? 4. how does tweet reach and engagement vary based on tweet sentiment? methods social media monitoring was utilized to facilitate a quantitative, descriptive analysis of content related to gene editing applications in agriculture publicly posted on twitter between september 1, 2018 and december 31, 2019. data collection was not possible prior to september 1, 2018 as meltwater only maintains a rolling 15 months of social media content. collection concluded at the end of december 2019 due to the volume of tweets collected and the timeframe to complete the study. twitter is of particular interest for examining relationships within food systems as its structure and norms defy those of other social media platforms. the diverse usership able to view public accounts, and the continuous sharing of tweets disassemble audience boundaries to construct highly individual accounts contributing to the community at large (pennell, 2016). according to the pew research center (wojcik & hughes, 2019), approximately 22% of adult americans use twitter. the median age of a twitter user is 40 years old, while the median age of a u.s. adult is 47 years old. twitter users have slightly higher educational attainment than the general u.s. population, with 42% of adult twitter users having bachelor’s degree while 31% of the adult u.s. population has the same degree. of adult twitter users who reported their annual household income, 41% said it was higher than $75,000, while 31% of the general population’s annual household income is above that dollar figure (wojcik & hughes, 2019). these characteristics, coupled with social media users’ desire to portray an online identity that is smart, helpful, and informed, make twitter users prime candidates to lead acceptance of new technologies (berger, 2014; boyd & ellison, 2007; rogers, 2003). meltwater, a social media monitoring platform, was used to collect the relevant content. a monitor was established within meltwater using a boolean search query (available upon request) to identify only content related to gene editing applications in agriculture within the designated time frame. the keywords included in the meltwater monitor were based on an indepth scan of the scholarly literature and popular press and the various terminology used to discuss gene editing therein (huang et al., 2016; johnson, 2015; tagliabue, 2015; guertin et al., 2018). data were limited to the united states because definitions and regulations regarding gene editing differ from country to country (metje-sprink et al., 2019). the monitor gathered n hill et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.187 35 = 13,189 public tweets pertaining to the study, constrained by platform data limitations. ibm spss v. 25 was used for descriptive and non-parametric statistics to address the research questions. statistical significance was set a priori at < .05 (field, 2017). meltwater creates reports containing each tweet and extensive information associated with it, including the date and time the tweet was published, username of the publisher, full text of the tweet, country of origin, reach of the post (number of followers of the post author), engagement with the post if it is an original tweet (number of replies, retweets, and likes), and sentiment (overall positive, negative, or neutral tone) (gan, 2021). sentiment is analyzed by a natural language processing computational linguistics algorithm to assess the opinion and emotions of a text and categorize it as positive, negative, or neutral in overall tone (kadam & joglekar, 2013; bishop, n.d.). due to the nuanced, informal, and creatively punctuated nature of tweets, there is debate over the best method to mine sentiment from them (roberts et al., 2018). to illuminate potential differences between manual and automated methods of sentiment analysis, the lead author manually annotated a randomly selected subset of 1% (n = 1,389) of the tweets from the sample (roberts et al., 2018). each tweet was read, then assigned into one of three categories (positive, negative, or neutral) based on the overall emotional tone of the tweet (kadam & joglekar, 2013; roberts et al., 2018). of the 1,389 tweets, 565 were annotated as positive, 363 as neutral, and 461 as negative in overall tone. meltwater’s natural language processing algorithm designated 570 tweets as positive, 146 as neutral, and 673 as negative. overall, 951 (68.3%) of the subset tweets matched in sentiment assignment. as examples of tweets the author and meltwater agreed on in terms of sentiment: @innovaturenow: tailgating season is in full swing and thanks to agricultural innovations like gene editing, football food classics can stay in play. (positive); @healthranger: new crispr gmo food is a dangerous experiment so don't be a lab rat that eats it! https://t.co/fxi0zpyqua #crisprdanger #dangerousfood (negative); @cellbionews170: nature plants review explores the current state and future of crispr technology in crops https://t.co/zjkhqwmwje (neutral). while manual annotation allows a human to identify tone in a message and appreciate the sentiment of words in context, the subjectivity of the process in combination with the volume of tweets in need of coding are important limitations to this method of sentiment analysis (resch et al., 2016; roberts et al., 2018). limitations are an inherent part of research. no social media monitoring tool or sentiment analysis algorithm is perfect, so platforms other than meltwater should be used to assess differences in analysis. meltwater was chosen for this study due to funding availability and application for practical use. hill et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.187 36 findings rq1: how many mentions of gene editing applications in agriculture were publicly posted on twitter between september 1, 2018, and december 31, 2019? during the time frame of the study, there were 13,189 mentions of gene editing related to agriculture on twitter that met the search criteria. of those, 3,576 were posted in the last quarter of 2018 and 9,614 were posted in 2019. those tweets were publicly posted by 5,824 unique users (individual accounts without duplication). figure 1 displays the changes in frequency (or numerical count) of tweets and unique users contributing to the conversation by month during the search period for the study. figure 1 frequency of gene editing in agriculture tweets and unique twitter users contributing rq2: what was the social reach and engagement of those tweets? tweets pertaining to the study had the potential to reach 266,554,740 twitter users. reach is the number of twitter users who may see the tweet, calculated based on the number of followers of the post author (gan, 2021). peak reach occurred in may 2019 with 147,919,414 potential viewers of tweets regarding gene editing in agriculture. figure 2 presents the changes in reach during the time period of the study. 579 1,157 1,007 832 543 768 1,018 1,152 707 589 911 898 610 847 816 755 331 758 749 605 347 429 640 663 461 347 567 560 332 475 508 429 sept. oct. nov. dec. jan. feb. mar. apr. may jun. jul. aug. sep. oct. nov. dec. fr eq ue nc y month 2018 2019 hill et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.187 37 figure 2 reach of gene editing in agriculture tweets as the reach of a tweet is calculated based on the number of followers of the post author, the top 10 twitter accounts in terms of reach are presented in table 1. table 1 gene editing in agriculture top 10 twitter accounts regarding reach account name account type reach nytimes news media 43,472,723 wired news media 10,349,781 sciencenews news media 2,814,784 businessinsider news media 2,586,572 wiredscience news media 2,013,565 theatlantic news media 1,828,854 cnet news media 1,621,044 sciencemagazine news media 1,246,320 nytscience news media 1,150,285 roguenasa personal account 868,282 original tweets pertaining to the study resulted in a total of 24,067 engagements, which are replies, retweets, and likes associated with an original tweet (gan, 2021). average engagement with individual tweets was 7.43 (sd = 17.69). engagement with individual tweets ranged from 0 20,000,000 40,000,000 60,000,000 80,000,000 100,000,000 120,000,000 140,000,000 160,000,000 se pt. oct. nov. dec. jan . fe b. mar. apr. may jun. jul. aug. se p. oct. nov. dec. re ac h vo lu m e month 2018 2019 hill et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.187 38 zero to 452. figure 3 presents engagement with tweets and frequency of tweets during the time period of the study. figure 3 frequency and engagement with gene editing in agriculture tweets external to meltwater’s reporting, the proportion of retweets to original tweets was calculated as an indicator of interaction over the entire search (grabbert et al., 2019). of the 13,189 tweets collected, 7,022 (53.2%) were retweets, indicating high interaction among accounts participating in the conversation about gene editing in agriculture (grabbert et al., 2019). the top 10 twitter posts in terms of engagement are presented in table 3. table 3 gene editing in agriculture top 10 twitter posts regarding engagement account name tweet engagement ajitjohnson_n researchers used crispr before birth in an animal model to treat a lethal lung disease that causes death within hours after birth. this study shows that in utero editing could be a promising new approach for treating fatal diseases before birth. https://t.co/qqc4yeiumo https://t.co/i1ftvmnwmz 452 nytimes the world's first crispr snails might help clear up a mystery of left/right asymmetry in the animal kingdom https://t.co/gwzxifw4cr 334 579 1,157 1,007 832 543 768 1,018 1,152 707 589 911 898 610 847 816 755812 2,023 1,621 1,270 887 1,301 1,957 2,287 2,380 953 1,631 1,449 1,412 1,683 1,146 1,255 sept. oct. nov. dec. jan. feb. mar. apr. may jun. jul. aug. sep. oct. nov. dec. fr eq ue nc y months 2018-2019 -tweets -engagement hill et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.187 39 account name tweet engagement nytimes the world's first crispr snails might help clear up a mystery of left/right asymmetry in the animal kingdom https://t.co/ptdphaasft 320 nytimes the world's first crispr snails might help clear up a mystery of left/right asymmetry in the animal kingdom https://t.co/r3eiwoxcrl 243 incarnated_et scientists cure mice of hiv for first time in groundbreaking study using crispr a group of scientists have, for the first time, eliminated hiv dna from the genomes of living animals, in what is being described as a critical step towards developing a cure for the aids virus. 209 agbioworld japan understands that gene-editing like #crispr is not gmo, just plain old mutagenesis with knowledge & precision! so, genome-edited food products to go on sale in japan, minus scary labelling or unnecessary regulatory burden https://t.co/vpbsw4pkmu 184 agbioworld whoa! a major breakthrough in sorghum, gene editing has elevated the protein of this important crop from 9-10% to a staggering 15-16%. also improved digestibility. a big deal for africa & india, another reason to embrace nbt, remove regulatory hurdles https://t.co/2wbleecema 165 idsainfo is #hiv a curable disease? a new study suggests yes, as researchers find success in eliminating the disease from an infected animal’s genome through a combo of modified arv treatment & gene-editing tool crispr-cas9. https://t.co/hrqzc4hatu #endhivepidemic 122 hill et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.187 40 account name tweet engagement wiredscience crispr works in almost every animal that scientists have tried, from silkworms to monkeys, and in just about every cell type—kidney cells, heart cells, you name it. what’s more, crispr is both fast and cheap. so how far do we want it to go? https://t.co/uueh6bqbh0 121 biobeef so i binge watched #unnaturalselection on netflix last night 'cause that is what animal geneticists with an interest in #scicomm do on a friday night, & have some thoughts around agricultural applications of genome editing so i wrote a blog @ucanr @ucdavis https://t.co/pub0jepsc7 117 note. engagement is number of replies, retweets, and likes of an original tweet. rq3: what was the sentiment of those tweets? meltwater’s natural language processing algorithm assigned a sentiment of positive, negative, or neutral to each tweet based on the overall tone of the message (bishop, n.d.). of all collected tweets (n = 13,189), meltwater coded 5,083 (38.5%) as positive, 1,840 (14.0%) as negative, and 6,266 (47.5%) as neutral in tone. peak positive sentiment occurred in november 2019 with 64% of tweets during the month having an overall positive tone. peak negative sentiment occurred in february 2019, with 52% of tweets during the month having an overall negative tone. peak neutral sentiment occurred in august 2019, with 62% of tweets during the month having an overall neutral tone. figure 4 presents the sentiment of tweets during the time period of the study. hill et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.187 41 figure 4 sentiment of gene editing in agriculture tweets rq4: how does tweet reach and engagement vary based on tweet sentiment? a kruskal-wallis h test was utilized to address if tweet reach varied based on tweet sentiment, because a visual inspection of a boxplot indicated outliers too extreme to allow for anova statistical analysis, but also too valuable to be removed from the data set (field, 2017; laerd statistics, n.d.). as such, a kruskal-wallis h test was run to determine if there were differences in tweet reach between three groups of tweet sentiment: positive (n = 5,083), negative (n = 1,511), and neutral (n = 6,595). distributions of reach were similar for all groups, as assessed by visual inspection of a boxplot, therefore requiring a comparison of medians (laerd statistics, n.d.). median reach was statistically significantly different between groups, χ2(2) = 8.279, p = .016. to determine differences between groups, pairwise comparisons were performed using dunn's (1964) procedure with a bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. adjusted p-values are presented. post hoc analysis revealed statistically significant differences in median tweet reach between positive sentiment (mdn = 944.00) and neutral sentiment (mdn = 1011.00) tweets (p = .023), but not between positive sentiment and negative sentiment (mdn = 915.00) (p = 1.00), or negative sentiment and neutral sentiment (p = .211). to eliminate duplicated data, 7,022 retweets were removed from the population to focus on original tweet engagement. additionally, 2,928 tweets received no replies, retweets, or likes, so these outliers were removed from the dataset in order to determine if a difference in sentiment elicits a difference in the amount of engagement. these steps left a sample of n = 3,239 tweets 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% se pt. oct. nov. dec. jan. fe b. mar. apr. may jun. jul. aug. se p. oct. nov. dec. se nt im en t p er ce nt ag e month 2018-2019 % positive % negative % neutral hill et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.187 42 for statistical analysis. a kruskal-wallis h test was utilized to address if tweet engagement varied based on tweet sentiment because a visual inspection of a boxplot indicated outliers too extreme to allow for anova statistical analysis, but also too valuable to be removed from the data set (field, 2017; laerd statistics, n.d.). as such, a kruskal-wallis h test was run to determine if there were differences in tweet engagement between three groups of tweet sentiment: positive (n = 1,285), negative (n = 417), and neutral (n = 1,537). distributions of reach were not similar for all groups, as assessed by visual inspection of a boxplot, requiring a comparison of mean rank (laerd statistics, n.d.). engagement was statistically significantly different between sentiment groups, χ2(2) = 14.650, p = .001. to determine differences between groups, pairwise comparisons were performed using dunn's (1964) procedure with a bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. adjusted p-values are presented. post hoc analysis revealed statistically significant differences in tweet engagement between positive sentiment (mean rank = 1696.15) and neutral sentiment (mean rank = 1573.77) tweets (p = .001), as well as between positive sentiment and negative sentiment (mean rank = 1555.75) (p = .021), but not negative sentiment and neutral sentiment (p = 1.00). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations as people form their opinion about gene editing applications in agriculture, they turn to social media to seek and share information and opinions on the topic (gil de zúñiga, et al., 2012; hughes et al., 2012). the associated sharing, liking, and tweeting behaviors mark the communication structure within the twitter social system (rogers, 2003). communications strategies promoting the positive implications of gene editing applications in agriculture rest on an understanding of how the public discusses the technology (brossard, 2019; wirz et al., 2020). findings suggest twitter users are marking their information exchange within the social system with increased participation in the form of replies, retweets, and likes as well as greater positivity (kee et al., 2016; rogers, 2003). this bodes well for the concern that negative public opinion of genetically modified organisms could carry over to products of gene editing (rose et al., 2020; shew et al., 2018). as communicators will seek to expand the conversation about applications of gene editing, results indicate mass media channels hold the greatest opportunity to do so. all but one of the top 10 accounts with the greatest reach represent a news platform. mass media channels, such as these, hold the greatest opportunity to influence knowledge acquisition about gene editing in agriculture by linking twitter users to information outside of the social system (rogers, 2003). results indicated neutrally toned messages tended to reach a wider audience than positively toned tweets, but otherwise, there were no significant differences between sentiment and tweet reach. this result adds nuance to the findings of zhu et al. (2020) who only examined reach of positive versus negative messages and found negative messages to be shared among a wider audience. additional investigation of how the tone of tweets affects information diffusion is needed (zhu et al., 2020). hill et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i2.187 43 engagement with the conversation about gene editing can be an indicator of interaction among the social system as well as approval of or agreement with the message (grabbert et al., 2019; kee et al., 2016; rogers, 2003). both are goals among communicators who desire to create content that fosters conversation and encourages feedback from the audience. more than half of the tweets in this study were retweets. higher engagement (a combination of retweets, replies and likes) was associated with positively toned tweets compared to negative or neutral tweets. this finding is in contrast with previous literature, which found negatively toned tweets to elicit higher engagement (meng et al., 2018; zhu et al., 2020). more investigation is needed, but our findings suggest as communicators seek to elicit engagement with content regarding gene editing in agriculture, they should consider creating messages with an optimistic or affirmative sentiment instead of fearful or indifferent tones. peaks and valleys in the datasets are cause for further inquiry into the information shared during a given month that received the greatest reach or engagement among the gene-editing in agriculture conversation on twitter. a review of the top tweets in terms of reach and engagement by month reveal timely studies as well as policy speculation and updates regarding applications of gene-editing garner heightened attention. this suggests people are curious about gene-editing and also follow the regulatory journey of its applications. in the future, researchers should consider a longitudinal study to see how characteristics of the twitter discourse around gene editing in agriculture changes over time with the advancement and prevalence of the technology. researchers should identify opinion leaders in gene editing to understand who may be driving the innovation-decision process among the public and across subsequent community networks. to better understand public opinion of gene editing in agriculture, conversation about the topic could be monitored on other social media platforms as well as public opinion polls. a content analysis of the mass media channels on twitter sharing information regarding gene editing in agriculture could give insight into what information readers are gathering about the topic. in addition, researchers should work with practitioners to develop and experimentally test messages with different sentiments to identify performance differences in a more controlled environment. references ahmed, y. a., ahmad, m. n., ahmad, n., & zakaria, n. h. 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(2020). do messages spread widely also diffuse fast? examining the effects of message characteristics on information diffusion. computers in human behavior, 103, 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.09.006 © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). microsoft word 247-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 1, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. gary wingenbach, professor and senior scientist, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx 77843-2116, wingenbach@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1675-8903 2. thesiana graham, former undergraduate research scholar, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx 778432116, tjg100@tamu.edu 3. natalie gomez, former undergraduate research scholar, texas a&m university, 2116 tamu, college station, tx 778432116, gomeznatalie31@tamu.edu 32 becoming a global citizen: belief vs. action g. wingenbach1, t. graham2, n. gomez3 article history received: august 24, 2022 accepted: january 18, 2023 published: january 25, 2023 keywords intercultural competencies; international knowledge; transformative learning abstract postsecondary institutional mission statements include goals of preparing students to become global citizens. transformative learning theory is central to global citizenship education (gce). many postsecondary institutions provide gce initiatives through the global competencies approach, which includes self-awareness in intercultural encounters, communications, and general knowledge about world issues. the purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of global citizenship and general knowledge of international food and agriculture issues. a cross-sectional design and random samples of university members provided data. differences in perceptions of global civic engagement were found; faculty members were significantly more globally engaged. graduate students had significantly more awareness of being global citizens. respondents were unknowledgeable about international food and agriculture. transformative learning and gce may be incorporated into postsecondary education by using disorienting dilemmas to promote critical self-examination of worldviews. to enliven university missions of preparing global citizens, we must encourage meaningful actions from local to global levels. wingenbach et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.247 33 introduction and problem statement most postsecondary institutional mission statements include goals of preparing students to become global citizens. increased knowledge about food production could improve understanding of global food security issues. ideally, college students studying agriculture should know how international issues affect food security (francis et al., 2019). realistically, students are unknowledgeable about such issues. morales et al. (2017) found university students lacked general knowledge about food and agriculture; only 4% achieved minimally satisfactory test scores (12/20 correct = 60% correct). comparable results were found by moriba et al. (2012), moriba and edwards (2015), and wingenbach et al. (2003). we need leaders who understand the interconnectedness of food systems to address food security issues (heinert & roberts, 2016). international issues need to be taught in postsecondary education to prepare students for the global market (zúñiga et al., 2015). francis et al. (2019) concluded that university students cannot understand diverse economies or foreign production practices without studying issues affecting global food systems. this study concerns a southern u.s. university and its mission to develop global citizens in the context of food and agriculture. the university’s mission statement promotes principles of global citizenship among its students, faculty, and staff. we sought to determine if these ideals were evident by assessing university members’ perceptions of global citizenship and their general knowledge of international issues related to food and agriculture. theoretical and conceptual framework transformative learning theory (mezirow, 1991) is central to global citizenship education (gce). transformative learning “is the process of effecting change in a frame of reference” (mezirow, 1997, p. 5). it occurs when we try to make sense of disorienting dilemmas (psychological, convictional, or behavioral) that challenge our assumptions. through critical self-examination of perspectives, new information or experience contrasts with previous frames of reference (knowledge and/or emotional elements). we reject ideas misaligning with our assumptions, or we incorporate new information into pre-existing frames to create new meaning (i.e., learning), thereby changing our worldviews. critical self-reflection of unfamiliar experiences leads to transformative learning (brookfield, 2012). thus, high quality gce in postsecondary education should include disorienting dilemmas and planned reflection so students acquire new information/experience that challenges perspectives, foster new learning, and shift worldviews (locally and globally). gce encompasses multidimensional, complex, interconnected, and competing concepts, which complicate its true origin and current practice. citizenship typically refers to membership in a nation-state with rights and responsibilities to maintain that membership (akkari & maleq 2020); we recognize some stateless societies exist, but this paper focuses on gce in postsecondary education. globalization implies differing nations consider and accept or adapt wingenbach et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.247 34 other nation-states’ values and cultures, resulting in exchanges (economic, political, educational, technological) that benefit one or many nations. conflicting national interests occur in the globalization process. many postsecondary institutions provide gce initiatives in one of two approaches: 1) the global competencies approach provides students with skills needed to compete in a global society; and/or 2) the global consciousness approach provides students with global orientation, empathy, and cultural sensitivity, stemming from humanistic values and assumptions (dill, 2013, as cited in goren & yemini, 2017). our study used the global consciousness approach. that is, “global citizenship is understood as a multidimensional construct that hinges on the interrelated dimensions of social responsibility, global competence, and global civic engagement” (morais & ogden, 2011, p. 449), as known through coursework and campus experiences. previous research (braskamp et al., 2012; chickering & braskamp, 2009; morais & ogden, 2011) shows that one’s sense of social responsibility is based on interdependence and concern for others, society, and the environment. fonseca et al. (2019) recommended including social responsibility across the curricula with courses involving social, scientific, and cultural activities because social responsibility influences community harmony. global competence is understood as having an open mind, seeking to understand others’ cultural norms and expectations, and leveraging this knowledge to interact effectively with others (morais & ogden, 2011). other global competency views include abilities such as living and working in multicultural societies (kang et al., 2017), possessing universal awareness (stankovska et al., 2019), and interacting and communicating in intercultural situations (deardorff, 2006). regardless of definition, most include aspects of self-awareness in intercultural encounters, communications, and general knowledge about world issues and events. many postsecondary programs seek to increase global competence through shortand long-term education abroad, but some were realized in intercultural online class projects at u.s. and korean universities (kang et al., 2017). thus, gce is not confined to physical experiences but might be gained in non-travel experiences. global civic engagement is when one recognizes and responds to local or global issues with actions such as volunteerism and community participation (morais & ogden, 2011). global civic engagement is not one’s perceived global competence (ideals) but one’s actions and behaviors toward those ideals. engagement could be through local civic actions with global intent, such as buying fair trade products that affect global markets. service-learning courses and volunteerism provide common forms of civic engagement (rossi et al., 2016). some research shows limited volunteerism is common among young people who lack strong organizational affiliations (hyde et al., 2014; pozzi et al., 2019). employers actively seek students with global competencies (rampasso et al., 2020). employees with global perspectives are especially needed in the food and agriculture industry (rampasso et al., 2020; wolff et al., 2018). the un sustainable development goals highlighted food wingenbach et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.247 35 security, responsible consumption, and food production as necessary parts of future food systems to feed 9 billion by 2050 (king et al., 2017). beyond increased food demand and resource use, we will be threatened with land degradation, desertification, altered carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles (steffen et al., 2015, as cited in wolff et al., 2018). knowledge influences perception. our perceptions of being global citizens are shaped partly by our knowledge of international issues. morales et al. (2017) found u.s. and latin american students lacked general knowledge of international food and agriculture issues, affirming earlier studies (moriba & edwards, 2015; wingenbach et al., 2003). morales et al. (2017) and moriba and edwards (2015) recommended internationalizing university education, such as adding a global component to the undergraduate curriculum, which might improve general knowledge of international issues. we believed that general knowledge of international food and agriculture issues may differentiate by selected demographics such as college (e.g., agriculture vs. others). fostering values of global citizenship is central to many universities’ mission statements (zúñiga et al., 2015) and gce efforts. however, we do not know what should be included as a global component in undergraduate education or if gce produces transformative learning without assessing current perceptions of global citizenship and general knowledge of international food and agriculture issues. purpose the purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of global citizenship and general knowledge of international food and agriculture issues. the objectives were to: 1. assess perceptions of global citizenship. 2. evaluate general knowledge of international issues related to food and agriculture. 3. determine if differences existed in perception or knowledge when compared by selected demographics. methods a descriptive cross-sectional design (creswell, 2005; field, 2000) was used to collect quantitative data. the target population (n ≈ 75,000) represented members at texas a&m university in spring 2021. the accessible population (n = 4,100) included students (n = 3,150) enrolled in one of 75 courses with global or international attributes and faculty and staff (n = 950) associated with those courses. all courses were accessed through the university’s private online advising system. stratified random samples were drawn using dillman et al.’s (2009) methods for deriving probability samples after university ethics review board approval (i.e., irb2020-1445m). a sample of 351 would represent 4,100; we rounded the sample to 400. notices were sent three times via the qualtrics platform. student response rate was 32%. faculty and staff response was 6%. wingenbach et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.247 36 total responses were 240, reduced to 184 because of partial or incomplete data. according to dillman et al. (2009), sampling and nonresponse error are two of four possible sources of error in survey research. we used lindner and wingenbach’s (2002) method to compare early vs. late respondents. no significant differences in summed general knowledge existed between early (m = 9.06, sd = 2.29) and late (m = 9.59, sd = 2.43) respondents; t(182) = -1.50, p = .14. general knowledge of international agriculture is indicative of nonrespondents. the research instrument had three sections. the global citizenship scale (gcs; morais & ogden, 2011) has 20 statements. our version of the gcs was edited to remove ambiguity, redundancy, and double-barreled items. respondents rated perceptions of global citizenship using a 6-point likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree … 6 = strongly agree). negatively worded statements were reverse coded. post-hoc reliability tests revealed reliable cronbach’s coefficient alphas for gcs dimensions, consistent (αs = 0.66 – 0.85) with others (morais & ogden, 2011; morales et al., 2017). individual statements for social responsibility, global competence, and global civic engagement produced gcs dimension indices. faculty and staff response was minimal, which limits the applicability of their results. general knowledge of international food and agriculture issues (20 questions) was measured with modified versions of international agricultural instruments developed by wingenbach et al. (2003), hurst (2013), moriba and edwards (2015), and morales et al. (2017). some questions were outdated; those were replaced with current issues reported in content-related media (e.g., online news and popular press). questions had four response choices (one correct answer). knowledge questions were not specific to one field but a range of topics that might be discussed across the university. correct and incorrect responses were coded as dichotomous data (0 = incorrect, 1 = correct). the kuder-richardson 20 (kr20) formula test produced a reliability coefficient of 0.33 for the general knowledge section. low reliability was attributed to item singularity, difficulty, and discrimination (frisbie, 1988). five knowledge questions were very difficult (p < 30%) and three were very easy (p > 70%) according to musa et al. (2018) and pande et al. (2013). when kr20 scores are less than .60 (ursachi et al., 2015), caution is necessary. general knowledge of international food and agriculture issues reported herein represents this study’s respondents only and should not be generalized beyond that group. despite low reliability of the general knowledge portion, we included those questions and responses for comparative purposes to previous studies (hurst, 2013; morales et al., 2017; moriba & edwards, 2015; wingenbach et al., 2003) and because knowledge influences perception. hence, we remain in the belief that general knowledge of international food and agriculture issues in this study may be associated with perceptions of being global citizens. several demographic questions were included to describe the respondent set. descriptive analyses were used to report group data. inferential statistics (anova, t-test) were conducted with a-priori 0.05 levels to determine if significant differences existed in perceptions of global citizenship or knowledge when compared by selected demographics. wingenbach et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.247 37 findings participants (n = 184) were categorized by group, sex, race/ethnicity, and college. they were characterized as undergraduates (59%), female (55%), and white (67%), enrolled in sciences and engineering (30%) during spring 2021 (table 1). table 1 frequencies for demographic variables (n = 184) variables categories f % groups undergraduate students 108 58.7 staff member 39 21.2 graduate students 20 10.9 faculty member 17 9.2 sex female 101 54.9 male 81 44.0 race/ethnicity white 123 66.9 hispanic 32 17.4 othersa 29 15.8 colleges sciences/engineeringb 56 30.4 agriculture 52 28.3 other collegesc 46 25.0 liberal arts 28 15.2 note. frequencies may not equal 100% because of missing data. aincludes black (n = 5), asian (n = 11), and others (n = 13). bincludes sciences (n = 13) and health sciences (n = 13); cincludes business (n = 14), education (n = 9), and others (n = 23). respondents strongly agreed (m = 4.51-5.50) with global competency statements about communicating with others, adapting behavior when interacting with other cultures, and expressing views about pressing global problems to others (table 2). they disagreed (m = 1.512.50) with social responsibility statements about global justice and disparities (people around the world get the punishment they deserve, and people around the world get what they deserve). their disagreement (m = 2.51-3.50) with action-oriented global civic engagement statements (e.g., in the next 6 months, i will…) could have been confounded by the novel coronavirus (covid-19) restrictions during data collection. some respondents misinterpreted action statements as requiring contact, although it was not implied (i.e., online interactions were possible). wingenbach et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.247 38 table 2 descriptive statistics for perceptions of global citizenship statements gcs n m* sd i communicate with others from different cultures. gc 183 4.80 1.09 i adapt my behavior when interacting with other cultures. gc 182 4.76 .97 i adapt my communication style to others’ cultural backgrounds. gc 184 4.53 1.11 i am comfortable expressing my views about pressing global problems to others. gc 182 4.51 1.22 i can get others to care about global problems that concern me. gc 184 4.16 1.10 i am informed about current international issues. gc 184 3.94 1.18 i can develop a plan to solve a social problem. gc 184 3.82 1.07 i know how to solve some of the world’s worst problems. gc 182 2.90 1.29 when possible, i buy fair-trade or locally grown products. gce 184 4.21 1.27 i boycott brands that harm marginalized people or places. gce 183 3.98 1.32 i buy brands that are good stewards of marginalized people and places. gce 184 3.86 1.18 i express my concerns about global issues on social media. gce 181 3.18 1.69 in the next 6 months, i will participate in a campus forum, music, or other event where people express their views about global problems.a gce 184 3.12 1.51 within 6 months, i will work informally to solve a global humanitarian issue.a gce 184 3.11 1.34 in the next 6 months, i will get involved with a global humanitarian organization or project.a gce 184 3.02 1.43 in the next 6 months, i will volunteer to help individuals abroad.a gce 184 2.95 1.39 within 6 months, i will contact someone in government to seek public action on global issues.a gce 184 2.74 1.45 it is okay if some have more opportunities than others.b sr 184 3.36 1.32 i think most people around the world get what they deserve.b sr 183 2.20 1.16 i think people around the world get the punishment they deserve.b sr 179 2.13 1.11 note. gcs dimensions: gc = global competence (self-awareness; intercultural communication; global knowledge); gce = global civic engagement (involvement in civic organizations; political voice; global civic activism); sr = social responsibility (global justice and disparities). *scales ranged from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (6). adata were collected during covid-19 restrictions; some statements may have been misinterpreted as actions requiring close contact during data collection. bdenotes negatively worded statements (morais & ogden, 2011). general knowledge (20 items) of international issues related to food and agriculture resulted in a mean correct score of 9.28 (sd = 2.36). based on a normal distribution, minimal satisfactory knowledge (12 points = 60% correct) was achieved within two standard deviations for ~18% of respondents (n = 33). minimally satisfactory knowledge ranged from 13% of undergraduates (n wingenbach et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.247 39 = 14), to 21% of staff (n = 8), 25% of graduate students (n = 5), and 35% of faculty (n = 6). respondents were most knowledgeable (correct responses in brackets in table 3) about “the [saharan] desert is the world’s largest hot desert” and “economic strength and well-being of a country can be measured by [gross domestic product, annual growth rate, and life expectancy].” table 3 frequencies for correct knowledge of international issues (n = 184) questions f %a the [sahara] desert is the world’s largest hot desert. 167 90.8b economic strength and well-being of a country can be measured by [gross domestic product, annual growth rate, and life expectancy]. 156 84.8b in 2018, china was the world’s leading producer of [rice]. 135 73.4b [social media] has the most weekly users worldwide. 124 67.4 [wood] is the primary household fuel for low-income groups in latin america. 115 62.5 projected world population for 2050 shows most growth in [asia & oceania]. 106 57.6 who carries out most of the field work on an african farm? [women] 102 55.4 [china] is the world’s leading producer of pork. 100 54.4 [chinese, spanish, english, arabic] are the four most spoken languages worldwide. 98 53.3 [rice] is the basic cereal grain for more than half of the world’s population. 86 46.7 [france, ireland, italy, sweden] are part of the european union. 81 44.0 where would you find a hand-dug underground irrigation system called a qanat that extends from mountains to fields to plains? [middle east] 72 39.1 worldwide population will be about [10] billion by 2050. 70 38.0 [proteins] are most lacking nutrient in the diets of the world’s population. 70 38.0 which country is the largest producer of tea in the world? [china] 66 35.9 food production needs to increase [60%] to meet global demand in 2050. 53 28.8c which food sector uses a greater variety of biological diversity than the other sectors? [capture fisheries] 36 19.6c in east africa, it is expected that everyone will [shake hands] upon greeting and departure from meetings. 36 19.6c as of 2018, [12%] of the world’s population suffered from chronic hunger. 25 13.6c although large land areas are brought into cultivation worldwide annually, large amounts are also rendered useless or are reduced in agricultural capacity because of [lack of sufficient farm labor]. 10 5.4c note. frequencies may not equal 100% because of missing data. correct answers are in brackets. aoverall item difficulty. bitem was very easy (p > 70%). citem was very difficult (p < 30%). significant differences in perceptions of global citizenship existed when compared by group status (table 4). games-howell post-hoc analyses showed faculty members perceived global wingenbach et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.247 40 civic engagement scores (m = 34.53, sd = 7.66) were significantly greater (p < 0.02) than were staff members’ scores (m = 27.97, sd = 8.78), f(2,181) = 3.42, p = 0.02. a medium (η² = 0.12) effect size (cohen, 1992) was detected. no significant differences were found in when compared by race/ethnicity, college, or sex. table 4 anova results for global citizenship dimensions by group status dimensions groups n m sd f p η² social responsibilitya undergraduates 108 12.81 2.83 2.09 .10 graduates 20 14.45 2.78 faculty 17 12.88 3.39 staff 39 13.49 2.79 total 184 13.14 2.89 global competenceb undergraduates 108 33.16 5.35 1.69 .17 graduates 20 35.60 4.81 faculty 17 33.82 5.34 staff 39 32.08 7.41 total 184 33.26 5.83 global civic engagementc undergraduates 108 29.62 8.29 3.42 .02* .12 graduates 20 33.05 8.04 faculty 17 34.53 7.66 staff 39 27.97 8.78 total 184 30.10 8.48 note. ascores ranged from 3-18. bscores ranged from 8-48. cscores ranged from 9-54. effect sizes (eta squared, η²) were based on cohen’s (1992) guidelines for anova tests; a medium (η² = 0.059) effect size was detected. * p < .05. no significant differences were found in general knowledge of international food and agriculture issues when compared by demographic variables. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations a large southern u.s. university’s mission statement includes principles of global citizenship to be adopted and practiced among its students, faculty, and staff. within the framework of transformative learning theory and the global consciousness approach to gce, we found the university’s faculty members perceived themselves as being significantly more engaged as global citizens than did staff members. however, no differences existed when tested by the social responsibility or global competence dimensions. that faculty perceived themselves as having higher levels of global civic engagement was not surprising, given their greater opportunities (as opposed to staff members) for engagement in such activities. what was wingenbach et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.247 41 surprising is that undergraduates did not view themselves as being more globally engaged. how can we explain this result? a disconnect exists between faculty members’ global civic engagement and their incorporation of it in classrooms or curricula. the disconnect might be resolved if educators 1) integrate their global civic engagement beliefs and actions into teaching activities, and 2) require students’ participation in global civic engagement activities in the classroom, across campus, or throughout their communities. the large southern u.s. university in this study, and others, can do much to enliven their mission statements through action, practice, and realistic global civic engagement. as is the case with many descriptive studies, we cannot determine with a high degree of specificity if students in courses with global or international attributes at a southern u.s. university did or did not acquire transformative learning in relation to becoming global citizens through coursework or experiences. no baseline of global perspective existed prior to the study. we intend to follow-up with respondents to ask about their global perspectives again; a beginning to measuring such attributes will take form. based upon the literature and theoretical framework of this study, we postulate that if educators want to change students’ worldviews, then planning and incorporating disorienting dilemmas (psychological, convictional, or behavioral) into coursework and academic experience is needed. christie et al. (2015) used a worldviews survey to 1) engage students in action research, 2) introduce disorienting dilemmas to spark discussion of differing belief systems, and 3) encourage critical self-examination of mental models. the anonymous survey requires participants’ ratings of views on euthanasia, immigration quotas, genetics research, the death penalty, privatization, internet censorship, abortion, unemployment benefits, adoption by gay couples, and nuclear disarmament. not all topics relate to international issues in food and agriculture, but several can be incorporated into many courses about globalization, markets, food production, labor, and government policies. transformative learning and gce can be purposefully planned and incorporated into postsecondary education. when administered effectively, educators will help students make critical connections between belief and action in becoming global citizens. we recommend using christie et al.’s (2015) worldviews survey to initiate disorienting dilemmas that lead to transformative learning in postsecondary gce. doing so increases probabilities of changing students’ awareness of values and beliefs, while recognizing that opposing values and beliefs can co-exist in society. finding common ground on disorienting dilemmas is the first step to effecting changes in one’s worldviews. global civic engagement requires demonstrating or acquiring a predisposition to act, to do something, that addresses local or global issues outside one’s environment. “volunteerism, political activism, and community participation” (morais & ogden, 2011, p. 448) can be incorporated into coursework, especially into courses about food security or social justice issues. service-learning courses provide entry into civic engagement (barrett & zani, 2015; rossi wingenbach et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.247 42 et al., 2016) without the need to travel abroad. volunteering at food pantries or other social programs helps students become engaged locally, which may foster global civic engagement. the university provides many functions, among them is a place where students gain a sense of community, a purpose of being and affiliation. students gain feelings of organizational affiliation (ascoli & pavolini, 2017; hyde et al., 2014; meneghini et al., 2016, pozzi et al., 2019) through volunteerism and service-learning projects. gce and global citizenship skills are enhanced when postsecondary institutions and civic organizations partner to help students practice global citizenship principles. we believe undergraduates were naïve idealists, perceiving themselves as global citizens but lacking demonstrable knowledge or actions to justify such worldviews. they talked the talk but didn’t walk the walk. this situation might be due to the social distancing restrictions during the covid-19 pandemic when these data were collected. however, we know that some gaps between perception and action can be narrowed with virtual exchange programs (kang et al., 2017). the virtual exchange program needs more research to determine if gce produces meaningful changes in worldviews. measuring general knowledge of international issues related to food and agriculture remains a mystery in postsecondary education, as found in our and previous studies (hurst, 2013; morales et al., 2017; moriba & edwards, 2015; wingenbach et al., 2003). knowledge is critical to attaining global competencies, yet less than one in five undergraduates and only one-fourth of graduate students achieved passing scores (i.e., >60% correct) in the general knowledge test. while nominally better, about one-third of faculty and one-fifth of staff achieved passing scores, yet those results were not significantly greater than students’ marks. of note was the faculty perception of being informed about current international issues, which was unsupported by their lower-than-expected general knowledge score. considering the emphasis placed on developing globally competent students, faculty, and staff in higher education, much work remains in obtaining evidence to support such ideals. such evidence may be found through studies of employers’ needs for global-ready citizens in workplace settings. harder et al. (2015) found employers at a university of florida career expo stressed the importance of global competencies as skills, knowledge, and perspectives. greater numbers of students must increase their general knowledge of international food and agriculture issues. the same might be true for postsecondary educators and staff; however, our results are limited by low response rates among faculty and staff. still, we believe all postsecondary institution members should increase their general knowledge of international issues, especially those affecting future global food production, if they wish to achieve changed worldviews consistent with being global citizens. some progress is being made to improve students’ general knowledge of international issues and agricultural facts. morales et al. (2017) found only 4% of university students passed the knowledge test, while wingenbach et al. (2003) found about 5% had passed a similar test. moriba and edwards (2015) found about 19% had passed the general knowledge test, but that result came from students who had participated in one of three international dimension wingenbach et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i1.247 43 undergraduate courses at oklahoma state university. students achieved statistically significant, yet small gains in general knowledge after one semester of studying emerging global challenges and trends. more research is needed to determine better measures of the general knowledge of international issues in food and agriculture, especially the knowledge gained through specific coursework, campus activities, or international study/work abroad experiences. wingenbach et al. (2003) suggested students’ lack of general knowledge of international issues related to food and agriculture was from lacking connections between knowledge and application to international contexts or situations. wingenbach et al. (2003) mentioned that formal education had limited resources to expand students’ general knowledge of international issues related to food and agriculture; however, useful methods now exist in virtual study abroad programs. many students supported the idea of learning more about international issues related to food and agriculture; however, when asked if they would take action to improve their knowledge of international issues related to food and agriculture, they were unlikely to do so. we think virtual international experiences may prove useful in expanding students’ general knowledge of international issues related to food and agriculture. more research is needed to support this claim. in the end, we found that developing global citizens requires actionable efforts from faculty, staff, and students to enliven their institutional mission statements. when purposeful actions match idealized beliefs about global citizenship, then worldviews can be changed, giving way to societal changes that align with truer definitions of a global society. acknowledgements we thank participants at texas a&m university for contributing to this study. we acknowledge mikaela seeger for making suggestions to the original manuscript. and we thank advancements in agricultural development editors for assistance in preparing the final draft. author contributions: g. wingenbach-conceptualization, methodology, validation, investigation, data curation, analysis, writing-original draft, review & editing, supervision; t. graham-methodology, writing-original draft; n. gomez-analysis, writing-original draft. references akkari, a., & maleq, k. 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(2015). preparing students for democratic citizenship in a multicultural society: engaging diversity through project mosaik. journal of student affairs research and practice, 52(3), 237–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2015.1035385 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 2, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. james r. lindner, professor, auburn university, 5040 haley center, auburn university, al, 36849, jrl0039@auburn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-3846 2. nicholas j. lindner, research technician iii, duke university, viral vector core, duke university school of medicine, durham, nc, 27716, nicholas.lindner@duke.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7140-6820 152 interpreting likert-type scales, summated scales, unidimensional scales, and attitudinal scales: i neither agree nor disagree, likert or not j. r. lindner1, n. j. lindner2 article history received: may 31, 2023 accepted: july 31, 2023 published: january 31, 2024 keywords human behavioral research; behavioral scaling; educational research; psychological research; true limits; effect size; quality education abstract this paper provides a rationale and convention for discussing the true limits and interpretation of data collected using unidimensional, summated, likert-type, and attitudinal scales used in research investigating human behavior, sociology, education, psychology, and other related fields of study. all vague quantifiers must be described in methods and findings. the true limits of the scale and of each vague quantifier should be described. this information should be placed in the methods section. a five-point summated scale, for example, can be interpreted as follows: strongly agree = 5 4.51, agree = 4.5 3.51, neither agree nor disagree = 3.5 2.51, disagree = 2.5 1.51, strongly disagree = 1.5 1. this paper also provides a rationale and convention for the use of nonstandardized effect size (es) estimates to describe the magnitude and strength of the effect. this is accomplished by subtracting one summated m from another summated m and interpreted using the following convention: small (es = .19 and lower); medium (es = .20 .49); and large (es = .50 and higher). the rationale for this is based on the intuitiveness of the measure, true limits of the scale, and scale intervals. mailto:jrl0039@auburn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-3846 mailto:nicholas.lindner@duke.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7140-6820 lindner and lindner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 153 introduction and problem statement the use of unidimensional, summated, likert-type, or attitudinal scales are ubiquitous in research related to human behavior, sociology, education, psychology, and the field of agricultural leadership, education, and communications. interpreting summated scores has mostly focused on the appropriateness of using single items versus summated scales. in a metaanalysis of the research reported in the journal of agricultural education, warmbrod (2014) found that the use of summated scores resulted in higher congruent interpretations than single items scores. in a technique for the measurement of attitude, likert’s (1932) work focused on the use of summated scales to measure attitudes, not single items. because of the impact of likert’s (1932) work, summated scales are often referred to as likert-type. the treatment of likert-type scores as ordinal or interval has also been widely debated (norman, 2010; sullivan & arino, 2013). clason and dormody (1994) noted the commonality of treating likert-type scores as interval level data in agricultural education research. they write that it is “difficult to see how normally distributed data can arise in a single likert-type item” (p. 34). notwithstanding the criticism of how data are often treated, clason and dormody (1994) suggest that the focus of analysis should be on answering relevant research questions. the authors of this paper concur. others have found that treating single item likert-type scores as interval scores changes research conclusions (gardner et al., 1998; sisson & stocker, 1989). the debate over the appropriateness of treating single or summated likert-type scores as interval scores will continue and is not addressed in this paper. warmbrod (2014) reminded us, however, that the use of the term “likert-type” scale was synonymous with summated scale. single items should be referred to appropriately; e.g., attitudinal scale, rating scale. miller (1998) enunciated the appropriate analysis for the reporting of ordinal and interval and provides justification for such. collectively miller’s (1998) and warmbrod’s (2014) advice is as sound today as when they first reported it. building on their work, interpretation of scores may help us better understand and communicate findings. purpose the primary purpose of this paper was to provide a rationale and convention for discussing the true limits and interpretation of data collected using unidimensional, summated, likert-type, and attitudinal scales used in research investigating human behavior, sociology, education, psychology, and other related fields of study. a secondary purpose was to provide a rationale and acceptable convention for the use of nonstandardized effect size (es) estimates. discussion and commentary accurately interpreting scores, regardless of whether they are obtained from single items or summated likert-type scores that are reported as means (m) and standard deviations (sd), is critical. a very common summated scale would include five terms to describe a research participant’s level of agreement to a particular statement: strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, and strongly disagree. these terms are referred to by dillman et al. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 lindner and lindner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 154 (2014) as vague quantifiers. they further explained “[t]he problem with vague quantifiers is that they are vague; that is, there is not a single and clear meaning for each of the labels in the same way there is with natural metrics” (p. 151). when one individual responds to a single question, the response is directly tied to a specific vague quantifier (see table 1). table 1 examples of how single items questionnaires may be developed statements vague quantifiers and associated values advancements in agricultural development has a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research. strongly agree agree neither agree nor disagree disagree strongly disagree advancements in agricultural development has a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research. sa a nad d sd advancements in agricultural development has a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research. 1 2 3 4 5 advancements in agricultural development has a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research. 5 4 3 2 1 advancements in agricultural development has a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research. in the examples provided in this paper the following conventions were used: strongly agree (sa) = 5, agree (a) = 4, neither agree nor disagree (nad) = 3, disagree (d) = 2, and strongly disagree (sd) = 1. whether the data are ordinal or interval is irrelevant. for example, individual one indicates that they agree that “advancements in agricultural development (aad) has a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research.” in describing the individual’s response, researchers should report that individual one agreed with the statement. now consider two individuals, with one selecting agree and one selecting neither agree nor disagree. with two individuals responding, there are more options for describing the findings. one option is to note that one individual agreed and one individual neither agreed nor disagreed. another option is to note that the summated score mean response was an m = 3.5, sd = .71. here, the interpretation is more difficult as the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 lindner and lindner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 155 mean lies exactly halfway between two vague quantifiers. this is where an a priori convention for describing findings is needed. it would be an appropriate convention to state that sa = 5 4.51, a = 4.5 3.51, nad = 3.5 2.51, d = 2.5 1.51, sd = 1.5 1. using this rule, researchers would note that although individual participants had different responses, on the whole participants neither agreed nor disagreed that “advancements in agricultural development has a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research.” an assumption for this rule is that the five-point summated scales have four equal intervals (see figure 1): sd—d, d—nad, nad—a, and a—sa. figure 1 intervals and interpretations of a five-point summated scale interval one interval two interval three interval four strongly agree agree neither agree nor disagree disagree strongly disagree 5 4 3 2 1 sa a nae d sd 5-4.51 4.50 3.51 3.50 2.51 2.50 1.51 1.50 1 note. an n point summated scale will have n-1 equal intervals simply reporting a mean score would be meaningless without describing the vague quantifier. the true limits of a scale are the lowest and highest numerical values assigned to the vague quantifiers. similarly, the true limits of an individual vague quantifier are the lowest and highest numerical values assigned to that quantifier. the data are not normally distributed in either of the two previously reported examples; let us now consider that option. consider an example based on a single item scale score with 30 individuals responding. for this example, let us assume responses were as follows: sa(f = 5, 16.7%), a(f = 12, 40%), nad(f = 12, 40%), and d(f = 1, 3.3%). it would be sufficient to describe the data in terms of the frequencies and percentages provided in the previous sentence. additionally, because the data are normally distributed, reporting m and sd would also be appropriate (m = 3.67, sd = .88). a descriptive interpretation of this finding based on this rule is that participants tended to agree that “aad had a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research.” now let us consider a summated unidimensional, attitudinal, summated scale, or likert-type scale; see table 2. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 lindner and lindner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 156 table 2 examples of how scaled questions may be written agricultural professionals’ attitudes toward the influence of advancements in agricultural development strongly agree agree neither agree nor disagree disagree strongly disagree advancements in agricultural development has a positive influence on agricultural development practices 5 4 3 2 1 advancements in agricultural development reports research that have practical implications for agricultural professionals 5 4 3 2 1 advancements in agricultural development presents research that reports practical implications in a timely manner 5 4 3 2 1 advancements in agricultural development is a trusted source for agricultural professionals to publish their research 5 4 3 2 1 note that these are statements of behavior or attitude and that they have direction. in a summated scale, a total score or grand mean (mg) score must be calculated. in our field of study, mg scores tend to be the preference, but the choice of mean statistic does not matter. rather, the key to understanding the results is the interpretation of the scores. in this example, there are four statements used to define the construct being measured. let us assume one respondent selected 4, 5, 4, and 4; m = 4.25 and sd = .50. using the same convention described previously, the finding should be interpreted as the participant agreeing that “aad had a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research.” with one respondent, it is impossible to estimate reliability. with two individuals responding there are more options for describing the findings. let us assume a second responded select 4, 5, 5, and 5; m = 4.75 and sd = .50. in this example, one participant tended to agree, and one participant tended to strongly agree. the responsibility then falls on the investigator on how to interpret the finding. based on the rule previously provided, the mg score would suggest that respondents collectively tended to agree (m = 4.5, sd = .53) that “aad had a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research.” estimating reliability again would be problematic given the small sample size and our understanding of the central limit theorem (field, 2018), which postulates that data tends to become normally distributed as n approaches 30. continuing this example with an expanded sample size of n = 30 assuming responses were as follows: r1|d(f = 1, 3.3%), nad(f = 12, 40%), a(f = 12, 40%), and sa(f = 5, 16.7%); r2|nad(f = 11, 36.7%), a(f = 14, 46.7%), and sa(f = 5, 16.7%); r3|d(f = 3, 10.0%), nad(f = 11, 36.7%), a(f = 5, 16.7%), and sa(f11, 36.7%); and r4|d(f = 4, 13.3%), nad(f = 7, 23.3%), a(f = 11, 36.7%), and https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 lindner and lindner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 157 sa(f = 8, 26.7%). reliability is estimated for the summated unidimensional scale at a cronbach alpha of .96. an mg and standard deviation for the summated scale are calculated (m = 3.77, sd = .85). the appropriate interpretation would be that participants agreed, “aad had a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research.” the findings must be described using the same vague quantifiers used to collect the data and based on a rule set a priori. as noted previously, a five-point scale will have four intervals and five interpretations; see table 3 in the recommendations. so, while the intervals are at equal distances, the interpretations are not. a four-point scale would have three intervals and a six-point scale would have five intervals. when dealing with the type of scales described herein this cannot be overcome. hence, the need to discuss statistical significances and effect sizes to better understand the findings of a study. this same problem occurs whether the data are treated as ordinal or interval. stated as a caution, extending the numerical values of the beginning and ending of a scale to create equal intervals would also be problematic in that it would over or under inflate mean scores. interpretations of findings when analyzing findings of data collected using these scales, it is important to collectively consider the interpretation of the vague quantifiers (vq), statistical significance (ss), and effect size (es). each interpretation provides one incomplete understanding of the findings. it is at the intersection of all three interpretations alone that presents a complete picture or maximized interpretation of the findings; this can and should be presented (see figure 2). figure 2 maximizing interpretation and the relationship and interpretation of findings vague quantifier (vq) statistical significance (ss) effect size (es) https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 lindner and lindner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 158 making and understanding interpretations as described previously, all findings should be interpreted using, at a minimum, an appropriate vq. if comparisons between groups or variables are made, then ss should be provided. subsequently, an es should be calculated to describe the magnitude and strength of the effect (field, 2018). it is the reporting and analysis of these three interpretations that provides the most meaningful information related to the research and its consumer. according to field (2018), common measures of es include cohen’s d and pearson’s correlation r (cohen, 1988, 1992). the calculation and reporting of es will help the researchers determine if the effect was small, medium, or large, and ultimately will add strength to data interpretations, discussions, and recommendations. cohen (1988) operationally defined effect sizes as: small (d = .2) differences that are difficult to detect; medium effect sizes (d = .5) as differences that are evident by looking at them; and large (d = .8) differences that are clearly different. cohen (1988) then cautions researchers by writing “the reader is counseled to avoid the use of these conventions, if he can, in favor of exact values provided by theory or experience in the specific area in which he is working” (p. 184). cohen (1992) also noted that calculating and reporting es and the value of power analysis in the establishment of sample sizes is often overlooked. the use of nonstandardized effect sizes could also be provided as means of describing the magnitude and strength of the effect. in our example above this would be achieved simply by subtracting one summated m from another summated m and interpreted using the convention provided in the recommendations below. the rationale for this is based on the intuitiveness of the measure, true limits of the scale, and scale intervals. problems with logical interpretations exist when findings result in illogical descriptions. a couple of many possible examples are provided below. group a, mg = 3.50 (neither agree nor disagree) and group b, mg = 3.51 (agree). group c, mg = 1.51 (disagree) and group d, mg = 2.5 (disagree) these problems provide a strong rationale for further descriptions using both statistical significance and effect size. for illustrative purposes, assumptions about statistical significance are made. for the type of research discussed in this paper, statistical significance is normally set a priori at an alpha of .05. setting a statistical significance level a priori limits concerns about p hacking or searching for significant differences after the research is completed (head et al., 2015). group a neither agreed nor disagreed that “aad has a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research.” group b agreed that “aad has a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research.” there was no statistical significant difference between the two groups and the nonstandardized effect size was small. so, while the interpretations of the vague quantifiers indicate one conclusion, that there is a difference, a “so-what,” or “meaningful” difference does not exist. this is referred to as a difference without distinction, a formal logical fallacy. implications and recommendations based on this difference would be minimal to non-existent. groups c and group d disagreed that “aad has a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research.” there https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 lindner and lindner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 159 was statistically significant differences between the two groups and the nonstandardized effect size was large. so, while the interpretations of the vague qualifiers indicate one conclusion, that there was no difference, a “so-what”, or “meaningful” difference does exist. implications and recommendations based on this difference should be maximized and highlighted despite the lack of difference in vague quantifiers. alternate scales and other considerations if an investigator chooses to use a semantic differential scale (osgood et al., 1957) or a thurstone scale (1928), similar rules should be adopted a priori and interpretations made based on those rules. semantic differential scales allow researchers to measure attitudes using a variety of adjectives with bipolar meanings, such as good and bad, or interesting and boring. interpretations for a semantic differential scale would focus on participants’ positive or negative attitudes toward a construct. thurstone scales allow researchers to measure attitudes towards favorable and unfavorable statements regarding a particular issue using a two-point scale: agree and disagree. interpretations for a thurstone scale would focus on participants’ tendency to agree or disagree to a particular issue. how vague quantifiers are defined determines how they can be interpreted. consider a scale using vague quantifiers related to importance. if you used a unidimensional four-point scale and labeled the vague quantifiers important, moderately important, slightly important, and not important, those same terms must be used to describe the findings. if an investigator only used important and not important, then those are the only terms that should be used to describe the findings. if they used a unidimensional scale and reported m and sd, then the findings should be reported in terms of the rules set a priori using the one appropriate vague quantifier. discussion of where in the interval m falls cannot be reflected in changing the language of the a priori defined vqs. this is the purpose of discussing the es along with the ss. when reporting m and sd, it is likely not appropriate to discuss data not presented unless a logical justification can be provided. for example, an m of 4 should be described as participants having agreed; noting a majority or plurality of respondents neither agreed nor disagreed would not be appropriate without reporting all the data. within that same example, a majority could also include those that agreed and those that strongly disagree. if the researcher is going to calculate and report m, then m should be used for interpretation. to this point, this discussion has focused on interpretations of means and standard deviations from unidimensional, summated, likert-type, or attitudinal scales; this is regardless of whether the data are single item or summated scores and regardless of whether data are treated as ordinal or interval. this paper has not addressed the presentation of data in table format and whether m and sd or frequencies (f) or percentages (%) are most appropriate. while the reporting of f and % certainly provides more description than simply reporting m and sd, the latter is acceptable. in some instances, both f and % and m and sd are reported. the authors leave this discussion for another investigation, as ultimately it is the mg and sdg that are the focal point of this paper and discussion. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 lindner and lindner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 160 recommendations based on the previous discussions, the following recommendations are provided for interpreting scales described herein. merely reporting means is insufficient for interpreting the types of scales described in this paper. 1. the scale used must be appropriately described in the methods. all vague quantifiers must be described in methods and findings. the true limits of the scale and the true limits of each vague quantifier should be described as shown in table 3. this information should be placed in the methods section and may follow this general format. a five-point summated scale was used to collect data for this study: strongly agree = 5 – 4.51, agree = 4.5 – 3.51, neither agree nor disagree = 3.5 – 2.51, disagree = 2.5 – 1.51, strongly disagree = 1.5 – 1. table 3 examples of vague quantifiers and associated values five point scale four point scale vague quantifier values vague quantifier values strongly agree 5.0 – 4.51 strongly agree 4.0 – 3.51 agree 4.5 – 3.51 agree 3.5 – 2.51 neither agree nor disagree 3.5 – 2.51 disagree 2.5 – 1.51 disagree 2.5 – 1.51 strongly disagree 1.5 – 1.00 strongly disagree 1.5 – 1.00 note. the scale convention should be adjusted based on the number and order of vague quantifiers. calculate, report, and interpret the m and sd of scales based on rules set a priori. if data does not have a purposeful and meaningful order (other than the order the questions were asked), then report by highest mean or percentage first. when using m and sd in a table also add a note at the bottom of the table describing all vague quantifiers. discuss those items with the highest and lowest means or those items of interest if data are dichotomized. 2. report statistical analysis and highlight differences. alpha for statistical analysis should be set a priori. in the type of research being discussed herein alpha is typical set a priori at .05. caution is warranted against data dredging or p-hacking (head, et al., 2015). 3. calculate and report effect sizes using an appropriate standardized or nonstandardized convention. this will aid in the interpretation of the data and provide a strong response to the “so what” question of differences detected. in our field, medium and large es have the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 lindner and lindner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 161 most value when making implications and recommendations. small es often do not reach the “so what” level of value. 4. a nonstandardized effect size calculation can help in describing the magnitude and strength of the effect. for a summated, unidimensional, attitudinal, and likert-type scale, this can be accomplished by simply subtracting mean scores. a convention for interpreting nonstandardized effect sizes should be reported. the convention for a nonstandardized effect size scales described in this paper could be interpreted as shown below. small (es = .19 and lower) medium (es = .20 .49) large (es = .50 and higher) using the type of scaling described in this paper, a nonstandardized effect size calculation may be the most appropriate, but as cohen cautioned such calculations and interpretations should be ultimately determined by what researchers in a given field of study are attempting to accomplish. the convention provided above is based on the minimum and maximum values of the vague quantifiers provided above. referring to figure 1, note that a difference of .5 at the lowest and highest end of a scale would move the interpretation from one vague quantifier category to another, and from the middle of the other vague quantifier categories to another. for a standardized effect size calculation, cohen’s d and pearson’s correlation r are widely recognized as robust and useful. their use, however, is limited for a variety of reasons including complications in calculations. hence, the recommendation to consider a nonstandardized convention is provided. 5. from our example earlier in the paper, what follows is a sample of how findings can be described; this is a general format of which infinite other formats can be generated. overall participants tended to agree (m = 3.77, sd .85) that “aad had a positive influence on agricultural development practices worldwide through the rapid publication of research.” faculty (m = 4.1, sd = .76) tended to agree with the statement while graduate students (m = 3.43, sd = .83) tended to neither agree nor disagree. comparing attitudes between faculty and graduate students using a t-test (alpha set a priori at .05), t (28) = 2.30, p < .05, a statistical difference existed. faculty were more likely to agree, and this finding was statistically significant, and the es (.67) was large. 6. when illogical findings occur in statistical testing, additional discussion is warranted. for example, let us assume that master’s students had a mean score of 3.5 (neither agree nor disagree) on the construct discussed in table 2. second, assume doctoral students had a mean score of 3.51 (agree). while differences between master’s students and doctoral students are interpreted as being different, there is no statistical difference, no practical difference, and the effect size is minimal. there is no “so what” here and caution is https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 lindner and lindner advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 162 warranted against conclusions being drawn from the differences in interpretation. now consider augmenting the example. let us assume master’s students had a mean score of 3.51 (agree) on the construct discussed in table 2; doctoral students had a mean score of 4.5 (agree). data suggests the interpretation is the same for both. let us assume there is a statistical difference between the groups and that the effect size is large. in this example, additional discussion should focus on the true differences despite having the same vague quantifiers; statistical significance, and a large effect size. the attributes and viability of the recommendations provided above will be borne out over time (lindner et al., 2016). if the recommendations prove to be appropriate, they will be adopted, if not they will be discarded, perhaps because they were not useful or a better alternative was available (lindner et al., 2001). acknowledgements james lindner – conceptualization, methodology, writing original draft, review, and editing; nicholas lindner – writing original draft, review, and editing. references clason, d. l., & 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(2014). reporting and interpreting scores derived from likert-type scales. journal of agricultural education, 55(5), 30-47. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2014.05030 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2001.04043 https://aaea.wildapricot.org/resources/documents/aaae_national_research_agenda_2016-2020.pdf https://aaea.wildapricot.org/resources/documents/aaae_national_research_agenda_2016-2020.pdf https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.1998.02001 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-010-9222-y https://doi.org/10.4300%2fjgme-5-4-18 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1086/214483 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2014.05030 advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. juan xavier ullaguari, graduate student, zamorano university, valle del yeguare, tegucigalpa, honduras, 11101, juan.ullaguari@est.zamorano.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9880-313x 2. rafael landaverde, assistant professor, texas a&m university, 600 john kimbrough blvd, tamu 2116, college station, tx 77843, rafael.q@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6489-04773 3. arie sanders, associate professor, and associate dean postgraduate program, zamorano university, valle del yeguare, tegucigalpa, honduras, 11101, asanders@zamorano.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6548-4454 4. alexis zickafoose, graduate student, the ohio state university, 200e agricultural administration building, 2120 fyffe road, columbus, ohio 43210, zickafoose.18@buckeyemail.osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0327-3640 131 farmer-producer organizations during the covid-19 pandemic: examining the role of organization-producer relationships on coping, resiliency, and effectiveness j. x. ullaguari1, r. landaverde2, a. sanders3, a. zickafoose4 article history received: april 25, 2023 accepted: august 10, 2023 published: september 5, 2023 keywords association; collective action; quarantine; resilience; virus abstract during the covid-19 pandemic, farmer-producer organizations continued to serve their members. this qualitative study aimed to understand how agricultural farmer-producer organizations assisted their members in bearing the consequences of the covid-19 pandemic in western honduras. through semi-structured interviews with 20 farmer-producer association affiliates and thematic coding of their responses, eight coping mechanism themes were identified: (a) continuous training, (b) seeking and securing external funding for investment, (c) new and safe agricultural markets, (d) value-added food, (e) stable and competitive prices, (f) advocacy for temporary mobility permits, (g) agricultural, financial, and food aid packages, and (h) emotional support. members felt that these efforts were effective. however, the stability of the farmer-producer organizations was contingent upon the engagement and commitment of the members themselves. practitioners and farmer-producer organizations can use this study to strengthen formalized social networks in honduras and similar economic and productive environments. however, further research is still needed to identify the factors which motivate agricultural individuals to engage in farmer-producer organizations. mailto:juan.ullaguari@est.zamorano.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9880-313x mailto:rafael.q@ag.tamu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6489-04773 mailto:asanders@zamorano.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6548-4454 mailto:zickafoose.18@buckeyemail.osu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0327-3640 ullaguari et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 132 introduction and problem statement the 2019 coronavirus (covid-19) generated a health crisis that affected countries’ economies and populations worldwide (zavaleta-cortijo et al., 2020). although the focus has been mainly on public health, economic sectors such as tourism and fossil fuels have also received public and private attention due to quantifiable financial losses (rempel & gupta, 2021; škare et al., 2021). on the other hand, agriculture has had less relevance, although government distancing and biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of the virus impacted the activity of small-, medium-, and large-scale agricultural systems (lopez-ridaura et al., 2021). several researchers agree that these measures have caused widespread consequences of reduced productivity in the farming sector but have been incredibly profound for small rural producers in lowand middle-income countries (mcburney et al., 2021). during lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, rural households in the developing world depended on emergency assistance from local and national governments and international organizations (workie et al., 2020). the lack of preventive measures from governments with no means to respond effectively to emergencies forced farmers to seek coping mechanisms to continue agricultural production (workie et al., 2020). collective action through farmerproducer organizations (fpos) has proven to be a fundamental survival strategy in the face of contemporary problems in agriculture-dependent households (bijman, 2016). farmer-producer organizations can offer monetary benefits (e.g., competitive prices), tangible and specific business practices (e.g., access to services), and intangible benefits (e.g., bargaining power) and reduce rural poverty (bebbington, 2019). despite the existing literature on fpos and the benefits for their members, the covid-19 pandemic emphasized a literature gap on the fpos’ role in providing coping mechanisms during public-health crises. theoretical and conceptual framework this study's theoretical framework was a contextualized version of the farmer participation framework for collective action (fica) (ekepu et al., 2017). fica is theoretically rooted in the theory of collective action (olson, 2009) and entails the underlying conditions that can enhance farmers' participation in collectively organized associations. fica positions farmer producer organizations (fpos) at the center of multilateral relations across farming development stakeholders such as government, community initiatives, and fpos. this last group brings the outcomes of those relationships to farmers, who can obtain multilateral benefits through membership and collective action, including capacity building, technical and emotional support, and financial assistance. fpos can assist farmers through collective action in change processes and emergencies through two types of association structures: (a) informal organizations that function autonomously to regulate internal group relations with assistance orientation and linkage function; and (b) formal organizations which are more recent, professionally managed, and organized on economic principles (meinzen-dick et al., 2004). though, formal https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 ullaguari et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 133 organizations’ activities do not neglect local traditions and other needs of its members. the main objective of the latter is to perform a bridging function to organize relations between the group and the outside world (onumah et al., 2007; trebbin, 2014). fica has been used to study farmers' collective activity in innovation adoption, adaptation, and crisis management scenarios. for example, ekepu et al. (2017) used fica to explore the participation of ugandan farmers in collective action to improve the sorghum value chain, and vu et al. (2020) integrated it when exploring the impact of fpos on household income. for this study, fica aids in explaining how fpos assisted their members during the covid-19 pandemic by regulating group activities and engaging members with services and resources from other stakeholders (figure 1). figure 1 farmer participation framework for collective action (fica) note. adapted from ekepu et al. (2017). in honduras, farming communities experienced a decrease in their economic income due to mobility restrictions that prevented commercialization (pino et al., 2020), but overall, they lost access to off-farm work. in addition, the world food programme (2022) estimates that half of the honduran population experiences poverty and exacerbated climate change, making them vulnerable to external shocks. therefore, it was predictable that the pandemic would severely impact the honduran economic performance and labor markets (food and agriculture organization, 2021). fpos link individual producers with stakeholders throughout the food production chain (meinzen-dick et al., 2004). routinely, fpos' intermediation has improved commercial relations https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 ullaguari et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 134 and commitments between interested parties. in addition, fpos have also increased farmers' participation in more competitive and globalized environments through their proactive response to structural adjustment policies, economic liberalization, and globalization (moustier et al., 2010). however, during the covid-19 pandemic, challenges such as limited interaction, the closure of domestic and international marketing channels, and increased production costs brought new challenges to the operation of fpos. purpose the covid-19 pandemic highlighted many of the shortcomings in agricultural production systems. therefore, as societies have returned to normal, research on how certain groups coped with the health crisis continues to emerge, which intends to inform the readiness of farming systems for future issues. this study aimed to understand how agricultural fpos aided their members to withstand the consequences of the covid-19 pandemic in western honduras. the following research questions guided this research project. 1. what coping mechanisms were implemented by farmer-producer organizations to support their members to counter the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic? 2. how effective were the coping mechanisms implemented by the farmer-producer organization as perceived by their members? 3. how have members contributed to the stability of the farmer-producer organizations during the covid-19 pandemic? methods based on the constructivist paradigm, this study implemented a basic qualitative design (creswell & creswell, 2018). four organization leaders and 16 active members of fpos in the municipality of la esperanza, department of intibucá, honduras, participated in semistructured interviews. interviews were conducted between september and december 2021. a literature-based interview guide developed in spanish, assessed for content validity by a panel of experts with experience in qualitative research, agricultural production, and community development in latin america, was used to gather information. sample interview questions are as follows: how the covid-19 pandemic has affected the organization's members (e.g., transportation, availability of inputs, access to markets)? and how are the members supporting the organization in facing the covid-19 pandemic? for this study, participating fpos had to have (a) legal registration and (b) maintained commercial activities for all or part of the strictest period of the covid-19 pandemic in honduras (march-december 2020). as a result, four associations were purposively selected. the fpos had similar organizational structures in which the leaders, in addition to being responsible for the management and governance of resources, acted as legal representatives of the organization. on the other hand, members must prove their membership through the official registry and compliance with fpo regulations regarding activities engagement and compliance with purchase and sale commitments of fruits and vegetables. all associations https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 ullaguari et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 135 share a long history of producing and marketing fruits and vegetables in several markets across honduras. for each association, participants were selected using a convenience sampling framework. a general description of the fpos can be found in table 1. most interviewees were female (55%) between 24 and 65 years old. each participant was assigned a pseudonym to protect their privacy (l: leaders; f: famer member). semi-structured interviews were conducted at the location and date of the participants' convenience. all participants received a verbal explanation and signed a written informed consent form detailing the study, their participation rights, and future results use. participants were allowed to ask questions about the research and receive a copy of the informed consent form. while most of the association members were interviewed at their homes, the leaders and one member preferred the offices of their respective fpo. interviews were conducted in spanish by the primary author, a native spanish speaker. the interviews with the leaders lasted an average of one hour, and those with members lasted 45 minutes. all interviews were conducted in a private setting and audio-recorded with the prior authorization of the participants. the recordings were transcribed using a text data processor for further analysis. table 1 farmer-producer organizations’ characteristics fpo members membership 1 285 organized producers (35% women) 2 650 organized producers (100% women) 3 69 individual producers (100% women) 4 103 individual producers (40% women) thematic coding guided by the data was implemented to analyze the interview transcripts. transcripts were coded line-by-line in two consecutive rounds. in the first round, the initial codes were identified. in the second round, the codes were organized into themes (gibbs, 2007). coding was conducted simultaneously by two researchers to establish dependability. once the analysis was completed, a research team member translated the results into english (elliott, 2018). the veracity of the translation was corroborated by another team member who is fluent in spanish and a native english speaker (squires, 2008). finally, the positionality of the research team was as follows: the pi was born and raised in a similar latin american country to honduras. three researchers have lived in honduras for extended periods and worked with the fpos in other research and development projects. three of the researchers were proficient in spanish. all the researchers had previous experience in qualitative and social agriculturalrelated research in the latin american socio-economic context. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 ullaguari et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 136 findings what coping mechanisms were implemented by producer associations to support their members in countering the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic? according to the producer associations' representatives, the coping mechanisms for the covid19 pandemic were intended to continue agricultural production and marketing. despite the distancing and mobilization restrictions imposed by the honduran government, all the associations claimed to have continued operations during the health crisis. however, only one has operated since the pandemic's start. l2 said, “initially, we did not let our guard down and continued despite the circumstances. we continued with planting programs because we understood that the issue of food was going to be essential in these times.” however, the rest of the associations halted operations for up to three months before reactivating (l1, l3, l4). in response to the covid-19 pandemic, eight coping mechanisms were implemented by the fpos and are presented below. continuous training fpos continued their training on agricultural production and added topics on biosafety standards and virtual communication tools. l1 commented, “we looked for information on biosafety regulations to implement them in our activities and to continue working safely…we had to adapt to a new working method because everything became virtual. we updated ourselves on recommendations for the pandemic.” much of the information on how to prevent covid-19 reached farmers through the training above. f5 commented, “since the pandemic began, the association has always encouraged wearing a mask, using gel alcohol, and keeping distance to avoid contagions.” during the covid-19 pandemic, fpos had to provide more than their usual technical assistance in planning and managing agricultural production and marketing. for example, l2 affirmed: “what we provided the most was technical advice to maintain the planting plans that we had helped them develop.” furthermore, given the growing demand for technical assistance, one of the associations used a technical representative, known as “promoter,” who was trained in agriculture and nutrition, to provide technical assistance to fpos members during the pandemic. regarding the promoters, r4 mentioned: to provide technical assistance, we did it through promoters, who had been getting training for a long time. they helped a lot because they live in the same communities as our members, so they had no problems communicating or traveling. members acknowledged how important the training they received from the fpos was, especially during the first couple of months when mobility restrictions prevented them from adequately maintaining their agricultural productivity. they had to adapt to many changes in society and production. for example, f6 said, “technicians came to the community on motorbikes, and on certain occasions, they gave us advice over the phone, but most of the time, we used videos and texts on whatsapp.” https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 ullaguari et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 137 seeking and securing external funding for investment in response to the reduction in agricultural production and marketing activities, the associations dedicated themselves to developing competitive proposals to apply for financial resources from donor organizations. r3 commented, “despite the negative impacts, in the closing months, we were at home, but we developed proposals because greater opportunities arose to apply for resources. that is why we managed several proposals to assist our members and are now executing them.” as a result, two of the fpos secured funding from international aid organizations to implement members’ led projects. for example, r2 said, “we managed to get financial support from an international donor to set up new projects. thanks to this grant, it was possible to support members with protected structures, animal husbandry projects (e.g., birds and pigs), vouchers for farm management, and family orchards.” new and safe agricultural markets faced with multiple restrictions on social interaction, marketing stopped, forcing fpos to cultivate relationships with new markets using new marketing and business strategies (f2, f7, f13). for example, f6 mentioned, “with the pandemic, online sales companies with which we work have emerged and have facilitated selling our products. this is because the association has been so helpful throughout negotiating the service terms.” similarly, one of the fpos created its first website to market agricultural products, increasing the number of commercial transactions and improving communication with community stakeholders (f8, f9). even though new markets emerged due to the fpos' efforts, additional support was needed to purchase members’ agricultural production. for example, some fpos always buy their members fruits and vegetables. this relationship offered those members a secure and stable market to generate income (f2, f3, f4). still, it represented a challenge for the fpos, who had to continue supplying markets they had worked with for a long time. while one fpo never interrupted the purchase of agricultural products, one stopped for two weeks, and the other two suspended the service for up to three months (f14, f16). f8 said, “the association always bought me [production] during the pandemic; it never stopped buying our crops. having a fixed market helped me not to feel the pandemic in its hardest moments.” value-added food fpos incorporated value-added products into their operations to increase clientele (f8, f11). extending shelf-life and producing by-products were the two most common value-addition processes implemented by fpos. value addition was possible because food processing could continue with a permit issued by the national government despite biosecurity measures. for example, f2 mentioned, “the pandemic forced us to invent. so, we processed some products… we made changes and investments. still, we worked on producing fruit concentrates, sauces, and jams...association leaders taught us about food processing and safety and got all the sanitary permits.” members also mentioned producing sweetened fruit syrups, candies, pickles, and salads (f6, f13). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 ullaguari et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 138 stable and competitive prices fpos offered stable and competitive prices to their members during the covid-19 pandemic (f3, f8, f10, f16). according to l1: prices for members were maintained during the pandemic. there was even an improvement in some prices for products in high demand. for example, the price at the traditional market was between l. 200 to l. 250 per quintal [100kg] of potatoes; we reached at some point an average of l. 350 as a minimum, and under very fortunate market schemes, a farmer can get between l. 450 to l 500 depending on the quality of your product. advocacy for temporary mobility permits with the interruption of public transport, agricultural producers lost opportunities and market power (f1, f5, f10). to mobilize during mandatory lockdowns, fpos were responsible for advocating and requesting government permits that allowed producers to participate in agricultural marketing as long as specific biosafety standards were followed. f5 assured, “the association to which i belong was one of the first to obtain a safe-conduct [permit] to mobilize without restriction. that was a great help, especially to get our product out there.” l2 added: one of the priority things at the beginning of the pandemic was the food that was already on its way out... what we did was coordinate with the checkpoints [police inspection stations] to find out how we could haul those fruits and vegetables; because police officers were there to prevent us from entering with a large truck, fearing that they could be contaminated. although there was permission from the government to mobilize, there was no transportation. so, the fpos offered transportation to their members to collect the harvest and take it to authorized marketing points (f5, f8, f11). agricultural, financial, and food aid packages food, biosafety kits, agricultural inputs, and money were some items members mentioned receiving from fpos during the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders (f1, f3-4, f8, f13, f15). for example, l3 said: we gave out groceries to our members to help them a little during those rough days. in addition, concerned with the existing food security issues, we deliver vegetables, corn, and bean seeds so that the members can produce and have food easily available; we look for food they could produce in their backyards. also, fpos requested aid from several entities, including governments, non-profits, and civil society organizations, to assist their members better (l1-4). also, fpos used some of their funding to provide money to members who needed to pay for emergency expenses (l2, l4). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 ullaguari et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 139 emotional support fpos implemented recreational activities and offered services to improve their members' moods and emotional states. for example, l3 said: we evaluated the situation in other parts of the country; people had nothing to do, felt depressed, and in extreme cases, committed suicide...we to kept members busy with various productive activities, such as raising animals, gardening, and other virtual training opportunities. in addition, fpos helped their members find medical attention when needed (l3, f14), and facilitated access to at-home resources for self-care (l1-4). how effective were the coping mechanisms implemented by the producer associations as perceived by their members? fpos’ representatives agreed that their members are prepared to cope with difficult situations. they mentioned that members have learned to be resilient and withstand eventual unforeseeable events through training and teamwork. l3 affirmed, “our members are trained to create alternative solutions by learning and taking precautions... especially taking into account the conditions of our country.” members attributed their preparedness and response capacity to the covid-19 pandemic to their membership in fpos. for example, f8 said: the association made me not feel the pandemic. they supported us at all times; for example, they came to our houses and gave us food, which helped us not to starve. we are so very grateful for what they did. members felt constant support from the fpos, primarily through the fpos’ efforts managing permits from local authorities and business transactions during the most challenging covid-19 pandemic. f7 assured: the most complicated thing was accessing a market...and even more so if it is a traditional market where i have to deliver products every week of the year... i cannot meet those requirements, but because i belong to the association, i always had access to the market during the pandemic. fpos’ members did not perceive support from other institutions and highlighted the lack of support from the national government (f5, f8, f13). for example, f3 said, "so far, there has been no support for our area [community] from another institution; we have only had the association's support." fpos’ members acknowledged using previous training and materials the fpos provided to face the covid-19 pandemic (f1, f5, f8, f12). preventing the spread of covid-19 was pursued by fpos members due to the information and encouragement received from the fpos (f6, f9, f10, f16). furthermore, most members perceived that they generated enough income to support their families due to the highly effective coping mechanisms implemented by the fpo they affiliated with (f5-6, f8-10, f13, f15). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 ullaguari et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 140 how have members contributed to the stability of the associations during the covid-19 pandemic? fpos’ representatives considered that despite the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic on their business operations, fpos remain stable with no risk of failure. l3 affirmed, "despite the association not working at 100% capacity, we made all possible efforts not to close our activities. today, we have returned to normality. we are on a good run now [good situation]." despite decreased demand from agricultural markets during the first months of the pandemic, most producer associations (n = 3) managed to release products held in inventory. for example, l1 said: the demand for our products decreased, but despite that, we sold the product later on and were able to hold on to them for a couple of days and sold them later even for not the highest price, but it was not a total loss. furthermore, the regular commercial activity maintained by the fpos helped stabilize income and increased chances for improvement. for example, l2 mentioned, "maybe there was a decrease in revenue, but there was no risk for the association to be closed or go out of business. as time passes, things return to normal; therefore, the association is doing so too." on the other hand, three fpos representatives affirmed that stability depends mainly on the commitment and engagement of members maintained with the fpos. l4 commented, "the current situation of the association is because each member maintained pre-established production requirements throughout the pandemic." members' engagement was amplified by how relevant and beneficial they perceived the benefits and support they received throughout their fpos’ membership (f4, f12, f5, f16). in addition, fpos’ representatives stated that members prefer to market their products with the association regardless of the price. members corroborated this sentiment since f8 said: i would not sell to anyone else even if another buyer comes and wants to pay me more because another buyer is not going to give me the benefits that the association offers us, such as fertilizers and some things for the home, so you cannot let them down because we lose. at the time of this study, representatives of three fpos had not registered any member withdrawals due to the covid-19 pandemic; surprisingly, the relations between fpos and their members have been strengthened during the pandemic (l1, l2, l3, l4). f8 assured: we communicated with other members and with the association during the pandemic. therefore, i feel the relationship between me and others in the organization is great. moreover, we have become more united due to the covid-19 pandemic because we had many more group activities and learning experiences together and overcame a lot. some members withdrew from one of the fpos due to disagreements with the fpos’ sanctions received for non-compliance with production and performance standards and lack of trust in their leaders' initiatives (l4). the representative of this last fpo (l4) mentioned: some members left the association because they were upset because we were not able to buy their agricultural products during the first couple of weeks of the covid-19 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 ullaguari et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 141 pandemic… but this is out of our hands since, as an association, we depend on what the market requests. we are only the marketing channel. despite losing some members during the covid-19 pandemic, the fao continues and presents good prospects for recovery and permanence (l4). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic on agriculture and rural households were primarily negative, generally causing losses in production, employment, market opportunities, and purchasing power (iese et al., 2021). in western honduras, producer associations modified their operations and implemented different practices to assist their members during the health crisis. the results of this study support the literature that describes the potential of producer associations to improve their members' productivity and economic conditions (bebbington, 2019). nevertheless, formalizing the response of fpos to an emergency, such as the covid-19 pandemic, takes work due to the complexity of setting, monitoring, and achieving collective standards (hellin et al., 2009). however, the experiences of the fpos' members indicate how these formally organized groups continued their agricultural production and marketing activities. members of the fpos in this study were satisfied with their association's performance. they affirmed that membership was essential to generate and provide income for their families during the pandemic. many producer associations fail due to the inability to meet the needs of their members (hernández-espallardo et al., 2013), resulting in a decline in member commitment and trust (trebbin, 2014). fpos in western honduras have demonstrated the ability to assist their members during unexpected events by implementing focused and inclusive response mechanisms. they cultivated the trust and commitment of their members, which was demonstrated during the covid-19 pandemic when members chose to market their products with fpos, despite higher available prices. similarly, the continuity and stability of fpos, as perceived by their representatives, were due to the commitment of their members. the evidence found in this study aligns with fica, which establishes how fpos function as intermediaries between their members and other social and commercial entities, such as governments, authorities, and markets; some of those connections were instrumental during the months of isolation, even if members were not able to recognize them (ekepu et al., 2017). although producer associations and their benefits for members are not a new topic in the literature, the transformation of agricultural systems worldwide caused by the covid-19 pandemic brought new challenges to producer associations through which they demonstrated their potential to serve members before and during other unforeseeable events (workie et al., 2020). therefore, identifying support and survival mechanisms can generate valuable information to strengthen formalized social networks in honduras and similar economic environments. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 ullaguari et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 142 the findings of this study demonstrated that economic and social motivations drive members' commitment to their fpos and motivations to join an organization. access to markets for highvalue crops necessitates large-scale operations, which can be accomplished through farmer's groups and associations. associations are also important intermediaries for governmental and non-governmentally funded projects and donations. furthermore, associations, as seen, form an important social network of familiar and neighbors to deal with externalities. although factors motivating participation are location-based and context-bound, genderresponsive collective action could strengthen local agricultural systems (davis et al., 2017). finally, although the results of this study are mainly relevant to the honduran context, they bring to light how fpos’ intermediation could potentially benefit other initiatives, particularly those in which fpos could serve as allies for public and private entities seeking to promote changes at the community level. literature has demonstrated that community change would be more successful when targeted individuals trust the entity disseminating new knowledge or innovations (nanyonjo et al., 2012). acknowledgements we thank the honduran farmer-producer organizations for their generosity and collaboration with this research project. additionally, the nippon foundation funded this study through zamorano university in honduras. author contributions: j. x. ullaguari– conceptualization, methodology, validation, investigation, data curation, analysis, writing-original draft, review & editing; r. landaverde conceptualization, methodology, validation, investigation, data curation, analysis, writingoriginal draft, review & editing; a. sanders conceptualization, methodology, validation, investigation, data curation, analysis, writing-original draft, review & editing; a. zickafoose writing-original draft, review & editing. references bebbington, a. 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(2020). climate change and covid-19: reinforcing indigenous food systems. the lancet planetary health, 4(9), e381-e382. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2542-5196(20)30173-x © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.331 https://doi.org/10.1016/s2542-5196(20)30173-x advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 2, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. t. grady roberts, university of florida, 220 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611 groberts@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-78502. 1 innovating methods of agricultural development research and practice t. g. roberts1 article history received: january 3, 2024 accepted: january 3, 2024 published: january 31, 2024 keywords sustainable development goals; research methods; development practice abstract as we race towards 2030, the target date for achieving the u.n. sustainable development goals, it is critical that we examine our approaches to agricultural development research and practice. we should not expect extraordinary results by using the approaches we have always used. rather, we must innovate. to that end, advancements in agricultural development held a symposium on methods of agricultural development research and practice in october 2023 on the university of reading campus, co-hosted by the school of agriculture, policy and development. we invited recognized experts from around the world to develop papers focused on innovative methods of agricultural development practice or innovative methods of agricultural development research. we had ten papers presented that were authored by 26 researchers representing 13 universities/research institutes in 6 countries. sixteen authors attended the symposium to present their papers. a healthy dialogue followed each presentation to help authors refine their papers, resulting in the articles published in this special issue. a summary of each article is provided. mailto:groberts@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-78502 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.461 2 introduction as we race towards 2030, the target date for achieving the u.n. sustainable development goals, it is critical that we examine our approaches to agricultural development research and practice. we should not expect extraordinary results by using the approaches we have always used. rather, we must innovate. to that end, advancements in agricultural development held a symposium on methods of agricultural development research and practice in october 2023 on the university of reading campus, co-hosted by the school of agriculture, policy and development. we invited recognized experts from around the world to develop papers focused on innovative methods of agricultural development practice or innovative methods of agricultural development research. we had ten papers presented that were authored by 26 researchers representing 13 universities/research institutes in six countries. sixteen authors attended the symposium to present their papers. a healthy dialogue followed each presentation to help authors refine their papers, resulting in the articles published in this special issue. a summary of each article is provided below. methods of agricultural development practice girado et al. (2024) shared an innovative approach for participatory climate services called participatory integrated climate services for agriculture (picsa). using data from a case study in honduras, they outlined a series of steps that can be tailored to meet individual farmers' needs. they highlight the strengths and limitations of their approach and discuss how it can be applied in other contexts. rodriguez et al. (2024) outlined a participatory approach for gender analyses. citing work they conducted in honduras, this team of researchers contrasts their transformative approach to the typical extractive approaches used by many gender researchers. they show how their approach integrates critical perspectives, participatory methods, and systems thinking. they discuss how development practitioners can apply their methodology in other settings. gorman and kinsella (2024) shared an innovative approach for preparing agricultural development practitioners in ireland. they described their approach to determining the necessary competencies and then building a graduate degree program based on those competencies, the masters in agricultural innovation support (mais). they share data showing the efficacy of their approach and discuss how their model may be applicable in other contexts. greig et al. (2024) described how virtual reality technologies can be used by educators in agricultural development efforts. they outlined a virtual reality facilitation, application, reflection, and measurement (vrfarm) process that holistically addresses the teaching and learning process. their model describes the educator’s role in facilitating learning, how this model can be applied, and how learning can be assessed. they close the article with recommendations for how educators and development practitioners can use their model. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.461 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.461 3 chowdhury et al. (2024) conducted a scoping review to find solutions to address misinformation in agrifood systems. their findings revealed the value of participatory approaches across many sectors. they concluded that farmer field schools are a valuable, participatory tool for combatting misinformation. they close by proposing a handful of unanswered questions that agricultural development researchers should address. methods of agricultural development research narine and harder (2024) presented an expansion of the ranked discrepancy model, originally designed for assessing competency training needs, to enable the analysis of any repeated measures needs assessment data. they provide practical tools, including microsoft excel examples, so agricultural development researchers without access to expensive statistical software can easily apply the rdm. narine and harder provide a discussion and examples of data visualization to improve practitioners’ ability to make decisions with needs assessment results. roberts (2024) presented a novel approach to applying q methodology with marginalized populations. in his approach, he shares how using a visual q methodology can give access, power, and voice to people who might otherwise be voiceless due to their inability to read the language researchers use. he describes six principles that researchers can apply to implement visual q methodology. he concludes by discussing how this approach can be used with other research methods to triangulate results. baker et al. (2024) shared how researchers in agricultural development can use continuous response measurement (crm) systems to assess real-time perceptions of messages. they discuss in-person and virtual applications of this methodology in quantitative and qualitative research approaches. they also discuss data management and analysis. baker et al. close by offering a variety of ways this can be applied in different contexts. lindner and lindner (2024) propose a novel approach to interpreting likert-type scales. they begin with a philosophical discussion about the underlying math associated with this kind of data. they then argue that researchers should establish ranges and labels for interpreting scale means a priori. they also provide an approach for calculating and interpreting nonstandardized effect sizes. they close by offering recommendations for how researchers can apply their approach. conclusions and discussion several themes emerged from the presentations at the symposium. participants all echoed the value of gathering to discuss topics like this and the willingness of participants to share their perspectives. agricultural development researchers and practitioners should challenge the status quo and look for opportunities for innovation. most authors argued that there is no onesize-fits-all approach; instead, there should be intentionality in selecting development and research methods. researchers and practitioners should simultaneously consider the macro and https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.461 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.461 4 micro contexts, meaning adaptable methods are more valuable than fixed approaches. all authors recognized the importance of participatory approaches and the importance of partnerships and teams. we hope the methods presented in this special issue give agricultural development researchers and practitioners new ideas about how to do their work. we welcome submissions of articles to advancements in agricultural development that test or apply the methods in this special issue so that we can continually refine our practices. we wish to thank the authors who contributed to this special issue. references baker, l. m., mcleod-morin, a., & mattox, a. (2024). all in a moment: continuous response measurement method for analyzing dynamic science communication content. advancements in agricultural development, 5(2), 135–151. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 chowdhury, a., kabir, k. h., asafo-agyei, e. k., & abdulai, a.-r. (2024). participatory and community-based approach in combating agri-food misinformation: a scoping review. advancements in agricultural development, 5(2), 81–104. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 giraldo, d., clarkson, g., dorward, p., & obando, d. (2024). first experiences with participatory climate services for farmers in central america: a case study in honduras. advancements in agricultural development, 5(2), 6–26. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 gorman, m., & kinsella, j. (2024). embedding research and extension in postgraduate studies: a novel approach to filling the knowledge exchange competency gap in ireland. advancements in agricultural development, 5(2), 46–63. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 greig, j. a., colclasure, b., rampold, s., ruth, t., & granberry, t. (2024). enhancing agricultural education through virtual reality: facilitation, application, reflection, and measurement in the classroom. advancements in agricultural development, 5(2), 64–80. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 lindner, j. r., & lindner, n. (2024). interpreting likert type, summated, unidimensional, and attitudinal scales: i neither agree nor disagree, likert or not. advancements in agricultural development, 5(2), 152–163. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 narine, l., & harder, a. (2024). analyzing and visualizing repeated-measures needs assessment data using the ranked discrepancy model. advancements in agricultural development, 5(2), 105–118. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.461 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.357 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.461 5 roberts, r. visual q methodology: a methodological approach to empower marginalized populations in agriculture throughout the global south. advancements in agricultural development, 5(2), 119–134. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 rodriguez, m. t., williams, r. j., niewoehner-green, j. e., & morales, s. (2024). integrating gender in research and development: a case study of how organizations working in honduras approach participatory gender analyses in agrifood systems. advancements in agricultural development, 5(2), 27–45. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.461 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 microsoft word 305-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 2, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. t. grady roberts, professor and distinguished teaching scholar, university of florida, po box 110504, gainesville, fl 32611, groberts@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-7850 2. sarah cardey, associate professor, school of agriculture, policy and development, university of reading, whiteknights, reading, rg6 6ah, uk, s.p.cardey@reading.ac.uk, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8504-8027 3. perry den brok, chair/full professor, wageningen university & research, social sciences group, p.o. box 8130, 6700 ew wageningen (bode 68), perry.denbrok@wur.nl, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4945-763x 1 developing a framework for using local knowledge systems to enhance capacity building in agricultural development t. g. roberts, s. cardey2, p. den brok3 article history received: march 21, 2023 accepted: april 6, 2023 published: april 14, 2023 keywords indigenous knowledge; education; learning; training abstract building human capacity through education and training programs is a key component of agricultural development. this article lays out a framework for educators working in agricultural development to use local knowledges to enhance capacity building efforts. local knowledge systems are complex social phenomena consisting of unique combinations of ontologies/epistemologies, worldviews, and cultures of the people in a particular social/ecological context. to embrace local knowledge systems, educators should: (a) understand power, positionality, and privilege; (b) understand your learners and yourselves; (c) use participatory approaches; and (d) embrace new knowledges. the framework presented provides guidance for agricultural development practitioners; agricultural development organizations; educational institutions and others who train agricultural development practitioners; and researchers and evaluators. roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.305 2 introduction and problem statement building human capacity through education and training programs is a key component of agricultural development (food and agriculture organization of the united nations [fao], 2010; tropical agriculture platform, 2016). this occurs through nonformal programs delivered by extension or other rural development organizations. it also occurs through formal education programs delivered through vocational, secondary, or tertiary education systems. regardless of the delivery system, both the educator and the curriculum impact outcomes of the educational program (seidel & shavelson, 2007). a standardized approach delivered across all settings with all audiences rarely has universal success. rather, educators, instructional designers, and program planners should consider existing local knowledge systems when developing and delivering educational programs. viewing knowledge through a local knowledge systems perspective allows for the consideration of social and ecological variance about what people know about a given phenomenon and how they know it (grenier, 1998). local knowledge systems consist of the unique knowledge developed in a given context over extended periods of time (naess, 2013). local knowledge systems account for unique knowledges which individuals or groups of individuals develop in spatially bound settings (grenier, 1998). local knowledge systems are inclusive of indigenous knowledge systems, which embrace the ways indigenous peoples understand the world around them (grenier, 1998). from hereafter, we will use the term local knowledge systems as inclusive but acknowledge power differentials which are often associated with indigenous knowledge systems. although practitioners may see the value in embracing local knowledge systems, many struggle to do so in practice (druker-ibáñez & cáceres-jensen, 2022; thrupp, 1989). this paper presents a framework to guide capacity building efforts in agricultural development by embracing local knowledge systems which can lead to better educational programs, thereby increasing human capacity and addressing the complex problems faced by communities. methods this study employed an integrative literature review process (torraco, 2005; 2016). integrative literature reviews allow researchers to use existing scientific literature as data for answering research questions. based on purpose of this study, a critical synthesis of the literature was used to propose new models of the phenomenon being studied (torraco, 2016). a conceptual structure was used to organize the results (torraco, 2016). to begin, key informants with expertise in education, training, and/or development at wageningen university and research in the netherlands, the university of reading in england, and the university of florida in the united states were queried about local and indigenous knowledge systems. this generated dozens of concepts which became the initial search phrases to identify relevant literature. a snowballing technique was used to expand the amount of roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.305 3 literature reviewed. in all, hundreds of articles were considered for inclusion, with 85 being selected based on relevance to local knowledge systems and agricultural development. google scholar was used due to the inclusive nature search results, allowing representation from researchers in developing countries whose work may not appear in the more exclusive indices. findings our results are organized into three themes: (a) theoretical explanations of local knowledge systems; (b) dimensions of local knowledge systems; and (c) strategies for embracing local knowledge systems in educational programs. theoretical explanations of local knowledge systems the existence of local knowledge systems can be explained using several widely accepted learning theories which focus on how individuals make meaning out of their environment. first, social constructivism (vygotsky, 1978) outlines how learning is socially constructed based on interactions in the learning environment, with emphasis on language, culture, and the context. the distinctive social and ecological conditions in a local context provide a unique environment for individuals to develop their understandings of the world around them, thus leading to local knowledge systems. secondly, social cognitive theory (bandura, 1997) emphasizes the importance of considering the environment in which learning occurs, especially the other people which co-occupy the learning environment. the development of the individual person is directly influenced by the environment in which they learn (bandura, 1997). similarly, situated learning theory (lave & wenger, 1991) focuses on how individuals become full members of community through their prolonged engagement in that community. social cognitive theory and situated learning theory highlight the importance of social interactions and context in learning. thirdly, experiential learning theory (dewey, 1938; kolb, 2015; roberts, 2006), adult learning theory (knowles et al., 2015), and transformative learning theory (mezirow, 1991) highlight the role of experiences in learning. experiential learning highlights how new learning builds on prior learning experiences. adult learning theory emphasizes that prior experiences are critical when facilitating new learning. transformative learning highlights how critical reflection on some experiences can transform how the individual sees the world around them. collectively, these three experience-focused theories highlight how shared and individual experiences in a local context contribute to the development of local knowledge systems. collectively, these theories create the basis for how local knowledge systems may develop. however, we fully acknowledge that these theories are informed by western scientific traditions and may not fully frame local knowledge systems. we also acknowledge that our biases as researchers trained in the western scientific tradition influenced our decision to use these theories to help explain local knowledge systems. roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.305 4 dimensions of local knowledge systems local knowledge systems are complex social phenomena bound in social/ecological contexts. our research showed that local knowledge systems consist of unique combinations of three interrelated dimensions: ontologies/epistemologies, worldviews, and cultures of the people in a social/ecological context. culture appears to be the broader dimension which includes worldviews and ontologies/epistemologies. ontology/epistemology a discussion of knowledge must begin by considering ontology and epistemology. ontology focuses on the nature of what exists, whereas epistemology is a philosophical way of explaining what can be considered legitimate knowledge (crotty, 1998). crotty differentiates the two by saying ontology focuses on “what is” and epistemology focuses on “what it means to know” (crotty, 1998, p. 10). the two concepts are often linked together and can be confusing (crotty, 1998). ontology is often expressed on a continuum of realism to relativism (guba & lincoln, 2005). a realist ontology assumes an external reality which exists independent of a person, whereas a relativist ontology assumes reality depends on peoples’ interpretations. epistemologies fall into variants of objectivism, constructionism, and subjectivism (crotty, 1998). objectivism explains knowledge as being independent of any human consciousness and thus existing objectively in the world. constructionism emphasizes that human interactions with phenomena in the world allow for the construction of knowledge. subjectivism stresses that knowledge or meaning for a given phenomenon is imposed on by humans without interaction with the phenomenon. local knowledge systems can be based on realist or relativist ontologies and any of these epistemologies. this may differ from the western scientific training of many agricultural development practitioners, which is often rooted in a realist ontology and objectivist epistemology (aikenhead & ogawa, 2007; conner et al., 2013). worldviews a worldview captures how an individual views the world around them (hart, 2010). olsen et al. (1992) described worldviews as mental lenses used by people to perceive the world. operationalizing worldviews can be quite challenging, as numerous scholars from a variety of academic disciplines have studied this concept. koltko-rivera (2004) presents a very comprehensive examination of worldviews from a psychological perspective. a worldview is a person’s individual interpretation of reality, is quite complex, and consists of many dimensions (koltko-rivera, 2004). koltko-rivera (2004) synthesized the literature and presented a model which includes 42 dimensions organized into seven groups. among these dimensions are ontology, knowledge (epistemology), agency, deity (spirituality), morality, and relationships. differences in worldview are often expressed in the relational dimensions of individualism or collectivism (williams, 2003). worldviews are often used as a tool to study different cultures, as members of a culture share similar worldviews (cobern, 1996). the importance of considering worldviews has been frequently considered in agricultural development efforts. worldviews of indigenous communities may differ from non-indigenous communities (hart, 2010). for example, western worldviews were inadequate to understand sustainability competencies among indigenous groups in ethiopia (demssie et al., 2020) and roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.305 5 first nation groups in canada (castleden et al., 2009). there is growing interest in embracing differing worldviews by decolonizing knowledge systems and the power structures associated with western scientific knowledge (apffel-marglin & marglin, 1996; cummings et al., 2022). worldviews are also linked with how people perceive the importance of ecosystem services (wardropper et al., 2020). the worldviews of people in a local area may differ than agricultural development practitioners. culture as noted above, culture is often studied through a lens of worldviews, and considerable overlap exists. culture is a complex term with dozens of definitions in the literature often with nuanced differences based on sociological, psychological, or anthropological traditions (jahoda, 2012). most definitions include something about common attributes shared by a group of people, although there is no universally agreed set of attributes. as an example, delaney (2011) proposed a framework of eight elements which define a culture. these include: (a) space; (b) time; (c) language; (d) relatives and relations; (e) our bodies; (f) food; (g) clothing; and (h) important people, places, and performances (delaney, 2011). as another example, hofstede et al (2010) presented six factors: (a) power distance; (b) uncertainty avoidance; (c) individualism versus collectivism; (d) masculinity versus femininity; (e) long term versus short term orientation; and (f) indulgence versus restraint. the term culture has been used to describe various size groups including: (a) smaller groups like sports teams and specific organizations; (b) intermediate size groups like villages and regions/provinces; and (c) large groups of people like citizens from the same country and transnational ethnic groups (e.g., latin americans). culture has been connected to agricultural development practices in several ways. local culture has been linked to agricultural practices unique to a specific location (koohafkan & altieri, 2016), and culture is often interconnected with food (delaney, 2011; sumner et al., 2010). the importance of culture is also associated with the conservation of agricultural biodiversity in developed and developing countries (castleden et al., 2009; shepherd, 2010). culture is also connected with how indigenous knowledge is shared in various communities (lwoga et al., 2010a). failure to consider local cultures has been shown as a factor in the failure of agricultural development efforts (pawluk et al., 1992). agricultural development practitioners should understand that many cultures may exist in a local area and differ from their own culture. strategies for embracing local knowledge systems in educational programs understanding local knowledge systems is the first step. the second step is embracing local knowledges when developing and delivering educational programs. doing so may require educators to rethink their approach to teaching by crossing boundaries (akkerman & bakker, 2011). crossing boundaries requires identification, coordination, reflection, and transformation (akkerman & bakker, 2011). our research identified four boundary crossing strategies for educators: (a) understand your learners and yourself; (b) embrace new knowledge; (c) understand power, positionality, and privilege; and (d) use participatory approaches. roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.305 6 understand your learners & yourself a critical step to embrace local knowledge is to invest effort in really understanding the learners, including their epistemologies; their worldviews; their cultures; and the power, positionality, and privileges within the given social system (brouwer et al., 2015; castagno & brayboy, 2008; demssie et al., 2020; wahlgren, 2016). within a larger educational program, this may be framed as understanding the context (brouwer et al., 2015). in general, understanding the learners is a prerequisite to being learner-centered (engel & van den bor, 2008). understanding learners also allows for the design of much more meaningful learning experiences which build off local knowledge (merriam, 2018). agricultural development professionals acknowledge the importance of being learner-centered (conner et al., 2013; ghimire & martin, 2012). understanding your learners can be more complex than it might first seem. first, local knowledge may not be shared equally across all members of a community (briggs, 2005) and some knowledge may be tacit (lwoga et al., 2010b). further complicating the situation, some marginalized learners may not be heard (kantor et al., 2015), and gender differences may be present (belenky et al., 1986; briggs, 2005). some communities may have gatekeepers, which could control access to some groups of learners (broekel & mueller, 2018). additionally, understanding what your learners know is not static as local knowledge changes over time (briggs, 2005). understanding the learners also means understanding the underlying structural conditions in which they live and work (hermans et al., 2015). needs assessments are commonly used to understand the current situation and learner needs (dooley et al., 2018), but efforts should be made to gain input from all stakeholders, not just the most accessible ones (stufflebeam et al., 2012). implementing participatory approaches also allow the educator to understand learners through frequent interactions (chambers, 1994; engel & van den bor, 2008; grenier, 1998) by a process of socialization and knowledge sharing (lwoga et al., 2010b). understanding individual learners also means understanding the broader context. common tools include historical analysis, stakeholder analysis, participatory engagement, and participatory observation (hermans et al., 2015; middelveld et al., 2021). it is also important for educators to understand themselves, including their epistemologies; their worldviews; their own culture; and the power, positionality, and privileges they bring to the local learning environment (merriam, 2018; sparks & butterwick, 2020; wahlgren, 2016). this can occur through an on-going critical self-reflection (schön, 2017). educators should recognize that their approaches to teaching are often informed by their own beliefs, values, and experiences (heimlich & norland, 2002), and those may differ from the learners in the local context. it is also important for agricultural development practitioners to consider how their connection a given organization, institution, or funding agency can impact power, positionality, and privilege (cummings et al., 2022). as noted earlier, cultural differences may exist and educators should understand that cross-cultural communication could present challenges in understanding (druker-ibáñez & cáceres-jensen, 2022). educators should engage in critical selfreflection as part of the iterative planning process for an educational program. roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.305 7 embrace new knowledge understanding local knowledge systems requires educators to embrace new knowledge. this means not applying western standards to evaluate local knowledge (thrupp, 1989). educators should move beyond an either/or approach to comparing local knowledge with western scientific knowledge (aikenhead & ogawa, 2007; briggs, 2005; connell, 2020) and seek to understand the complementary relationship among diverse knowledge systems (castagno & brayboy, 2008). educators should shift mindsets from separate knowledge systems to knowledge integration (chapman & scott, 2020; druker-ibáñez & cáceres-jensen, 2022). this means moving beyond understanding to applying that knowledge in “joint learning processes” (tengö et al., 2017, p. 24). embracing new knowledge may require educators to view themselves as co-learners in the process, rather than the expert source of information. understand power, positionality, & privilege power, positionality, and privilege are social constructs which differentiate people. power and positionality are present any time two people interact (merriam et al., 2001). numerous theories about power exist, but the work of french and raven (1959) is frequently cited. power is the ability of one person to influence the behavior of another person (french & raven, 1959). in this seminal work, the authors describe five types of power: legitimate, reward, expert, referent, and coercive. they later added a sixth power, informational (raven, 1965). legitimate power means the person has the right to make demands on others. reward power is when the person can compensate others. expert power is based on the person’s level of competence. referent power is based on interpersonal skills. coercive power is the ability to punish others. informational power comes from the ability to control information (raven, 1965). understanding power and empowerment are critical for development interventions (rowlands, 1995). the concept of positionality is informed by positioning theory (harré & langenhove, 1991) which explains how an individual is placed within a given social discourse. people can be selfpositioned (i.e., they define their role in a given interaction) or they can be positioned by others (harré & langenhove, 1991). the way individuals are positioned influences the actions they take in a given situation (harré et al., 2009). privilege occurs when one group of people have advantages over another group of people based on some aspect of social identity (black & stone, 2005; du bois, 2001). privilege can be based on race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social economic status, age, ableness/disability, religion, education, and other social identities (black & stone, 2005). sometimes a person may be in a position of privilege based on one identity (e.g., race) but in a disadvantaged position based on another identity (e.g., gender). crenshaw (1989) used the term intersectionality to describe this situation. gender has long been linked to power and privilege, with men typically having the advantage (halford, 2001; moser, 1989). education and training programs can be viewed as a means of elevating or emancipating groups people who may be disadvantaged in a given context (freire, 2007). scholars use the term colonization of knowledge to describe how colonizers imposed western knowledge systems in roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.305 8 the regions they colonized (mignolo, 2007). efforts to address this situation are often called the decolonization of knowledge (apffel-marglin & marglin, 1996; cummings et al., 2022). many agricultural development efforts occur in post-colonial regions in africa, latin america, and asia where food insecurity is most severe (townsend, 2015). many of these efforts are also funded by governments, ngos, and companies from nations in the global north who were once colonizers (alston et al., 2000; van wessell, 2021). some of these regions were also characterized by one group of people (often the colonizer) oppressing other people (memmi, 1991; middelveld et al., 2021). other agricultural development efforts seek to improve the conditions of marginalized people, even within the most developed countries (coté, 2016). given this situation, agricultural development practitioners should consider their own power, positionality, and privilege as well as differences in power, positionality, and privilege within groups of people from a given local context. agricultural development practitioners should be aware that power and positionality are present in all cross-cultural communication (merriam et al., 2001). power and positionality are also present in insider/outsider situations (merriam et al., 2001). sometimes marginalized people go unheard without targeted efforts to give them a voice (kantor et al., 2015). as an example, failing to address gender negatively impacts of agricultural development efforts (kristjanson et al., 2017). agricultural development practitioners should also consider that policy-making decisions in agricultural development efforts are often limited to the people with power in a given context (yami et al., 2019). use participatory approaches participatory approaches have long been advocated in agricultural development work under labels like participatory rural appraisal (pra) (chambers, 1994; engel & van den bor, 2008; grenier, 1998) and multi-stakeholder platforms (msp) (brouwer et al., 2015). the general premise is that people are involved in decisions about their learning (thrupp, 1989). this occurs best when educators create opportunities for learners to engage with each other and with the content (demssie et al., 2020). participatory learning approaches can be an effective approach to teach groups with differing worldviews (grudens-schuck, 2000). as an example, jordan et al. (2008) highlighted how scenario planning can be a valuable participatory tool for embracing learners with differing worldviews. however, as we noted earlier, power and privilege must be considered and may impact equal participation (cooke & kothari, 2001). pra describes a variety of related development approaches whereby local people actively participate in the discovery of solutions for the problems faced in their communities (chambers, 1994; grenier, 1998). pra evolved from rapid rural appraisal (rra), with the biggest distinction being that pra empowers local people to be involved in the process and rra relies on outside assessments (chambers, 1994). more recently, pra has been called participatory learning and action (pla) (narayanasamy, 2009). a wide variety of pra tools and methods can be used (see grenier, 1998; narayanasamy, 2009). a general feature of pra techniques is that local people are trained or guided in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting a variety of different kinds of data and then use that data to develop solutions to problems. roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.305 9 the multi stakeholder platform (msp) is a participatory problem-solving approach established at wageningen university and research (brouwer et al., 2015). msps are viewed as a form of governance where groups of people come together to make collaborative decisions about complex issues. msps typically go through a cyclical process which includes: (a) initiating, (b) adaptive planning, (c) collaborative action, and (d) reflective monitoring (brouwer et al., 2015). as the name implies, msps involve diverse groups of stakeholders at every stage. participatory approaches have been successfully used for an array of agricultural development challenges, including scaling of agricultural innovations (wigboldus et al., 2016), restoring forests (mclain et al., 2021), addressing water insecurity (quentin grafton, 2017), capacity building of farmers (ochago et al., 2023), and developing sustainable agri-food value chains (pancino et al., 2019). some noted weaknesses in participatory approaches include power dynamics among participants, ineffective training to implement participatory methods, and unclear/ill-defined goals for the program (grenier, 1998). using participatory approaches requires a mind shift to embrace a bottom-up approach which leads to developing and delivering educational programs which appropriately consider local knowledge based on a deep understanding of the local context (jovchelovitch, 2007; thrupp, 1989). researchers express this approach using phrases like consider the needs of local people (thrupp, 1989), use indigenous knowledge (demssie et al., 2020), connect to everyday life (castagno & brayboy, 2008), and build on learners’ experiences (demssie et al., 2020). researchers also emphasize the importance of situating learning within context (jovchelovitch, 2007; lave & wenger, 1991) and the presence of context-specific knowledge networks (davidson-hunt & o’flaherty, 2007). other researchers found it important to consider placebased education (barnhardt & oscar kawagley, 2008) and learning communities (davidsonhunt & o’flaherty, 2007). by using a bottom-up approach, “capacity building can start to confront inequalities and shift dominant power dynamics” (ziervogel et al., 2022, p. 607). implementing a bottom-up approach means that educators should enter the learning environment seeking to understand and work with learners to co-create knowledge necessary to address whatever problems are being faced (armitage et al., 2011). within a context of sustainability, tengö et al. (2017) used the phrase bridging knowledge systems to emphasize the co-creation of knowledge. they emphasized the importance of considering the social networks of actors within the system, the local institutions, and the processes for collaboration (tengö et al., 2017). these researchers propose five tasks for bridging knowledge systems: (a) mobilize the actors in the local system to start gathering evidence of local knowledge, (b) translate the gathered knowledge in ways which local actors can understand, (c) negotiate among local actors to create useful representations of knowledge, (d) synthesize the accepted local knowledge to inform the overall purpose, and (e) apply the local knowledge to take action (tengö et al., 2017). using participatory approaches means it is inappropriate to use pre-prepared programs and curricula developed without input from local partners (campbell & burnaby, 2005). educators and program planners should focus their advanced efforts on developing collaborative roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.305 10 processes, rather than on content (campbell & burnaby, 2005). as noted previously, this may require additional training for agricultural development practitioners (grenier, 1998). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this article lays out a framework to improve capacity building efforts in agricultural development by considering local knowledge systems (see figure 1). the center explains local knowledge systems. the outer ring provides strategies for educators working in agricultural development. agricultural development practitioners should examine their current practices using this framework. agricultural development organizations should examine their approaches to program development to ensure local knowledge systems are adequately addressed. educational institutions and others who train agricultural development practitioners should ensure their programs adequately address local knowledge systems. researchers and evaluators can use this framework to investigate local knowledge systems and program outcomes. figure 1 a framework for using local knowledge systems to inform agricultural development practices roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i2.305 11 acknowledgements this research was supported with funds from the university of florida, uf/ifas, and usda/nifa hatch project fla-aec-006179. author contributions: g. roberts – conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, writingoriginal draft; s. cardey – writing-review and editing; p brok – writing-review and editing references aikenhead, g. s., & ogawa, m. 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(2022). supporting transformative climate adaptation: community-level capacity building and knowledge co-creation in south africa. climate policy, 22(5), 607-622. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2020.1863180 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 3, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. christine l. krebs, communications manager, uf/ifas center for aquatic and invasive plants, university of florida, 7922 nw 71 street gainesville, fl 32653, ckrebs@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9278-3388 2. jamie l. loizzo, associate professor, agricultural education and communication department, university of florida, 121d bryant hall, po box 112060 gainesville, fl 32611, jloizzo@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5575-2918 3. candice prince, former assistant professor, uf/ifas center for aquatic and invasive plants, university of florida, 7922 nw 71 street gainesville, fl 32653, cprince@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4993-1749 4. jason ferrell, center director and professor, uf/ifas center for aquatic and invasive plants, university of florida, 7922 nw 71 street gainesville, fl 32653, jferrell@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4442-8212 55 a survey of listeners' perceptions of an extension-produced invasive plant podcast c. l. krebs1, j. l. loizzo2, c. prince3, j. ferrell4 article history received: december 15, 2023 accepted: april 1, 2024 published: may 6, 2024 keywords dialogic model; science communication; biodiversity; florida abstract science communication and university extension initiatives are evolving in response to society’s needs and an ever-changing digital landscape. the uf/ifas center for aquatic and invasive plants (caip) has recently launched a podcast called working in the weeds (witw). we surveyed podcast listeners to find out their motivations for listening and asked for their feedback on current episodes and future content. the survey revealed that a majority of respondents were individuals who work in the world of invasive plants. many respondents were introduced to the podcast through work and listen to learn more about relevant research and information, to feel connected to the center, and to be entertained. overall, the respondents were satisfied with the podcast production elements and the variety of episode styles. based on open-ended responses, listeners described that the podcast shares science in a meaningful way and the center should continue producing episodes that highlight invasive plant research. some respondents suggested future episodes should cover specific invasive plants, environmental impacts, herbicide use and safety, management techniques, and social issues surrounding invasive plant management. mailto:ckrebs@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9278-3388 mailto:jloizzo@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5575-2918 mailto:cprince@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4993-1749 mailto:jferrell@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4442-8212 krebs et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 56 introduction and problem statement invasive plants are an environmental issue entangled with the natural and social world (head, 2017; rajan et al., 2023). the effects of invasive plants, like hydrilla (hydrilla verticillata), can impact a variety of stakeholders such as anglers, recreational boaters, waterfront property owners, and ecotourism businesses particularly in the southeastern united states (fouts et al., 2017). discussions about invasion science, policy, and management are complicated and controversial due to differing values among varied stakeholder groups (fouts et al., 2017; rajan et al., 2023). extension services include scientists, specialists, agents, and staff who educate and promote research-based information about agricultural, community, and natural resource science (warner et al., 2022). extension’s science education and outreach efforts can be enhanced using digital media like podcasts (loizzo et al., 2023; strickland et al., 2021). podcasts are downloadable audio files streamed online for individuals to subscribe and listen to new episodes typically related to a specific theme (cambridge university press, 2023). the uf/ifas center for aquatic and invasive plants (caip) launched a podcast in january 2022 titled working in the weeds. witw aims to regularly connect stakeholders with the center’s research and inform them about invasive plant issues and programs. podcast episodes range from science storytelling to invasive plant descriptions to discussions about plant management research to trivia games that review previous content. while podcasts can be ideal for sharing information, listener engagement is often difficult to measure beyond downloads and demographics. the purpose of this study was to examine witw listeners’ perceptions of the podcast and gain insight into how different episodes enhance extension’s educational and engagement efforts. theoretical and conceptual framework the dialogic model of public relations served as the theoretical lens for this study (kent & taylor, 1998). kent and taylor (1998; 2021) described how technology can foster relationships through the strategic use of these tools for engagement between organizations and their stakeholders. dialogic science communication can involve communication between and within specialized groups, or through a mass communication medium with a large, diverse audience. moving from the traditional deficit model, the dialogic approach to science communication emphasizes a dyadic relationship between the expert and their audience (van der sanden & meijman, 2008). this relationship allows scientists and non-experts to create meaning from scientific information together (yuan et al., 2017). “dialogue is not about winning or convincing, but about informing the other or oneself about facts, concepts, notions, feelings, emotions and fears” (van der sanden & meijman, 2008, p. 91). besley et al. (2018) discussed that in addition to knowledge gain and appreciation for science, communication objectives should also relate to trust and relationship building between scientists and the public. podcasting can serve as an accessible, credible, and relevant method for communicating science in extension (chivers et al., 2022). yuan et al. (2022) found that science podcasters prioritize several goals related to valuing science, personal decision-making, policymaking, and https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 krebs et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 57 highlighting careers in science. they also found that science podcasters utilized a combination of interviews, storytelling, statistics, emotion, and audience interactions as communication tactics for their episodes. this survey served as a form of listening to audience members’ feedback to shape future conversations for the witw podcast and to be a model for how other extension podcast productions could leverage similar assessment approaches to effectively engage in listener-centered dialogue. purpose the purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the witw listening audience after its initial launch. we aimed to identify the characteristics of the witw audience, determine their overall satisfaction and motivation for listening, and capture listeners’ recommendations for future episodes. the following research questions (rqs) guided the study: 1. how did listeners discover witw? 2. why do they listen to witw? 3. what is their level of satisfaction with the witw production? 4. what content should the podcast consider covering next? methods survey design and distribution the survey included a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions. we developed a listener survey that included modified items from the edison research podcast listener survey (edison research & triton digital, 2021) as well as additional items specific to the content of the witw podcast. our survey incorporated modified edison research items about the witw audience members’ gender, age, and education level. we added an additional item about respondents’ careers in relation to the podcast’s invasive and aquatic plants context. for rqs 1 and 2, we used multiple choice survey questions with response items related to the center’s communication channels and the podcast’s content. for rq 3, we used eight items to assess listeners’ satisfaction in podcast production elements such as the length of episodes, hosting style, storytelling, scientific information, and more. for rq 4, the survey included multiple-choice questions that asked respondents about their episode content preferences and an open-ended question. the respondents could select all that apply from five content format options that the podcast offers. through the follow-up open-ended question, respondents could also share their ideas for future episode content and formats that the podcast producers and experts may not have otherwise considered. the survey was delivered through qualtrics, an online survey tool. the data was analyzed in microsoft excel. we had three approaches to participant recruitment. first, we highlighted the podcast and discussed the relevant content at the florida aquatic plant management society (fapms) conference (a stakeholder training conference) on october 4, 2022. at the end of the presentation, we projected a qr code and link to the listener survey projected on a screen in https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 krebs et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 58 front of the room, and attendees who had listened to at least one episode were encouraged to participate. the second recruitment method involved social media posts on the uf/ifas caip social media platforms (facebook, instagram, linkedin, and facebook). these posts appeared on november 4 and december 1, 2022. then, to reach listeners who did not attend the conference or follow caip on social media, two emails (october 10 and november 30, 2022) were sent among their existing listservs (n= 2,467 emails). we acknowledge that through these recruitment methods, many of the recipients may not have listened to witw. to weed out non-listeners from listeners, the survey asked participants if they had ever listened to the podcast. this resulted in a total of 24 podcast listeners completing surveys. survey respondents based survey results, most respondents were male (f =14, 58.3%), 25% (f = 6) were female, and 17% (f = 4) preferred not to answer. respondents’ ages ranged from 18 to 59+, and 25% (f = 6) preferred not to answer. education levels varied among respondents. approximately 33% (f = 8) had obtained a graduate degree, 25% (f = 6) had a high school degree or ged, 25% (f = 6) had a bachelor’s degree, about 13% (f = 3) had completed some college or an associate degree, and 4% (f = 1) preferred not to answer. most survey respondents (88%, f = 21) identified as someone who works in the weeds defined as being “involved in the field of aquatic and invasive plant management” in the survey. the study had two major limitations. first, the generalizability of the results is limited in that they reflect a sample of listeners from one science-based podcast. also, all respondents were either professionals, researchers, or students. the survey was distributed through a professional conference and existing caip communication channels. therefore, there is little known about the perceptions of listeners who are not involved in the field of aquatic and invasive plant management. subjectivity statement as a collaborative group of researchers, we acknowledge our direct involvement and interest in the success of this podcast. our in-depth understanding of the podcast’s planning, production, and promotion process may have influenced our interpretation of the findings. the entire research team has an appreciation for florida’s natural resources and interest in the impact of invasive plants. we are committed to sharing and interpreting the findings with integrity. findings how did listeners discover witw? respondents were asked to share how they first discovered the podcast (see table 1). almost half (f =11, 45.8%) of the respondents discovered witw through a work or school recommendation. followed by the caip e-newsletter announcement (f = 6, 25%) and other means (f = 4, 16.7%) including: the fapms conference, twitter (now x), and direct communication with the center. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 krebs et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 59 table 1 how the respondents first discovered the podcast (n = 24) variable f % recommended at work or school 11 45.8 caip e-newsletter announcement 6 25 recommended by a family member 1 4.2 through a facebook post 1 4.2 through instagram 1 4.2 other 4 16.7 why do they listen to witw? next, respondents were asked to select all options that related to their motivation for listening to the podcast (see table 2). most listen to witw for a variety of reasons, whether it’s to learn about new research (f = 21, 87.5%), to keep up with invasive plant terminology and information (f = 18, 75%), to learn new core material for my job (f = 16, 66.7%), to feel connected to caip (f = 15, 62.5%), or to be entertained and listen to stories (f = 14, 58.3%). four respondents also (f = 4, 16.7%) listen to learn about careers in science and natural resources (f = 4, 16.7%). in addition to the provided motivations, three (f = 3, 12.5%) respondents also selected “other” and provided explanations. two of them were private applicators that listen to witw so that they can inform others. their statements were: knowledge to pass to curious persons and/or stakeholders and to keep myself aware of the information covered so i may refer others to it. when i receive questions, i can refer the questioner to any of the episodes that may [expand] on the subject. the other respondent, an academic peer, shared their motivation for listening is because they are: just curious on your format. table 2 survey respondents’ motivations for listening to witw (n = 24) variable f % to learn about new research 21 87.5 to learn new core material for my job 16 66.7 to feel connected to the caip 15 62.5 to keep up with invasive plant terminology and information 18 75 to be entertained and listen to stories 14 58.3 to learn about careers in science and natural resources 4 16.7 other 3 12.5 what is their satisfaction with witw production? overall, respondents were satisfied with the witw production elements (see table 3). a majority of the respondents indicated that they were either “very satisfied” (f = 20, 83.3%) or “satisfied” (f = 3, 12.5%) with the podcast hosts; yielding one “neutral” (f = 14, 4.2%) response. respondents were mostly “very satisfied” (f = 20, 83.3%) or “satisfied” (f = 3, 12.5%) with the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 krebs et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 60 interaction and flow between the hosts and guests. however, one respondent (f = 1, 4.2%) shared that they were “dissatisfied.” getting feedback on the amount of storytelling and scientific information in the episodes was important. about 75% of respondents were either “very satisfied” (f = 14, 58.3%) or “satisfied” (f = 4, 16.7%) with the amount of storytelling. some respondents felt “neutral” (f = 2, 8.3%) or “dissatisfied” (f = 1, 4.2%). one respondent (f = 1, 4.2%) did not select their satisfaction level. about 95% of respondents were “very satisfied” (f = 18, 75%) or “satisfied” (f = 5, 20.8%) with the amount of scientific information in the episodes and one respondent (f = 1, 4.2%) felt “neutral” on the matter. table 3 listeners’ level of satisfaction with various podcast production elements (n = 24) variable f % the podcast hosts very satisfied 20 83.3 satisfied 3 12.5 neutral 14 4.2 the interaction and flow between the hosts and guests very satisfied 20 83.3 satisfied 3 12.5 dissatisfied 1 4.2 the amount of storytelling in the episodes a very satisfied 14 58.3 satisfied 4 16.7 neutral 2 8.3 dissatisfied 1 4.2 the amount of scientific information in the episodes very satisfied 18 75 satisfied 5 20.8 neutral 1 4.2 the episode lengths very satisfied 13 54.2 satisfied 9 37.5 neutral 1 4.2 dissatisfied 1 4.2 audio/sound quality very satisfied 19 79.1 satisfied 4 16.7 neutral 1 4.2 the music/theme song b very satisfied 12 50 satisfied 4 16.7 neutral 6 25 how frequently episodes are released c very satisfied 13 54.1 satisfied 7 29.2 neutral 3 12.5 note. a response missing from 1 participant.; b responses missing from 2 participants.; c response missing from 1 participant. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 krebs et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 61 in addition to the content, the researchers were interested in knowing how satisfied listeners are with the construction of the podcast. first, their satisfaction with the episode length and frequency was gauged. most respondents were either “very satisfied” (f = 13, 54.2%) or “satisfied” (f = 9, 37.5%) with the episode lengths (about 30 minutes). one respondent felt neutrally about it, and another (f = 1, 4.2%) was “dissatisfied”. about 83% are either “very satisfied” (f = 13, 54.1%) or “satisfied” (f = 7, 29.2%) with how frequently episodes are released. three (f = 3, 12.5%) felt “neutral” about the frequency and one respondent (f = 1, 4.2%) left it blank. then, respondents were asked about the audio/sound quality and the music/theme song. over 90% of respondents were either “very satisfied” (f = 19, 79.1%) or “satisfied” (f = 4, 16.7%) with the audio/sound quality of the podcast; one respondent (f = 1, 4.2%) felt “neutral” about it. over 60% of respondents were either “very satisfied” (f = 12, 50%) or “satisfied” (f = 4, 16.7%) with the music/theme song. twenty-five percent (f = 6, 25%) felt neutrally about the music selection and others (f = 2, 8.3%) chose not to respond. what content should the podcast continue or consider next? currently, the podcast releases episodes in a variety of styles including science storytelling, interviews with researchers, and educational episodes that review scientific concepts related to plant management. respondents were asked to select from a list of episode styles that they would be interested in hearing more of (see table 4). respondents (f = 21, 87.5%) were interested in hearing more “interviews with plant management researchers and other related sciences” and “science storytelling (history, research failures and successes, etc.” the other episode style options were also of interest to the respondents with 83% (f = 20) interested in “interviews with people who work in invasive plant management,” 79% (f = 19) interested in “educational episodes that review important topics about plant management,” and 71% (f = 17) wanted to hear “information about programs and resources related to plant management.” table 4 episode styles listeners are interested in hearing more of (selected all that apply) (n = 24) variable f % interviews with plant management researchers and other related sciences 21 87.5 interviews with people who work in invasive plant management 20 83.3 educational episodes that review important topics about plant management 19 79.2 information about programs and resources related to plant management 17 70.8 science storytelling (history, research failures and successes, etc.) 21 87.5 after the episode-style question in the survey, there was an open-ended question that asked respondents to share feedback or suggestions that they have for the podcast. eight of the twenty-four respondents completed the question. all eight responses were open and axial coded to identify two themes: (a) science is shared in a meaningful way, and (b) listeners recommended to carry on the conversation. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 krebs et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 62 theme 1: science is shared in a meaningful way. the first theme related to the podcast was that science is shared in a meaningful way. listener responses described the quality of the podcast and how it made them feel. one respondent said, “i love the quality of this podcast. it is the only science-based podcast i listen to.” a couple of respondents provided positive feedback on the content. one wrote, “i like how the podcast is never boring.” they explained, “i usually have a hard time staying focused while listening to ebooks or podcasts. that says a lot for my adhd brain!” they recommended to alternate “between historical and current research” and wished “good luck!” another respondent shared their impression of specific episodes: i think that “florida's lakes and landscapes” is the best explanation i've heard about our unique fl lakes and the invasive aquatic species issues they have. i also particularly liked the water hyacinth series you did, and the recent "how are invasive plants managed/pros and cons of management techniques." i think the combination of historical accounts and information about the current state of specific invasive species issues is invaluable. i think the greatest value of this podcast is your ability to share important, real information and data in a way that is exciting and understandable to the public. one respondent expressed their appreciation for the podcast from an educational and personal perspective: i would suggest however to not lose sight of the educational potential here. i understand how difficult it may be to put this program together. i also understand that it should be expected to be more difficult to maintain the effort. when the effort becomes burdensome, when the excitement that comes with freshness begins to wane remember that somewhere out there in the listening audience is an applicator that has been treating mats of hyacinth in the elements for decades. what you do and have done here brightens the day and helps to remind those often-weary soldiers that what they are doing is important, that it matters, and some part of society gets it. it is not necessarily cheerleading, but it certainly is legitimizing. these responses highlight the accessibility and relationship building capacity of science-based podcasts. theme 2: listeners recommended to carry on the conversation. the second theme, carry on the conversation, related to the responses that suggested content for future episodes. listeners’ suggestions included witw future topics should focus on invasive species and how they impact popular environmental issues. one respondent requested that future episodes should focus on specific invasive plant species: “how about a deep dive into other major plant species such as hydrilla (and other submersed) and the wonderful world of algae?” another respondent listed ideas like: “short interviews with applicators...,” “summarized research,” and “success stories in invasive plant management.” a third respondent suggested tackling topics that address concepts related to invasive plant management. he referenced a specific study focused on low-level maintenance control, or proactive management, and herbicide fate in the environment. they said the podcast should: https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 krebs et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 63 ...maybe expand on more of the science i.e. dr joyce's study and how it relates to maintenance control...breakdown of herbicides (half-life) in the environment ...bioaccumulation etc. though i (and y'all) understand those topics...the general listener may be enlightened. another respondent suggested conversations on the “value in novel ecosystems, herbicide resistance, [and] how to minimize non target effects.” it was also recommended that episodes could involve discussions about: perception issues for the control of invasive plants. novel herbicide or other nonherbicide approaches for invasive plant control. discussions on climate change and what it means more specifically to invasive plant control. new research on the control of invasive plants. these suggestions can help the podcast producers and scientists involved gain a better understanding of the educational needs of their listeners. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations most of the witw listeners identified as professionals whose work related to invasive plant management. motivations for listening were related to the podcast’s mission of sharing content related to the research and management of invasive plants. respondents shared that they felt the podcast served as a source of information and entertainment. the podcast is a personal learning tool and a resource to pass along to others. future content should continue to blend storytelling and science-based content. respondents shared that they would like future episodes about research summaries, interviews with invasive plant professionals, discussions on techniques, herbicide science and safety, and plant-specific episodes. other respondents encouraged future episodes to have topics related to the bigger picture like other environmental issues, public perception, herbicide science and safety, and success stories. since the survey was conducted and analyzed, the podcast hosts have used the feedback and suggestions to inform the creation of future episodes. for example, some respondents proposed episodes with specific information on invasive plants. the following season’s episodes were all ‘plant deep dives’ where the podcast hosts and guests talked about specific plant species and how their physiology makes them invasive. based on our experiences producing a science-based podcast, we believe it is important for extension professionals who are also producing podcasts or considering adding podcasts to their outreach and engagement efforts to strategically balance messaging with science information and storytelling. they should also encourage listener feedback at the end of every episode and promote the podcast through communication channels that will reach their intended audience. podcasting can serve as a way for expert scientists at land grant universities and other organizations to regularly cultivate relationships with key stakeholders and enhance communication efforts (yuan et al., 2017). this format of communication can connect primary stakeholders, colleagues, and general audiences with the science and story behind the work https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 krebs et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 64 that they do. this communication medium provides accessible and digestible learning opportunities. we encourage using this technology to communicate scientific topics to primary stakeholder groups or broader audiences. also, as extension professionals look for ways to dialogue with their podcast audiences and assess the impact of their podcast (loizzo et al., 2023), the survey method and items used in this study could be adapted to other extension podcast contexts and topics. future research methods could include cognitive evaluation of what listeners have learned from podcast episodes as well as how they applied the content to their daily lives which could help extension measure behavior change. acknowledgments author contributions: c. l. krebs – conceptualization, methodology, writing the original draft, data collection, and analysis; j. l. loizzo – methodology, writing review and editing; c. prince – writing the original draft; j. ferrell – writing review and editing, supervision. references besley j. c., dudo a., & yuan s. (2018). scientists’ views about communication objectives. public understanding of science, 27(6), 708–730. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662517728478 cambridge university press. (2023). podcast. cambridge dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/podcast chivers, c.-a., bliss, k., de boon, a., lishman, l., schillings, j., smith, r., & rose, d. c. (2021). videos and podcasts for delivering agricultural extension: achieving credibility, relevance, legitimacy and accessibility. the journal of agricultural education and extension, 29(2), 173–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224x.2021.1997771 edison research & triton digital. (2021, march 11). the infinite dial 2021. the infinite dial reports. https://www.edisonresearch.com/the-infinite-dial-2021-2/ fouts, k. l., poudyal, n. c., moore, r., herrin, j., & wilde, s. b. (2017). informed stakeholder support for managing invasive hydrilla verticillata linked to wildlife deaths in a southeastern reservoir. lake and reservoir management, 33(3), 260–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/10402381.2017.1334017 head, l. (2017). the social dimensions of invasive plants. nature plants, 3(6). https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2017.75 kent, m. l., & taylor, m. (1998). building dialogic relationships through the world wide web. public relations review, 24(3), 321-334. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0363-8111(99)80143x https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662517728478 https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/podcast https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224x.2021.1997771 https://www.edisonresearch.com/the-infinite-dial-2021-2/ https://doi.org/10.1080/10402381.2017.1334017 https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2017.75 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0363-8111(99)80143-x https://doi.org/10.1016/s0363-8111(99)80143-x krebs et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 65 kent, m. l., & taylor, m. (2021). fostering dialogic engagement: toward an architecture of social media for social change. social media + society, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120984462 loizzo, j., krebs, c., nickerson, c., vu, a., stokes, p., kandzer, m., milligan, l., & carnevale, s. (2023). streaming science #4: using podcasts for engagement with your target audience. edis, 2023(3). https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-wc432-2023 rajan, a., savchenko, o.m., prince, c., & leary, j. (2023, july 23 25). evaluating stakeholder preferences for aquatic invasive plant management: evidence from a choice experiment in florida. agricultural & applied economics association, annual meeting, washington dc. https://www.aaea.org/userfiles/file/am23-pro-v3-final.pdf strickland, b. k., brooke, j. m., zischke, m. t., & lashley, m. a. (2021). podcasting as a tool to take conservation education online. ecology and evolution, 11(8), 3597–3606. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7353 van der sanden, m. c. a., & meijman, f. j. (2008). dialogue guides awareness and understanding of science: an essay on different goals of dialogue leading to different science communication approaches. public understanding of science, 17(1), 89-103. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506067376 warner, l. a., israel, g. d., & diaz, j. m. (2019). identifying and meeting the needs of extension’s target audiences. edis, 2019(3). https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-wc336-2019 yuan, s., oshita, t., abighannam, n., dudo, a., besley j. c., & koh, h. e. (2017). two-way communication between scientists and the public: a view from science communication trainers in north america. international journal of science education, part b, 7(4), 341355. https://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2017.1350789 yuan, s., kanthawala, s., & ott-fulmore, t. (2022). “listening” to science: science podcasters’ view and practice in strategic science communication. science communication, 44(2), 200–222. https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470211065068 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.457 https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120984462 https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-wc432-2023 https://www.aaea.org/userfiles/file/am23-pro-v3-final.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7353 https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506067376 https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-wc336-2019 https://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2017.1350789 https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470211065068 advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 4, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. chistopher boyer, assistant department head of agricultural and resource economics, university of tennessee, 302i morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle, knoxville, tn 37996, cboyer3@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1393-8589 2. christopher stripling, department head of agricultural leadership, education, and communications, university of tennessee, 320 morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle, knoxville, tn 37996, cstripli@tennessee.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5045-3492 3. kendall martin, former graduate student of department of agricultural leadership, education, and communications, university of tennessee, 320 morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle, knoxville, tn 37996, kenomart@vols.utk.edu 1 incentivizing e-learning agricultural professional development content for tennessee secondary teachers c.n. boyer1, c. t. stripling2, k. martin3 article history received: june 6, 2023 accepted: september 28, 2023 published: october 5, 2023 keywords life-long learning; stipend; motivation; workforce development; tennessee abstract teacher professional development is seen by many as a cornerstone for initiating educational change. yet, there are many challenges to participating, such as family commitments, high workloads, poor-quality content, high program costs, and frequent travel. financial incentives can be an effective tool to overcome these challenges. however, setting up incentives to motivate participation can be difficult, since several factors can influence the optimal payment level. this study investigates how content, time commitment, and stipend payment influences willingness to participate in an agricultural professional development program. data were collected by surveying participants. most of the participants joined the program based on the content and stipend, indicating both were influential for involvement. the $500 stipend offered to teachers exceeded the compensation for which they were willing to participate, and they indicated they were willing to dedicate additional hours to professional development. based on the results of this study, we recommend stipends for professional development be at rates comparable or higher than local instructional rates to maximize participation and persistence. mailto:cboyer3@utk.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1393-8589 mailto:cstripli@tennessee.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5045-3492 mailto:kenomart@vols.utk.edu boyer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 2 introduction and problem statement there is strong and growing demand for jobs in agricultural-related fields in the united states (us), and the agricultural job market is currently outpacing the new us graduates with agricultural-related degrees (fernandez et al., 2020). the expected shortfall of college graduates with agricultural-related degrees is especially concerning in tennessee. a report by the tennessee department of education (tdoe; 2017) projected robust growth in tennessee jobs for college graduates with agricultural degrees with demand growing nine to 21% depending on the field (tdoe, 2017). research suggests taking agricultural courses in high school could increase the number of students entering postsecondary agricultural degree programs (stair et al., 2016). in tennessee, secondary agriculture education programs of study areas are disproportionately offered, and current offerings are not reflective of projected demand (tdoe, 2017). a lack of teacher proficiency in specific content such as agribusiness (dossett et al., 2019; sanok et al., 2015; stripling & roberts, 2012) may partially explain why program of study offerings do not reflect employment demands. teacher professional development is seen by many as a cornerstone for initiating educational change (guskey, 2002; shoulders & myers, 2014; supovitz & turner, 2000). yet, there are many challenges to participating, such as family commitments, high workloads, poor-quality content, high program costs, and frequent travel (krille, 2020). financial incentives can be an effective tool to overcome these challenges (miles et al., 2003; odden et al., 2002). however, setting up incentives to motivate participation can be difficult, since several factors can influence the optimal payment level. this study investigates how content, time commitment, and stipend payment influence willingness to participate in an agricultural professional development program, which provided secondary agriculture teachers with online modules and instructional resources aligned with the tennessee agribusiness program of study standards. this research may help developers of other professional development programs maximize their impact by reaching the largest number of teachers with a limited budget for stipends. theoretical and conceptual framework the professional development program was developed using guskey’s (2002) model of teacher change. guskey posited the “three major goals of professional development programs are change in the classroom practices of teachers, change in their attitudes and beliefs, and change in the learning outcomes of students” (p. 383). guskey stated that the key component of successful professional development is changing teachers’ attitudes and beliefs. correspondingly, teachers need to see that changes in classroom practices have a positive impact on student learning. guskey also purported instructional change is gradual and a difficult process as learning something new and finding meaning requires time and effort. guskey stated teachers need regular follow-up, feedback on their efforts, support, and occasional nudging to persist. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 boyer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 3 however, before a teacher’s attitudes, beliefs, and actions can be influenced by a voluntary professional development program, the teacher must agree to participate. krille (2020) provided an overview of reasons for teachers not participating in professional development opportunities. they cite several reasons such as high workload, timing, and family commitments. additionally, there is discussion about issues with previously attended professional development such as poor-quality content, high costs, and difficulties traveling to programs. furthermore, odden et al. (2002) noted that teacher stipends are a key cost for professional development programs to attract teachers to participate. miles et al. (2003) showed these stipends will range, which is anticipated since salaries and cost of living differ regionally. in developing the professional development program, we recognized the need for providing teachers with a proper incentive for them to persist and participate outside of the regular school day and year (miles et al., 2003; odden et al., 2002). a more detailed description of the professional development program is provided in the methods section of this article. purpose the purpose of this study is to understand what incentives teachers to participate in an agricultural-focused professional development program. specifically, our objective was to determine how content, time commitment, and stipend payment influences willingness to participate in professional development. data were collected by surveying tennessee secondary agriculture teachers who participated in the first year of a professional development program. results will inform future years of the professional development program and provide those who are considering similar programs with lessons learned regarding participation, content, and stipend payment. methods our goal was to recruit 60 agriculture teachers to participate in the first year of the university of tennessee agribusiness academy and provide each participant a $500 stipend. an email invitation was sent out across the tennessee agricultural education teacher listserv to recruit participants, and the invitation described the importance, goals, and scope of the professional development program. a total of 63 teachers signed up to participate. sixty teachers signed up to participate with a stipend and three others without a stipend. fifty-seven of the 60 teachers that signed up to participate with a stipend completed the first year of the program, which allowed us to provide a stipend for the three that were originally participating without a stipend. our recruitment efforts targeted teachers located in schools that do not currently offer the agribusiness program of study and teachers that currently offer the agribusiness program of study. the program was designed to provide three years of professional development related to the second-, third-, and fourth-year courses in the high school program of study. the firstyear course is agriscience, which is common to all high school agriculture programs of study in https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 boyer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 4 tennessee. the format of the program is for yearlong professional development to be delivered for each of the three courses beyond the first-year course in the program of study. each year, the professional development consists of e-learning modules (designed as 12-hours of instruction) with technical content and student learning activities to be completed during the summer, a face-to-face meeting at the summer teachers conference (most teachers in tennessee regularly attend this conference) to discuss challenges and demonstrate some of the student learning activities, and on-demand instructional support provided by university faculty during the school year as the teachers implement student learning activities and content. we collected data on how stipends (or incentives) impacted their decision to participate using a survey. we emailed the survey to all participants who completed the first year of professional development using questionpro. a total of 42 (70%) of participants completed the survey. of the respondents, 60% were female and 40% male, and 54% described their school district as urban and 46% described their school district as rural. respondent indicated they teach on average 128 students per year in their various secondary agriculture classes. the survey asked a series of questions about initial motivation to participate, the stipend amount, hours spent on the program, willingness to participate at a lower stipend level, and maximum number of hours they would spend on the program for a $500 stipend. descriptive statistics were used to summarize the findings. readers should use caution when interpreting or generalizing the data, since a convenience sample was used. findings teachers were asked what initially motivated them to participate in the agricultural professional development program. the vast majority stated both the content and stipend were motivating factors (table 1). seven percent indicated the stipend was the motivating factor, and 12% indicated they were motivated by the content. as mentioned, these teachers were told of the content, anticipated time commitment and dates, and stipend amount before they agreed to participate. table 1 motivating factors to participate in the program factor percent content 12% stipend 7% both 81% table 2 shows the hours respondents reported they spent on the first year of the professional development and would be willing to spend for the $500 stipend. the respondents indicated they spent on average eight and a half hours engaging with the program, but the hours engaged ranged from four to 30 hours. around 81% spent less than 10 hours, but another 14% spent between 10 hours and 20 hours. dividing the $500 stipend by the average hours spent https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 boyer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 5 per person, teachers were paid on average $59 per hour to participate in professional development. we also asked respondents to indicate how many hours they would be willing to spend for a $500 stipend. the respondents indicated they would be willing to spend an average of 16 hours. at the $500 stipend rate, this is equal to about a $31 per hour rate for professional development, which is lower than participants were paid for year one of the program. teachers indicated they were willing to spend more time on the program for $500. table 2 hours spent and would be willing to spend on the program for $500 stipend hours did spend would be willing to spend 1 to 5 42% 15% 6 to 10 39% 22% 11 to 15 12% 24% 16 to 20 2% 20% 21 plus 5% 20% table 3 shows how their professional development experience aligned with their expectations in terms of time commitment. over half (59%) indicated the program time commitment was about their expected time going into the program. of the remaining percentage, 36% indicated the program took less than expected, while 5% said it took longer than expected. table 3 participates actual time spent on the program relative to what they anticipated time percent more than anticipated 5% less than anticipated 36% about what you anticipated 59% figure 1 illustrates the percentage of participants that would participate in the program at various stipend rates. when the stipend goes up, more people would be willing to participate. with no stipend, about 33% of the respondents said they would participate. this is higher than the percentage who said they were motivated by content only (see table 1). figure 1 shows that going from zero to $100 resulted in four additional respondents indicating they would participate. going from $100 to $200, six more respondents indicated they would participate. the number of respondents willing to participate increased by 10 and five going from $200 to $300 and $300 to $400, respectively. the results suggest, on average, respondents’ willingness to participate was inclining at an increasing rate until the $300 stipend. after a $300 stipend, more individuals would participate but at a lower rate of increase than going from $200 to $300. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 boyer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 6 figure 1 percent of respondent who would participate in the academy at various stipend levels regarding participation in the program at various stipend levels by initial motivating factors (table 4), teachers who stated the stipend was the sole motivating factor for participation would not participate until the stipend reached $200, and teachers who stated content was the sole motivating factor for participation responded to stipends similarly. interestingly, none of the teachers who stated content was the sole motivating factor for participating would be willing to participate when the stipend was zero. several who indicated both content and the stipend would have participated without a stipend. table 4 count of respondent who would participate in the course at various stipend levels by motivating factor stipend content stipend both $0 0 0 12 $100 1 0 15 $200 1 2 18 $300 2 2 27 $400 3 2 31 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations most of the teachers indicated the content and the $500 stipend in combination were motivating factors for participation in the agricultural professional development program. few teachers indicated the content or stipend alone were motivating factors for participation. this 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% $0 $100 $200 $300 $400 pe rc en t stipend per course https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 boyer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 7 finding supports miles et al. (2003) and odden et al. (2002), who stated incentives are needed for teachers to persist and participate in professional development programs outside of the regular school day and year. additionally, 60 of the 63 teachers who registered for the professional development program completed the first year. as a result, we recommend those who design and deliver secondary teacher professional development utilize stipends to aid in teacher recruitment and retention. regarding the amount of the stipend to provide, teachers participating in this program were paid on average $59 per hour for eight and a half hours of professional development, but the teachers indicated they were willing to spend 16 hours on professional development, which is equivalent to a rate of $31 per hour. additionally, the teachers indicated that higher stipend rates would encourage participation in the program, and willingness to participate inclined at an increasing rate until $300. after a $300 stipend rate, more individuals indicated they would participate, but willingness to participate was at a lower rate of increase than going from $200 to $300. this suggests the dollar value of willingness to participate in the professional development program declines after $300 and is the highest going from $200 to $300. based on the results of this study and supported by miles et al. (2003) and odden et al. (2002), the stipend is a primary driver of participation. furthermore, guskey (2002) stated instructional change is gradual and difficult and that learning something new and finding meaning requires time and effort. our data suggests tennessee teachers are willing to engage in agricultural professional development at rates comparable to their classroom instructional rate. the average tennessee classroom teachers’ instructional rate per hour for the 2019-2020 school year was $34.60 (tennessee comptroller of the treasury, 2021). based on miles et al. (2003) and the results of this study, we recommend stipends for professional development be at rates comparable to or higher than local instructional rates to maximize participation and persistence. the primary limitations of this study are the small sample and composition of teachers. extending this survey to more secondary agriculture teachers across the us or in wider regions would give more insight into teachers’ response to incentives. replicating this survey across states would provide a unique dataset to determine optimal stipends for professional development. this survey could easily be adapted to include other content areas such as animal science or horticulture. this data would provide insights into if teachers’ willingness to participate in professional development programs varies by agricultural content area and how stipend amounts would need to vary across content areas to encourage participation and persistence. this type of information may prove useful in addressing teacher content and skill deficiencies, which should improve student learning outcomes, encourage teachers to offer programs of study and teach content such as agribusiness that they currently lack the knowledge and skills to teach, and as a result, assist in increasing and strengthening the pipeline of students into postsecondary agricultural degree programs. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 boyer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 8 acknowledgements this project was supported by agriculture and food research initiative competitive grant no. 2020-67037-31042 from the usda national institute of food and agriculture. author contributions: c. boyer – data curation, funding acquisition, visualization, writing – original draft; c. stripling – funding acquisition, data curation, methodology, writing – review and editing; k. martin – visualization, data curation, formal analysis. references dossett, j., stripling, c. t., haynes, j. c., stephens, c. a., & boyer, c. 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(2017). programs of study justification for agriculture, food, and natural resources. https://www.tn.gov/education/educators/career-andtechnical-education/career-clusters/cte-cluster-agriculture-food-natural-resources.html tennessee comptroller of the treasury. (2021). mapping tennessee education. https://comptroller.tn.gov/content/dam/cot/orea/advancedsearch/2021/teachercompensation.pdf © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.361 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2014.01167 https://doi.org/10.54718/nmrw9896 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2012.03028 https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-2736(200011)37:9%3c963::aid-tea6%3e3.0.co;2-0 https://www.tn.gov/education/educators/career-and-technical-education/career-clusters/cte-cluster-agriculture-food-natural-resources.html https://www.tn.gov/education/educators/career-and-technical-education/career-clusters/cte-cluster-agriculture-food-natural-resources.html https://comptroller.tn.gov/content/dam/cot/orea/advanced-search/2021/teachercompensation.pdf https://comptroller.tn.gov/content/dam/cot/orea/advanced-search/2021/teachercompensation.pdf advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 3, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. lendel narine, extension associate professor, utah state university, 4800 old main hill, logan, ut 84322, lendel.narine@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-2770 2. arlene enderton, program specialist, iowa state university extension and outreach, 2625 n loop drive, suite 2430, ames, iowa 50011, arlene@iastate.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7416-6203 3. matt benge, director, program development and evaluation center (pdec), university of florida, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32610, mattbenge@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5358-3233 4. elizabeth bihn, director, produce safety alliance, cornell university, 665 w. north street, food research lab – nysaes, geneva, ny 14456, eab38@cornell.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5806-3491 5. stephanie brown, food safety specialist, oregon state university, 1207 nw naito parkway, portland, or 97209, stephanie.brown@oregonstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8682-9984 6. jovana kovacevic, associate professor and extension food safety specialist, oregon state university, 1207 nw naito parkway, portland, or 97209, jovana.kovacevic@oregonstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1254-4294 7. elizabeth newbold, assistant director, ne center to advance food safety, university of vermont, 310 main st, po box 559, bennington, vt 05201-0559, elizabeth.newbold@uvm.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0862-4593 8. keith schneider, professor, university of florida, 359 fshn bldg., newell dr., gainesville, fl 32611, keiths29@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0145-3418 9. angela shaw, professor, texas tech university, box 42141, lubbock, tx 79409-2141, angela.shaw@ttu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5908-0429 13 produce safety alliance grower training knowledge assessment results l. narine1, a. enderton2, m. benge3, e. bihn4, s. brown5, j. kovacevic6, e. newbold7, k. schneider8, a. shaw9 article history received: february 16, 2024 accepted: march 19, 2024 published: april 16, 2024 keywords evaluation; fruits; vegetables; knowledge; assessment; grower training; food safety modernization act; produce safety; sdg 3: good health and wellbeing abstract the produce safety alliance (psa) grower training (gt) curriculum was developed to provide produce growers with training that meets requirements in §112.22(c) of the food safety modernization act (fsma) produce safety rule (psr). four regional food safety centers evaluated course attendees’ knowledge change over four years (2019 to 2022) using a preand post-test quiz. knowledge assessment results showed (a) respondents gained knowledge on each of the seven modules presented in the curriculum; (b) the curriculum content had a large effect on knowledge gain; (c) knowledge gain differed significantly between years, but the differences were not of practical importance; (d) remote participants learned significantly more than in-person participants, but differences were not of practical importance; and (e) the quiz consisted of low and moderate difficulty questions (no questions were high difficulty) and had generally acceptable discriminant properties. implementation of the fsma psr has progressed from an educational to a regulatory phase, and the authors recommend replacing the knowledge assessment with a tool that measures how the psa course prepares growers for compliance. mailto:lendel.narine@usu.edu https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 mailto:arlene@iastate.edu https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 mailto:mattbenge@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 mailto:eab38@cornell.edu https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 mailto:stephanie.brown@oregonstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8682-9984 mailto:jovana.kovacevic@oregonstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1254-4294 mailto:elizabeth.newbold@uvm.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0862-4593 mailto:keiths29@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0145-3418 mailto:angela.shaw@ttu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5908-0429 narine et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 14 introduction and problem statement the produce safety alliance (psa) grower training (gt) curriculum was developed to provide produce growers with training that meets requirements in §112.22(c) of the food safety modernization act (fsma) produce safety rule (psr). concurrently, four regional centers, funded by united states department of agriculture (usda) and united states food and drug administration (fda), were established to help develop networks of food safety professionals who could deliver the psa gt courses to ensure training was widely available to produce growers, regulatory personnel, educators, and others. as of december 31, 2023, psa trainers have delivered 2,859 psa gts domestically since 2016, with 53,992 participants. prior to the covid-19 pandemic, psa gts were exclusively delivered in person. during the pandemic, realtime remote courses delivered by psa trainers using remote conference technologies was allowed. this remote delivery policy was temporary, but due to the popularity of the option, an assessment of training evaluations was conducted to ensure it was as effective a modality as inperson courses (bugingo et al., 2023). in 2023, the remote course delivery policy became permanent, allowing psa trainers to teach psa gts in either course format. to help evaluate the effectiveness of psa gts, pre-training (pre-test) and post-training (posttest) knowledge assessment tests were developed by the southern center (sc) for food safety training, outreach, and technical assistance to measure the immediate knowledge change of participants. the four regional centers have been collating these data from within their regions to gauge effectiveness, impact, and remaining training needs. voluntarily reported knowledge assessment data collected by the four regional centers from january 2019 to june 2022 are described herein. data from in-person and remote delivery courses were analyzed to assess whether the psa gts resulted in short-term knowledge gain. theoretical and conceptual framework since the regional centers were launched, the targeting outcomes of programs (top) model has been used to assess program performance. the top model, an expansion of bennett’s hierarchy (bennett 1975; bennett 1976), was first developed in 1994 to evaluate program outcomes in planning, implementation, and evaluation (harder, 2009; rockwell & bennett, 2004). this model includes a two-sided hierarchy (program development and program performance), with seven levels shared between the two sides. these include (a) resources; (b) activities; (c) participation; (d) reactions; (e) the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and aspirations of participants (kasa); (f) practices; and (g) social, economic, and environmental conditions (see; harder, 2009; rockwell & bennett, 2004). notably, the model allows for multiple evaluation strategies (process and outcomes evaluation) to measure programmatic performance (one side of the hierarchy) (harder, 2009; rockwell & bennett, 2004). in an initial effort to evaluate knowledge gain from programs delivering standardized fsma trainings (e.g., psa gts), a plan for sharing basic training information (e.g., average knowledge https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 narine et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 15 assessment scores) at a national level was developed in collaboration with the lead regional coordination center and other regional centers. a common set of quantitative indicators (i.e., preand post-tests) were also created and used across trainings delivered by regional center partners. although the same set of indicators were used, each center approached knowledge assessment and additional training-related data collection (for the kasa-related portion of the top model) differently. to start understanding the short-term training impacts of produce safety trainings on a national scale, this manuscript focuses on the evaluation of knowledge assessment data collected during trainings delivered from january 2019 to june 2022. moving forward, these data will serve as guiding points to further the standardization of national evaluation efforts, including the assessment of mediumand long-term impacts, and reevaluation of current quantitative indicators for psa gts. this framework will also serve as a guide for evaluating other standardized fsma trainings provided by food safety professionals within the regional center networks (e.g., the food safety preventive controls alliance preventive controls for human food participant course). purpose the purpose of this study was to assess the short-term knowledge outcomes of the psa gt course over a four-year period. the objectives were to (a) assess knowledge gain for each module of the psa gt course, (b) assess overall knowledge gain by participants, (c) compare net knowledge gain across each year of the course, (d) examine differences in knowledge gain by delivery modality, and (e) assess the quality of each item in the knowledge assessment via the difficulty index and discrimination index. the study’s results will be used to inform strategies for improving program implementation and optimizing program evaluation instruments. methods this study examined primary data through quantitative methodology. quantitative research is used to test theory through numerical evaluation by observing the relationships among variables (ary et al., 2006; creswell, 2014) and generates knowledge by examining phenomena affecting individuals (allen, 2017). secondary data is information that existed prior to a study, and it was not collected by the researcher solely for the purpose of their study (stewart & kamis, 1992). zimmerman and kahl (2018) explained that the collection of preexisting data can inform extension programs and provide an increased understanding of the community by “putting individual extension program impacts into a broader perspective.” preexisting psa data were collected from the four regional centers for this study. the psa gt knowledge test contained 25 questions within seven curricular modules. each test question consisted of four multiple-choice options, and psa gt participants took the test before and after the training. each psa trainer either scored the tests and shared the preand postknowledge test scores with their specific regional evaluation liaison or sent quizzes (electronically or via paper mail) to their regional evaluation liaison for data entry. each regional https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 narine et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 16 evaluation team holds its own institutional review board approval, and demographic data were not collected. each regional evaluation team gathered their regional psa knowledge assessment data collected from january 2019 through june 2022 for this study. the total number of cases collected across all four regions was 7,185. the aggregated regional data were reviewed, and cases with incomplete preor post-test scores were removed from the dataset, which yielded a final data set of 6,583 cases. for this study, the data were additionally coded for three independent variables: (a) year, (b) delivery modality, and (c) u.s. region. a paired samples ttest was used to address objectives (a) and (b), a one-way ancova was used to answer objectives (c) and (d), and a difficulty index based on the proportion of correct responses and discrimination index via a point-biserial correlation (millman & green, 1989) were calculated for objective (e). findings objective (a): module-level knowledge gain there are seven modules in the psa gt course. scores were standardized to the percent of correct responses in each module. table 1 shows the average preand post-test scores across each module. there were statistically significant increases (p < 0.001) in participant scores between the preand post-test scores across all seven modules. based on cohen’s d, the effect size between pre-and-post-test scores was small for module 2, moderate for modules 1 and 3, and large for 4, 5, 6, and 7. table 1 module-level knowledge scores module n % t (one-tailed) p cohen’s d pre-test post-test 1 5,147 72 82 34.55 <0.001 0.48 2 5,147 94 97 10.20 <0.001 0.14 3 5,150 74 86 29.00 <0.001 0.40 4 5,161 54 77 48.66 <0.001 0.68 5 5,165 58 83 57.13 <0.001 0.80 6 5,138 52 77 53.85 <0.001 0.75 7 5,153 44 69 59.38 <0.001 0.83 note. the southern region did not gather module-level data. table 1 excludes data from that region. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 narine et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 17 objective (b): overall knowledge gain participants demonstrated an increase in their knowledge of the psr after completing the course. based on a paired t-test, there was a statistically significant increase in participants’ (n = 6,583*) pre-test and post-test scores (t = 108.39, p < 0.001). on average, participants scored 15.94 (sd = 3.62) or 64% on the pre-test and 20.38 (sd = 3.93) or 82% on the post-test. based on cohen’s d, the psa course had a large effect on participants’ knowledge of the psr (d = 1.34). figure 1 preand post-test knowledge from the psa course. * the error bar represents the mean difference between groups. objective (c): net knowledge gain by year a one-way ancova was used to estimate the net change in knowledge by program year while controlling for the effects of pre-test scores. the pre-test was statistically correlated with the post-test (r = 0.617), but the correlation was below the recommended threshold for its effect on the dependent variable (r < 0.80) and, therefore, served as a valid covariate in the model. results indicated a statistically significant difference in mean knowledge change by year (t = 10.34, p < 0.001) when controlling for pre-test scores. however, the partial eta squared was very small (ηp 2 = 0.005), indicating that the differences in mean knowledge change across each program year was small and likely significant due to the large sample size. therefore, while statistically significant, on a practical level, participants had similar knowledge gain between 2019 to 2022 when controlling for pre-test scores. mean post-test scores for each year were as follows; 2019 = 20.12 (sd = 3.53, n = 2,635); 2020 = 20.54 (sd = 3.60, n = 1,720); 2021 = 20.64 (sd = 3.71, n = 1,263); 2022 = 20.45 (sd = 3.73, n = 695). figure 2 provides a comparison of pre-and-post-test scores between 2019 to 2022. corroborating results of the ancova model, figure 2 shows that participants across each program year had similar steady levels of knowledge gain. 15.94 4.43* 20.38 0 5 10 15 20 25 pre-test post-test https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 narine et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 18 figure 2 change in knowledge scores between 2019 to 2022. *the error bars represent the mean difference between groups. objective (d): knowledge gain by delivery modality most participants attended the psa gt course remotely in 2020 and 2021. a one-way ancova was used to examine the differences in net knowledge gain by delivery modality while controlling for the effect of pre-test scores. there was a statistically significant difference in knowledge gain between remote and in-person delivery (t = 51.65, p < 0.001). yet, the partial eta squared was small (ηp 2 = 0.008), indicating the difference in mean knowledge gain based on delivery modality was not practically significant and likely due to the large sample size. therefore, while statistically significant, participants in remote and in-person classes had similar levels of knowledge gain. the mean post-test score was 20.09 (sd = 3.62) for in-person participants (n = 4,228) and 20.88 for remote participants (n = 2,305) across all years. figure 3 shows the preand post-test scores between in-person and remote participants. consistent with findings from the ancova model, remote and in-person participants experienced a similar level of knowledge gain from the psa course as shown in figure 3. while pre-test scores were controlled in the ancova model, the figure shows remote participants entered the course with more content knowledge compared to in-person participants. 15.87 15.93 15.97 16.13 4.25* 4.61 4.67 4.3220.12 20.54 20.64 20.45 0 5 10 15 20 25 2019 2020 2021 2022 m ea n te st sc or e pre-test post-test https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 narine et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 19 figure 3 preand post-test differences between delivery modes. *the error bars represent the mean difference between groups. prior to march 2020, the psa gt course was only delivered in person. in 2020, 67% of participants (n = 1,302) completed the psa course in-person, while 33% completed it remotely (n = 629). in 2021, 22% of participants (n = 294) completed the course in-person and 78% completed it remotely (n = 1,064). in 2022, 18% (n = 201) completed the course in-person and 81% completed the course remotely (n = 876). a two-way ancova was conducted to assess the difference in net knowledge gain by delivery year (2020 to 2022) and delivery modality (in-person vs. remote) while accounting for the effects of pre-test scores. results showed a weak but statistically significant difference in knowledge based on the interaction between delivery modality and program year (t = 3.10, p < 0.01, ηp 2 = 0.001). this suggests there were minor changes in knowledge gain for remote and inperson participants each year during the pandemic. given a minor interaction effect, a bonferroni post hoc test was used to identify statistically significant differences in knowledge based on the interaction between year and delivery modality. using adjusted family-wise pvalues, results showed remote participants in 2020 and 2021 scored significantly higher on the post-test (2020: m = 21.18, sd = 3.27; 2021: m = 21.02, sd = 3.57) compared to in-person participants (2020: m = 20.23, sd = 3.72; 2021: m = 19.04, sd = 3.92). however, remote and inperson participants experienced similar levels of knowledge gain in 2022 when controlling for the effects of pre-test scores. figure 4 provides a descriptive summary of net knowledge gain by delivery modality and program years. scoring a net two-point difference, remote participants performed noticeably better than in-person participants in 2021. 16.22 15.76 3.86* 5.1220.09 20.88 0 5 10 15 20 25 remote in-person m ea n te st sc or e pre-test post-test https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 narine et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 20 figure 4 net knowledge gain between remote and in-person participants during the first years of the pandemic. *the error bars represent the mean difference between groups. objective (e): item difficulty and discrimination index the psa gt knowledge assessment contains 25 multiple-choice questions and was developed by a team of food safety specialists and extension educators led by catherine shoulders of the university of arkansas. the difficulty index and discrimination index were calculated using itemlevel data from participants who completed the psa training between 2019 to 2022 in three out of the four regional centers (n = 5,195, excluding the southern region). table 2 shows the corresponding indices for all items in the assessment. the difficulty index represents the proportion of people who answered the item correctly. ranging from 0 to 1, items with higher scores are easier, while lower scores are more difficult. from table 2, 14 out of the 25 items (or 56% of items) were categorized as easy (> 0.80), while 11 were moderately difficult (0.30 to 0.80). no item had a high level of difficulty. the discrimination index measured the effectiveness of an item to distinguish between high and low performers on a scale of -1 to 1. an effective test item should provide sufficient evidence to differentiate between students who attained topic mastery and those who did not. most items had a good discrimination index (> 0.30), while three had relatively low discrimination power (q5, q6, and q16). overall, while the items had generally acceptable discriminant properties, the test was easy for respondents. 20.23 19.04 20.270.95* 1.98 0.2221.18 21.02 20.49 0 5 10 15 20 25 2020 2021 2022 m ea n te st sc or e post-test: in-person post-test: remote https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 narine et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 21 table 2 item analysis of the psa gt knowledge assessment item difficulty index discrimination index: pointbiserial correlation q1 .95 .35 q2 .81 .39 q3 .75 .45 q4 .94 .36 q5 .98 .19 q6 .96 .29 q7 .86 .43 q8 .86 .47 q9 .89 .41 q10 .83 .37 q11 .74 .51 q12 .80 .44 q13 .61 .37 q14 .95 .31 q15 .78 .43 q16 .95 .28 q17 .76 .43 q18 .69 .39 q19 .90 .39 q20 .86 .46 q21 .55 .44 q22 .59 .46 q23 .91 .32 q24 .58 .34 q25 .70 .51 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the hierarchy that serves as the basis of the top model integrates evaluation into the overall program development process. the preand post-test tool was developed, in part, to assess the immediate knowledge gain of the psa gt attendees. looking at the results from preand posttests nationally from 2019 – 2022, participants experienced an increase in their knowledge of the fsma psr after completing the course. the key takeaway from these results is consistency in knowledge gain over the four-year period, regardless of delivery type or year of implementation. the differences in knowledge gain by implementation and year were statistically significant mainly because of the large sample size. while statistically significant, some differences (e.g., a 1.25-point difference in https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 narine et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 22 knowledge change scores between remote and in-person participants) are not practically significant. for example, a 1or 2-point difference suggests very little practical knowledge change, even though it is statistically different due to sample size and power, it is not practically different. another important takeaway is the internal consistency within the dataset because the test was reliable in most cases, and there was an improvement in knowledge. furthermore, the questions had sufficient discrimination power to differentiate between the low and top performers. another key takeaway is that the questions were designed, in part, to measure immediate knowledge gain of produce safety concepts, and the practical significance of the data demonstrates that the objective has been met. per the top model, there is a need to further the national evaluation model to assess mediumand long-term impacts of the psa gt beyond knowledge gain and to measure synthesis and application of content. it is important to note the preand post-tests still have value in demonstrating program effectiveness. trainers may continue to use the tool for other reporting purposes; regardless, the need for national aggregation of the data has been met. the fsma psr has evolved since its inception in 2015. some portions of the rule have been finalized, while requirements for pre-harvest agricultural water and application intervals of untreated biological soil amendments of animal origin (bsaao) have not. fsma psr inspections began in 2018, with growers moving beyond the need for produce safety knowledge to a need to implement that knowledge on their farms. seven years later (2023), the focus has shifted to ensuring growers know how to implement the psr on their farms. in conclusion, this research has shown that the initial objective of the assessment tool was met, and the psa gt curriculum resulted in a significant knowledge gain in each module of the curriculum. with evolving educational needs based on psr inspection findings and revised regulatory requirements, there is a need for a new assessment tool to measure knowledge change as well as growers’ capacity to incorporate food safety behaviors and processes. specifically, the research team suggests replacing this assessment tool and developing a new tool capable of answering the following questions: 1) are growers learning what they need to know about the rule? 2) are growers learning how to produce safe food? and 3) is the assessment tool meaningful for regulatory application and education effectiveness measures? acknowledgments thank you to dr. amy harder, former evaluator for the southern center for food safety training, outreach, and technical assistance, for conceptualizing and leading efforts to develop the psa gt knowledge assessment tool. thanks to donna pahl clements and ellen johnsen for reviewing the manuscript and suggesting edits. this work was funded by the food safety outreach program from the usda national institute of food and agriculture, agreement numbers 2021-70020-35740, 2021-70020-35732, 2021-70020-35753, and 2021-70020-35497. l. narine data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, methodology, project administration, resources, visualization, writing-original draft, writing-review and editing; a. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 narine et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 23 enderton conceptualization, data curation, project administration, visualization, writingoriginal draft, writing-review and editing; m. benge – data curation, writing-original draft; e. bihn writing-original draft, writing-review and editing; s. brown data curation, funding acquisition, methodology, project administration, resources, writing-original draft, writingreview and editing; j. kovacevic conceptualization, data curation, funding acquisition, methodology, project administration, resources, writing-original draft, writing-review and editing; e. newbold conceptualization, data curation, funding acquisition, investigation, project administration, resources, writing-original draft, writing-review and editing; k. schneider funding acquisition, project administration, writing-review and editing; a. shaw data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, resources, validation, visualization, writing-review and editing. references allen, m. 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(2018). finding publicly available data for extension planning and programming: developing community portraits. the journal of extension, 56(3), article 1. https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.56.03.01 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.473 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/aglecfacpub/48/?utm_source=digitalcommons.unl.edu%2faglecfacpub%2f48&utm_medium=pdf&utm_campaign=pdfcoverpages https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/aglecfacpub/48/?utm_source=digitalcommons.unl.edu%2faglecfacpub%2f48&utm_medium=pdf&utm_campaign=pdfcoverpages https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.56.03.01 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 1, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. jason d. mc kibben, assistant professor, auburn university, 5060 haley center, auburn, al, 36849, jdm0184@auburn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2080-202x 2. christopher a. clemons, associate professor, auburn university, 5075 haley center, auburn, al, 36849, cac0132@auburn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9879-0888 3. jessica m. blythe, associate professor, west virginia university, 4432 agricultural sciences building, morgantown, wv 26506, jmblythe@mail.wvu.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8351-7992 43 survey response rates by requestor’s characteristics j. d. mckibben1, c. a. clemons2, j. m. blythe3 article history received: july 26, 2025 accepted: february 14, 2025 published: february 21, 2025 keywords sdg: 17 partnerships; survey research methods; agriculture; nonresponse bias; response optimization abstract response rates are crucial for the effectiveness of survey-based behavioral science and the validity of research conclusions. this study investigates the impact of the characteristics of individuals requesting participation on response rates in online surveys within the agricultural sector. using social exchange theory and coleman’s social capital theory as guiding frameworks, we examined whether the personal characteristics of the requestor influence response rates. data were collected from a sample of 1,452 agricultural development personnel using four different request formats varying by the gender and position of the requestor. following dillman’s tailored design method, participants received a pre-email, a request email with a link to the survey, and four waves of follow-up emails. response rates were analyzed based on the four treatment groups, the gender of the requestor, and the position of the requestor. the findings indicate no significant differences in response rates based on the requestor's gender or position. analysis of variance (anova) and independent t-tests revealed that neither the highest level of education, years of teaching experience, nor the wave of response significantly affected by the requestor's characteristics. these results suggest that the established trust and social capital within the agricultural community do not significantly influence survey participation. the study highlights the need for researchers to address declining response rates in survey research. it recommends building and maintaining community trust by providing clear, concise, and accessible research findings. researchers should also consider more targeted sampling methods to reduce survey fatigue and improve response rates. the implications of these findings extend to the broader field of social science research, emphasizing that the gender and position of the requestor do not increase response rates or reduce selection bias. future research should explore alternative methods to enhance survey participation and address the challenges of non-response bias in agricultural education research. mailto:jdm0184@auburn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2080-202x mailto:cac0132@auburn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9879-0888 mailto:jmblythe@mail.wvu.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8351-7992 mckibben et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 44 introduction understanding study participants' personal characteristics and how they affect their likelihood of participating in research studies could positively impact agricultural development research (lindner & lindner, 2024). using mixed mode and internet-only questionnaire distribution has quickly provided researchers access to a varied diasporic population at a reasonable cost (dillman et al., 2014). error, specifically non-response error, has been a problem that has plagued researchers for several decades, including mail (heberlein & baumgartner, 1978) internet only (fan & yan, 2010) and mixed-mode survey techniques (dillman et al., 2014). stedman et al. (2019) suggested that with the increase in non-response rates and declining sample survey responses (baruch, 1999; baruch & holtom, 2008; eggleston, 2020), survey results should be under high levels of scrutiny. previous studies have highlighted the importance of addressing non-response error in survey research (groves et al., 2006; groves & peytcheva, 2008) specifically within agricultural education (fraze et al, 2003; mckibben et al., 2022; roberts & dyer, 2005). scholars in agricultural and extension education have outlined the standard methods for accounting for non-response error (lindner et al., 2001; lindner, 2002), suggesting that non-response error and non-response bias are primarily ignored (dooley & linder, 2003). rather than dismiss non-response, a more appropriate alternative to address error would be to ensure it does not exist in the first place (groves, 2006; groves et al., 2006; hansen et al., 1951). don dillman developed a process used by many researchers in agricultural development to obtain responses from sample surveys (dillman, 1978; 1983; 1991; dillman et al., 2014). dillman’s method of eliciting quality responses is based on social exchange theory (blau, 1964; dillman, 1978; 1983; 1991; homans, 1961; thibaut & kelly, 1986) and has proven to elicit higher response rates over other commonly held theories (greenberg & dillman, 2021). despite survey respondents perceiving no personal benefit, social exchange appeared to motivate their participation based on societal norms where costs outweigh benefits to the community. this theory has historically driven survey research design methods. with response rates at their lowest in decades, can we leverage social exchange theory for the representation and guidance our communities deserve? theoretical framework greenberg and dillman (2021) noted that in social exchange theory, people are more apt to comply with a task if they believe and trust that the rewards of compliance will outweigh the costs of acting. furthermore, we can leverage social exchange to increase the likelihood of participant response rates by increasing the benefits of participation while decreasing the costs of responding and establishing trust. to establish trust, dillman et al. (2014) suggested that survey researchers address six caveats: ensuring potential respondents can assess the survey's authenticity and ask questions easily, establishing a relationship with a legitimate authority (e.g., government or university), providing a token of appreciation (incentive-based) in advance, assuring confidentiality, communicating professionally, and building upon relationships and https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 mckibben et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 45 friendships. in response to these caveats, requests for study participation typically follow established guidelines. potential participants are given contact information for the researcher to establish trust and ask questions. appreciation or token incentives are offered before the instrument is distributed. confidentiality and data security are discussed in letters of participation. the instrument is branded with university or organizational logos to convey legitimacy and signal shared loyalty. all communications are conducted professionally and emphasize belonging to a shared community, such as agriculture, through images and language. despite these efforts, response rates and the potential for non-response errors continue to increase (koen et al., 2018; zahl-thanem et al., 2021). dillman et al. (2014) further explained that tactics to increase response rates have negligible effects on overcoming nonresponse errors if they encourage responses from one specific sample group over another. the theoretical framework for this research integrates social exchange theory (blau, 1964; homans, 1961; thibaut & kelly, 1986) through dillman’s tailored design method (2014) and is grounded in coleman’s social capital theory (1988; 1990). dillman (1991; dillman et al., 2014) recommended using social exchange theory to design data collection experiences that encourage truthful responses to survey instruments. he emphasized that online survey research should focus on a social contract, where participants exchange their time and information for perceived benefits. in this study, we utilized coleman’s social capital theory (1988), which builds on the work of loury (1977; 1987) and bourdieu (1986). according to social capital theory, social structures develop over time based on a network of constructed trust. this trust is imparted through a sense of reciprocal obligation and perceived benefits rather than earned through individual actions (coleman, 1988). trust often flows from positions of lower rank to positions of higher rank and services in the reverse. trust can be utilized and leveraged like currency, exchanged for services, creating an aleatory contract between community members. this exchange of trust for services depends on the pressure exerted by the social structure itself (coleman, 1990) and becomes influential only after the event's structure has occurred. we approached this research with the understanding that all members of society exist within these authentic and assumed social networks. in an agricultural cooperative, for example, an agricultural development advisor or specialist (a person in a higher position) imparts trust to local farmers (people in a lower position) by providing expert advice, resources, and training on sustainable farming practices. this trust is part of the specialist's obligation to support the community's agricultural development. in return, the farmers implement the recommended practices, share their crop data, and participate in cooperative activities. over time, this trust becomes a form of social currency. for instance, when the specialist needs farmers to adopt a new, experimental technique, the previously established trust encourages farmers to comply, even if the immediate benefits are not clear. conversely, the farmers can leverage this trust to request additional resources or support from the agronomist, knowing that their cooperative relationship and past compliance will make the specialist more likely to https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 mckibben et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 46 fulfill their requests. this reciprocal exchange of trust and services strengthens the network and ensures mutual benefits within the agricultural community. our research design aimed to determine if this social capital can be responsibly leveraged to obtain more robust data. purpose this study aimed to determine if the characteristics of the individual requesting participation affect the number or type of respondents engaging with an online instrument. we wanted to establish if we could change the characteristics of the requester and elicit more responses when working with a population given to help a specific member of their community (i.e. agricultural specialists helping farmers or teachers helping students), thus lessening nonresponse bias. it was additionally questioned if the gender of the requestor could affect the response rates. three objectives guided this investigation: (a) describe the response rates of the sample population based on who requested the subject’s participation; (b) determine if the gender of the person who sends the letter to participate in the research influences response rates based on demographic indicators; (c) determine whether the person who sends the letter is a faculty or student who influences response rates based on demographic indicators. methods to address the objectives of this study, data were collected as part of a more extensive usbased study of agricultural educators investigating agriculturists' experiences and motivations (mckibben et al., 2022). the sample was taken from the national association of agricultural educators (naae) membership list (n = 6,645), the largest organization representing agricultural educators in the united states. the study's findings are limited to this selective population and should not be generalized beyond its scope and limits. an accepted limitation of this study is the implicit frame error that exists when organizational lists are used for sampling (tomaskovic-devey et al., 1994). four representative random samples (n = 1,452) from the general population were obtained using a random number generator and cochran’s (1977) method to ensure coverage. oversampling was conducted based on a 50% response rate derived from a review of peer-reviewed agricultural leadership, education, and communications journals. since this study was part of a larger research project, the population was sampled four times to ensure the viability of the broader research. data were collected via the online survey system qualtrics. follow-up reminders were made during the five weeks of data collection, adhering to dillman’s tailored design suggestions https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 mckibben et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 47 (dillman et al., 2014). those contacts included a pre-notice, including a link to the survey, and four reminder emails with a one-week interval between points of contact. each request was initiated from the system, and each treatment was distributed simultaneously via the system. four different requests to participate were provided to participants. the content of the letters was consistent with treatment fidelity. the variation was in the opening line of the request and the salutation at the end. example: hi! my name is sara, and i am a student…. one request presented as a female faculty member (ff), one presented as a male faculty member (mf), one presented as a female student (fs), and one presented as a male student (ms). the gender was indicated using gender-specific names, such as jessica (ff), jason (mf), sara (fs), and scott (ms), all of which are commonly held as being names of either female or male in the united states (bauer & coyne, 1997). position as either a student or faculty member was explicitly written in the first line of each request for participation by stating: “my name is x, and i am a student” or “my name is x, and i am a faculty member.” findings the first objective was to describe the response rates of the sample population based on who requested the subject’s participation. the four requests all had similar respondent characteristics across all measured variables and waves of requests. there were no significant differences in the reported grouping characteristics of respondents across any of the measured characteristics in the sample. female respondents: ff (51.85%), fm (51.85%), sf (51.85%), sm (51.85%). respondents with a bachelor’s degree make up 49.03% of the sample, with the following breakdown: ff (43.38%), fm (46.76%), sf (50.34%), and sm (55.10%). respondents with a master’s degree constitute 49.91% of the sample, with the following distribution: ff (55.88%), fm (51.80%), sf (48.28%), and sm (44.22%). respondents with less than one year of teaching experience account for 4.23% of the sample, distributed as follows: ff (2.21%), fm (5.71%), sf (5.52%), and sm (3.40%). respondents with one to five years of teaching experience represent 26.76% of the sample, with the following breakdown: ff (21.32%), fm (28.57%), sf (26.90%), and sm (29.93%). respondents with six to ten years of teaching experience make up 18.49% of the sample, distributed as follows: ff (22.06%), fm (17.14%), sf (15.17%), and sm (19.73%). respondents with eleven to fifteen years of teaching experience account for 14.61% of the sample, with the following distribution: ff (13.97%), fm (11.43%), sf (17.24%), and sm (15.56%). respondents with sixteen to twenty years of teaching experience represent 12.54% of the sample, with the following breakdown: ff (18.06%), fm (11.56%), sf (13.90%), and sm (9.62%). respondents with twenty-one to twenty-five years of teaching experience make up 6.51% of the sample, distributed as follows: ff (6.62%), fm (7.86%), sf (6.90%), and sm (4.76%). respondents with more than twenty-five years of teaching experience account for 15.85% of the sample, with the following distribution: ff (13.24%), fm (17.14%), sf (16.55%), and sm (16.33%). respondents who participated in the first wave make up 46.46% of the sample, with the following breakdown: ff (48.23%), fm (44.76%), sf (40.79%), and sm (51.90%). respondents who participated in the second wave constitute 22.56% of the sample, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 mckibben et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 48 with the following distribution: ff (22.70%), fm (21.68%), sf (28.29%), and sm (17.72%). respondents who participated in the third wave represent 15.49% of the sample, with the following breakdown: ff (16.31%), fm (15.38%), sf (16.45%), and sm (13.92%). respondents who participated in the fourth wave make up 15.49% of the sample, with the following distribution: ff (12.77%), fm (18.18%), sf (14.47%), and sm (16.46%). see table 1. table 1 respondent characteristics by who requested their participation. faculty requestor student requestor total female male female male f % f % f % f % f % gender female 70 51.5 67 47.9 74 51.0 84 57.1 295 51.9 male 65 47.8 73 52.1 71 49.0 63 42.9 272 47.9 567 highest education associates 0 0.0 2 1.44 1 0.7 1 0.6 4 0.7 bachelors 59 43.4 65 46.4 73 50.3 81 55.1 278 48.9 masters 76 55.9 72 51.4 70 48.3 65 44.2 283 49.8 doctorate 1 0.7 0 0.0 1 0.7 0 0.0 2 0.4 567 years of teaching < 1 3 2.2 8 5.7 8 5.5 5 3.4 24 4.2 1-5 29 21.3 40 28.6 39 26.9 44 29.9 152 26.8 6-10 30 22.1 24 17.1 22 15.2 29 19.7 105 18.5 11-15 19 14.0 16 11.4 25 17.2 23 15.6 83 14.6 16-20 28 20.6 17 12.1 17 11.7 15 10.2 77 13.3 21-25 9 6.6 11 7.9 10 6.9 7 4.8 37 6.5 > 25 18 13.2 24 17.1 24 16.6 24 16.3 90 15.8 568 response wave 1 68 48.5 64 45.7 62 42.8 77 52.4 269 47.4 2 32 23.5 31 22.1 39 26.9 27 18.4 129 22.7 3 20 14.7 21 15.0 24 16.6 20 13.6 85 15.0 4 18 13.2 24 17.1 20 13.8 23 15.6 85 15.0 568 note. percentages may not equal 100% based on rounding errors. non-binary and other response categories were included in the questionnaire and were omitted for clarity due to no responses. discrepancies may exist based on empty cells and incomplete data. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 mckibben et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 49 objective number two was to determine if the gender of the person who sends the letter to participate in the research influences response rates based on demographic indicators. objective two was analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (anova) using the requestor as a fixed factor with the highest level of education, years of teaching, and a wave of response as dependent variables. tested at the (α = 0.05) level, no statistically significant effects were determined to exist and all effect sizes were measured to be small: level of education (f(3, 564) = 1.68, p = .17, ω = 0.06); years of teaching (f(3, 564) = .37, p = 0.77, ω = 0.06); gender (f(3, 565) = .87, p = 0.46, ω = 0.03); wave of response (f(3, 565) = 0.39, p = 0.76, ω = 0.06). objective three was to determine whether the person who sends the letter is a faculty or student who influences response rates based on demographic indicators. a similar analysis was conducted by calculating an independent t-test based on binary coding the requestor as either a faculty member or student; level of education (t(565) = 1.76, p = 0.08, d2 = 0.15); years of teaching (t(566) = 0.68, p = 0.49, d2 = 0.06); gender (t(565) = 1.02, p = 0.31, d2 = 0.09); wave of response (t(566) = 0.14, p = 0.89, d2 = 0.01). coding was also conducted where the requestor was binary coded, presenting as either female or male; level of education, (t(565) = 1.41, p = 0.16, d2 = 0.12); years of teaching (t(566) = 0.80, p = 0.43, d2 = 0.01); gender (t(565) = 0.28, p = 0.78, d2 = 0.02); wave of response (t(566) = 0.08, p = 0.94, d2 = 0.01). there were no statistically significant differences regardless of how the dependent variables were coded, and all effect sizes were deemed trivial (cohen, 1992; field, 2013). we acknowledge that repeated analyses increase the probability of committing a type i error. if there had been any significant findings, an improved statistical model would need to be developed. conclusions, implications, & discussion this study, examining survey participation among agriculturalists through the lens of social exchange theory, found no evidence that existing social capital or trust, as embodied in preexisting relationships, influences response rates. respondents were not more likely to participate if the survey request came from someone they were predisposed to help. they were not more likely to respond to someone of a higher or lower position, and none were more likely to respond to someone of a specific gender. these findings suggest that the reciprocal obligations, perceived benefits, and established trust posited by social exchange theory did not significantly impact survey participation in this context. while other social factors, potentially offering different forms of exchange or reward, may influence response rates within this community, this research found no impact from the specific social obligations tested. with falling response rates, many people are attempting to make minor adjustments to their research methods or instrumentation to ensure appropriate levels of response. as social scientists, we must address the tolling of the bell, a final imperative call to our longevity and value as researchers; the design, distribution, and analysis of our questionnaires and attempts to conduct our scholarship is the livelihood of our professional. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 mckibben et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 50 we attempted to discover if we could influence a higher response rate based on the characteristics of the researcher requesting participation. if we can get closer to a 100% response rate reliably, we could ask fewer people to respond, knowing they all will. survey fatigue is caused by receiving too many requests to participate. since we need a baseline response rate, we over-sample. if we could influence more of a specific demographic to respond, we could influence or mitigate the outcomes of social pressure. the unknown influence of the requisitioner on the respondent fueled this investigation. if we as faculty are not negatively influencing our respondents by asking for their participation, we must explore other options for our non-responses. to return to coleman (1990), there is a chance that we have all spent our credit slips, causing our community to stop conducting these favors for us no matter who asks. that is to say that, according to the social capital theory, if a does something for b and trusts b to reciprocate in the future, this establishes an expectation in a and an obligation in b. this obligation can be seen as a credit slip held by a to be redeemed, such as in development work. advisors or specialists provide information or equipment to producers and farmers. the advisor does this with the trust that the producer will reciprocate. that trust the advisor has in the farmer to reciprocate places an obligation on the farmer to provide some benefit to the advisor. that obligation can be considered a tangible credit slip or an i owe you. two explanations for the current lack of reciprocation, in the form of responses, can be suggested. as a group of research faculty, we are not as part of the community network as we may believe. students and faculty are simultaneously tertiary members and former members of that social network. researchers are no longer part of the social exchange in which the respondents participate. though the researchers in this field were almost all community members at one point, they are no longer seen as core members. another explanation is that the trust has been broken, and there is not enough trust in the community. the participants do not see enough reciprocal benefits from the researchers or the research to compensate for the use of energy. we have overdrawn our trust balance and are now paying the fee. recommendations when designing research studies, we do not need to worry about who the request is coming from; they will not respond better anyway, as the trust imbalance is too far gone to affect it in this way. the real work must be done to correct the trust imbalance rather than manipulate respondents. researchers need to be more diligent about being succinct in their samples. researchers should not try to impress the field with a large national survey but rather be clearer about who and what their population is. researchers need to do the hard work of finding contacts for the exact sample we are looking for rather than relying on the expediency of a listserv, an email database, or a targeted social media group. advisors and chairs must be more diligent in advising graduate students about proper sampling methods and achieving https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 mckibben et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 51 quality results rather than larger data sets. these actions will stop the overburden on the system and help to diminish fatigue. however, we must also replenish trust and build back that obligation and mutual benefit. to do this, researchers must return the results as digestible and understandable information back to our population. conclusions and recommendations must address our research population and be packaged to fit their ability to consume those recommendations, such as best practice recommendations or suggestions. leaving it in a journal behind paywalls and in a language only those with doctorates speak does not help them and will ultimately further alienate us from them. once, the work of agricultural researchers went into handouts and pamphlets written and distributed to farmers and producers. white papers based on current research written at the level of the producer and practitioner were once a measure used to determine impact. that white paper might now need to be in other forms, such as podcasts, snippet videos, or social media posts. we must remember our obligation and responsibility to our community and repay the debt of their time by returning the results. this will do much to replenish the trust we have lost. acknowledgments author contributions: j. mckibben conceptualization, methodology, writing original draft, writing reviewing & editing, investigation, supervision, project administration, and formal analysis. c. clemons – writing reviewing & editing, j. blythe conceptualization, methodology, and project administration. grammarly, a natural language processing and machine learning artificial intelligence tool (grammarly, 2025), was used during the development of this document to aid in grammar, spelling, and syntax. this research is linked to dr. mckibben’s involvement with the usda-nifa multistate research coordinating committee: ncera197: agricultural safety and health research and extension and dr. clemons’s involvement with the usda-nifa multistate research coordinating committee wera1010: improving data quality from sample 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(2021). should we use email for farm surveys? a comparative study of email and postal survey response rate and non-response bias. journal of rural studies, 87, 352–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.09.029 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.525 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237569094_handling_of_nonresponse_error_in_the_journal_of_international_agricultural_and_extension_education https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237569094_handling_of_nonresponse_error_in_the_journal_of_international_agricultural_and_extension_education https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2001.04043 https://doi.org/10.1017/s0265052500001345 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02238 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2005.02070 https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2019.1587127 https://doi.org/10.2307/2393298 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.09.029 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 2, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. ataharul chowdhury, associate professor, school of environmental design and rural development, university of guelph, 50 stone road east, ontario, canada, n1g 2w1, ataharul.chowdhury@uoguelph.ca, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2432-0933 2. khondokar h. kabir, banting postdoctoral fellow, school of environmental design and rural development, university of guelph, 50 stone road east, ontario, canada, n1g 2w1, kabirk@uoguelph.ca, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9219-2529 3. edward kusi asafo-agyei, graduate student research assistant (gsra), school of environmental design and rural development, university of guelph, 50 stone road east, ontario, canada, n1g 2w1, easafoag@uoguelph.ca 4. abdul-rahim abdulai, postdoctoral fellow, department of geography, environment and geomatics, university of guelph, guelph, 50 stone road east, ontario, canada, n1g 2w1, aabdulai@uoguelph.ca, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4699-2407 81 participatory and community-based approach in combating agri-food misinformation: a scoping review a. chowdhury1, k. h. kabir2, e. k. asafo-agyei3, a.-r. abdulai4 article history received: may 25. 2023 accepted: july 31, 2023 published: january 31, 2024 keywords agricultural extension and advisory services (aas); disinformation; farmer field schools (ffs); information hub; technology stewardship; misinformation; participatory approach abstract the spread of ill information with or without the intention of deceiving or causing harm has negatively impacted agricultural development both in social and digital spaces. this has led to a lack of trust in adopting new technologies and practices, which has hindered the process of facilitating agricultural development. although the study of agri-food misinformation is still in its early stages, this paper draws on a scoping review of existing literature and lessons learned from other fields, such as political science and public health, which have extensive experience in combating misinformation in social settings. the article explores how farmer field schools (ffs), a popular participatory and community-based approach, can incorporate media literacy education and how a local agricultural information hub, platform approach and a relatively new approach called technology stewardship in agricultural extension can help those working in the agri-food industry combat misinformation. mailto:ataharul.chowdhury@uoguelph.ca https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2432-0933 mailto:kabirk@uoguelph.ca https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9219-2529 mailto:easafoag@uoguelph.ca mailto:aabdulai@uoguelph.ca https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4699-2407 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 82 introduction and problem statement agricultural extension and advisory services (aas) focus on providing authentic and reliable information to support the livelihood improvement of clients. as there is an increasing trend of digitalization of aas (sugihono et al., 2022), the generation and diffusion of agricultural information have become susceptible to misinformation and disinformation (dilleen et al., 2023)—broadly defined as spreading false information to cause harm or deceive (baines & elliott, 2020; lewandowsky et al., 2017; wardle & derakhshan, 2017)—especially within the digital spheres. with the increased penetration of the internet and social media, the risk of ill information has increased, and it opens doors for everyone to become a producer and consumer of information (allcott et al., 2019; anderson & rainie, 2017; berriche & altay, 2020). misinformation has the potential to hinder the adoption of new technologies and practices as well as create division within the agricultural community (pfeiffer et al., 2022). for example, myths that the controversial golden rice, a product of agricultural development activities, was unnatural, unsafe, and risky have sown skepticism to hinder its diffusion and uptake (purugganan, 2013). the rise of digital technology has enabled activists and advocacy groups to effectively promote their viewpoints on controversial topics, such as genetically modified (gm) crops. unfortunately, this has sometimes led to controversies in the agri-food sectors, as seen in the case of golden rice. despite its invention in the 1990s, it took almost two decades, until 2013, for the controversy to amplify to a level where activists destroyed the research field in bicol, according to the mcgrath (2013). the inherent potential for misinformation within agriculture development makes it essential to understand the concept within the field (chowdhury et al., 2023) but, as a matter of urgency, also develop practices of countering to strengthen the legitimacy of science and evidence-based decision-making. in today’s digital age, distinguishing between accurate information and misinformation is becoming more challenging. misinformation refers to false or misleading information that is spread without any intention to deceive (wardle & derakhshan, 2017). this can be detrimental both to individuals and society as a whole, as it can lead to people making decisions based on incorrect information. moreover, the increasing access to digital information has made it easier for people to spread disinformation and misinformation in non-digital spaces. for example, people may share false or misleading information on social media, which can be spread offline through word-of-mouth, print, or broadcast media. in addition, the proliferation of digital echo chambers has made it more difficult for people to be exposed to different viewpoints, leading to a greater susceptibility to disinformation and misinformation (kabir et al., 2024). the increasing reliance on digital information has made it more difficult for people to distinguish between credible and non-credible sources of information (shin et al., 2018). this can lead to people being more likely to believe and share disinformation and misinformation. hence, it is increasingly important for those in the agriculture industry to address and tackle misinformation (chowdhury et al., 2023; chowdhury & gow, 2024). for example, extension scholars and agents have recently begun investigating misinformation in their practice (dilleen et al., 2023; klerkx, 2020; leal et al., 2020). one proposed solution to this problem is to create networks that facilitate accurate information exchange within agriculture value chains and build https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 83 trust-based networks, as stroud (2019) and rijswijk et al. (2023) suggested. the strategies for combating misinformation specific to agriculture, particularly at the interface of aas, remain somewhat limited. nevertheless, there are opportunities for agri-food actors to learn from other fields that have well-established literature and approaches for addressing misinformation within social contexts, such as public health and political science (chowdhury et al., 2023). it is essential to take a more comprehensive approach to address the issue of misinformation and disinformation production and dissemination. numerous studies have been conducted on the use of technical and computational solutions to tackle the problem of misinformation (aimeur et al., 2023). on the other hands, researchers and practitioners recognize the cultural, political, economic, and social aspects contributing to this issue (wasserman & madrid, 2022). while fact-checking algorithms and social media filters based on artificial intelligence (ai) can be helpful, they often fail to address the underlying social, economic, and political factors that give rise to misinformation (aimeur et al., 2023). there are various organizations that verify the credibility of information, such as fact-checking organizations like snopes and politifact and news organizations like associated press and reuters. these organizations have teams of researchers who fact-check information and publish articles and reports on the accuracy of information. however, it is important to note that no single authority, strategy, or technique can definitively decide whether information is misinformation. this is because the phenomenon is socio-technical in nature, and contextual issues can often complicate the process of determining the accuracy of information. participatory and community-based approaches (pcas) provide a more comprehensive and long-term strategy for addressing this complex problem (aimeur et al., 2023; wasserman & madrid, 2022). pcas prioritize the involvement of communities in identifying, understanding, and addressing misinformation. by actively involving members of the community, we can build trust, which allows them to take ownership of the problem and create solutions that are tailored to their needs. pcas can help enhance critical thinking and media literacy skills among citizens, which could encourage communities to evaluate information (cheng & chen, 2021). this empowers individuals to make informed decisions based on the information they encounter online. moreover, pcas can effectively address the root causes of misinformation. misinformation often stems from underlying social, economic, or political issues often overlooked by top-down approaches. by working with communities to understand these root causes, pcas can facilitate the development of strategies that address them more sustainably and effectively. various participatory and educational aas methods, such as farmers fields school (ffs), consider the cultural and societal dynamics of agricultural information and knowledge sharing (van de fliert et al., 2007). this approach aligns with the holistic perspective needed to address the complex issue of agri-food (mis)information production and dissemination. this paper aims to draw upon established fields with proven strategies for combating misinformation to provide insights and a foundation for the aas to facilitate agricultural development. the study proposed several pcas for combating misinformation in the agri-food context. the specific objectives are to (a) scope social strategies employed in fields with advanced literature https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 84 and practice on misinformation to deal with the phenomenon and (b) propose tailored and applicable participatory strategies that can be employed to combat agri-food misinformation. methods this paper is part of an ongoing study by the authors (chowdhury et al., 2023) on combatting misinformation. this study adopted a scoping review (grant & booth, 2009) based on literature re-creation, a research approach that uses existing knowledge to draw insights on a particular topic (murray & begler, 2009). a scoping review is used when the nature and evidence of a particular topic are unclear. this type of review is designed to provide an overview of the existing evidence and help researchers better understand the nature and extent of what has been studied thus far. by doing so, a scoping review can be a valuable tool for ongoing research in a variety of fields. in our ongoing study (chowdhury et al., 2023), we adopted a multi-stage review to use literature from other fields and pull together conceptual advancements in the field of misinformation research thus far. we started the research using the keywords such as (“social media” or “online media”) and (“misinformation” or “disinformation” or “malinformation”), (“social media” or “online media”) and (“misinformation”), (“social media or online media”) and (“disinformation”), (“social media” or “online media”) and (“malinformation”) to search on the web of science. using key terms such as (“online” and “misinformation”), (“social media” and “misinformation”), (“online fake news” and “dealing with misinformation”) returned 303 papers (including peer review, reports, and conference proceedings) from google scholar. the search was in two stages, first in january 2020 and another in august 2020. a total of 1074 was downloaded, with 458 and 588 documents retrieved in the first and second search, respectively. of these, 711 and 303 were from web of science and google (scholar). through a title screening, 520 documents were downloaded into the screening stage. the abstracts of the 520 documents were screened, resulting in the exclusion of 317 as not eligible for full-text screening. the abstract, introduction, and conclusions of the remaining 203 articles were screened based on two criteria: 1) does the paper address misinformation? 2) does the paper address online (social) misinformation? this assessment resulted in the further exclusion of 142 articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria. hence, 61 articles were included in the full text of the analysis. however, we identified an additional 8 articles from reference tracings and recommendations, which were added to the full-text screening (figure 1). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 85 figure 1 scoping review procedure note. source for figure was chowdhury, a., kabir, k. h., abdulai, a.r., & alam, m. f. (2023). systematic review of misinformation in social and online media for the development of an analytical framework for agri-food sector. sustainability, 15(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064753 hence, 69 papers (peer review = 41; reports = 10; conference proceedings = 18) were included for full-text analysis to produce this paper. we analyzed the paper based on their broad conceptualization and discussion of online misinformation and specific strategies outlined to combat online misinformation. we draw lessons from those strategies and other relevant records identified from*: web of science (march 20-n = 598; august 2020-n=173; total=771) google and google scholar (march 2020-n = 170; august 2020-n=133; total=303) total (n=1074) records removed before screening: n=554 records downloaded (n = 520) records excluded (n = 317) articles included for screening (n = 203) articles excluded for eligibility (n = 142) reports assessed as eligible (n = 61) new articles added n=8 criteria to include does the paper have a conceptual framework? does the paper conceptualize any aspects of online misinformation? studies included in review (n = 69) peer review=41 reports=10 conference proceedings=18 id en tif ic at io n sc re en in g in cl ud ed criteria to include for eligibility does paper address misinformation? does the paper address online (social) misinformation? https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064753 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 86 resources related to participatory approaches in agricultural advisory services and propose four pcas that fit the specific practice context of aas in combating agri-food misinformation. findings approach for combating misinformation used in health and political context misinformation has become a widespread problem in various sectors, including health and politics. experts are employing different techniques to address this issue. social media platforms like facebook, instagram, twitter, and whatsapp have made it easier to spread ill information, making it essential to develop innovative approaches to combat misinformation (lewandowsky et al., 2017). these strategies should be directed towards vulnerable groups at the community level. this article outlines some community-based innovative approaches that have been implemented to address misinformation in the fields of health and politics. educating community and utilizing the community library to improve information search literacy educating the community about recognizing and combatting misinformation has been deployed as a strategy in the health and political fields in the fight against misinformation. the approach has the potential to help build resilience against misinformation. workshops, conferences, webinars, and specialized training in information tools can be effective ways to achieve this. understanding the source and reasons behind misinformation is key to building resilience against it (european commission, 2018). empowering different groups in the community, such as children, youth, women, and religious groups, can improve media literacy and help people spot misinformation (suwana, 2021). misinformation can influence election results, undermine democracy, and impact decisions made by parents regarding their children’s health (einstein & glick, 2015; jolley & douglas, 2014; lewandowsky et al., 2017). in the political field, as highlighted by jolley and douglas (2013) in their findings on an experimental study, exposure to misinformation decreases people’s involvement in politics. recognizing misinformation is key to preventing its harmful effects. according to lewandowsky et al. (2017), people can identify misinformation by understanding its underlying motives and recognizing discrepancies between the facts and what is being presented. public health officials used this approach to tackle health-related misinformation such as vaccine misinformation, covid-19, and other pandemic misinformation, termed an infodemic by the world health organization (eysenbach, 2020). to combat misinformation in the health sector, officials use community education initiatives such as collaborative learning to educate the public. a classical example of this initiative is the “ask me anything” (ama) program, which invites experts to engage in two-way dialogues with the public on social media platforms, especially reddit (hara et al., 2019). these programs aim to address medical misinformation and promote accurate information in the public health sector. information literacy (de paor & haravi, 2020) is a valuable skill that helps individuals become knowledgeable citizens who can contribute to society. it involves knowing how to find and use information effectively. the library has been used to promote information literacy, particularly https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 87 among those who may not have access, such as the elderly and marginalized (jaeger et al., 2021; young et al., 2021). librarians have the opportunity to assist library patrons in improving their search skills beyond just working at the front desk (batchelor, 2017; tripodi et al., 2023). many individuals, including students, may not know how to properly search for and verify information they find while browsing. most people do a vertical reading—scrolling up and down a website—and cannot click on buttons to see behind what they are reading (breakstone et al., 2021; brodsky et al., 2021). unfortunately, propagandists take advantage of this weakness and spread false information online to gain political points (tripodi, 2022). libraries have used approaches such as providing research-backed tools and educational training to help users recognize reliable sources and verify information (koulolias et al., 2018; tripodi, 2018; tripodi et al., 2023). for instance, since misinformation is likely to spread when politicians are given a chance to increase propaganda, this approach has been successful in addressing misinformation in the political space. thus, the electorate or community members often turn to libraries to verify political claims and seek accurate information. also, in public health, approaches such as commissioning articles to review controversial health topics are key in combating medical misinformation online (armstrong & naylor, 2019; trethewey, 2020). by improving information literacy, libraries can play a crucial role in fighting misinformation, as demonstrated in the 2016 us presidential election when librarians and information specialists stepped up to the forefront of the information war (de paor & haravi, 2020). integrate information literacy into the educational curriculum promoting information literacy education is essential, particularly within the formal educational curriculum. information literacy encompasses knowing how and where to find and apply information daily (cilip, 2018). countries like finland and sweden have successfully integrated media and information literacy into their educational systems (lord & katya, 2021). universities in the uk offer critical thinking programs that enhance media literacy skills (kristin et al., 2021). non-government organizations (ngos), such as irex, provide media literacy training to adults, significantly impacting the fight against misinformation (craft et al., 2017; guess et al., 2020). another notable example is india’s initiative to train citizens in media literacy to combat smartphone-driven misinformation (chaturvedi, 2019). in the health sector, a similar approach has been employed by the world health organization (who) since 2000 to promote public health literacy. a typical example of this initiative is digital health literacy, which has been introduced to help the public access, recognize, and interpret health information. this allows the public to make informed decisions concerning their health (naeem & boulos, 2021). establishing a community-owned information centre in health and politics, community-owned information centers have reduced misinformation by broadcasting information to the community for free. these centers are managed by experienced local journalists and trusted community members who understand cultural and religious dynamics. similar to the eu situation room, these centers share health and political information with the community for free (european commission, 2018). to ensure the accuracy https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 88 of the information disseminated, the centers rely on experts, committees, fact-checking institutions, and health and political civil society groups to verify the information before broadcasting it to the public. ghana’s emergency preparedness and response plan (eprp) during the covid-19 pandemic is an example of this approach. the eprp mobilizes national resources and implements local and internet-based risk and behavioural change communication strategies (tabong & segtub, 2021). the government and health experts give weekly and periodic national addresses to inform citizens about pandemic plans and strategies. local radio stations and community information centers translate these messages into various ethnic languages for better understanding. engage local community leaders and youth and resume their role in information-sharing community engagement in health and political misinformation involves community members, groups, and organizations in decision-making, planning, design, and delivery of health or political services (barker et al., 2020; sacks et al., 2017). the fifth who virtual conference on health misinformation management highlighted the importance of community-level leaders and influencers in identifying vulnerability to misinformation (who, 2022a). these leaders possess a better understanding of the community’s information needs, making them essential in the fight against health and political misinformation (lewandowsky et al., 2017). for instance, during the ebola outbreak in west africa, community and religious leaders played vital roles in combating misinformation (gilmore et al., 2020; gillespie et al., 2016). however, the digital age has transformed the role of traditional community leaders, making it challenging to verify information (domgaard & park, 2022). health professionals now partner with community leaders to counter disinformation. an example is the puerto rico’s covid-19 vaccination misinformation tracking project (mercy corps, 2022). in that initiative, the project team spread community-specific vaccination messages through social media for community leaders and health promoters to share these messages. feedback was collected from community leaders and health promoters weekly, and questions were answered via whatsapp and other appropriate channels. also, pastors, imams, and community leaders addressed misinformation through discussions with their congregations (office of the surgeon general, 2021). another community engagement initiative used in the public health sector is the arthur ashe institute for urban health’s covid-19 campaign. the arthur ashe institute engaged barbers and hairdressers to educate customers about the virus during their visits (korin et al., 2022). young people have the power to combat misinformation by sharing accurate information with their peers and on social media. media literacy and critical thinking programs empower them to evaluate online information (walton & hepworth, 2011). furthermore, the youth are potential important fact-checkers in community politics and health, which the elderly and marginalized groups can leverage in their information searching. thus, teaching young people about media and information promotes open-mindedness and acceptance of diverse perspectives. without this education, individuals may believe misinformation, as seen during the covid-19 pandemic when some dismissed health experts’ advice and relied on unproven treatments, such as warm weather and hydroxychloroquine (bump, 2022). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 89 using infographics in communication according to walter et al. (2020), social media offers tools for educating the public about misinformation, such as audio-visual interventions and educational materials like infographics. infographics are becoming increasingly popular in health and political contexts to promote digital news literacy (tully et al., 2020). infographics simplify complex information for wider populations, including marginalized groups, children, and the elderly (comello et al., 2016; domgaard & park, 2021; lewandowsky et al., 2017). infographics are also used in community libraries to detect and verify political misinformation. for example, an infographic created by the international federation of library associations and institutions (ifla) was translated into various languages and circulated globally as a checklist for identifying misinformation (eva & shea, 2018). additionally, the portuguese health ministry created a health information platform on instagram and facebook with over one million followers, where they shared simple covid19 infographics (who, 2022b). participatory and community-based approaches to combat agri-food misinformation it is evident that participatory and community-based strategies have played a critical role in mitigating misinformation in the fields of health and politics across the globe. however, the use of these strategies in addressing agriculture misinformation is still a grey area. misinformation is pervasive in every aspect of society, including the agri-food sector. researchers and academics are employing various strategies to tackle the problem, but a participatory and community-based approach could potentially yield more positive results in the agri-food system. this approach has been successful in health and politics and can be adapted to the agrifood system by aligning with existing participatory and community-based approaches like ffs, community seed banks, participatory guarantee systems, and common interest groups. these approaches can improve social learning and networking among farmers and help them address complex issues like insect-pest management, locally adapted crop varieties, and climate change (karim & thiel, 2017; porcuna et al., 2020; ton et al., 2015; van de fliert, 2007). misinformation combating techniques can be integrated into these well-established approaches, while adopting methods from the health and political space to enable agri-food community members to counter misinformation effectively. we proposed the following pcas to empower agri-food communities and value their local experience and knowledge, leading to solutions that work for them and include them in life-changing activities (figure 2). the approaches may be used in any combination, and these should not be considered as linear or sequential approaches to combat misinformation. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 90 figure 2 participatory approaches for combatting agri-food misinformation incorporate media literacy education into farmer field schools (ffs) ffs can help combat misinformation in the agri-food system, similar to efforts in health and politics to integrate information literacy into formal education. ffs is a community-based approach that has received recognition and is widely adopted in the agri-food sector to solve challenges such as insect and pest control, farm maintenance, climate variation consequences, input, credit, and marketing and storage of agricultural produce. ffs is an extension service that works in a bottom-up approach, treating farmers as co-equals and sharing experiences instead of instructing them (sarapura et al., 2018). it was introduced in the 1980s in asia by fao to address challenges in rice production and uses adult education principles to educate farmers at the community or farm level. ffs has been successful in various situations, including communication, farm enterprise development and marketing, and nutrition, and with different groups like illiterate, women, adults, and youth. the approach also promotes the integration of local and indigenous knowledge with the latest scientific ideas and technology to boost the agri-food sector (fao et al., 2021). recently, the approach has been tested in the digital sphere to support individual and collective learning for cocoa production and certification in sierra leone (witteveen et al., 2017). the use of both traditional and social media has been beneficial to the food value chain, as farmers can access information through various platforms such as the internet, radio, television, and mobile phones (ceccarelli et al., 2022). however, the spread of misinformation through social and online media (gibson et al., 2022; rampold et al., 2023) and the risks of eroding trust in digitally mediated relationships (rijswijk et al., 2023) have caused harm and offset some of the benefits gained by the digitalization of the agricultural sector. new studies https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 91 have revealed that social media platforms can be useful for sharing agricultural and foodrelated knowledge. unfortunately, the public, including farmers, cannot always verify or authenticate information found on social media, leading to an increase in misinformation (de paor & haravi, 2020; schwarzenegger, 2020; tandoc et al., 2018). providing media literacy education to farmers at the community level, such as through ffs, would go a long way in combating misinformation. by being media literate, farmers can better discern the information consumed. however, incorporating media literacy education into ffs requires identifying relevant media channels, creating a curriculum, employing technology, and supporting farmers afterwards, just as irex has provided media literacy training to adults and digital health literacy by who, as earlier reviewed. a similar approach has been experimented with in tanzania in a project study in 2014 by shao and edwards, where farmers were taught how to use mobile app systems to verify the authenticity of agro-inputs. introducing information literacy into the ffs approach will be crucial in fighting misinformation in the agri-food sector. farmers would be taught how to search and access information to boost their capacity, just as it has been done in other agrifood areas, such as pest management. facilitators of ffs, such as extension workers, can assist participants in identifying the sources of information they use and consume. the role of extension workers is evolving to adapt to the digital world. they now serve as informants, consultants, advisors, facilitators, mediators, and promoters. additionally, they will take on new roles as content creators, influencers, gatekeepers, big data analysts, creators of artificial intelligence, and developers of gamification strategies (sugihono et al., 2022). they can teach farmers how to determine the accuracy and reliability of the information, recognize media biases, and critically analyze media techniques used to persuade and influence audiences. individuals can avoid accepting information without proper verification by understanding technical aspects, such as algorithms and bots behind the spread of information on social media platforms like facebook, twitter, and whatsapp. by incorporating media literacy strategies in group-based approaches like ffs, participants can gain valuable critical thinking skills that enable them to make informed decisions and navigate complex media landscapes. moreover, they can utilize the power of media to promote their interests and communicate effectively with others, such as farmers marketing their products or sharing their experiences and knowledge through radio and television interviews. by teaching farmers critical thinking skills to assess information sources, identify media biases, and understand digital channels, they are better equipped to combat misinformation, as illustrated in figure 2. collaborate with other organizations to set up a community agricultural information hub the public health sector, in particular, has leveraged community resources (leaders, youth) to promote accurate information sharing, as indicated in the review above. in the same way, the agri-food sector taps into these resources to combat misinformation related to agri-food by working together with community members. misinformation often arises from government policies, new technologies, and other developments outside the farming community, particularly regarding topics such as organic products and genetically modified organisms (gmos). experts from various fields, such as researchers, academics, producers, policy analysts, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 92 and ngos, must provide their expertise to tackle these issues and identify misinformation. this can follow similar approaches as those employed in the health sector to combat the infodemic (e.g. puerto rico’s covid-19 vaccination misinformation tracking project). ngos, for instance, have strong connections with communities, making them ideal partners in fighting disinformation. an example of this approach in the agri-food sector is the establishment of a partnership involving the government, private organizations, and ngos in bolivia (sarapura et al., 2018). as suggested by wren media (2010), facilitators or farmer organizations can collaborate with local traditional media companies or journalists to learn about agriculture during interactive sessions. by complementing each other, they can improve the fact-checking and trustworthiness of agricultural information and reduce the spread of misinformation in the industry. farmers need easy access to accurate and reliable agricultural information. to address this need, a community agricultural information hub can be established. an information hub is a single point of reference providing members with various issues (fao, 2010). the hub aims to raise awareness of quality information sources and prevent the spread of misinformation in the agri-food sector. the hub can take the form of a newsstand in the center of the community or a section in the community library dedicated to agricultural-related information. it can be managed by a team of agricultural extension officers, information experts, and other trusted community members. farmers and farmer groups are encouraged to share new information, experiences, and knowledge with the hub and seek support from the team. the agricultural hub is a reliable source of accurate information in the agri-food sector. it aims to address contentious issues that may lead to misinformation. the hub collaborates with agricultural extension officers, information experts, and other trusted community members. they work together to fact-check information and gather reliable information from credible sources, even if it requires connecting to national-level resources (as shown in figure 2). this approach is similar to the “rumor tracker or fact-checking” used in puerto rico to counter covid-19 misinformation and the eprp in ghana during the covid-19 pandemic in strengthening farmers’ capacity to access and share information; the hub reduces their vulnerability to misinformation. a similar approach has been used in egypt under the rural and agricultural development communication network (radcon), which was launched in 2004 as a build-up on the virtual extension and research communication network (vercon) pilot project (fao, 2010). vercon is a pilot project designed to help strengthen farmers’ communication capacity. it was started in 2000 by egypt’s ministry of agriculture and land resources (malr) and the un food and agriculture organization. another example, however, that works differently but has a similar goal is the access agriculture panorama. with access agricultural, agricultural training videos translated into international and local languages targeting audiences in the global south are produced and distributed through social media platforms and emails upon request (access agriculture, 2023). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 93 technology stewardship a relatively new approach, called “technology stewardship,” was tested to enhance the capacity of extension workers to lead the adoption processes of low-cost icts in the global south (gow et al., 2020). the term technology stewardship comes from the communities of practice literature, and it refers to a method of training and supporting groups of people known as technology stewards who work within their communities to promote and sustain innovative practices using accessible, low-cost digital technologies (jayathilake et al., 2015; wenger et al., 2009). the concept of a technology steward involves identifying individuals responsible for selecting, deploying, and managing technology tools within a community or organization. the role of a technology steward is an intermediary, which can be a part-time voluntary, selfappointed, or organizationally assigned position that is filled in response to an urgent need in the community (gow et al., 2020). researchers are exploring adapting technology stewardship that involves utilizing technology to support fact-based decision-making for those involved in the agri-food industry. tech stewards can make it simpler for people to access and understand data about food production, safety, and quality that is already publicly available. this can help prevent the spread of false or misleading information through various online and offline channels, ultimately improving public trust in the food system. by reducing the dissemination of misinformation on social media, technology stewards can play a vital role in ensuring the accuracy of information about food. in the agri-food industry, extension workers as technology stewards can play a crucial role—as that played by librarians in the health and political space—in identifying and utilizing effective technological tools to combat misinformation. they can collaborate with industry experts to determine the most prevalent forms of misinformation and create plans to counteract them. by using available resources, they can identify and implement social media monitoring software, fact-checking tools, and content management systems, which that can be utilized to combat misinformation. they ensure famers are educated on the responsible use of these tools. as stewards, they monitor the movement of information to and from these systems so that external information can be quickly detected and verified (figure 2). therefore, ensuring these stewards have the necessary resources and training is crucial for successful technology stewardship in the agri-food sector. this includes providing access to cutting-edge technology and equipping them with the skills to identify and correct misinformation. collaboration and information sharing among technology stewards, agri-food experts, and other stakeholders are also important to develop and implement practical solutions. incorporating technology stewardship into efforts to counteract misinformation can build a community that better addresses this issue in the agri-food context. platform approach the platform approach has become a popular solution for many socio-technical problems in the agriculture sector. one such approach is called the innovation platform, which is considered a social space for multiple actors to interact and share their ideas, knowledge, and opinions to come up with new solutions (schut et al., 2018). the core idea is to stimulate and facilitate partnerships and collaborations for development solutions. platform-based initiatives like https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 94 https://covid19misinfo.org/ have become increasingly important in combating misinformation. these initiatives can reach a large audience and be customized to address different types of misinformation. however, they are not a silver bullet and must be used in conjunction with other strategies, such as fact-checking and media literacy education. furthermore, it is necessary to consider management and maintenance costs for sustaining the initiative. misinformation is a complex social and technical issue that requires interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations to find solutions that consider many factors (kabir et al., 2024; aimeur et al., 2023). this problem cannot be solved by an individual alone, and we need the collaboration of various stakeholders, including scientists and practitioners, who are interested in this issue and willing to share their knowledge, expertise, and resources. researchers at the university of guelph have taken the initiative (https://www.misinforesearch.com/) to provide tools and resources to study and address agri-food misinformation. they share fact-checks and other credible information with the public to build awareness, network, and collaborate with multiple actors, mobilize knowledge and partnerships for solutions to the problem. the platform initiative includes several elements: curating relevant literature in a database, tracking myths and misinformation, showcasing global scholars and practitioners of misinformation, and facilitating curated conversations through webinars and podcasts. platform-based initiatives are increasingly being used to promote critical thinking and media literacy skills, which are essential tools for combating the spread of misinformation. it is crucial to evaluate these initiatives carefully to ensure their credibility and effectiveness. moreover, these initiatives should be transparent about their methods and goals to build trust among their audience. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the agricultural industry faces a major threat from misinformation, and there are no specific measures to deal with this problem. to address this issue, this scoping study recommends using four proven pcas that have successfully addressed various agricultural development challenges. we proposed these pcas to integrate ideas and experiences from other fields, such as health and politics, to build trust and social capital and empower communities in agriculture. ffss are excellent examples of pcas that agricultural extension professionals can use. ffss are designed as learning-by-doing programs where farmers come together to share knowledge and learn from each other. however, the application of ffss to combat misinformation has not yet been fully explored. in the context of misinformation, we propose that the approach can help farmers share their experiences, identify and verify information, and develop critical thinking skills. ffss can be used to raise awareness about misinformation and its potential consequences. we recommend incorporating media literacy education within ffss to assist farmers and other stakeholders in honing the necessary skills to critically identify and evaluate information. this includes understanding the various types of misinformation, identifying the sources of misinformation, and assessing the credibility of information. in addition to ffs, we have proposed three other pcas for addressing misinformation in agriculture. government agencies, extension services, or non-profit organizations can establish local agricultural information hubs to provide reliable and up-to-date information on https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 chowdhury et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 95 agricultural practices, technologies, and markets. technology stewardship is a concept that involves the responsible and ethical use of technology to support the dissemination of accurate information and promote sustainable agriculture practices. this includes leveraging technology to create and share educational materials, connect farmers with experts, and monitor and track the spread of misinformation. creating awareness of issues and sharing accurate information with farmers and stakeholders is critical. platform-based initiatives can help achieve this by mobilizing stakeholder partnerships, connecting farmers with experts, and providing guidance and support. additionally, these initiatives can help identify and flag misinformation and educate farmers and other stakeholders on identifying and avoiding it. the suggested approaches provide potential solutions to tackle misinformation in agriculture. however, their effectiveness needs to be further investigated, particularly in the context of the digitalization of agriculture. the insights from the study are expected to spark further exploration and advancement in this area, with significant implications for agricultural advisory services. in future research, some of the following specific questions should be considered to combat agri-food misinformation: how can farmer field schools (ffs) be utilized to combat misinformation? what are the most effective ways to educate farmers and other stakeholders on media literacy? how can local agricultural information hubs be used to promote the dissemination of accurate information and combat misinformation? how can technology be responsibly and ethically used to combat misinformation in agriculture? how can platform-based initiatives be utilized to combat misinformation in agriculture?’ acknowledgements social science and humanities council of canada (sshrc) insight grant has been acknowledged for funding the initiative. author contribution statement a.chowdhury conceptualization, writing – review & editing, supervision, methodology, funding 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(2021). the role of libraries in misinformation programming: a research agenda. journal of librarianship and information science, 53(4), 539-550. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620966650 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.349 https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/353410 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08afd40f0b649740008cc/the_role_of_the_media_in_agricultural_development.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08afd40f0b649740008cc/the_role_of_the_media_in_agricultural_development.pdf https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620966650 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 4, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. heather r. nesbitt, adjunct instructor, university of florida and oregon state university, heather.nesbitt@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5339-8516 2. debra m. barry, assistant professor, university of florida, 1200 north park road, plant city, fl 33563, dmbarry@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9579-3872 3. j.c. bunch, associate professor, university of florida, 307a rolfs hall, gainesville, fl. 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 4. paul f. monaghan, associate professor, university of florida, 213 rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611, paulf@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8877-1122 5. huan chen, associate professor, university of florida, 2088 weimer, gainesville, fl. 32611, huanchen@jou.ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2240-7381 113 exploring the adoption of a cooperating teacher preparation program in agricultural education h. r. nesbitt1, d. m. barry2, j. c. bunch3, p. f. monaghan4, h. chen5 article history received: may 22, 2024 accepted: december 19, 2024 published: december 20, 2024 keywords student teaching; sdg 4: quality education; internship; mentorship; retention abstract this study presents a program review of a cooperating teacher preparation and support program intervention within school-based agricultural education teacher preparation programs, employing diffusion of innovations and the concerns-based adoption model to explore the adoption behaviors of agricultural education teacher preparation university program coordinators. the study reveals the crucial role of formalized preparation and ongoing support for cooperating teachers in fostering successful mentorship experiences during student teaching internships. drawing from the insights of program coordinators, the findings highlighted the program’s compatibility with existing structures, addressing gaps in cooperating teacher training. the diffusion of innovations characteristics—relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability, and trialability—are pivotal in shaping coordinators’ perceptions and decisions. concernsbased adoption model stages of concern, ranging from informational to refocusing, illuminate the evolution of coordinators’ concerns during the adoption process. the study contributes essential insights into the complexities of implementing mentorship programs, emphasizing the need for ongoing support, collaboration, and adaptation. recommendations advocate for integrating structured mentorship programs in teacher preparation, collaboration among universities, and a culture of continuous evaluation. mailto:heather.nesbitt@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5339-8516 mailto:dmbarry@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9579-3872 mailto:bunchj@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 mailto:paulf@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8877-1122 mailto:huanchen@jou.ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2240-7381 nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 114 introduction and problem statement mentorship plays a vital role in teacher effectiveness, impacting new teachers' motivation, engagement, satisfaction, and persistence (blackburn & robinson, 2008; tschannen-moran & hoy, 1998). mentoring programs are widely used to enhance teacher retention and to support new teachers during their transition into the classroom (greiman et al., 2005; ingersoll & strong, 2011; nasser-abu alhija & fresko, 2010). in student teaching internships, cooperating teachers (ct) are crucial in guiding and mentoring student teachers (st) (roberts, 2006). cts model effective teaching strategies, provide feedback, and help sts develop pedagogical skills and confidence (clarke et al., 2014; roberts, 2006). ultimately, their mentorship contributes to sts' growth, teacher self-efficacy, and professional development (pd) (curtner-smith, 2001; mckim & valez, 2017). cts, in their role as mentors, need to possess qualities of professionalism, effective teaching skills, nurturing personal characteristics, and a desire to build a strong relationship with their sts (roberts, 2006). however, there is a lack of focus and current literature on the pd and support needed for cts to fulfill their mentoring roles effectively. universities should provide formalized preparation and ongoing support for cts to ensure their mentoring abilities align with the needs of sts (barry, 2019; barry et al., 2021). this includes engagement from the university, training in mentoring techniques, and clear guidelines for transitioning sts into their full teaching responsibilities (hamilton, 2010). best practices in mentoring, including social support, professional support, and role modeling, should be implemented, and a mutual understanding of the mentor and mentee roles is crucial (alemdag & simsek, 2017; barry, 2019; nesbitt et al., 2022; russell & russell, 2011). theoretical and conceptual framework the framework of this program review utilizes diffusion of innovations (doi) and the concernsbased adoption model (cbam) to develop a change model for program adoption of the cooperating teacher preparation and support program intervention within the education and the university system. rogers’ (2003) doi theory explains the adoption of innovations by individuals or groups. innovations are defined as new ideas, practices, programs, or objects. their successful adoption depends on five perceived characteristics: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability, and trialability (rogers, 2003). relative advantage refers to the innovation’s perceived superiority over alternatives. compatibility relates to the innovation’s alignment with existing values and needs. complexity addresses the ease of adoption. observability focuses on the benefits being observable. trialability involves the ability to try the innovation before committing to its use. only 8% of doi research has been done in the field of education, and there is a gap in research related to the use of doi for pd adoption (petruzzelli, 2010; rogers, 2003). petruzzelli (2010) states that the success of a pd innovation implementation depends on external factors such as program leadership, pd planning, and the experience of those participating in the pd. the acceptance and execution of innovation largely rely on the personal experiences of those who coordinate and participate coordinating and https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 115 participating in the program (geijsel et al., 2001). additionally, kaminski (2011) expressed the importance of exploring different perceptions of innovations to adjust the adoption process based on the adopters’ needs. cbam offers a framework to understand the stages of concern experienced when adopting new practices or programs. this model is commonly utilized when discussing the adoption of innovations within education (haines, 2018; hall & hord, 2006; hollingshead, 2009; ogegbo & ramnarain, 2022; trapani & annunziato, 2018). cbam identifies seven stages of concern commonly experienced when adopting new instructional practices: awareness, informational, personal, management, consequence, collaboration, and refocusing (hall & hord, 2006; hollingshead, 2009). understanding and addressing teachers’ concerns at each stage of their training is crucial for promoting the successful adoption and integration of new pd, instructional practices, or programs (hall & hord, 2006). by assessing the concerns of university coordinators who work with cts during the student teaching experience, an environment that nurtures ct mentorship pd and facilitates improved mentoring to their st can be adopted, ultimately improving the student teaching experience. the combination of doi and cbam theories was utilized to create this study's conceptual model for program adoption (see figure 1). in this model, the perceived characteristics of the preparation and support program for cts were utilized to persuade university teacher preparation programs to join this pilot program. from there, the university program coordinator’s stage of concern from the cbam was collected to determine the potential adoption of the program (nesbitt, 2024). figure 1 conceptual model of the combination of diffusion of innovations (doi) and concerns-based adoption models (cbam) used to influence a decision to adopt https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 116 purpose and research questions the purpose of this program review was to examine the adoption of best practices support from teacher preparation programs. the following research questions guided this study: (a) what characteristics do student teaching internship program coordinators perceive as influential in their decisions to adopt or not adopt a ct support program? (b) how do student teaching internship program coordinators perceive the relative importance of each factor in their decision to adopt a ct support program? (c) what components of the ct support program were deemed most effective by the student teaching internship program coordinators? (d) what are the perceived barriers of student teaching internship program coordinators in adopting a ct support program? methods this program review employed a qualitative approach to assess the effectiveness of the ct training intervention by utilizing a phenomenological inquiry into the adoption behaviors of agricultural education teacher preparation universities concerning the ct preparation and support program (boyle, 1981; moustakas, 1994). this review was framed as a phenomenological inquiry to explore the lived experiences of university program coordinators in adopting and implementing the ct preparation and support program. this approach allowed for a deeper understanding of how coordinators perceived, interpreted, and navigated the adoption process (creswell & poth, 2018; moustakas, 1994). two university teacher preparation programs were selected for this review. both were land-grant universities with agricultural education teacher certification programs in different geographical regions. importantly, neither university had previously conducted its own ct preparation and support program before participating in this research. the intervention was based on the university of florida’s department of agricultural education and communication program that implemented a mentorship training protocol for cts that started in the fall of 2018 and further developed each year (barry, 2019). the program’s main objective was to equip and support cts in their mentoring roles during the student teaching internship. the program emphasized best practices in the areas of social support, professional support, and role modeling. it included a dedicated website for resource retrieval, a ct mentorship manual, onboarding for cts and sts, a pre-internship workshop for cts and sts to provide essential skills, regular communication through emails and infographics, and monthly collaborative zoom meetings to foster a supportive community of cts (barry, 2019; barry et al., 2021; nesbitt et al., 2022). participants in this study included two faculty members who were program coordinators for sts and cts at two university-state agricultural education teaching preparation programs. the coordinators were given detailed directions and content for implementing the onboarding sessions, pre-internship workshop, sending bi-weekly emails, and hosting the monthly zoom meetings within the ct preparation and support program. participants were sent check-in https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 117 emails at the beginning of each stage, and they were asked to send verification of each detail to ensure the program was implemented correctly. the website and ct manual were provided and updated by the researcher. interview questions were formulated to explore the phenomenon of adoption through the perspectives of the university program coordinators in this study (creswell & poth, 2018; moustakas, 1994). the interview protocol was vetted by three university faculty considered experts in qualitative research, change-based theories, and agricultural education. with permission from the institutional review board (irb2022-01843), the program was implemented at each university during the 2022-2023 school year. following the complete implementation of the program, each program coordinator was asked to participate in individual one-hour semi-structured interviews in july 2023. throughout the interviews, probing questions were employed to explore the program coordinators’ experiences further and to gather a more comprehensive understanding of adoption (merriam, 2002). after assigning pseudonyms to maintain confidentiality, a three-read process was conducted for coding (saldaña, 2016). during the third read, predetermined constructs were used to create thematic codes, enabling the identification of adaptable program characteristics and the coordinators’ stages of concern in the adoption process (see table 1). additionally, in vivo coding was employed to uncover any emergent themes that may have surfaced within the structural codes (saldaña, 2016). participant quotes also provided deeper insights into the phenomenon under investigation (merriam, 2002; moustakas, 1994). to ensure trustworthiness, member checking and peer debriefing was employed to establish credibility. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 118 table 1 summary of thematic and descriptive codes theme code description perceived characteristics of the innovation (rogers, 2003) relative advantage participants shared their previous experiences with cooperating teacher training. compatibility participants discussed how the program fit into their existing program. complexity participants shared their experiences implementing the program. observability participants discussed their observed benefits. trialability participants shared future implementation of the program. components of the program most effective participants share their use of the components and how they viewed their effectiveness. barriers participants discussed barriers they faced when implementing the program. stage of concern (hall & hord, 2006, hollingshead, 2009) awareness participants discussed their level of awareness with the new program informational participants discussed their original interest in learning more about the program. personal participants discussed their uncertainty about the personal demands and implications of the new program. management participants discussed their focus on managing, scheduling, and time demands of the new program. consequence participants discussed their perceived impact of the new program on their cooperating teachers and student teachers. collaboration participants discussed their interest in collaborating with others in the new program. refocusing participants discussed their possibility of changes to the program. findings three focal points were utilized to help answer the research questions for this study. the codebook provides each theme and descriptive code (see table 1). the first focal point of the coding analysis centered around doi’s five perceived characteristics of the innovation, which explore perceptions of the innovation (kaminski, 2011; rogers, 2003). when discussing the participants’ previous experiences with ct training, several key statements emphasized the relative advantage of the program over their previous methods or lack of methods in ct training. one participant stated, “it was something that [we] had seen a need for… we had a need to do more than what we have been doing.” additionally, the participants discussed how https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 119 the program filled specific gaps such as “intentional” resources and training tools and included a dedicated day of training to get their cts “on the same page.” when examining the participants’ perspectives on the compatibility of the program, both participants discussed the seamless integration of the program into their existing programs. the university 1 participant stated, “i think they fit in really well… and it doesn’t feel like it’s a lot of extra work compared to what we were previously doing.” the participant from university 1 also emphasized the program’s alignment by highlighting the incorporation “of a dedicated workshop day” as a planned and expected element, complementing and supplementing existing practices without adding excessive workload. the university 2 participant also described the program as “dovetail[ing] pretty nicely” with their existing framework. they spoke specifically about the structured nature of the program, contrasting it with past practices that were more informal. when looking at the participants’ views on the complexity of the program, challenges ranged from logistical issues and participant engagement to the integration of technology and the broader structural complexities tied to the academic reward system. the university 1 participant spoke about their initial overwhelming feeling when preparing for the workshop and the logistical challenge of their coordinating with the cts who traveled. the participant from university 2 highlighted a surprising challenge related to cts not paying close attention to details and recognized that they had gone from providing their cts with little support to providing them with a lot. additionally, the participant from university 2 spoke with concern about their personal resistance to learning new tools like canva. as the participant honestly stated, “i’m to the point in my career that i don’t want to learn how to use canva and edit those types of things.” finally, university 2 participant touched upon the intricate nature of the tenure process, citing the challenge required to dedicate time to implement such a program when little weight was given towards tenure. the university 1 participant primarily highlighted the observability of the program’s impact on their cts and sts. the participant discussed their cts’ feelings towards the workshop. they stated, “[cts] really felt like they had a better understanding of what they were going to be doing and felt more prepared going into [the internship]…i think [experienced cts] were still able to get stuff out of it because of the different elements that we put in.” the university 1 participant also discussed the program’s timely advice to the cts throughout the internship experience. they stated, “i think the sequencing…of the topics was very beneficial for where they were throughout the experience.” university 2 similarly discussed timely advice to the cts and the template utilized in the bi-weekly emails. they stated, “they liked the bi-weekly emails…they liked the bulleted ‘here’s what ought to be happening now… here’s the key things up front.’ they appreciated that.” when examining participants’ perspectives of the program, there was a notable eagerness and willingness to continue to engage with its resources, with minor changes. the participants also discussed recommendations to aid in the trialability of other universities wanting to adopt the program. the university 1 participant stated, “i think now that we have a collection of stuff, it https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 120 will be easy to continue to implement, to revisit, revise, add additional pieces, as necessary…i’m excited to continue to do it.” the university 1 participant suggested that housing the materials in a sharable drive would aid in the adoption at other universities and discussed two suggested edits: (a) discussion stems to help sts navigate conversations with their cts, and (b) an added emphasis on cts “getting [sts] introduced and situated into the school piece” of the internship. the participant from university 2 also discussed their plans to continue the ct preparation and support program. they stated, “the ct manuals, we will continue to use and update. ah, the [workshop], we will continue to do, and we will continue to have it structured as you recommended…i think now that we have the template, it’s just a matter of going in and updating things.” the university 2 participant also discussed two edits they would make: (a) a university supervisor manual, and (b) support training and regular emails to sts reminding them where they should be in the internship, like the ct’s bi-weekly emails. they stated, “one thing we did not do was get the university supervisors on [the training], and i think that would be valuable… [for] the university supervisors, as much as possible, be involved. the second focal point of the coding analysis centered around the cbam, offering a structured lens to comprehend the stages of concern each participant experienced in adopting the programs. cbam delineates seven stages of concern: awareness, informational, personal, management, consequence, collaboration, and refocusing (hall & hord, 2006; hollingshead, 2009). however, only five stages were identified during the analysis. the participants of this study began the program in the informational stage of concern, discussing their original interest in learning more about the program. the participant from university 1 stated, “we definitely had a bigger need. we had a need to do more than what we have been doing.” the participant from university 2 stated, “we have always wanted to do ct training.” as the participants moved out of the informational stage of concern, they jumped to the management stage of concern. they discussed their focus on managing, scheduling, and the time demands of the program. the participant from university 1 stated, “my partner at the university had been saying [they] wanted to do something like [the program] for years and just haven’t had the time to get it started.” the university 2 participant also discussed their lack of time to create the resources needed to implement such a program. as mentioned in complexity, university 2 also discussed the management of this program and its weight in the tenure process. during the program implementation, the participants discussed the perceived impact of the program on their cts and sts, demonstrating a movement into the consequence level of concern. the university 1 participant stated they saw “the appreciation and willingness [of the cts] to participate in the training…[and] the value that [the cts] saw in [the training].” additionally, the participant from university 1 discussed navigating the potential challenge of continual buy-in from seasoned mentors. they stated, “i think if we can use them, also resources, not just as you’re here to learn from us that day, but you’re also contributing to the learning and growth of other mentor teachers, that would be beneficial.” university 2’s program coordinator showed their movement into the consequence stage by discussing their https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 121 perception of the impact on cts. they stated, “i guess that was the biggest surprise was, we went from not giving them much to giving them a lot. and it still seemed confusing.” participants discussed their interest in collaborating with others implementing the program, moving their level of concern towards collaboration. the participant from university 1 stated, “i think having been in communication with others who are using similar programs would be helpful… let’s collaborate, and you know, refined materials.” the university 2 participant stated, “i think learning from other people is how we get better…i would love to hear what [other states] said.” participants discussed the possibility of changes to the program, showing them in the final level of concern, the refocusing phase. the university 1 participant discussed the challenges faced by a st who felt a lack of clear communication and differing expectations from mentors. they stated, “i had a st who felt like their mentor teachers were not communicating well or clearly, or had different expectations. and so, i don’t know if it would be helpful to have some support, as well for sts.” they also touched on the ongoing efforts to continue the program, including regular emails and workshop implementation. they expressed their need for more support to fully implement the program. finally, the participant from university 1 discussed the potential need to alter the program’s materials to fit the needs of universities with year-long student teaching internships. they stated, “one thing that i think would be important to keep in mind are some places are going to year-long student teaching placements. so, there might need to be expanded material set for that situation.” the university 2 participant reflected on their added efforts made with sts, stating, “i also tried to do some things with these sts. you know, here’s where you should be. that kind of thing, not as regular as the cts.” they also discussed the feedback from university supervisors, stating, “university supervisors wanted more structure.” in addition, they eagerly explained their plans to continue implementing more structured guidance with their cts. the participant from university 2 also acknowledged the challenges in coordinating full-year student teaching. after the program implementation, the program coordinators in this study identified several beneficial aspects of the program, as well as the barriers they faced during implementation, leading to the third and final focal point of this study. for benefits, the participants consistently highlighted various aspects associated with the program’s implementation, providing insights into the positive impact of its adoption. both schools discussed how the support program fit well into their existing program and was easy to implement. they both stated that the program pushed them to implement components they were already interested in but had not found the resources to create, such as hosting a ct workshop and more regular email communication. additionally, the program coordinators commented on the barrier of time required to develop materials being removed due to the materials being created for them. they were surprised by the appreciation and willingness of most cts to participate in this program. along with the positive feedback responses, there were still barriers that the program coordinators identified. these included some lack of participation from the cts in reading emails, attending monthly zoom sessions, and having buy-in from experienced mentors. timing https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 122 was the most discussed barrier as it related to the coordinators” time to plan and implement support components, such as the workshop and zoom sessions, as well as the cts’ time needed to attend these functions. concern was shared by program coordinators related to learning new technology, such as canva, to edit infographics and the ability to manage a website if they had to do that on their own. the tenure process was also shared as a time concern for the investment of a program like this and its potential weight in the tenure process. conclusions and recommendations this program review captured the phenomenon’s essence across different settings, but it is essential to acknowledge the limited generalizability of the findings. however, this review could offer insights into the experiences of the university programs’ implementation, aid in programmatic development, and highlight further research areas within this field. the success of mentorship programs, particularly within student teaching internships, depends on the preparedness and ongoing support provided to cts (clarke et al., 2014; norris et al., 1990; roberts, 2006). this program review aligns with the need for formalized preparation and continuous support for cts, ensuring their mentoring abilities align with the evolving needs of sts (barry, 2019; barry et al., 2021; dunning et al., 2011; nesbitt et al., 2022). in this study, the ct preparation and support program answered the need for structured mentorship training (barry, 2019; barry et al., 2021; dunning et al., 2011; nesbitt et al., 2022). the gap in the formalized training of cts in school-based agricultural education was addressed by providing a comprehensive mentorship preparation and support program. the findings support the pivotal role that preparation and support programs play in enhancing the mentorship experience (barry, 2019; barry et al., 2021; dunning et al., 2011; nesbitt et al., 2022). the identified beneficial program components, including the workshops and regular communication, reflect the best practices of mentoring recommended by scholars (alemdag & simsek, 2017; barry, 2019; barry et al., 2021; russell & russell, 2011). the conceptual model (see figure 1) grounded in diffusion of innovations (doi) and the concerns-based adoption model (cbam) proved instrumental in understanding the intricate adoption process of the program (hall & hord, 2006; rogers, 2003). the findings indicated the importance of doi characteristics in shaping the perceptions and decisions of program coordinators toward the adoption of the intervention. the relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability, and trialability of the ct preparation and support program played crucial roles in shaping the perceptions and decisions of program coordinators. the compatibility of the program with existing frameworks and the relative advantage it offered over previous methods emerged as key facilitators in the adoption process, and their significance was attributed to the successful adoption. the evolutionary nature of concernbased adoption throughout the program aligned with the observations of hall and hord (2006). the findings showed the initial progression of program coordinators’ concerns from an informational stage, where coordinators seek understanding, to a management stage, where concerns are directed toward addressing scheduling and time demands. once those concerns https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 123 were addressed, the program coordinators’ concerns transitioned towards collaboration and refocusing on potential program modifications. this transition illuminated the coordinators' transformative journey and willingness to adopt the program. several program components were deemed most beneficial by program coordinators. these included the ease of integration into existing structures, and the removal of barriers related to time and resource constraints. the seamless integration into existing structures aligned coherently with the compatibility principle while removing time and resource barriers resonated with the trialability and relative advantage aspects (rogers, 2003). program coordinators also discussed the barriers they faced. these included challenges in technology adoption, issues related to tenure processes, and the need for enhanced cooperation from experienced mentors. while not universally applicable to all state agricultural education teacher preparation programs, this study provides programmatic suggestions and lays the foundation for future research and development of ct preparation and support within school-based agricultural education teacher preparation programs. universities can use the identified concerns and benefits to refine and enhance mentorship initiatives while fostering a supportive environment for the next generation of agricultural educators (barry, 2019; barry et al., 2021; clarke et al., 2014; dunning et al., 2011; nesbitt et al., 2022; norris et al., 1990; roberts, 2006). several key areas warrant further research to advance our understanding of mentorship programs in sbae teacher preparation. first, longitudinal studies should be conducted as a comprehensive assessment of the long-term impact of mentorship programs on the professional development and effectiveness of both cts and sts. second, we suggest that research on mentorship dynamics be further focused on helping both mentors and mentees navigate difficult situations during the internship and creating conversational stems for these situations. finally, research should continue to investigate the correlation between mentorship program quality and student learning outcomes. understanding how the effectiveness of mentorship influences both the academic and professional development of student teachers and, consequently, their students' learning experiences provides valuable insights into the broader impact of these programs. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 nesbitt et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 124 acknowledgments this work was based on: nesbitt (2024). mentorship in the field: best practices in student teaching internships and the adoption in teacher preparation programs. (publication no. pending) [doctoral dissertation, university of florida]. proquest dissertations publishing. https://ufl-flvc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01falsc_ufl/6ad6fc/alma99384277924206597 author contributions: h. nesbitt – conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing, and visualization; d. barry – conceptualization, investigation, writing – review & editing; j. bunch – methodology, validation, and writing-review and editing; p. monaghan methodology, validation, and writing-review and editing; h. chen methodology, validation, and writingreview and editing. references alemdag, e., & simsek, p. o. (2017). pre-service teacher’s evaluation of their mentor teachers, school experiences, and theory-practice relationship. international journal of progressive education, 13(2), 165–179. https://ijpe.inased.org/makale_indir/244 barry, d. 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(2001). teacher efficacy: capturing an elusive construct. teaching and teacher education, 17(7), 783-805. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0742051x(01)00036-1 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.505 https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ej1194263 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0742-051x(01)00036-1 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0742-051x(01)00036-1 microsoft word 235-final.docx colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development volume 3, issue 4, 2022 agdevresearch.org 1. blake c. colclasure, assistant professor of environmental science, doane university, 1014 boswell ave., crete, ne 68333, blake.colclasure@doane.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8375-286x 2. andrew c. thoron, professor and department head for agricultural education and communication, abraham baldwin agricultural college, abac 8, 2802 moore hwy, tifton, ga 31793, andrew.thoron@abac.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9905-3692 3. jack dempsey, lecturer in educational psychology, university of illinois at urbana-champaign, education bldg., 1310 s 6th st, champaign, il 61820, jkdemps2@illinois.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1267-6780 1 factors relating to agriculture teachers’ perceived use of instructional methods b. c. colclasure1, a. c. thoron2, j. dempsey3 abstract school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers have been encouraged to use a variety of instructional methods. despite teacher education programs covering numerous instructional methods and promoting active teaching strategies, prior research has indicated teachers’ predominant use of teacher-centered methods. guided by social cognitive theory, we sought to determine relationships between teachers’ use of instructional methods, belief of method effectiveness, and teacher characteristics. we developed a web survey and administered it to all florida sbae teachers. we analyzed 146 usable responses using means, standard deviations, frequencies, zero order correlations, and mixed selection step-wise linear regressions. findings indicated the most commonly used teaching methods were lecture-discussion, cooperative learning, demonstration, and paired/small group discussion. teachers believed demonstration and cooperative learning to be most effective and debate and role-play least effective. significant and positive correlations were found between belief of method effectiveness and method use for lecture-discussion, cooperative learning, demonstration, and paired/small group discussion. regression models revealed similar trends, with the exception of lecture-discussion. we recommend pre-service and in-service teacher education programs emphasize the importance of studentcentered instruction. in this effort, facilitators of teacher education programs should recognize the positive relationships between teachers’ beliefs of a method’s effectiveness and use of that method. keywords social cognitive theory, teacher beliefs, teaching effectiveness, teaching methods colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.235 2 introduction and problem statement developing teachers’ pedagogy is central to pre-service and in-service teacher education and professional development. the successful teacher not only has a repertoire of teaching strategies but also uses the most appropriate method based on the instructional content, student learning goals, and characteristics of students and the environment (stronge, 2018). agriculture teachers have been encouraged to use a broad array of teaching methods (newcomb et al., 2003; rayfield et al., 2011), and teacher preparation programs are integral in exposing pre-service teachers to the variety of effective instructional methods (smith et al., 2015). in fact, most teacher education programs include at least one course specifically on teaching methods (jao, 2017; mclean & camp, 2000; peercy & troyan, 2016). ball and knobloch (2005) reviewed 40 course syllabi for teaching methods courses and determined common methods taught to be the problem-solving approach, discussion, demonstration, and field trips. school-based agricultural education (sbae) has long highlighted the importance of experiential and hands-on learning (phipps et al., 2008). student-centered teaching strategies have been promoted in agricultural education to improve a variety of learning outcomes (baker & robinson, 2016; thoron & myers, 2011; 2012). however, teacher educators have questioned teacher preparedness for implementing active teaching strategies for some time (crunkilton, 1976). furthermore, teachers themselves have identified concerns related to their effective use of different teaching methods (duncan et al., 2006; stair et al., 2012). despite the promotion of student-centered teaching in sbae (mclean & camp, 2000), reports have indicated that teachers consistently use underwhelming rates of student-centered instruction compared to teacher-centered instruction (martin & odubiya, 1991; smith et al., 2015). this phenomenon begs for investigation of factors related to teachers’ use of instructional methods. theoretical and conceptual framework we used social cognitive theory (bandura, 1986; 2002) as the theoretical framework to guide this study. according to social cognitive theory, human behavior operates through a multidimensional interaction between three influential factors: personal, behavioral, and social/environmental (bandura, 2002; schunk & usher, 2019). in the context of teaching, teachers’ personal and environmental factors have influence on their teaching behavior (an & meaney, 2015; chan & yuen, 2014; dusick, 1998; holzberger et al., 2014). prior research in sbae (smith et al., 2015; voges et al., 2020) applied the social cognitive theory to examine agriculture teachers’ selection and use of instructional methods. we followed a similar approach and investigated the influence of specific personal and environmental factors on the behavior of use of instructional methods. colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.235 3 personal factors personal factors are described by an individual’s cognitions, beliefs, skills, and affects (schunk & usher, 2019). the influence of numerous personal factors have been investigated toward teacher behavior, e.g., pedagogical content knowledge (gess-newsome et al., 2017), job satisfaction (baluyos et al., 2019), and learning style (young et al., 2021). bandura (1997) described outcome expectations and self-efficacy as key personal factors. the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and use of teaching strategies has been well documented (evans et al., 2014; gibbs, 2003; holzberger et al. 2014), whereas the impact of teachers’ expected outcome of using specific teaching methods have been studied to a lesser extent. outcome expectations of the behavior (e.g., believing how effective an instructional method is) may be influenced by teachers’ social/environmental factors (e.g., traditional vs. provisional teaching certification), as well as prior reinforcement received after completing the behavior. social/environmental factors social/environmental factors interact with both personal and behavioral factors (bandura, 1986; 2002). characteristics of the teaching environment such as grade level-taught (oliver et al., 2011), administration (liebowitz & porter, 2019), access to resources (mumtaz, 2006), class size (hattie, 2006) and subjective norms (van acker et al., 2013), among other factors, can influence teaching behavior. in a modified model of the social cognitive theory, smith et al. (2015) included certification type, gender, and length of teaching career as environmental factors, as these are “factors in which each individual interacts with their peers influencing their social environment” (p. 186). behavioral factors teachers’ behavioral factors, such as the selection and use of a teaching method, are a result of multi-dimensional interactions between environmental and personal factors. behavioral factors influence future behavior and behavior intention through the response an individual receives after a behavior is performed (zhou & brown, 2017). prior studies on sbae teachers’ use of instructional methods report teacher-centered instructional methods as the most commonly used (martin & odubiya, 1991). smith et al. (2015) found lecture to be the most used method (23.6%), followed by demonstration (15.8%). in a study on early-career, texas sbae teachers, voges et al. (2020) found cooperative learning (37.6%), demonstration (32.8%), and lecture (32.7%) to be the most frequently used instructional methods. purpose sbae teachers have been encouraged to use a variety of instructional methods. despite teacher education programs covering many instructional methods and promoting active teaching strategies, prior research has indicated teachers’ limited use of active teaching methods. the purposes of this study were to establish a baseline for florida agriculture teachers’ perceived colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.235 4 use of instructional methods and to explore the influence of personal and environmental factors on the use of instructional methods. findings from this study can be used to inform sbae pre-service teacher education and in-service teacher professional development with the goal to increase teachers’ use of a variety of instructional methods, and in particular, active teaching methods rooted in the philosophy of agricultural education. the following objectives guided this study: 1. describe agriculture teachers’ use of instructional methods in agricultural courses. 2. describe agriculture teachers’ belief of effectiveness of instructional methods. 3. determine the relationships between teacher characteristics (i.e., environmental factors), belief of method effectiveness (i.e., personal factor), and perceived use of instructional methods (i.e., behavior factor). methods all sbae teachers in florida were the target population for this study. from the state’s agriculture teacher database, we generated a list of all teacher names, teaching positions, and emails. we developed and administered through qualtrics a survey instrument to collect quantitative data. the first section of the instrument collected voluntary participant consent and contained a screening question to ensure that respondents were currently teaching sbae in florida. the second question asked participants to indicate agriculture course areas they were currently teaching in from a given list. next, for each course area that was selected, participants were given a list of instructional methods and were asked to indicate the percentage of teaching time they used each instructional method. the combined use of teaching methods for teaching time was required to be 100%. the list included the name and definition for 12 common instructional methods and is shown in table 1. the list was generated by a panel of four agricultural education faculty to ensure content validity and was similar to lists generated in related studies (smith et al., 2015; voges et al., 2020). colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.235 5 table 1 instructional methods and corresponding definitions instructional method definition brainstorming....................... quick and creative analysis of a topic by generating ideas. case study............................ actual or hypothetical scenario that require one or more decisions or actions. cooperative learning........... learner-centered instruction that groups of 3-5 students work together on a well-defined learning task. debate.................................. formal discussion of the pros and cons of an issue in a timed format. demonstration...................... step-by-step explanation and visual example of a procedure or practice. experiment........................... an investigation conducted to determine the effects of a procedure or device. field trip.............................. firsthand observation and study of an off-site business, agency, enterprise, or other entity. lecture-discussion............... presentation of information and questioning that provides students opportunities for interaction with the presenter. paired/small group discussion............................ structured discussion of a topic by students organized in small groups or pairs. resource person................... outside guests/experts who are invited to share special knowledge, views, or skills. role play.............................. an acting out of a scenario or situation by students pretending to be characters in a scenario. supervised study.................. teacher supervision of students as they independently examine a reference or information item. the next section of the survey asked participants to indicate their belief of method effectiveness using a 5-point likert-type scale (1 = not effective at all to 5 = extremely effective) for each of the 12 instructional methods. for each course area taught, instructors also indicated their degree of confidence teaching the course content through a similar 5-point likert scale (e.g., 1 = not at all confident to 5 = extremely confident). the last section of the survey collected respondent demographics: age, gender, years teaching, teaching grade level, and teaching certification type. survey delivery and data analysis the survey was administered as a census sample (n = 406 teachers) during the spring 2018 semester and followed the tailored design method (dillman et al., 2014). a customized email was sent to all participants with a link to complete the survey. when responses dropped to zero, a reminder email was sent to non-respondents. a second reminder was sent following the same method. r version 4.0.3 (r core team, 2020) was used for data analysis. data were colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.235 6 compared between early and late respondents to identify response bias (lindner et al., 2001) and no significant differences were detected. descriptive statistics in the form of means and standard deviations were used to address objective 1, and frequencies were used to address objective 2. zero order correlations and mixed selection step-wise linear regressions were used to address objective 3 using the stats package. an a priori alpha significance was established at .05. findings we received 183 responses, a response rate of 45.1%. of the 183 responses, 30 were incomplete and seven responders did not meet the criteria to complete the survey, resulting in 146 usable responses. table 2 illustrates respondent characteristics. table 2 demographic characteristics of respondents (n = 146) demographic variable n % gender male 58 39.7 female 87 59.6 age 20 to 30 38 26.0 31 to 40 32 21.9 41 to 50 40 27.4 older than 50 35 24.0 highest degree level earned bachelor’s degree 96 65.8 master’s degree 46 31.5 doctoral degree 3 2.1 years teaching experience less than 5 years 43 29.5 five to 15 years 42 28.8 more than 15 years 61 41.8 certification type traditional agriculture teaching certification 48 32.9 provisional agriculture teaching certification 86 58.9 unsure 11 7.5 teachers reported teaching courses in the following areas: introduction to agriculture (n = 112); animal science (n = 73); plant systems / horticulture (n = 57); agribusiness (n = 29); agricultural mechanics (n = 26); environmental sciences / natural resource management (n = 26); food products (n = 25); and, biotechnology (n = 18). colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.235 7 objective 1 objective 1 was to describe teachers’ perceived use of instructional methods. teachers indicated their use of each instructional method for each course taught, and use of each method was averaged across all courses for each teacher. teachers reported using lecturediscussion the most often (m = 30.3%; sd = 18.9). cooperative learning was found to have the second highest mean percentage (m = 16.3%; sd = 14.23), followed by demonstration (m = 12.23%; sd = 8.55) and paired/small group discussion (m = 11.68%; sd = 9.09). resource person, debate, field trip, case study, and role play had the lowest perceived uses, with mean percentages below 3%. table 3 displays agriculture teachers’ perceived use of instructional methods as a percentage of allocated class time. table 3 teachers’ perceived use of instructional method by percent class time instructional method mean sd lecture-discussion 30.28 18.91 cooperative learning 16.26 14.23 demonstration 12.23 8.55 paired/small group discussion 11.68 9.09 experiment 6.70 7.39 supervised study 6.64 9.51 brainstorming 5.50 6.17 resource person (e.g., guest speaker) 2.77 4.16 debate 2.61 3.73 field trip 2.59 4.44 case study 2.09 3.66 role play 0.64 2.13 objective 2 objective 2 was to describe teachers’ belief of effectiveness of each instructional method. results indicated that teachers believed demonstration to be the most effective, with 78.8% of teachers believing demonstration to be very effective or extremely effective. teachers also perceived cooperative learning to be highly effective, with 74% of teachers believing the method to be very effective or extremely effective. other methods showing an overall high belief of effectiveness were experiment, field trip, supervised study, and paired/small group discussion. more than half of teachers believed lecture, case study, brainstorming, and debate to be moderately effective or slightly effective. role play had the lowest perceived effectiveness with 11.6% (n = 17) of teachers believing the method is not effective at all, and 30.8% (n = 45) believing that it is only slightly effective. table 4 displays frequencies for teachers’ belief of effectiveness of each instructional method. colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.235 8 table 4 frequency of teachers’ belief of effectiveness by instructional method not effective at all slightly effective moderately effective very effective extremely effective instructional method f (%) f (%) f (%) f (%) f (%) demonstration 3 (2.1) 28 (19.2) 76 (52.1) 39 (26.7) cooperative learning 1 (0.7) 6 (4.1) 31 (21.2) 75 (51.4) 33 (22.6) experiment 6 (4.1) 37 (25.3) 76 (52.1) 27 (18.5) field trip 2 (1.4) 10 (6.8) 37 (25.3) 63 (43.2) 32 (21.9) supervised study 1 (0.7) 9 (6.2) 48 (32.9) 65 (44.5) 22 (15.1) paired/small group discussion 8 (5.5) 54 (37.0) 71 (48.6) 13 (8.9) resource person/guest 1 (0.7) 9 (6.2) 53 (36.3) 66 (45.2) 17 (11.6) lecture-discussion 13 (8.9) 63 (43.2) 62 (42.5) 8 (5.5) case study 5 (3.4) 14 (9.6) 67 (45.9) 46 (31.5) 12 (8.2) brainstorming 1 (0.7) 23 (15.8) 69 (47.3) 44 (30.1) 9 (6.2) debate 2 (1.4) 28 (19.2) 64 (43.8) 45 (30.8) 6 (4.1) role play 17 (11.6) 45 (30.8) 53 (36.3) 23 (15.8) 6 (4.1) objective 3 objective 3 was to test for relationships between teacher characteristics, belief of method effectiveness, and perceived use of instructional methods. zero order correlations were first used to analyze associations between teacher demographics, confidence teaching subject matter, instructional method use, and belief of method effectiveness. the four most commonly used teaching methods reported in objective 1 were used in our analysis. these methods were lecture-discussion, demonstration, cooperative learning, and paired/small group discussion. several significant correlations were found, all of which can be interpreted between a low and medium effect size (cohen, 1988). more years teaching was associated with less use of paired/small group discussion (r = -.199, p = .037) and teaching higher grade levels was associated with higher use of demonstration (r = .190, p = .047). higher reported confidence teaching subject matter was positively associated with belief in effectiveness for all methods except for cooperative learning (lecture-discussion: r = .279, p = .003; demonstration: r = .211, p = .027; paired/small group discussion: r = .253, p = .008). pearson coefficients and corresponding p-values are reported in table 5. colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.235 9 table 5 zero order correlations for teacher demographics, confidence teaching subject matter, method use, and belief of method effectiveness variable lecturediscussion demonstration cooperative learning p/s group discussion use effect. use effect. use effect. use effect. age -.017 -.115 .026 .112 .017 -.103 -.134 -.116 gender (female) -.008 -.025 .028 -.182 -.034 .142 .013 -.007 years teaching .074 -.033 .056 .154 -.012 -.107 -.199* -.117 advanced degree -.161 -.037 .035 .101 .019 -.024 -.051 .066 traditional cert. -.059 -.075 .160 .146 -.084 -.102 -.032 -.081 grade level (hs) -.036 .075 .190* .176 -.021 -.066 -.122 .087 confidence -.015 .279* .035 .211* .068 .022 .014 .253* note. * p < .05 zero order correlations were used to determine associations between method use and belief of method effectiveness. most notably, positive and significant correlations were found between belief in method effectiveness and method use for each respective method type (lecturediscussion: r = .250, p = .008; demonstration: r = .300, p = .002; cooperative learning: r = .334, p < .001; paired/small group discussion r = .301, p = .001). the found associations can be interpreted as approximately, medium effect sizes (cohen, 1988). three other significant correlations were found. these correlations indicated negative relationships between belief of method effectiveness and method use, but notably, between different method types (e.g., lecture-discussion use and belief of effectiveness of paired/small group discussion; r = -.278, p = .003). zero order correlations between method use and belief of method effectiveness are reported in table 6. table 6 zero order correlations between method use and belief of method effectiveness method use belief of method effectiveness lecturediscussion demonstration cooperative learning p/s group discussion lecture-discussion .250* -.135 -.199* -.278* demonstration -.085 .300* -.027 .003 cooperative learning .079 -.147 .334* .127 p/s group discussion -.244* .011 .147 .301* note. * p < .05 to provide a visual summary of the relationship between teachers’ belief of method effectiveness and percentage of use of the most commonly used methods found in our study, boxplots were made and are shown in figure 1. colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.235 10 figure 1 boxplots showing percentage of time spent teaching in each method based on teacher belief in said method’s effectiveness. note. all models reveal a positive trend such that as belief in effectiveness increases, the percentage of time used teaching in that method also increases. in addition to zero order correlations, mixed selection stepwise regressions were fit to average use data for the four most commonly used methods in our study. predictor variables treated as continuous were teacher age, years teaching, belief of method effectiveness, and confidence teaching the subject matter. predictor variables treated as binary were gender (male = 0, female = 1), degree level (bachelor’s degree = 0, graduate degree = 1), teaching grade level (middle school = 0, high school = 1), and certification type (provisional = 0, traditional = 1). the full model also included interactions between beliefs in effectiveness and all other predictors. the model fit to lecture-discussion use data revealed a single significant predictor of graduate degree such that those who did not hold graduate degrees used the lecture-discussion method more than those who did (adj. r2 = .14, f [6, 103] = 2.688, p = .018). the model fit to demonstration use data revealed several significant predictors. belief of method effectiveness was a significant predictor, as well as gender, such that males were overall less likely to report colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.235 11 using the demonstration method. additionally, a significant and positive interaction effect between belief in effectiveness and gender was revealed, such that reported use was higher in males compared to females when considering higher beliefs in effectiveness (adj. r2 = .126, f [11, 98] = 2.425, p = .01). the models fit to cooperative learning use (adj. r2 = .103, f [1, 108] = 13.54, p < .001) and paired/small group discussion use (adj. r2 = .12, f [5, 104] = 3.837, p = .003) both revealed belief in effectiveness as a significant predictor such that a higher belief in effectiveness predicted a higher use of each method. the significant predictors for each of the four final models are reported in table 7. table 7 regression model outputs for factors predicting higher method use by method type model significant predictors estimate se t p ηp2 model 1 demonstration effectiveness 8.76 3.57 2.45 .02 0.08 gender (female) 22.37 8.57 2.61 .01 0.10 effectiveness*gender -6.29 2.56 -2.46 .02 .058 model 2 lecture-discussion degree (graduate) -7.75 3.68 -2.11 .04 .041 model 3 cooperative learning model 4 effectiveness 6.29 1.71 3.68 < .01 .111 p/s group discussion effectiveness 16.76 7.96 2.11 .04 .091 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations findings from our study provide baseline data for florida agriculture teachers’ use of instructional methods and belief of method effectiveness. our findings show that teachers reported using lecture-discussion the most often (30.3%), followed by cooperative learning (16.3%), demonstration (12.2%), and paired/small group discussion (11.7%). least used were role play (<1%) and case study (2.1%). the dispersion of method use, with teacher-centered methods being highly used, support the findings from similar studies in other states (martin & odubiya, 1991; smith et al., 2015; voges et al., 2020). florida agriculture teachers reported the highest belief in method effectiveness for demonstration, cooperative learning, and the use of experiments. these results align with smith et al. (2015) who found teachers believed demonstration and experiments to be the most effective. according to social cognitive theory (bandura, 1986; 2002), interactions exist between personal, environmental, and behavioral factors. we found several significant correlations between demographic factors and method use, and between demographic factors and belief of method effectiveness. more years teaching was associated with less use of paired/small group discussion, teaching high school was associated with higher use of demonstration, and higher confidence teaching subject matter was associated with higher belief in effectiveness for all colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.235 12 methods except cooperative learning. more robust, significant correlations were found between teachers’ belief of method effectiveness and use of the same method for lecturediscussion, cooperative learning, demonstration, and paired/small group discussion. other significant correlations between these variables were negative. for example, higher belief in the effectiveness of cooperative learning was associated with less use of lecture-discussion. follow-up regression models supported our overall observations that belief of a method’s effectiveness is positively associated with that method’s use. belief of a method’s effectiveness was a significant predictor for the use of cooperative learning, demonstration, and paired/small group discussion. the regression analysis did not yield a significant interaction of belief in lecture-discussion effectiveness and average reported lecture-discussion use; so the significant correlation found may be due to other latent factors. these results may suggest that the use of lecture-discussion does not necessarily depend on teachers’ beliefs in that method’s effectiveness. graduate education was the single significant predictor of use for lecturediscussion, such as teachers who held graduate degrees used lecture-discussion less often. interestingly, teachers’ age and certification type were not significantly associated with the use of a particular teaching method in any of our analyses. results of this study provide strong evidence toward the positive relationship between teachers’ beliefs of a teaching method’s effectiveness and their level of use of that method. this finding is valuable to guide pre-service and in-service teacher education programs, particularly programs designed to encourage teachers to use specific instructional methods to meet learning objectives and student characteristics (newcomb et al., 2003). this study is limited in that: (a) we measured teachers’ perceptions of their retroactive use of teaching methods in lieu of physical observations; (b) our respondents’ interpretation of teaching methods, although guided by given definitions, could have varied; (c) our results do not necessarily illustrate cause and effect, but rather infer associations between variables, and (d) our results are limited to the state of florida. we recommend future research to seek why teachers believe some methods are more effective than others. additional research that examines why teachers utilize lecture-discussion more than other methods would be beneficial, as teacher-centered instruction remains highly used in sbae. lastly, we recommend replication of this study or conducting similar studies on a state-by-state basis or on a national level. acknowledgements we would like to thank the florida sbae teachers who participated in our study. author contribution statement b. colclasure – writing-original draft, writing-review and editing, investigation, methodology, formal analysis, conceptualization; t. thoron – writing-review and editing, investigation, methodology, conceptualization; j. dempsey – writing-original draft, writing-review and editing, formal analysis colclasure et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i4.235 13 references an, j., & meaney, k. s. 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(2017). educational learning theories. https://libguides.daltonstate.edu/teachinglearning © 2022 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 1, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. nassib mugwanya, doctoral fellow, department of agricultural and human sciences, north carolina state university, campus box 7607, raleigh, nc 27695, nmugwan@alumni.ncsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9029-334x 2. k. s. u. jayaratne, professor and state leader for extension evaluation, 240 ricks hall, campus box 7607, department of agricultural and human sciences, north carolina state university, raleigh, nc 27695, jay_jayaratne@ncsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5591-3905 3. j. dara bloom, associate professor and local foods extension specialist, 250 ricks hall, campus box 7607, department of agricultural and human sciences, north carolina state university, raleigh, nc 27695, jdbloom@ncsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7428-6767 4. joseph l. donaldson, associate professor and extension specialist, director of undergraduate programs, 248 ricks hall, campus box 7607, department of agricultural and human sciences, north carolina state university, 1 lampe drive, raleigh, nc 27695, joseph_donaldson@ncsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9276-3747 5. jason delborne, professor, department of forestry and environmental resources, genetic engineering and society center department of forestry & environmental resources, north carolina state university, jordan hall addition #5221, campus box 8008, raleigh, nc 27695-8008, jadelbor@ncsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6436-782x 32 competencies and training needs of extension agents for educating farmers on genetically engineered crops in uganda n. mugwanya1, k. s. u. jayaratne2, j. d. bloom3, j. l. donaldson4, j. delborne5 article history received: september 13, 2023 accepted: march 6, 2024 published: march 29, 2024 keywords public issues education; controversial issues; extension education; inservice training; technology transfer abstract the purpose of this study was to determine the training needs of extension agents in uganda to lead successful education programs on genetically engineered (ge) crops. this was a descriptive survey research study conducted online with public agricultural extension agents in the eastern agro-ecological zone of uganda. this study used borich’s method to identify training needs. a survey instrument was designed to determine extension agents’ perceived importance and proficiency of 60 competencies organized under the eight public issues education (pie) framework competency constructs. the survey received 58 usable responses comprising an 83% response rate. all eight pie competency constructs were perceived by the extension agents to be important. this study identified additional four competencies important for pie in addition to the eight competencies in the model. agents’ greatest training needs were creating partnerships and designing ge education programs. the lowest training needs were creating an environment of professionalism and managing conflicts. the findings indicate the importance of training extension agents on how to engage with farmers in new ways to educate them on ge technology. this study provides implications for determining the training needs of extension agents in pie such as educating farmers on ge technology. mailto:nmugwan@alumni.ncsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9029-334x mailto:jay_jayaratne@ncsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5591-3905 mailto:jdbloom@ncsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7428-6767 mailto:joseph_donaldson@ncsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9276-3747 mailto:jadelbor@ncsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6436-782x mugwanya et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 33 introduction and problem statement modern biotechnologies, such as genetic engineering (ge), are widely discussed as potential tools to address food security challenges, especially in the global south (fedoroff, 2015; qaim, 2020). in uganda, at least five major crops are being developed using ge to improve nutrition and reduce food security threats such as pests and diseases, declining soil fertility, and climate change—with the goal to disseminate ge crops to small farm owners (kikulwe et al., 2020; komen et al., 2020; paul et al., 2017; yadav et al., 2011). however, ge crop development has generated considerable public concerns and controversy (lukanda, 2020; tibasaaga & mugwanya, 2018). when educating farmers on ge technology, the traditional top-down technology transfer approach used by extension agents in providing advisory services may not work with ge due to controversies associated with ge (gay et al., 2017; singletary et al., 2007). also, the extension approach has been widely criticized for being ineffective in educating farmers on controversial ge technology (ahteensuu, 2012; calo, 2018; cook et al., 2021; faure et al., 2012; hansen et al., 2003; kamara et al., 2021; klerkx, 2020; tarekegne et al., 2017). the major unresolved challenge is how agricultural extension agents should educate farmers on ge technologies so that their advisory services are more relevant and effective (faure et al., 2012; klerkx, 2020). approaches that are more system-oriented, participatory, and deliberative (unlike knowledge deficit approaches) have been found to be effective at addressing controversial scientific technologies, such as ge crops (abelson et al., 2003; barnhill-dilling et al., 2020; gay et al., 2017; kokotovich et al., 2020; singletary et al., 2007). for extension agents, the public issues education (pie) framework (smutko et al., 2002) presents a potential solution for educating farmers about ge technology. however, the competencies and training needs of extension agents to conduct extension programs on controversial topics such as ge crops using the pie framework in agriculture remain under-investigated in agricultural extension literature. conceptual framework the pie framework (smutko et al., 2002) provided the conceptual foundation for this study. the pie framework provides one of the most comprehensive frameworks for assessing extension programs on complex and controversial technologies (smutko et al., 2002). this framework was developed by a national task force of extension professionals in the united states, and they identified a set of 53 core competencies that extension agents need to conduct effective educational programs on complex public issues. these core competencies have been organized under eight broad constructs namely creating partnerships; collecting and interpreting data about issues, audiences, and educational settings; designing public issues education programs; communicating effectively; facilitating group discussion and decision-making; managing and transforming conflict; working with scientific and technical information; and creating an environment of professionalism, which can be grouped into extension program planning, implementation, and evaluation as shown in figure 1. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 mugwanya et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 34 figure 1 public issues education competency framework singletary et al. (2007) used the pie framework to assess the capacity of extension agents in the united states to conduct pie, while grudens-schuck (2003) explored the evaluation challenges associated with pie. others have recommended expanding the pie framework to include pertinent issues in agriculture and natural resources in different contexts (gay et al., 2017). although the pie framework provides several core competencies for assessing extension agents on conducting education programs on controversial issues, its application to studying ge crops as a controversial issue in agriculture is not documented. educating farmers on ge crops in uganda is still a public issue because of the wide public concerns associated with ge crops (kennedy & thigpen, 2020), and the dissemination of ge crops requires extension agents to develop public issues education competencies. therefore, this study adopted the pie framework to assess the competencies that are important for extension agents to conduct pie programs on ge crops in uganda. competencies needed for planning pie framework: • collect and interpret information about issues, audiences, and educational settings. competencies needed for implementing pie framework: • communicate effectively. • facilitate group discussions and decision-making. • manage and transform conflict. • work with scientific and technical information. • create an environment of professionalism. • create partnerships. competencies needed for evaluation of extension work using the pie framework: • design, conduct, and evaluate the impacts of pie programs. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 mugwanya et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 35 purpose the purpose of this study was to determine the training needs of extension agents in uganda to lead successful education programs on ge crops. specifically, the study sought to achieve the following objectives: 1. to determine which competencies are important for extension agents in uganda to engage in successful public issues education programs on ge crops. 2. to determine the self-reported proficiency levels of extension agents in uganda on important competencies for conducting pie on ge crops. 3. to identify the training needs of extension agents involved in education activities on ge crops in uganda. methods the population of the study was 70 public extension agents in the eastern agroecological zone of uganda who had actively participated in biotechnology education and outreach activities with farmers during the 2018-2021 period. the participants were from the districts of budaka, iganga, and kaliro. these districts predominantly produce crops such as maize and cassava, which are among the major crops currently under ge research in uganda (komen et al., 2020; yadav et al., 2011). noteworthy, this region previously had educational workshops on biotechnology for extension agents organized by public sector scientists involved in biotechnology research (tibasaaga & mugwanya, 2018). because of that, this population may not represent the agriculture extension agents who did not complete any ge training among the 2000 extension professionals in uganda (gfras, 2023). this is a limitation of this study. we collected data using a web-based survey developed with the online google forms software in the summer of 2021. the pie framework (smutko et al., 2002) provided the foundation for the instrument development (abelson et al., 2003; ahteensuu, 2012), and the instrument was designed to determine extension agents’ perceptions of the importance of 60 competencies organized within eight competency constructs for a successful pie program on ge crops. we modified the initial eight-construct pie framework with 53 items to include 60 items (mugwanya, 2022) identified through a review of the literature (diaz et al., 2020; harder, 2015; khalil et al., 2009; kibwika et al., 2009; liles & mustian, 2004; lopokoiyit et al., 2013; rothwell et al., 2013; scheer et al., 2011; smutko et al., 2002; singletary et al., 2007) and organized under eight constructs of the pie competency scale (table 1). we used the borich (1980) needs assessment method to develop the instrument because it has been used in similar studies with similar audiences in africa (olorunfemi et al., 2020; shimali et al., 2021) and documented its effectiveness in extension needs assessment. for each item in the survey, we used the term genetically modified organisms (gmos) as that is the term most used by the audience for ge crops. participants were asked to first rate their perception of the level of importance of each item in conducting pie programs on gmos on a five-point likert-type scale, not important (1), slightly important (2), moderately important (3), important (4), and extremely important (5), and to then rate their current level of proficiency in each item on a five-point likert-type scale, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 mugwanya et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 36 very low (1), low (2), average (3), high (4), and very high (5). we interpreted the mean values rated 4 and above as important competencies. table 1 pie competency constructs pie competency construct number of competency items 1. creating partnerships 7 2. collecting and interpreting data about gmos, audiences, and educational settings 15 3. designing education programs on gmos 6 4. communicating effectively 4 5. facilitating group discussion and decision making 11 6. managing and transforming conflict 7 7. working with scientific and technical information 7 8. creating an environment of professionalism 3 in addition to the 60 competency items listed in the scales, respondents were asked to identify any competencies not included in the survey that they felt were extremely important to lead a successful pie program on gmos. a panel of four experts in extension education reviewed the instrument to establish the content validity of the instrument. the cronbach’s reliability alpha values ranged between 0.69 and 0.92 for various constructs of the competency scale, which is a range in which the proportion of a test score attributable to error is minimal (tavakol & dennick, 2011). to maximize the response rate, the tailored design method (dillman, 2014) was incorporated into the survey’s design and delivery. there were 58 usable responses to the survey, out of a possible 70, yielding an 83% response rate. to control for non-response error, early and late responders were compared to determine if statistical differences existed (lindner et al., 2001), with late responders defined as those completing the survey after the third reminder. an independent t-test compared early and late respondents with no statistical differences found between the two groups. data were analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss), version 27. we used borich’s (1980) method and calculated the mean weighted discrepancy scores (mwds) to identify training needs. borich’s (1980) method calculates the training need for each competency by first subtracting the perceived proficiency level score from the perceived importance level score, producing a discrepancy score that is then multiplied by the mean perceived importance score to give a weighted discrepancy score for each respondent. in the final step, weighted discrepancy scores are summed and divided by the number of responses for each item to produce the mean weighted discrepancy score (mwds). higher mwds values indicate an item has a higher training need than those with lower mwds values. mean weighted discrepancy scores were calculated for each of the eight competency constructs on pie. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 mugwanya et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 37 findings all eight competency constructs were rated important. the overall mean scores for rating their importance ranged from 4.07 (creating partnerships) to 4.36 (communicating effectively). the importance mean scores of 60 specific items ranged from 3.93 to 4.48 (mugwanya, 2022). mean scores of individual competency items within each construct were aggregated and then divided by the total number of competency items within the construct to give an overall mean score that allowed for the comparison and ranking of eight pie competencies. for example, the “building partnerships” construct consisted of seven competency items. when the mean of the “building partnerships” construct was estimated, the means of seven items were aggregated and divided by seven. the construct perceived as the most important was communicating effectively, with a mean score of 4.36. the construct perceived as the least important was creating partnerships as shown in table 2. table 2 perceived importance of competency constructs competency construct mean sd rank communicating effectively 4.36 0.54 1 managing and transforming conflict 4.31 0.57 2 working with scientific and technical information 4.31 0.51 2 designing education programs on gmos 4.26 0.54 4 creating an environment of professionalism 4.25 0.67 5 facilitating group discussion and decision making 4.24 0.51 6 collecting and interpreting data about gmos, audiences, and educational settings 4.15 0.38 7 creating partnerships 4.07 0.45 8 note. scale: not important (1), slightly important (2), moderately important (3), important (4), and extremely important (5) the respondents were asked to indicate any other competency they consider as important for pie in educating the public on gmos, and six unique responses from nine respondents were received outside of the eight competency constructs included in the instrument. the analysis of these six competency items can be identified into four competency categories namely (a) time management, (b) professional ethics, (c) motivation, and (d) professional flexibility (table 3). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 mugwanya et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 38 table 3 identified new competencies important for educating public on gmos number of responses competency item competency category 3 should have time management skills time management* 1 be a person of integrity professional ethics* 1 should be transparent 2 self-driven to work and promote gmos motivation* 1 ability to multi-task professional flexibility* 1 ability to move from one area to another to deliver messages on gmos *new competencies not represented in the survey instrument the proficiency mean scores of 60 specific items ranged from 3.16 to 4.05. mean scores of specific competencies within each of the eight constructs were aggregated and then divided by the total number of specific competency items within the construct to give an overall mean score that allowed for the comparison and ranking of constructs for proficiency levels. managing and transforming conflict was the construct in which agents reported themselves as having the highest proficiency, with a mean score of 3.86. creating partnerships was the construct agents perceived themselves as having the least proficiency, with a mean score of 3.32 as shown in table 4. the proficiency level mean scores and ranks for each competency construct are listed in table 4. table 4 perceived competency mean scores, and rank for eight proficiency constructs construct mean sd rank managing and transforming conflict 3.86 1.92 1 communicating effectively 3.84 0.54 2 creating an environment of professionalism 3.76 0.77 3 working with scientific and technical information 3.63 0.64 4 facilitating group discussion and decision making 3.60 0.56 5 designing education programs on gmos 3.56 0.75 6 collecting and interpreting data about gmos, audiences, and educational settings 3.45 0.58 7 creating partnerships 3.32 0.64 8 note. scale: very low (1), low (2), average (3), high (4), and very high (5) training needs were identified by the calculation of mean weighted discrepancy scores. at the broader competency construct level, mwds scores ranged from 1.94 to 3.07. the construct with the highest mwds and therefore the greatest training need was creating partnerships, with a score of 3.07, while the construct with the lowest training need was managing and transforming conflict, with a score of 1.94. mean weighted discrepancy scores and training https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 mugwanya et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 39 need rank for all competency constructs are listed in table 5. for comparison, overall mean scores and ranks of the importance level and self-reported proficiency level of each construct are also listed. table 5 comparison of competency construct importance scores, rank, and proficiency level scores competency construct importance mean proficiency mean mwds priority rank of training needs based on mwds (ranged from 1=most needed to 8=least needed) creating partnerships 4.07 3.32 3.07 1 designing education programs on gmos 4.26 3.56 3.02 2 working with scientific and technical information 4.31 3.63 2.94 3 collecting and interpreting data about gmos, audiences, and educational settings 4.15 3.45 2.89 4 facilitating group discussion and decision making 4.24 3.60 2.73 5 communicating effectively 4.36 3.84 2.27 6 creating an environment of professionalism 4.25 3.76 2.08 7 managing and transforming conflict 4.31 3.86 1.94 8 note. importance scale: not important (1), slightly important (2), moderately important (3), important (4), and extremely important (5) competence scale: very low (1), low (2), average (3), high (4), and very high (5) conclusions, discussion, and recommendations all eight pie competency constructs were perceived by the extension agents in budaka, iganga, and kaliro districts of uganda to be important. the findings of this study can be directly applicable to this population and may not apply to other extension agents. this is a limitation of this study. however, this study provides some implications for exploring the training needs of agricultural extension agents in educating farmers on controversial technologies such as ge technology using the pie competency framework. these findings are in line with other studies that also found the eight competency constructs to be important for extension programs on pie (gay et al., 2017; singletary et al., 2007). however, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 mugwanya et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 40 this study is unique because it explored the application of pie in determining the training needs of extension agents for educating farmers on ge crops. the highest and lowest rated constructs, communicating effectively (m = 4.36) and creating partnerships (m = 4.07), were separated by a 0.29 range on a five-point scale, indicating proximity in the perceived importance of eight constructs. professional ethics, time management skills, motivation, and professional flexibility emerged as additional four competency categories useful in pie (table 3). time management and flexibility were also identified as important competencies needed by extension agents to thrive in the 21st century (lakai et al., 2014). some studies have explored ethics on the introduction of gmos in africa but seldom in an extension context (komparic, 2015). it is important to have further research to understand how these competencies fit into the pie framework (gay et al., 2017). we propose future research to explore how to expand the pie framework using identified competency items that include professional ethics, time management skills, motivation, and professional flexibility. perceived proficiency mean scores of all competency constructs were lower than the importance mean scores. this discrepancy between competency importance and proficiency highlights the priority areas in which extension agents would need training, which is similar to the findings of other studies (alibaygi & zarafshani 2008; cannon et al., 2012). training need scores were determined through the calculation of mwds (borich, 1980). applying the borich needs formula to each of the eight competency constructs revealed agents’ greatest training need exists for creating partnerships (m = 3.07), followed by designing education programs on gmos (3.02). the constructs with the lowest training need scores were creating an environment of professionalism (2.08) and managing and transforming conflict (1.94). these findings suggest the urgent need for extension agents to be specifically trained in how to engage with farmers in new ways to educate them that extend beyond the traditional technology transfer extension methods (klerkx, 2020). additionally, these findings emphasize the need for training extension agents to have competencies other than those that only reinforce the expert-oriented technology transfer model—which undermines the controversial sociocultural aspects of gmos (ahteensuu, 2012). wide public concerns associated with gm crops are a major barrier extension agents will have to overcome when promoting gm crops as a means to increase global food security. the major implication of this study is that it tested the application of the pie approach to determine the training needs of extension agents to educate farmers on ge crops. when in-service training programs are planned, it is necessary to focus on these priority training needs to educate extension agents. in terms of the use of the borich needs assessment method, the weighted discrepancy scores are dependent on the use of item means for importance, and respondents provided a single judgment of the importance of a competency, based on an ordinal scale that might not capture responses that have a nuanced judgment of importance (narine & harder, 2021). in addition, despite this method’s ability to highlight the discrepancies between proficiency and importance https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 mugwanya et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 41 score ratings, it is weak in assessing whether the self-reported proficiency ratings reflect agents’ perceptions of importance rather than their actual proficiency levels of competency. therefore, we propose it is necessary to conduct future research using different assessment methods such as supervisor rating of competence rather than self-reported competence to overcome these issues. acknowledgements author contributions: n. mugwanya – conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data analysis, writing original draft, and editing; k. s. u. jayaratne – supervision, conceptualization, methodology, validation, writing, review, and editing; j. d. bloom – supervision, conceptualization, methodology, validation, review, and editing; j. l. donaldson conceptualization, methodology, 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(2021). nutrition education competencies of agricultural extension workers in uganda. the journal of agricultural education and extension, 27(4), 535-552. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224x.2021.1880451 singletary, l., smith, m., hill, g., daniels, s., smutko, s., ayres, j., & haaland, k. (2007). strengthening extension’s capacity to conduct public issues education programs: results of a national needs assessment. journal of extension, 45(3). https://archives.joe.org/joe/2007june/a1.php smutko, s., ayres, j., babbitt, k., corcoran, p., culik, m., dorsey, m., frey, l., haaland, k., peters, s., & singletary, l. (2002). public issues education: increasing competence, enabling communities. national public policy education committee, cooperative extension, public issues education competencies task force. https://www.farmfoundation.org/wpcontent/uploads/attachments/30-pieincreasingcompetencebook.pdf tarekegne, c., wesselink, r., biemans, h. j. a., & mulder, m. 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(2011). rnai-mediated resistance to cassava brown streak uganda virus in transgenic cassava. molecular plant pathology, 12(7), 677– 687. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1364-3703.2010.00700.x © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.395 https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224x.2021.1880451 https://archives.joe.org/joe/2007june/a1.php https://www.farmfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/attachments/30-pieincreasingcompetencebook.pdf https://www.farmfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/attachments/30-pieincreasingcompetencebook.pdf https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224x.2017.1368400 https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd https://doi.org/10.4314/ujas.v18i2.6 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1364-3703.2010.00700.x advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 4, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. donald m. johnson, university professor, university of arkansas, e108 afls building, fayetteville, ar 72701, dmjohnso@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2592-654x 2. will doss, assistant professor, university of arkansas, e108 afls building, fayetteville, ar 72701, wd009@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3163-7528 3. christopher m. estepp, associate professor, university of arkansas, e108 afls building, fayetteville, ar 72701, estepp@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7268-9044 4. henry o. akwah, precision agriculture instructor, 308 asb, university of arkansas community college – batesville, 2005 white drive, batesville, ar 72501, henryofosu.akwah@uaccb.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3164-3614 5. george w. wardlow, professor and head, university of arkansas, e108 afls building, fayetteville, ar 72701, wardlow@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5701-8250 42 a discrepancy in discrepancy scores? comparing the borich and ranked discrepancy models for determining professional development needs d. m. johnson1, w. doss2, c, m. estepp3, h. o. akwah4, g. w. wardlow5 article history received: june 18, 2024 accepted: september 30, 2024 published: november 6, 2024 keywords measurement theory; statistical theory; research methods; sdg 4: quality education. abstract the borich (1980) model has been widely used to determine professional development (pd) needs of school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers over the past 40-plus years. however, recent criticism, primarily focused on a purported statistical issue, has led to development of the ranked discrepancy model [rdm (narine & harder, 2021)] as a potential alternative. this article provides perspective on the statistical issue in question and compares the results of using the borich model and the rdm to assess precision agriculture (pa) pd needs of arkansas sbae teachers (n = 44). our quantitative results indicated the two models produced different pd priorities, especially among the highest rated priorities. the mean weighted discrepancy scores [mwdss (borich model)] and the ranked discrepancy scores [rdss (rdm)] had a shared variance of 54.8%; the pd priority rankings established by the two methods had a shared variance of 47.6%. additionally, the number of tied priorities with the rdm complicated identifying priority pd workshop topics. we recommend further research and dialogue before wholesale abandonment of the borich model for the rdm as a method of determining pd needs. mailto:dmjohnso@uark.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2592-654x mailto:wd009@uark.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3163-7528 mailto:estepp@uark.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7268-9044 mailto:henryofosu.akwah@uaccb.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3164-3614 mailto:wardlow@uark.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5701-8250 johnson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 43 introduction beginning with barrick et al. (1983), the borich (1980) needs assessment model has been widely used to determine the professional development (pd) needs of school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers (garton & chung, 1997; johnson et al., 1990; newman & johnson, 1994; smalley et al., 2019). responding to needs assessments based on the borich model, teachers rate the importance of and their ability to perform specific competencies, typically on a 1 to 5 (1 = low importance/ability and 5 = high importance/ability) scale. weighted discrepancy scores are calculated for each respondent on each competency by subtracting the ability rating from the importance rating and multiplying this difference by the mean importance rating for the competency. lastly, mean weighted discrepancy scores (mwdss) are determined by calculating the mean of the weighted discrepancy scores for each competency. competencies with higher mwdss indicate higher priority pd needs. narine and harder (2021) criticized the borich (1980) model because it requires researchers to calculate means “for single items measured with ordinal scales (i.e., individual competency items)” (p. 98). as an alternative, they proposed the ranked discrepancy model (rdm). with the rdm, respondents still use individual likert-type items to rate the importance and their ability relative to a set of competencies, but percentages are used to calculate the ranked discrepancy scores (rdss) used to establish pd priorities. using data from a needs assessment of county extension agents, narine and harder used the borich model and the rdm and found “a great deal of consistency in rankings, despite the rdm discarding the use of the group mean in calculations” (narine & harder, 2021, p. 108). despite this finding, further research is needed prior to wholesale abandonment of the borich model for the rdm. conceptual framework stevens (1946) proposed a scale of measurement containing four levels (nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio) and statistics for use with variables measured at each level. stevens’ measurement scale constituted a hierarchy moving from nominal to ratio, with each successive level incorporating all the characteristics of the previous level(s). for example, interval level measurements incorporate the characteristics of mutual exclusivity (from the nominal level) and order (from the ordinal level), while adding the characteristic of equality of intervals. of relevance to our discussion is stevens’ stipulation that the mean is not appropriate for variables measured below the interval level. use of the borich (1980) model of needs assessment requires the calculation of mean importance ratings and mwdss based on single-item, likert-type ordinal scales, which is contrary to stevens (1946) and was one of narine and harder’s (2021) primary criticisms of the borich model. while many scholars (jamieson, 2004; narine & harder, 2021; stevens, 1946) have been adamant in considering data from these scales as ordinal and argued against calculating means, other scholars (gaito, 1980; harwell & gatti, 2001; lord, 1953; norman, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 johnson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 44 2010; zumbo & zimmerman, 1993), who also have recognized these measurement scales as ordinal, have argued in favor of calculating means on these items. according to gaito (1980) this fundamental disagreement has resulted from confusion between measurement theory and statistical theory. in measurement theory, “the validity or authenticity aspect brings into focus the meaning underlying the numbers that are used to indicate amounts of the characteristics of concern” (gaito, p. 567). from a measurement theory perspective, the differences in the characteristic being measured may not be equal between scale numbers, so the level of measurement is ordinal. this is a measurement issue related to the meaning of numbers relative to the characteristic being measured. gaito (1980) stated that in statistical theory, the “meaning of numbers does not enter the picture because, as lord (1953) stated, ‘the numbers do not know where they came from’” (p. 566). thus, according to statistical theory, the mathematical difference between a rating of 1 and 2 and between a rating of 4 and 5 are equal. consequently, from a statistical perspective use of the mean (and other parametric statistics) is permissible. gaito concluded by stating: in mathematical statistics literature one will not find scale properties as a requirement for the use of various statistical procedures. this requirement is merely a figment of the imagination of a number of psychologists because of a confusion of measurement theory and statistical theory. statistical procedures do not require specific scale properties (pp. 547–548). norman (2010) further clarified the difference between measurement theory and statistical theory stating, “we cannot, strictly speaking, make further inferences about differences in the underlying, latent characteristic reflected in likert numbers [a measurement issue], but this does not invalidate conclusions about the numbers [a statistical issue]” (p. 629). harwell and gatti (2001) argued “statistical techniques should not be held hostage to measurement scales because there is no requirement underlying these procedures that ties them to such scales” (p. 107). in the context of the borich (1980) model, the issue is not whether we can calculate means on these responses, but rather, how to interpret the means in relation to the characteristics being measured. however, with the borich model, no direct interpretation of the mean importance ratings is necessary and the resultant mwdss are interpreted as ordinal measures for determining pd priorities (i.e., no one argues that a competency with a mwds of 6.0 represents one additional 'unit' of pd need compared to a competency with a mwds of 5.0, only that the need is greater for the competency with the higher mwds). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 johnson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 45 purpose and objectives the purpose of this study was to compare the results of the borich (1980) model and the rdm (narine & harder, 2021) using data collected from a precision agriculture (pa) needs assessment of arkansas sbae teachers (akwah, 2024). specific objectives were to: 1. determine and compare the pd priorities as determined by the borich model and the rdm; 2. determine the correlation between mwdss obtained using the borich model and rdss obtained using the rdm; 3. determine the correlation between pd priority rankings determined by the borich model and the rdm. methods data were collected from a survey administered to a non-probability sample of arkansas sbae teachers (n = 44) immediately before an introductory pa workshop conducted in july 2023. the survey was administered in-person using a paper survey instrument. the instrument contained 29 pa competencies where teachers rated (a) the importance of teaching and (b) their ability to teach each competency using two 1 to 5 likert-type scales (1 = no importance/ability, 2 = below average importance/ability, 3 = average importance/ability, 4 = above average importance/ability, and 5 = high importance/ability). a panel of four experts in pa and in social science research, who were informed of the research objectives and participant characteristics, reviewed the instrument and judged it to possess face and content validity (gates et al., 2018). coefficients of stability were established using 13 agricultural education graduate students who completed the instrument twice (14-day interval), resulting in coefficients of stability values of r = .94 for importance and r = .87 for ability. mwdss were calculated for each competency using equation 1 (borich, 1980). in calculating a mwds for a specific competency, each respondent’s ability rating for the competency was subtracted from their importance rating for that same competency, then multiplied by the mean importance rating for that competency. finally, the mwds was determined by calculating the mean of all weighted discrepancy scores for that competency. when using 1 to 5 scales to measure importance and ability, mwdss can range from -4 to 20, with higher scores indicating greater pd needs. mwds = σ [(importance –ability) * mi] / n (1) rdss were calculated using equation 2 (narine & harder, 2021). in the equation, nr% (percent of negative ranks) represents the percent of respondents rating their ability lower than the importance of a competency; pr% (percent of positive ranks) is the percent of respondents rating their ability higher than the importance of the competency; and tr% (percent of tied ranks) is the percent of respondents giving ability and importance the same rating. rdss can range from -100 to 100; lower negative scores represent greater pd needs while positive scores https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 johnson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 46 indicate no need for pd. one advantage of the rdm is the range of rdss is the same regardless of the number of points on the rating scales (narine & harder). rds = nr% (-1) + pr% (1) + tr% (0) (2) once mwdss and rdss were calculated, pd priorities were established for the 29 pa competencies based on both the borich (1980) model and the rdm (narine & harder, 2021). the two sets of priorities were then examined to determine similarities and differences. next, the two sets of scores were correlated to determine the percentage of shared variance. (because positive mwdss indicate pd needs, while negative rdss indicate pd needs, the absolute value of the correlation coefficient was reported). finally, the two sets of pd priority rankings were correlated to determine the percentage of shared variance. results mean weighted discrepancy scores (mwdss) and ranked discrepancy scores (rdss) were calculated for each of the 29 pa competencies (c1 – c29) and priority rankings were made based on each type of score (table 1). the borich (1980) and the ranked discrepancy (nadine & harder, 2021) models produced different pd priorities. based on mwdss the two highest pd priorities were c29 and c26; when prioritized using rdss, these competencies were ranked at 10.5 (as part of a four-way tie). based on rdss, the two highest pd priorities were c21 and c23; these competencies were rated as the 8th and 7th highest priorities, respectively, using mwdss. there was greater agreement between priorities for the lower priority competencies. for example, three of the four lowest priority competencies based on both mwdss and rdss were c14, c15, and c16. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 johnson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 47 table 1 comparison of pa professional development priorities based on borich and rdm scores scores ranks by model competency mwds rds borich rdm c1 9.50 -95.4 24 5.5t c2 10.54 -95.4 13 5.5t c3 10.78 -95.4 10 5.5t c4 10.07 -90.9 19 14t c5 9.88 -86.4 22 18.5t c6 10.14 -86.4 17 18.5t c7 10.40 -90.9 14 14t c8 10.77 -93.2 11 10.5t c9 9.91 -81.8 21 24 c10 10.62 -86.4 12 18.5t c11 11.53 -84.1 5 22.5t c12 10.36 -86.4 15 18.5t c13 7.64 -79.5 29 26t c14 8.22 -79.5 27 26t c15 8.59 -77.3 26 28.5t c16 8.19 -77.3 28 28.5t c17 9.66 -84.1 23 22.5 c18 10.09 -86.4 18 18.5t c19 9.99 -86.4 20 18.5t c20 9.09 -79.5 25 26t c21 10.95 -97.7 8 1.5t c22 10.88 -95.4 9 5.5t c23 10.97 -97.7 7 1.5t c24 10.35 -93.2 16 10.5t c25 11.24 -95.4 6 5.5t c26 12.08 -93.2 2 10.5t c27 11.63 -90.9 4 14t c28 11.77 -95.4 3 5.5t c29 12.33 -93.2 1 10.5t figure 1 presents a visual display of the priority rankings for each competency based on mwdss and the rdss. overall, the rdm (narine & harder, 2021) tended to place lower priority on the competencies the borich (1980) model prioritized, and prioritized competencies given lower priority by the borich model. the mean absolute difference in priority rankings across all 29 competencies using the two models was 4.62 (sd = 4.60) ranks. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 johnson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 48 figure 1 priority rankings for pa competencies based on the borich and rdm models there was a significant (p < .001) correlation between mwdss and rdss (|r| = .74), indicating one set of scores explained 54.8% of the variance in the other set of scores. this was substantially lower than the .98 correlation (r2 = .96) between mwdss and rdss reported by narine and harder (2021). because the ultimate purpose of the borich and ranked discrepancy models is the prioritization of teacher pd needs, a spearman rank-order rho correlation was calculated between the two sets of priority rankings, resulting in an rs = .69 (p < .001), indicating one set of rankings explained 47.6% of the variance in the other set of rankings. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations contrary to narine and harder (2021), we found substantial differences between the pd priorities established by the borich (1980) and ranked discrepancy (narine & harder, 2021) models. for example, if a pd workshop were to be offered based on the five highest priorities by each method, the borich model would prioritize, in order, competencies c29, c26, c28, c27, and c11. however, if prioritized by the rdm, the workshop would prioritize competencies c21 and c23, followed by three competencies selected from the tied ranks of c1, c2, c3, c22, c25, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 pr io rit y ra nk in g competency number borich rdm https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 johnson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 49 and c28. depending upon the competencies selected from the six tied rdm ranks, the two workshops would include either zero or one common competency. consequently, two different pd workshops would be planned and delivered based on whether the borich model or the rdm was used to prioritize pd content. with the rdm, the prevalence of tied priority rankings complicated decision making, particularly if only a limited number of competencies could be addressed. as a result, the best allocation of scarce pd resources was not clear. the pearson-product moment correlation between the mwdss (borich model) and the rdss (ranked discrepancy model) indicated one discrepancy model failed to explain 45.2% of the variance in the other discrepancy model. when comparing ranked pd priorities, the spearman correlation indicated that one discrepancy model failed to explain 52.4% of the variance in rankings by the other discrepancy model. the question emerged as to why the scores and the priority rankings differed between the two discrepancy models. our conclusion was that use of the rdm (narine & harder, 2021) reduced valuable information contained in the survey data by not using a measure of overall perceived importance as a weighting factor. as an example, assume two competencies (a and b) were rated by five respondents on 1 to 5 importance and ability scales. using the rdm, if four respondents (80%) rated competency a as five in importance and one in ability, and one respondent (20%) rated importance as one and ability as five, the rds would be -60. likewise, for competency b, if four respondents (80%) rated importance as two and ability as one, and one respondent (20%) rated importance as one and ability as two, the rds would also be -60, and the two competencies would receive equal priority based on rdss. however, given the importance ratings, respondents clearly see competency a as more important than competency b; thus, competency a should receive priority as a pd topic. in contrast to the rdm, because the borich model weights the discrepancy score by the mean importance of the competency, the mwds for competency a would be 10.08 while the mwds for competency b would be 1.08. thus, by including the mean importance for each competency, the borich model clearly identifies competency a as the priority pd topic. this demonstrates the efficacy of using perceived importance as a weighting factor in determining pd priorities. there can be legitimate discussion and disagreement related to the measurement and statistical issues of using either the borich (1980) model or the rdm (narine & harder, 2021). the borich model treats single-item scale responses as interval level data in the calculation of discrepancy scores, weighted discrepancy scores and, finally mwdss. however, the argument from statistical theory that scale of measurement does not dictate statistical procedures (gaito, 1980; harwell & gatti, 2001; lord, 1953; norman, 2010; zumbo & zimmerman, 1993) supports this use. conversely, use of the rdm essentially reduces measurement to -1, 0, or 1, and subsequently ignores the 0 scores. this leads to a reduction of information contained in the original data concerning the importance and ability relative to the competencies. further, the rdm does not give weight to the overall importance ratings in prioritizing pd needs. we believe the arguments from statistical theory supporting use of the mean with individual likert items to calculate mwdss when using the borich (1980) model are compelling; however, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 johnson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 50 for those not convinced and preferring the rdm (narine & harder, 2021), a modest suggestion would be to incorporate the median importance into the calculation by multiplying the rds for each item by the median importance for that item. perhaps the resulting score might be called a ‘median weighted ranked discrepancy score’ (mwrds). when we calculated mwrdss and correlated these scores to the mwdss using our dataset, the correlation between scores increased to |r| = .88 (from |r| = .74) and the spearman rho correlation between pd priority rankings increased to r = .86 (from r = .69). additionally, the mean difference between priority rankings by the two models decreased from 4.62 (sd = 4.60) to 2.82 (sd = 3.49). finally, use of the mwrdss identified the same top five pd priorities as did use of the mwdss. this illustrated the efficacy of taking item importance ratings into account when determining pd needs. agricultural education is a pragmatic discipline (barrick, 1989) often characterized by applied research conducted to solve practical problems (dyer et al., 2003; roberts et al., 2016). this is particularly true of needs assessments used to identify pd priorities for sbae teachers. according to the pragmatist philosopher henry james (1907), the “only test of probable truth is what works best in the way of leading us” (lecture ii, para. 55). the borich model has been used to effectively identify teacher pd needs for over 40 years. given our results, further research and discussion about measurement, statistical, and methodological issues are needed prior to abandoning the borich (1980) model in favor of the rdm (narine & harder, 2021). acknowledgments this work was supported, at least in part, by the usda national institute of food and agriculture, hatch project 1024473 and the university of arkansas division of agriculture. author contributions: d. m. johnson – conceptualization, supervision, formal analysis, writingoriginal draft, writing-review and editing; w. doss – conceptualization, 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(1993). is the selection of statistical methods governed by the level of measurement? canadian psychology, 43(4), 390–400. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0078865 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.515 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-010-9222-y https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2019.02085 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.103.2684.677 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/h0078865 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 1, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. kristopher r. l. rankin iii, assistant professor, new mexico state university, 112 gerald thomas hall, las cruce, nm 88003, krankin3@nmsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6519-0478 2. christopher j. eck, assistant professor, oklahoma state university, 234 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, chris.eck@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-3632 3. kayla n. marsh, graduate teaching & research associate, oklahoma state university, 234 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, kayla.marsh@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3574-1936 4. bradley m. coleman, assistant professor, oklahoma state university, 238 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, b.coleman@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 5. nathan a. smith, instructor, oklahoma state university, 236 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, nathan.smith@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3126-9083 82 the needs of oklahoma school-based agricultural education teachers related to teaching agriculture, food and natural resources topics k. r. l. rankin iii1, c. j. eck2, k. n. marsh3, b. m. coleman4, n. a. smith5 article history received: july 22, 2024 accepted: february 19, 2025 published: march 4, 2025 keywords sdg: 4 quality education; agricultural education curriculum; technical content abstract one of the most important factors to developing and sustaining agricultural educators is identifying their highest in-demand needs. identifying teacher needs on a regular basis is important to continue offering professional development opportunities that are relevant to current situations facing the teaching population. this study, undergirded in teacher human capital theory, aimed to identify the technical agricultural topics school-based agricultural educators (sbae) deem as important to their teaching career, as well as their perceived level of knowledge on the 56 identified topics. ranked discrepancy scores (rds) were utilized to analyze the perceptions of the sbae teachers across the eight agricultural career and content pathways identified by the council. agricultural teachers across oklahoma were found to have in-demand needs across all technical agricultural topics identified in the instrument. the agricultural career and content pathway of agricultural biotechnology systems was found to have the largest discrepancy across the eight agricultural career and content pathways. findings from this study could aid oklahoma state university in identifying purposeful and direct professional development that focuses on the highest in-demand needs of oklahoma sbae teachers. mailto:krankin3@nmsu.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6519-0478 mailto:chris.eck@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-3632 mailto:kayla.marsh@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3574-1936 mailto:b.coleman@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 mailto:nathan.smith@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3126-9083 rankin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 83 introduction one of the most critical factors in developing and improving agricultural educators is to correctly identify their highest in-demand needs (layfield & dobbins, 2002). research in agricultural education has identified various teachers’ training needs as it pertains to classroom management and instruction (albritton & roberts, 2020; dibenedetto et al., 2018; layfield & dobbins, 2002; smalley et al., 2019). as such, “agricultural educators are required to have both subject specific and technical knowledge…while constantly adapting to new technologies and practices in the field” (albritton & roberts, 2020, p. 140). prior experience in technical agriculture and natural resources, the designated agricultural career and content pathways taught, and a teacher’s personal contextual experiences all influence their abilities, knowledge, and potential skill transference in educational settings (peake et al., 2007; yopp et al., 2020). technological advances are continuing at a rapid pace, and as such, teachers need to be continually trained on up-to-date information and systems in content-related areas to remain effective in the classroom (yopp et al., 2020). this study aims to provide teacher educators, in-service school based agricultural education (sbae) teachers, and oklahoma state staff members affiliated with sbae teachers with information regarding the agriculturally related content sbae teachers deem a priority for providing professional development opportunities. results from this study and other research looking at current agriculturally related content teacher needs has the possibility to identify patterns on a regional and national level. theoretical/conceptual framework human capital relates to the knowledge, education, skills, experiences, and training of an individual (becker, 1964; schultz, 1971), which can be sector-specific when considering career preparedness (smith, 2010). therefore, this study was undergirded by the teacher human capital theory (myung et al., 2013), which outlined four distinct areas for advancing teaching and improving learning. the teacher human capital framework is presented as a systems approach with four criteria (i.e., acquire, develop, sustain, and evaluate) working together to explore teacher recruitment, development, reward, and retention (myung et al., 2013). this study focused on the criteria of develop specifically. develop outlines the need to "provide individualized pd opportunities in response to demonstrated needs” (myung et al., 2013, p. 8). although teacher induction programs are common across the united states, induction programs that aim to be intensive, sequentially delivered, and comprehensive to individual teachers’ needs are typically rare (myung et al., 2013). key considerations for developing teachers are to provide opportunities for intense and on-going professional development that focuses on their subject matter, as well as providing mentorship opportunities within their specific field of study (myung et al., 2013). additionally, professional development focused on developing key components of teachers should be targeted to meet the needs of the teachers https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 rankin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 84 and be embedded in being able to be integrated immediately into the daily life of the teachers (myung et al., 2013). teachers have the greatest influence on students’ future success (chetty et al., 2014), but with the breadth of agricultural education, school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers need continued in-service in content and technical skills to be effective (sorensen et al., 2010). additionally, this technical skill gap was found in oklahoma preservice teachers who lacked the basic financial literacy skills to effectively instruct in the agribusiness pathway (price et al., 2023). technical teaching skills were needed for the biotechnology systems to advance general agriscience instruction as well as in focus areas of animal science and plant sciences (duncan et al., 2006). identifying the needs of sbae teachers can provide opportunities for professional development and pre-service teacher education, which can lead to retention of teachers within the profession (smalley et al., 2019). challenges continually facing newly hired and veteran sbae teachers include teaching practices and curriculum accessibility (barry et al., 2022; eck et al., 2019; smalley et al., 2019). it is important to identify teacher needs on a regular basis to continue offering professional development opportunities that are relevant to current situations facing the teaching population (avalos, 2011). purpose and objectives the purpose of this study was to identify the current level of knowledge and perceived relevance of teaching technical agricultural content topics in agricultural education by oklahoma sbae teachers. specifically, technical agriculture topics across the eight agriculture, food and natural resources (afnr) content pathways (the council, 2023) were evaluated. one overarching research question guided this study: what are the needs of oklahoma sbae teachers related to teaching technical agricultural topics, based on ranked discrepancy scores (rds), in the eight technical agricultural content pathways? methodology this non-experimental survey research study employed a census approach to reach all oklahoma sbae teachers (n = 462). to achieve this goal, data was collected in-person at 25 regional ffa degree checks across the state. in oklahoma, all teachers attend ffa degree checks in their designated region over a two-week period in late january and early february of 2023. the research team traveled the state to provide an overview of the needs assessment, distribute the survey instrument and collect completed hand-written questionnaires. threehundred and thirty-eight oklahoma sbae teachers returned a survey questionnaire, resulting in a 73.2% response rate. although this study resulted in a 73.2% response rate, non-response error is still of concern, given the census approach design. therefore, 55 survey instruments were mailed, along with a https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 rankin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 85 cover letter and pre-paid return addressed envelope to oklahoma sbae teachers who did not attend the state degree checks. the 55 oklahoma sbae teachers who received the questionnaire did not have a chance to complete the instrument at the degree checks due to weather related cancelations or travel limitations. this effort resulted in five sbae teachers completing and returning the survey instrument to the research team. after analysis of nonrespondents, data were found to be non-differential based on personal and professional characteristics of respondents and collected non-respondents (miller & smith, 1983), deeming the data to be representative of oklahoma sbae teachers. incomplete survey questionnaires (i.e., surveys without complete responses to the non-demographic questions) were excluded, resulting in 328 (71.0% response rate) completed instruments for data analysis. two-hundred fifty-nine participants were traditionally certified in agricultural education, while an additional seven were found to be traditionally certified in other content areas. forty-nine participants were identified as having an alternative certification, with an additional 10 having an emergency certification. participants indicated having achieved either a bachelor’s (n = 247), master’s (n = 78), or an ed.d./ph.d. (n = 1) for their highest degree earned. respondents were primarily male (n = 229), spanning single (n = 197) and multi-teacher (n = 131) programs. lastly, participants were able to select all races/ethnicities that constitute their being, resulting in 247 self-identified as white, 56 as native american, three as hispanic, two as black/african american, and one participant self-identified as asian. instrumentation the questionnaire was developed by roberts and dyer (2004) and modified by saucier et al. (2010), figland et al. (2019), and coleman et al. (2020). the adopted instrument was further modified for this study to fit the needs of oklahoma sbae teachers. a panel of experts then reviewed the instrument for face and content validity. this panel included (a) one university faculty member of agricultural education, (b) the state ffa advisor, (c) one regional agricultural education program specialist, and (d) two school superintendents who were previously sbae teachers. in total, the questionnaire included 56 items related to teaching technical agriculture across the eight content pathways identified by the council (2023). each of these items used two, 5-point likert-type scales (1 = low agreement, 2 = somewhat agree, 3 = neutral, 4 = somewhat agree, 5 = high agreement). the first scale asked participants to rate their current perceived ability of the item, while the second focused on the degree of perceived importance the item had to their job. data analysis all data were transcribed from the paper instruments to microsoft excel© by a single research assistant prior to data being imported and analyzed using spss version 28 and microsoft excel©. this study implemented the ranked discrepancy model (rdm) to assess current competencies of sbae teachers across oklahoma. this model was selected as an alternative to the borich (1980) needs assessment model based off the findings of narine and harder (2021). specifically, this method was selected because “instead of positive scores indicating a lack of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 rankin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 86 competence, the rdm provides a negative ranked discrepancy score rds when training needs are greater (i.e., there are many individuals lacking sufficient ability and few individuals with an abundance of ability), which more clearly conveys that a problem exists that should be corrected” (narine & harder, 2021, p. 108). rds scores have a maximum potential range from 100 to 100 (narine & harder, 2021). this analysis requires the consideration of positive ranks (pr), negative ranks (nr), and tied ranks (tr) to fully understand the needs of the participants, ranging from those deemed experts to others who are novices, resulting in an rds for each item (narine & harder, 2021). findings after analysis and organization of the data, it was found that rds scores ranged between -26.74 and -2.73, with the maximum range of rds being between -100 to 100, indicating a discrepancy between the perceived level of knowledge and relevance to the sbae teachers’ career field. these discrepancies with negative scores indicated sbae teachers have a higher perceived relevance to their career field and a lower perceived level of knowledge. agricultural biotechnology systems was found to have the largest discrepancy among its items compared to other pathways at -20.52. food products & processing systems was found to have the smallest discrepancy among its items compared to the other pathways with a mean rds of -6.99. table 1 displays the six technical agricultural topics related to the agribusiness (ab) systems career and content pathway. table 1 ranked discrepancy scores for teaching agribusiness systems topics item rds economics -26.44 recordkeeping skills -24.62 issues in global agriculture -22.49 ag business operations -20.97 agricultural sales and marketing -18.84 financial management -2.77 mean rds -19.36 the mean rds for the agribusiness systems grouping of topics was found to be -19.36, which made it the second highest grouping of agricultural topics behind agricultural biotechnology systems. economics was found to have the highest rds (-26.44) among the six agribusiness systems technical agricultural topics. table 2 displays the seven technical agricultural topics related to animal systems (as). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 rankin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 87 table 2 ranked discrepancy scores for teaching animal systems topics item rds animal diseases/parasites -18.84 animal nutrition -14.59 animal production -12.16 animal health -11.25 animal reproduction -8.21 specialty animal production -6.38 show animals (i.e., care, feeding, fitting, selection) -6.08 mean rds -11.07 the mean rds for the animal systems grouping of topics was computed at -11.07. animal diseases/parasites was identified as having the highest rds (-18.84), while show animals (-6.08) was found to have the lowest discrepancy between oklahoma sbae teachers’ knowledge level and the perceived importance to their careers. table 3 displays the seven technical agricultural topics related to the agricultural biotechnology systems (abs) career and content pathway. table 3 ranked discrepancy scores for teaching agricultural biotechnology systems topics item rds genetic engineering -25.84 evolution of biotechnology -22.80 preparing solutions and media -20.97 aseptic techniques -20.97 culturing cells -18.84 bioethics, laws, and public perceptions -17.63 principles of genetics -16.41 mean rds -20.49 the mean rds for the topics related to agricultural biotechnology systems was -20.52. genetic engineering was found to have the highest rds (-25.84), whereas principles of genetics (-16.41) was found to have the lowest discrepancy between oklahoma sbae teachers’ knowledge level and the perceived importance to their careers. table 4 displays the six technical agricultural topics related to the environmental service systems (ess) career and content pathway. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 rankin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 88 table 4 ranked discrepancy scores for teaching environmental service systems topics item rds global positioning systems (gps) -24.01 water & wastewater treatment -21.28 biofuels/alternative energy -20.36 surveying and mapping -16.72 environmental science -11.85 soil science -2.74 mean rds -16.16 the mean rds for the environmental service systems grouping of topics was -16.16. global positioning systems (gps) was identified as having the highest rds (-24.01), while soil science (-2.74) was found to have the lowest discrepancy, which was tied for the lowest rds, regardless of career and content pathway. table 5 displays the seven technical agricultural topics related to the food products and processing systems (fps). table 5 ranked discrepancy scores for teaching food products and processing systems topics item rds meat science -10.33 standards and regulations -9.12 food preparation -7.60 food science and technology -7.60 quality control -6.38 food storage -5.17 food safety and sanitization -2.74 mean rds -5.91 for the food products and processing systems technical agricultural grouping of topics, the mean rds was found to be -6.99. meat science was identified as having the highest rds (-10.33), whereas food safety and sanitization (-2.74) was tied for the lowest discrepancy, regardless of career and content pathway, between oklahoma sbae teachers’ knowledge level and the perceived importance to their careers. table 6 displays the seven technical agricultural topics related to the natural resource systems (nrs) career and content pathway. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 rankin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 89 table 6 ranked discrepancy scores for teaching natural resource systems topics item rds entomology -21.28 precision agriculture -17.02 renewable energy resources -17.02 aquaculture -16.72 forestry -15.20 wildlife management -13.07 natural resource management -11.55 mean rds -15.98 the natural resource systems grouping of topics mean rds was -15.98. the technical topic of entomology was identified as having the highest rds (-21.28), while natural resource management (-11.55) was found to have the lowest discrepancy between oklahoma sbae teachers’ knowledge level and the perceived importance to their careers. table 7 displays the 10 technical agricultural topics related to plant systems (ps). table 7 ranked discrepancy scores for teaching plant systems topics item rds turfgrass management -26.75 tissue culturing -25.53 landscaping -19.45 plant classification -17.93 floriculture -17.02 plant propagation -14.89 plant growth -12.77 agronomy -12.46 plant reproduction -10.94 nursery/greenhouse operations -9.73 mean rds -16.75 the plant systems grouping of topics mean rds was -16.74. turfgrass management was identified as having the highest rds (-26.75), which was the highest technical agricultural topic among all, regardless of career and content pathway. whereas nursery/greenhouse operations (-9.73) were found to have the least discrepancy between oklahoma sbae teachers’ knowledge level and the perceived importance to their careers. table 8 displays the six power, structural and technical (pst) systems agricultural topics. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 rankin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 90 table 8 ranked discrepancy scores for teaching power, structural & technical systems topics item rds agricultural mechanics project construction -21.28 electricity -16.41 agricultural structures (i.e., building construction, concrete) -13.68 plumbing -7.90 arc welding (i.e., smaw, gmaw, gtaw) -5.47 oxyfuel cutting/welding -3.34 mean rds -11.35 the mean rds for the power, structural and technical systems grouping of topics was -11.38. agricultural mechanics project construction was identified as having the highest rds (-21.28), while oxyfuel cutting/welding (-3.34) was found to have the lowest discrepancy between oklahoma sbae teachers’ knowledge level and the perceived importance to their careers. table 9 outlines all technical agricultural topics across the eight afnr content pathways in ranked order. table 9 ranked discrepancy scores for teaching all technical agricultural topics item rd scores content area turfgrass management -26.75 ps economics -26.44 ab genetic engineering -25.84 abs tissue culturing -25.53 ps recordkeeping skills -24.62 ab global positioning systems (gps) -24.01 ess evolution of biotechnology -22.80 abs issues in global agriculture -22.49 ab water & wastewater treatment -21.28 ess agricultural mechanics project construction -21.28 pst entomology -21.28 nrs ag business operations -20.97 ab preparing solutions and media -20.97 abs aseptic techniques -20.97 abs biofuels/alternative energy -20.36 ess landscaping -19.45 ps agricultural sales and marketing -18.84 ab animal diseases/parasites -18.84 as culturing cells -18.84 abs plant classification -17.93 ps bioethics, laws, and public perceptions -17.63 abs floriculture -17.02 ps precision agriculture -17.02 nrs https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 rankin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 91 item rd scores content area renewable energy resources -17.02 nrs surveying and mapping -16.72 ess aquaculture -16.72 nrs electricity -16.41 pst principles of genetics -16.41 abs forestry -15.20 nrs plant propagation -14.89 ps animal nutrition -14.59 as agricultural structures (i.e., building construction, concrete) -13.68 pst wildlife management -13.07 nrs plant growth -12.77 ps agronomy -12.46 ps animal production -12.16 as environmental science -11.85 ess natural resource management -11.55 nrs animal health -11.25 as plant reproduction -10.94 ps meat science -10.33 fps nursery/greenhouse operations -9.73 ps standards and regulations -9.12 fps animal reproduction -8.21 as plumbing -7.90 pst food preparation -7.60 fps food science and technology -7.60 fps quality control -6.38 fps specialty animal production -6.38 as show animals (i.e., care, feeding, fitting, selection) -6.08 as arc welding (i.e., smaw, gmaw, gtaw) -5.47 pst food storage -5.17 fps oxyfuel cutting/welding -3.34 pst financial management -2.77 ab food safety and sanitization -2.74 fps soil science -2.74 ess mean rds -14.83 note. ab = agribusiness systems. as = animal systems. abs = agricultural biotechnology systems. ess = environmental service systems. fps = food products and processing systems. nrs = natural resource systems. ps = plant systems. pst = power, structural and technical systems. the final rank order of the technical agricultural content pathways, based upon the mean rds, was (a) agricultural biotechnology systems (m = -20.52), (b) agribusiness systems (m = -19.36), (c) plant systems (m = -16.74), (d) environmental service systems (m = -16.16), (e) natural resource systems (m = -15.98), (f) power, structural & technical systems (m = -11.38), (g) animal systems (m = -11.07), and (h) food products & processing systems (m = -6.99). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 rankin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 92 conclusions, implications, and recommendations sbae teachers in oklahoma identified a need related to all 56 items associated with teaching technical agricultural topics across the eight content pathways, aligning with nationwide training needs related to classroom instruction (albritton & roberts, 2020; layfield & dobbins, 2002; smalley et al., 2019). the greatest need, based on rds, was in agribusiness systems followed by plant systems and biotechnology systems. this aligns with the long-standing focus of sbae programs in oklahoma being related to animal science and agricultural mechanics. agribusiness and biotechnology are newer focus areas as many programs expand their capacity with additional sbae teachers (rankin et al., 2024). this change in focus areas could be an implication of the change in technical and teaching needs in a post-covid pandemic era. overall, the statewide needs assessment provided an opportunity for the research team to evaluate the teacher human capital, by allowing sbae teachers to provide input based on their personal decision making and needs within their classroom (myung et al., 2013). providing sbae teachers with an opportunity to self-evaluate and reflect on their practice leads to increasing their overall career specific human capital and their teaching effectiveness (eck et al., 2021). in this case of this study, the needed career specific human capital relates to technical agriculture content knowledge to further student engagement in relevant content and curriculum (barry et al., 2022; eck et al., 2019; smalley et al., 2019). implications of agricultural biotechnology systems having the highest mean rds could be that sbae teachers in oklahoma see a need to learn more about the career and content pathway, as they previously may not have had coursework or training. additionally, with the rise in popularity of agriscience research supervised agricultural experiences (saes) in oklahoma, sbae teachers could potentially see a benefit to having agricultural biotechnology systems training for future sae opportunities and course content offerings across other agriculturally related career and content pathways. ultimately, the findings of this study should be used to guide professional development in oklahoma, as these are the current needs associated with the majority (71.0%) of sbae teachers in oklahoma (avalos, 2011). focusing on teacher development (myung et al., 2013) through the lens of the needs assessment helps to advance and improve participating teachers (layfield & dobbins, 2002). furthermore, this purposeful professional development targeted at teacher’s needs, corresponds with the develop function of the teacher human capital framework (myung et al., 2013). additional research is needed to determine the preferred method of receiving professional development to best meet the needs of sbae teachers across oklahoma. it is recommended that this study be replicated in states where a needs assessment has not been conducted in the past five years. conducting needs assessments provide sbae supporters (i.e., sbae teacher preparation faculty, state ffa and agricultural staff, and career and technical education directors) an opportunity to determine state specific needs and provide purposeful professional development, resulting in impactful research. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 rankin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 93 it is also imperative to identify pre-service teacher needs as they journey through their postsecondary coursework. it is recommended that a modified version of this study be implemented to identify perceived knowledge level of different technical agricultural topics in the eight afnr content pathways and their perceived importance to their teaching career. conducting this study semesterly can allow for a longitudinal view of different teaching cohorts and allow for faculty advisors to assist pre-service teachers in course selection as they proceed through their post-secondary educational programs. acknowledgments this 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(2020). technical in-service needs of agriculture teachers in georgia by career pathway. journal of agricultural education, 61(2), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.02001 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.523 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.02001 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 4, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. anthony c. caruso, graduate research assistant, oklahoma state university, 214 agriculture hall, stillwater, ok 74074, anthony.caruso@oksate.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4179-9199 2. audrey e. h. king, assistant professor, oklahoma state university, 106d agriculture hall, stillwater, ok 74074, audrey.king@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6150-0223 3. bradley m. coleman, assistant professor, oklahoma state university, 238 agriculture hall, stillwater, ok 74074, b.coleman@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 84 harvesting insights: rural community members’ perceptions of agritourism in oklahoma a. c. caruso1, a. e. h. king2, b. m. coleman3 article history received: august 16, 2024 accepted: december 9, 2024 published: december 11, 2024 keywords community capitals; great plains, online survey; rural development, sdg 8: decent work and economic growth abstract rural communities face significant challenges such as persistent poverty, aging infrastructure, food insecurity, and natural disasters. with agriculture as a primary focus, these communities increasingly depend on external income and technology. agritourism offers a promising solution by allowing farmers to diversify their income streams while promoting rural development. in oklahoma, there are over 400 agritourism venues (usda nass, 2022). however, urbanization and climate change continue to reshape the agricultural landscape, affecting farmers and rural communities. this study examines the perceptions of agritourism among rural citizens in southwest oklahoma and its potential for rural development. utilizing the community capitals framework (flora et al., 2007) and chase et al. (2018) agritourism framework, the study surveyed 159 residents, revealing a generally positive perception of agritourism as beneficial for communities and agriculture. despite recognizing its benefits, respondents indicated a need for more guidance on how to engage in agritourism. the findings suggest although there is awareness and appreciation of agritourism, there is also a significant opportunity for expansion and support. extension services and state agencies are recommended to provide targeted education and training to maximize agritourism's economic and community development potential in rural areas. mailto:anthony.caruso@oksate.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4179-9199 mailto:audrey.king@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6150-0223 mailto:b.coleman@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 caruso et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 85 introduction and problem rural communities face a multitude of hardships, including persistent poverty, aging infrastructure, food insecurity, and natural disasters (blue bird jernigan et al., 2017; burton et al., 2013; sadri et al., 2018). furthermore, most rural communities are agriculturally focused and face the same vulnerabilities of the agricultural industry (gowda et al., 2018). agricultural producers continue to seek opportunities to diversify and seek alternative sources of income to increase profits (khanal & mishra, 2014). agritourism is known to assist in both the development of rural communities and allow farmers to diversify their incomes (barbieri & tew, 2016; ramsey & schaumleffel, 2006). agritourism in oklahoma is responsible for $64 million usd in overall economic impact in 2012 (murphy et al., 2017). urbanization and climate change have changed the agricultural landscape, negatively affecting rural communities that are agriculturally dependent (brune et al., 2021; che, 2008). however, agritourism is one approach that can rejuvenate such communities. the benefits of agritourism include positive economic impacts for producers and communities, improvement of agricultural literacy, and strengthening of local food systems and communities (brune et al., 2021; che, 2008; lupi et al., 2017). agritourism is extensive in oklahoma, it encompasses over 400 registered operations, consisting of u-pick farms, hunting/fishing guides, and other experiences (usda nass, 2022). agritourism has been extensively researched in oklahoma regarding its marketing, legality, and overall economic impact (bowman et al., 2020; murphy et al., 2015; murphy et al., 2017). however, the perceptions of community members who live near agritourism operations have not been studied. understanding such perspectives will guide the support and training needed to expand agritourism further in oklahoma. theoretical and conceptual framework this study used emery and flora’s (2006) community capitals framework along with chase et al. (2018) agritourism framework to inform survey design and interpretation of results. the community capitals framework outlines seven capitals, or resource categories, that can be leveraged for community development: (a) human, (b) financial, (c) built, (d) natural, (e) political, (f) social, and (g) cultural. natural and financial capitals are the foci within the community capitals framework which best align with agritourism. natural capital is widely known as the existing resources a community possesses that can be used for sustainable development (e.g., weather, natural beauty, and amenities; emery & flora, 2006). financial capitals encompass wealth, security, credit, and investment (e.g., taxes, grants, and loans) (flora et. al., 2007). the community capitals framework includes the flows and stocks of resources available for community development. capitals can be invested or leveraged to increase the livability of communities. for example, the natural capital resource of timber could be cut and sold, resulting in increased financial capital (emery & flora, 2006). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 caruso et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 86 chase et al.’s (2018) agritourism framework sorts agritourism into five broad categories: direct sales, hospitality, education, outdoor recreation, and entertainment. within the five broad categories, core and peripheral activities contribute to the agritourism framework. core activities are generally accepted as agritourism, such as direct sales or farm experiences such as pumpkin patches. peripheral activities lack an active connection to production agriculture, such as farmers markets and hunting experiences. although the definitions of agritourism related activities vary, researchers agree on agritourism’s value as a whole (chase et al., 2018). however, agritourism perceptions of rural community members have not been widely explored. purpose this research aims to explore the perceptions about agritourism in rural southwest oklahoma and its possible use for rural development. the four main objectives of this research were to: 1. describe the rural citizen participants. 2. describe participant’s interactions with agritourism. 3. determine the level of awareness of agritourism offerings in participants' counties. 4. describe the perceptions of agritourism in rural communities. 5. determine the relationship between agritourism perception and connection to agriculture. methodology to gain a comprehensive understanding of rural community members' perceptions of agritourism, a mixed-methods convergent design survey was employed in southwest oklahoma (creswell & plano clark, 2017). this approach offers a more complete insight than relying solely on quantitative or qualitative methods. we employed the questionnaire variant of convergent mixed methods, adopting a quant + qual lens (creswell & plano clark, 2017). in this variant of the convergent design, closed-ended quantitative questions and open-ended qualitative questions are included in a single questionnaire. the questionnaire consisted of 19 questions: (a) seven demographic questions, (b) six, five-point likert-scale questions, (c) four close-ended questions, and (d) two open-ended response questions. the close-ended question asked participants if they had agritourism experiences and what experiences they are aware of in their community. the two open-ended questions asked participants to define agritourism and asked for any additional comments concerning agritourism. the questionnaire was reviewed for face and content validity by two experts in survey design who were external to the authorship team (creswell, 2014). one expert was an associate professor of agricultural communications, and the other was a social science research coordinator at a land-grant institution. per the panel’s recommendations, the instrument was edited for readability and navigability. online, non-probability, opt-in sampling was used (creswell, 2014). the qualtrics-created questionnaire was distributed in 2023 utilizing facebook posts, facebook advertisements, and a flyer posted in rural communities. the distribution of questionnaires was focused on the southwestern region of oklahoma. specifically, the questionnaire was promoted in three ways: https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 caruso et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 87 (a) posted in facebook groups that served southwestern oklahoma; (b) advertised through paid, tailored facebook posts to the region; and (c) posted by flyer within communities, which included an accompanying qr code. the questionnaire included a screening question to ensure only residents and/or landowners of southwest oklahoma participated in the study. in total, 13 facebook posts were made to various community groups and extension social media pages. the questionnaire was open to responses for eight consecutive weeks, and 174 responses were recorded. of the 174 responses, two responses were from qr codes from posted flyers, and 172 originated from facebook. the facebook advertisement had 84 link clicks and a reach of 3,061 users. of the 174 responses, 159 were included in the analysis. the remaining 15 were not analyzed due to incomplete responses. if the only question answered was the informed consent, the response was considered incomplete and excluded from analysis. participants were not required to answer all questions. questions left blank were not used in the analysis. descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were used for quantitative data, an alpha level of .05 was used for statistical tests. qualitative data were analyzed using maxqda24 and the constant comparative method (glaser, 1965). a total of 136 responses were first open-coded, and 16 codes were assigned. next, axial and selective coding were completed, resulting in seven themes (strauss & corbin, 1990). one researcher led the qualitative analysis, and themes were confirmed by the entire research team. verbatim responses from participants were used to support the analysis process and reduce researcher bias (lecompte & goetz, 1982). to ensure rigor and trustworthiness, the following measures were taken: (a) themes were negotiated by the research team, (b) data were triangulated using quantitative question responses, (c) data were reviewed several times to achieve prolonged engagement, and (d) bracketing and reflexivity were used to reduce bias (lincoln & guba, 1985; tufford & newman, 2012). due to the sampling method and sample size, these findings are not generalizable. it is unlikely all residents of southwest oklahoma were reached by this survey. in addition, we recognize the questionnaire variant (quant + qual) of the convergent design often limits the richness of qualitative data collection (creswell & plano clark, 2017). further, we were unable to implement member checking to increase the trustworthiness of data analysis. although demographic information was collected, researchers are unable to determine if the perceptions of agritourism represent the demographics of southwest oklahoma. findings the personal characteristics of the 159 participants are displayed in table 1. tillman county had the highest response rate, followed by greer county. both counties are located in southwest oklahoma and were part of the targeted demographics for the scope of this study. participants had a varying connection to agriculture, with most respondents having grown up on a farm or ranch or were currently farmers or ranchers. the majority of participants were female (58%), and 15% of participants were male. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 caruso et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 88 table 1 demographic characteristics of participants variable n % gender female 92 58% male 24 15% prefer not to answer 43 27% age 18-24 6 4% 25-34 12 8% 35-44 19 12% 45-54 21 13% 55-64 24 15% 65+ 31 19% prefer not to answer 46 29% race white 104 81% american indian or alaska native 4 3% asian 2 2% black 1 1% prefer not to answer 6 5% hispanic/latino(a) 11 9% connection to agriculture grew up on farm or ranch 29 18% farmer or rancher 27 17% other 22 14% none 20 13% grandparents or relative 17 11% prefer not to answer 44 28% county tillman 36 23% greer 33 21% jackson 17 11% harmon 10 6% beckham 5 3% kiowa 5 3% comanche 2 1% other 7 4% prefer not to answer 43 27% overall, participants indicated they were familiar with agritourism. one hundred and three respondents (64.8%) knew what agritourism was, and 56 respondents (35.2%) did not know what agritourism was. of the participants who indicated they were farmers or ranchers (n = 27), 11 indicated they would add agritourism, eight said they would possibly add agritourism, and eight indicated they would not add agritourism to their operation. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 caruso et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 89 sixty-one respondents (43.6%) had visited an agritourism experience, 55 (39.3%) had not, and 24 (17.1%) were unsure if they had visited an agritourism experience. most respondents reported being aware of one to three agritourism operations in their county. table 2 displays respondents’ awareness of agritourism in their community quantifying the number of agritourism operations that they have knowledge of in their county. table 2 community awareness of agritourism operations (n = 129) question 0 agritourism operations 1-3 agritourism operations 4-7 agritourism operations 7+ agritourism operations f % f % f % f % how many agritourism operations are you aware of in your county? 37 28.7 74 57.4 15 11.6 3 2.3 respondents had most frequently visited farmers' markets, pumpkin patches, and hayrides when asked what agritourism operations they have visited. the least frequently visited were fishing guide services, hunting guide services, and on farm concerts. table 3 displays the results of the type of agritourism experience respondents had visited. table 3 agritourism visitation (n = 159) agritourism activity have visited have not visited f % f % farmers market 104 65.4 55 34.6 pumpkin patch 92 57.9 67 42.1 hayride 81 50.9 78 49.1 hiking 55 34.6 104 65.4 on farm weddings 35 22.0 124 78.0 u-pick experience 30 18.9 129 81.1 other on farm events 26 16.4 133 83.6 farm to dinner experience 24 15.1 135 84.9 fishing guide service 20 12.6 139 87.4 hunting guide service 16 10.1 143 89.9 on farm concerts 11 6.9 148 93.1 note. respondents chose which experiences they have visited. ones that were missing were counted as not visited. participants were asked to define agritourism in an open-ended response question. three themes emerged from their responses. when defining agritourism, participants described it as education-focused, experience-centered, and revenue-driven. these three themes are explored below. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 caruso et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 90 education-focused participants frequently described agritourism with words like “learning,” “education,” or “immersive.” one participant defined agritourism as “educational tours on farms.” another replied with, “education about farm life.” yet another described agritourism as: “agriculturebased businesses and sites that are open for tourists to visit and learn about agriculture.” experience-centered participants also referred to agritourism as an experience. one participant described agritourism as “tourists visit your farm to engage with nature. having the opportunity to participate firsthand in the farming experience.” participants described these experiences as exclusively for people not involved in agriculture. for example, one response said, “a farm visit experience for non-ag folks.” participants also described these experiences as advantageous for producers, particularly in an economic sense, saying “attracting visitors. . . to make a profit out of the experience in the farm environment.” revenue-driven participants described agritourism as revenue and profit-driven, describing agritourism as “anything that is agricultural that will bring people to see it or spend money” and a “great way for farmers and ranchers to supplement their income.” one farmer described agritourism as particularly beneficial to his operation, saying “it’s a way i can make extra income from my farm by allowing people to stay in my cabin, hunt on my farm, and fish in some of my ponds.” the likert-scale perception questions had varying results regarding agritourism, with positive perceptions of existing agritourism operations and optimism of the ability to utilize agritourism as a rural development component. the belief that agritourism is beneficial to their county was majority agreed upon (67.2%) as well as agritourism bringing value to their community (58.5%). the majority of participants strongly agreed that agritourism should be expanded in their county (58.2%) where two respondents disagreed that it should be expanded (1.6%). most participants agreed that agritourism brings tourism to their county (73.1%) and that their counties had enough resources to sustain agritourism (60.2%). participants disagreed that there were enough agritourism offerings in their county (42.6%). table 4 shows the results of the perception likert scale questions. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 caruso et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 91 table 4 frequencies and percentages of participants’ perceptions of agritourism question strongly agree somewhat agree neutral somewhat disagree strongly disagree total f % f % f % f % f % agritourism is beneficial to my county 82 67.2 26 21.3 12 9.8 1 .8 1 .8 122 agritourism brings value to my community 69 58.5 32 27.1 13 11 4 3.4 0 0 118 agritourism should be expanded in my county 71 58.2 35 28.7 14 11.5 0 0 2 1.6 122 agritourism brings tourism to my county 47 39.5 40 33.6 22 18.5 8 6.7 2 1.7 119 my county has enough resources to sustain agritourism 29 24.6 42 35.6 23 19.5 15 12.7 9 7.6 118 there are enough agritourism operations in my county 2 1.6 6 3.8 21 17.2 41 33.6 52 42.6 122 note. respondents were not required to answer all questions; therefore, totals do not equal the study’s sample. the last question on the survey was an open-ended question asking participants had additional comments regarding agritourism. four themes emerged from their responses: (a) agritourism is good for agriculture, (b) more guidance is needed, (c) increase agritourism, and (d) agritourism is good for rural communities. agritourism is good for agriculture participants perceived agritourism as beneficial for all agriculture, offering an opportunity to promote the industry and educate consumers. one participant said agritourism was an opportunity “to draw visitors from urban areas to enjoy and appreciate the fruits of agriculture. it helps them [visitors from urban areas] understand how agriculture actually and directly affects them.” another participant had similar ideas saying, “this is a good way to get the word out to people about something the agricultural industry provides to others.” more guidance is needed when asked for final thoughts about agritourism, participants expressed a need for more guidance to engage producers in agritourism. one participant said “my county has some folks that grow and sell products. we could use a market for them to sell and a few more farm-type venues in my opinion. we are waiting for guidance.” one farmer also directly asked for guidance, saying “i’m working to create new opportunities on my farm. guidance would be great if you’re tracking respondents!” https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 caruso et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 92 increase agritourism participants were excited about agritourism and wished to see more in their areas, saying “i feel people would like to see more agritourism activities in my area.” one participant even called for greater efforts state-wide saying, “any expansion of farming activities that brings an additional revenue stream is desperately needed, statewide!” finally, another participant called for greater engagement in agritourism saying “i believe there should be more agritourism activities to promote agriculture and to help demystify what agriculture is really like.” agritourism is good for rural communities in the final question, participants commented on the benefits agritourism offered for rural communities. one of these perceived benefits was community revenue. one participant said “agritourism helps build business within the community . . . and gains revenue in rural communities.” another participant thought agritourism had the potential to bring new visitors to their community saying “it would increase the people that visit my community, i think it would be good, a positive thing for our rural area.” chi-square tests of independence were used to determine if relationships existed between participants’ perceptions of agritourism and their connection to agriculture. researchers wanted to explore whether the influence of rurality and agriculture affected respondent’s perceptions of agritourism. for each of the six items measuring participants’ perceptions, there was no significant association with their connection to agriculture when measured at an alpha set a priori of .05. table 5 displays the results of the chi-square analyses highlighting the insignificant association between connection to agriculture and perceptions. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 caruso et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 93 table 5 results of the chi-square tests of independence perception question no connection farmer or rancher grew up on farm/ranch grandparents farmed or ranched other χ! p total n % n % n % n % n % enough agritourism operations in my county 20 17.39 27 23.47 29 25.21 17 14.78 22 19.13 25.87 .056 115 agritourism should be expanded in county 20 17.39 27 23.47 29 25.21 17 14.78 22 19.13 12.49 .408 115 agritourism is beneficial to my county 20 17.39 27 23.47 29 25.21 17 14.78 22 19.13 19.41 .079 115 agritourism brings tourism to county 20 17.39 27 23.47 29 25.21 17 14.78 22 19.13 11.96 .746 115 county has enough resources to sustain agritourism 20 17.54 27 23.68 28 24.56 17 14.91 22 19.30 25.77 .057 114 agritourism brings value to my community 20 17.54 27 23.68 28 24.56 17 14.91 22 19.30 6.94 .862 114 note. respondents were not required to answer all questions; therefore, totals do not equal the study’s sample. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations residents in rural southwest oklahoma viewed agritourism as an unsaturated market with room for expansion in their communities. this poses an opportunity to use agritourism for rural development in oklahoma. the majority of respondents’ perceptions of agritourism were positive, and they viewed agritourism as beneficial for their community. participants indicated a need for additional guidance on how to get started with agritourism or the opportunities available. overall participants were well aware of the agritourism operations present in their communities. the majority of respondents indicated there were three to five agritourism operations in their county. in actuality, there are four registered in tillman county, three in jackson county, one in greer county, and none in harmon (oklahoma department of food and forestry, 2024). participants viewed agritourism as a revenue-driven, educational experience. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 caruso et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 94 this aligns with chase et al. (2018) framework and definition of agritourism. participant’s varying definitions of agritourism, also aligns with previous research. some research defines agritourism as recreational activities (i.e., visiting farms, ranches, or other agricultural settings) and other considers visiting farmer’s markets as agritourism (ammirato et al., 2020; barbieri & tew, 2016; brown et al., 2014; carpio et al., 2008). participants’ connection with agriculture was not statistically related to their perceptions of agritourism. perhaps this is because the sample included mostly rural citizens who, if lacked a direct connection to agriculture, have higher exposure to agriculture than urban citizens (gowda et al., 2018). furthermore, the primary economic driver in three of the seven counties represented is agriculture (united states department of agriculture economic research service, 2017). since there was no significant relationship between participant's connection to agriculture and perceptions of agritourism, future research should consider if audience segmentation based on rurality would be beneficial to agritourism operations. the lack of a relationship between the variables suggests agritourism should be marketed to audiences, regardless of their connection to agriculture. moreover, the qualitative responses revealed participants viewed agritourism as an activity exclusively for urban audiences or those not connected to agriculture. although urban audiences likely have much to learn from agritourism, and are a worthwhile audience to pursue, rural and agricultural audiences can also benefit from agritourism experiences and should be equally considered. agritourism operations could benefit from marketing their experiences specifically to agricultural and rural audiences. extension and state agencies should work together to continue to educate agricultural producers about opportunities in agritourism. perhaps offering regional trainings or informational sessions would provide the guidance our results indicate producers are craving (schmidt et al., 2022). the economic feasibility of agritourism in this region should be further explored. further, the relative cost benefit to producers and communities alike should be studied. whether agritourism can be used as an aspect of rural development should be researched further to determine the impact existing agritourism operations have on rural oklahoma. where schmidt et al. (2022) found western states’ rural communities benefiting from the expenditures agritourism tourists have. due to the limitations of sampling and response rate of the questionnaire, future research should focus on the distribution of the instrument in other regions of oklahoma to investigate the differences in perceptions across regions. although facebook advertisements are convenient for data collection, considering in-person data collection may result in higher response rates and more complete responses. perceptions of agritourism research should include a qualitative analysis of agritourism from both producers and consumers of agritourism in rural communities to expand on the perceptions. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 caruso et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 95 acknowledgments support for this project was provided by the oklahoma state university rural renewal initiative, supported by the office of the vice president for research, oklahoma agricultural experiment station and oklahoma cooperative extension service. this research has previously been presented at the association of international agricultural and extension education conference. citation: caruso, a. c., & king, a. e. h. (2024). harvesting insights: exploring rural community members’ perceptions of agritourism. presented at the association of international agricultural and extension education conference, orlando, fl. author contributions: a. caruso – conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, writingoriginal draft; a. king – conceptualization, methodology formal analysis, writing-original draft, supervision; b. colemanmethodology, formal analysis, writingreview and editing. references ammirato, s., felicetti, a. m., raso, c., pansera, b. a., & violi, a. (2020). agritourism and sustainability: what we can learn from a systematic literature review. sustainability, 12(22), 9575. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229575 barbieri, c., & tew, c. 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(2022). usda/nass quickstats [dataset]. https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/ © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.535 https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/ advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 4, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. kelly r. wilson, assistant professor, school of natural resources, university of missouri, 1406 e. rollins st. 207 ag engineering building, office 232, columbia, mo 65211, kellyrwilson@missouri.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8462-0586 2. stephen c. mukembo, postdoctoral fellow, division of applied social sciences, university of missouri, 320 mumford hall columbia, mo 65211, mukembos@missouri.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1909-9349 24 “i talk to producers like i’m a producer!” exploring extension professionals’ perceptions and framing of climate change k. r. wilson1, s. c. mukembo2 article history received: july 25, 2023 accepted: october 11, 2023 published: november 3, 2023 keywords agricultural extension; climate literacy; agricultural communications; climate change abstract climate change is a central risk to global agriculture. as extension professionals are key disseminators of information on agricultural production, their perceptions of climate change and how they convey climate information to farmers is important to understand. this study explored how extension professionals in missouri perceive the issue of climate change, how they frame communications with their producer stakeholders, and their need for training. we conducted an online survey with 112 extension professionals in the state, using maibach and colleagues’ six americas scale. the majority of participants believed that climate change is happening, although participants fell into each segment of the scale. there was a significant relationship between conservative ideological leaning and disbelief in climate change. participants were more likely to use terms like “extreme weather,” “weather variability,” and “long-term weather” and least likely to say things like “climate debate,” “global warming,” and “greenhouse gases.” only 6.7% of participants had received any formal training on climate change. these findings point to the need for participatory training for extension professionals on climate change, to build climate literacy while also teaching climate scientists best practices for communicating these issues to the public. mailto:kellyrwilson@missouri.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8462-0586 mailto:mukembos@missouri.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1909-9349 wilson & mukembo advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 25 introduction and problem statement the role of extension professionals is to bring science-based advisory services to famers to help them mitigate and adapt to new challenges. climate change is a key challenge to global agriculture (james et al., 2014; prokopy et al., 2017). an estimated 97% of scientists agree that climate change is occurring (cook et al., 2016), and there is considerable research showing that human activity has directly and indirectly contributed to driving climate change (chen et al., 2013; dey & mishra, 2017). as such, this topic should be of particular relevance to farmers, as agriculture and natural resource management are both impacted by the effects of climate change and could play a role in mitigating and adapting to climate change (arbuckle et al., 2013). however, this near consensus among scientists and accumulated scientific evidence is not reflected in our public discourses. there are wide disparities in perspectives on climate change in the u.s. (egan & mullin, 2017; ruth & colclasure, 2023), pointing to a disconnect between scientific research and the general public. as the designated translators of scientific research to the people, extension professionals have a natural role to play in extending awareness and understanding of climate change. the way that extension resource providers engage their audiences with climate change—and their own perceptions of the risks—is important to understand, since they are a trusted source of information for the farmers. in this study, we explore how extension professionals, including cooperative extension and private land conservationists in missouri, perceive the issue of climate change and explore what factors impact their perceptions. we further explore how extension professionals frame discussions on climate issues with their stakeholders to understand what terms, phrases, and entry-points may be fruitful—rather than detrimental—in generating solutions to help farmers and the general public address these very real challenges. theoretical and conceptual framework a variety of studies have explored people’s beliefs about climate change since the 1990’s. crucially, we understand that climate change is a complex issues and that peoples’ understandings, beliefs, and risk assessments are shaped by more than “just the facts,” the approach most climate scientists lean on to educate the public (wilke & morton, 2015). in fact, scholars suggest the focus on scientific facts alone without being in conversation with the public can lead to resistance and opposition rather than action (filho, 2009; moser, 2010). studies show that perceptions about climate change are shaped less by knowledge variables, but by demographic, political, socio-cultural, and psychological factors. demographic factors include age, gender, and level of education (arbuckle et al., 2013; egan & mullin, 2017). different research finds that women, those with higher levels of education, and younger people are more likely to believe that climate change is real and a pertinent issue that society should deal with (arbuckle et al., 2013; egan & mullin, 2017; liu et al., 2014; wiest et al., 2015). ideological and political orientation is one of the strongest predicators of climate change perception; liberal orientation is more often associated with belief and concern about climate https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 wilson & mukembo advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 26 change than conservative orientation (cook et al., 2016; egan & mullin, 2017; liu et al., 2014; ruth & colclasure, 2023; tyson et al., 2023; wiest et al., 2015). beliefs about climate change are also shaped by socio-cultural and psychological factors, including personal experiences, beliefs about the world, and personal values (weber, 2006, 2010). how and by whom information about climate change is disseminated further impacts how individuals receive and interpret the information. by virtue of their advisory role, extension professionals’ perceptions of climate change and how they convey climate information to farmers can significantly impact farmers’ management decisions. in a 2012 survey, almost three-quarters of extension educators across 12 corn belt states believed that climate change was occurring, but only 19.2% believed that it is caused mostly by human activities (prokopy et al., 2015). similarly, about 75% of agriculture advisors in four corn belt states believed that climate change was occurring, yet only 12.3% related it to human activity. these findings mark an important difference between most scientists’ beliefs that climate change is happening and caused by human actions, and thus what people are willing to do to address it. to assess these factors, we employed the six americas scale, a conceptual framework developed to categorize individuals by their views on climate change by maibach et al. (2011). in this scale, respondents are classified into six segments (table 1). this conceptual framework has been adopted by other researchers to categorize extension professional perceptions in other areas of the us (bowers et al., 2016). table 1 descriptions of the six americas segments based on maibach et al (2011) framework six americas segment description alarmed perceive climate change as a real and pressing problem that is caused by human activities; strongly endorse a national response; most proactive about making changes in their lives concerned perceive climate change as real and a pressing problem; support a national response; less involved than alarmed and less proactive about making changes in their lives cautious perceive climate change as an issue but are less certain; do not see climate change as a pressing issue that is relevant to them personally; less willing to make changes in their lives or endorse a national response disengaged have not engaged with the issue of climate change; most likely to alter their perspectives doubtful uncertain whether climate change is happening or don’t know; if it is occurring, perceive it as caused by natural patterns; do not see climate change as a pressing threat that requires action dismissive believe that climate change is not happening and poses no threats; do not see climate change as a pressing threat that requires action; may be involved in the issue because of their disbelief in climate change https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 wilson & mukembo advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 27 purpose the purpose of this paper is to assess how extension professionals in missouri perceive the issues of climate change and explore what factors are associated with their views. the specific objectives are to: 1. describe perceptions of extension professionals regarding issues of climate change based on the six americas segmentation scale. 2. explore factors that influence extension professionals’ perceptions of climate change issues. 3. assess how extension professionals frame their communication to engage their audience and other stakeholders in addressing climate change issues. 4. evaluate perceptions of extension professionals need for additional information and training about climate change. methods we conducted an online survey with missouri extension resources professionals from cooperative extension and the missouri department of conservation from january-april 2023. these groups provide advisory services to landowners and producers across the state. following irb approval (irb number: 2095416), we recruited participants by email and through organizational listservs. we used quota sampling (saunders et al., 2012) to obtain a balanced number of respondents from each organization and to have similar representation from each region of the state. the survey tool was adapted from the 15-scale six americas audience segmentation typology and the complementary manual with instructions on how to use this validated instrument (maibach et al., 2011). this is a standard instrument that has been used by several researchers (and revised since 2011). it is a single tool that uses 15 single items, and the authors use discriminate analysis to segment the population. the items (alone) are not grouped into constructs to run reliability estimates. the reliability estimates for the 15-item scale across the six segments ranges from 0.69 to 0.97 (chryst et al., 2018a; maibach et al., 2011). these reliability estimates fall within the commonly cited estimates of 0.68 to 0.95 (tavakol & dennick, 2011). we reviewed this tool with a panel consisting of experts in missouri agriculture, extension professionals, and climate scientists. the primary revision we made was to modify the wording from “global warming” to “climate change.” the argument for this change was that today, climate change is a more common phrase than global warming. we added a set of questions specific to the role of extension professionals and how they frame climate issues with their stakeholders, asking what terms or phrases they use—or avoid—when talking to stakeholders, adapting a list of relevant terms identified in previous research (getson et al., 2022). finally, we asked demographic factors identified in previous research as influential to perceptions on climate change. we analyzed data using statistical software package spss version 29. after cleaning the data for missing responses, we included 112 responses in data analysis. this represents a 48.07% https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 wilson & mukembo advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 28 response rate which falls between the acceptable 30-70% range for social science surveys (ali et., 2020; de vaus, 2013; mellahi & harris, 2016). further, it exceeded the average response rates for online surveys reported by various authors, such as 33.3% (nulty, 2008), 36.11% (ali et al., 2020), and 44.1% (wu et al., 2022). it is worth noting that studies with lower response rates may actually “yield more accurate results than studies with response rates of 60% to70%” (morton et al., 2012, p. 107). participant demographics are provided in table 2. we followed directions from the six americas manual to produce a six americas classification for each respondent according to the 15-item syntax for audience segmentation analysis (maibach et al., 2011). this protocol created several composite variables and replaced the small number of missing item responses with mean values. we assessed relationships between factors predicted to have a relationship with six americas segments based on previous research, including gender, age, level of education, and ideological leanings. we further explored how responses to questions such as “do you feel you need more information on climate change” and “have your received formal training on climate change” related to where participants were placed along the segments. we also analyzed the few open-ended questions, which added nuance to questions such as having received/not received training on climate change. finally, we explored how extension professionals framed conversations around climate issues. findings participant demographics objective 1: describe perceptions of extension professionals regarding issues of climate change based on the six americas segmentation scale. when plainly asked “do you think that climate change is happening?” 83.9% (n = 94) said “yes” and 12.5% (n = 14) said “no.” although participants skewed left toward having more concern for climate change, they fell into every category of the six americas segmentation typology (figure 1). the largest segment was cautious (30.9%, n = 21), followed by concerned (29.9%, n = 19), alarmed (19.1%, n = 13), doubtful (10.3%, n = 7), dismissive (7.4%), then disengaged (4.4%, n = 3). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 wilson & mukembo advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 29 figure 1 description of extension professionals regarding issues of climate change based on the six americas segmentation scale. objective 2: explore factors that influence extension professionals’ perceptions of climate change issues. table 2 provides an overview of how participants were categorized based on different demographic factors, including gender, education, ideological leanings, and organization type. we used spearman’s rho tests to assess whether demographic factors were significantly associated with segments; the only statistically significant relationship was between ideological leanings and segments, with a negative correlation between conservative leaning ideology and being more dismissive of climate change [r(68), = -.647, p = <.001]. this finding was compounded where, on an open-ended question asking what type of informal training they did on climate change, one participant from the dismissive segment commented: “climate change is an ideology pushed by the progressive left to eliminate fossil fuels in the us.” 19.12% 27.94% 30.88% 4.41% 10.29% 7.35% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% alarmed concerned cautious disengaged doubtful dismissive pe rc en t o f p ar tic ip an ts 6 americas segments https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 wilson & mukembo advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 30 table 2 six americas segments for participants by demographics total alarmed concerned cautious disengaged doubtful dismissive n % n % n % n % n % n % n % gender male 58 51.80% 6 9.5% 11 17.5% 15 23.8% 2 3.2% 3 4.8% 3 4.8% female 27 24.10% 5 7.9% 5 7.9% 4 6.3% 0 0.0% 2 3.2% 0 0.0% non-binary / third gender 0 0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% prefer not to say 12 10.70% 1 1.6% 2 3.2% 1 1.6% 1 1.6% 1 1.6% 1 1.6% total 97 86.60% 12 19.0% 18 28.6% 20 31.7% 3 4.8% 6 9.5% 4 6.3% education less than high school degree 0 0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% high school graduate (high school diploma or equivalent including ged) 0 0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% some college but no degree 0 0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% associate degree in college (2-year) 0 0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% bachelor's degree in college (4-year) 43 38.40% 1 1.5% 9 13.8% 10 15.4% 1 1.5% 4 6.2% 1 1.5% master's degree 42 37.50% 10 15.4% 6 9.2% 5 7.7% 2 3.1% 1 1.5% 4 6.2% doctoral degree 13 11.60% 1 1.5% 3 4.6% 4 6.2% 0 0.0% 1 1.5% 0 0.0% professional degree (jd, md) 2 1.80% 0 0.0% 1 1.5% 1 1.5% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% total 100 89.30% 12 18.5% 19 29.2% 20 30.8% 3 4.6% 6 9.2% 5 7.7% ideological leanings very conservative 6 5.4% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 1 1.7% 0 0.0% 3 5.1% 1 1.7% conservative 41 36.6% 1 1.7% 6 10.2% 10 16.9% 1 1.7% 2 3.4% 3 5.1% moderate 28 25% 6 10.2% 8 13.6% 6 10.2% 0 0.0% 1 1.7% 0 0.0% liberal 10 8.9% 3 5.1% 4 6.8% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% very liberal 3 2.7% 2 3.4% 1 1.7% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% total 88 78.6% 12 20.3% 19 32.2% 17 28.8% 1 1.7% 6 10.2% 4 6.8% organization type 1862 land grant university 55 49.1% 11 16.9% 9 13.8% 9 13.8% 0 0.0% 2 3.1% 5 7.7% farm agency 49 43.8% 2 3.1% 9 13.8% 11 16.9% 3 4.6% 4 6.2% 0 0.0% total 104 92.9% 13 20.0% 18 27.6% 20 30.7% 3 4.6% 6 9.3% 5 7.7% https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 wilson & mukembo advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 31 objective 3: assess how extension professionals frame their communication to engage their audience and other stakeholders in addressing climate change issues. to assess how extension professionals frame communications around climate issues, we asked them about the terms or phrases they use (table 3). participants were most likely to use the terms/phrases “extreme weather,” “weather variability,” and “long-term weather” but were least likely to say things like “climate debate,” “global warming,” and “greenhouse gases.” in addition, participants were less likely to use the term/phrases “man-made and/or humanmade” and “climate change.” table 3 how likely are you to use the following terms/phrases when talking to producers about climate change issues? term n minimum maximum mean std. deviation extreme weather 98 1 5 4.15 0.967 weather variability 98 1 5 4.10 0.879 unusual weather 98 1 5 3.86 1.025 long-term weather 98 1 5 3.79 1.086 uncertainty 98 1 5 3.73 1.051 climate variability 98 1 5 3.41 1.191 climate change 98 1 5 2.91 1.363 rapid change 98 1 5 2.87 1.136 man-made and/or human made 98 1 5 2.83 1.202 greenhouse gases 98 1 5 2.64 1.401 global warming 97 1 5 2.43 1.306 climate debate 98 1 5 2.16 1.062 valid n (listwise) 97 in addition to the phrases listed in table 3, participants outlined other terminologies that they would avoid or be cautious about using while talking to producers about climate change. several underscored that they will not talk about climate change specifically because it is too “political,” with one participant saying they “won’t talk about climate change in any manner: very political situation so [i] avoid upsetting anyone who has polarizing views.” one participant wrote: “i talk to producers like i am a producer. if you talk to them like you are from a local university, they will not listen!!” one participant described their approach to discussing climate change with producers: i've done a lot of public presentations that touch on climate change and used audience feedback to hone my message. talking about adapting to certain weather events was easy. i found that it was important to stick to things that are simple, observable, and difficult to dispute when discussing the existence of climate change and whether humans cause it. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 wilson & mukembo advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 32 objective 4: evaluate perceptions of extension professionals need for additional information and training about climate change. as part of the six americas tool, participants were asked whether they felt they needed more information to form a firm opinion about climate change on a scale of 1-4, where 1 was “i do not need more information” and 4 was “i need a lot more information.” though the responses were relatively evenly distributed (m = 2.63, sd = 1.05) only 26% of the participants indicated they did not need more information to form an opinion about climate change (figure 2). a majority of participants indicated they needed information to help them form an opinion about climate change. the need for additional information varied with 29% indicating they needed a little more information, 26% indicated needing some more information and only 18% indicated needing a lot more information. further, we found a significant negative correlation between feeling like they need more information and the six americas segments; those more dismissive of climate change were less likely to say they needed more information [r(108) = -.272, p = .025]. figure 2 participants need for information to form an opinion about climate change note. full question: on some issues people feel that they have all the information they need in order to form a firm opinion, while on other issues they would like more information before making up their mind. for climate change, where would you place yourself? further, we explored if a relationship existed between individuals having received formal training to communicate with stakeholders about climate change and whether they needed more information to form an opinion about climate change. we found a statistically significant https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 wilson & mukembo advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 33 association with a small effect size between extensional professionals who had not received formal training to communicate with stakeholders and their need for information to form an opinion about climate change (cramer’s v = .276, sig. = .044; see table 4). more extension professionals who had not received formal training on climate change indicated they needed more information before they could form an opinion on climate change. those that received training were more likely to indicate that they did not need more information to form an opinion. table 4 association between participants receiving formal training to communicate with stakeholders about climate change and their need for information to form an opinion about climate change need for information do not need any more information need a little more information need some more information need lot more information cramer’s v* sig. received formal training about climate change yes 2 5 0 0 no 26 31 30 19 total 26 31 30 19 0.276 0.044 note. “yes” was coded 1 and “no” was coded 2. a statistically significant correlation at p < .05. cramer’s v ranges in value from -1 to +1. values near 0 indicate a very weak relationship, and values near 1 indicate a very strong relationship. cramer’s v = .10 (small effect size); cramer’s v = .30 (medium effect size); cramer’s v = .50 (large effect size) (green, salkind, & akey, 1997). as a follow up, participants were asked an open-ended question to indicate if they had received any type of informal training on climate change and their sources of information. their responses included doing their own reading (books, research papers), through the media (news broadcasts, mainstream media, watching youtube videos), by virtue of their profession, and a few noted that climate change was touched upon in other workshops/presentations they had attended, although it was not the focus. a few participants explained that they had learned more about “extreme” or “severe” weather, which helped them support their farmer stakeholders. one participant noted: “no training but understanding that many farmers are frustrated by drought and are looking for help to mitigate losses despite their belief or nonbelief in climate change,” which led them to seek for more information to help address the farmer’s concerns. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 wilson & mukembo advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 34 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study offers insights into how extension professionals serving missouri perceive climate change and how they approach communications with their stakeholders on climate issues. following previous studies conducted elsewhere in the u.s., there was a significant relationship between conservative-learning ideology and disbelief that climate change is occurring (cook et al., 2016; egan & mullin, 2017; liu et al., 2014; ruth & colclasure, 2023; tyson et al., 2023; wiest et al., 2015). that said, in a state that leans largely conservative, the majority of respondents fell into segments of cautious, concerned, and alarmed (over 75% of all participants). with the exception of ideological leanings, other demographic factors were not statistically significantly related to perceptions on climate change. this study unveiled how extension professionals frame conversations about climate and weather variability with their stakeholders. participants made clear how they are intentional about what terms and phrases to use or avoid when trying to reach a producer, and not get shut down, as other studies have found (arbuckle et al., 2014; mase, 2014). language that they considered “political” was pointedly avoided, and several participants felt the term “climate change” itself fell into this category, whether or not they believed in climate change. understanding how these communication professionals approach these conversations has implications for how we as a broader scientific community talk about climate change. previous ways that scientists and others have communicated about climate change has put us in this place where the word itself is perceived as politically taboo. rather than presenting “just the facts,” climate scientists should engage with extension professionals to better understand what is happening in the field and how they can improve their communication approaches (filho, 2009; moser, 2010). an overwhelming majority of participants in our study had never received any formal training on climate change. moreover, more participants who had not received formal education on how to communicate with stakeholders indicated that they needed additional information to form an opinion about climate change. this finding indicates that a need exists to provide formal training opportunities to enable extensional resource professionals to form an opinion, promote climate literacy and empower them to communicate with stakeholders about issues relating to climate change. this leads to the issue of how to conduct trainings and raise climate literacy. several indicated interest in having more resources and training opportunities. clearly, there is need to create forums to discuss and educate people about climate change, but they should be participatory forums for two-way conversations between climate experts and extension professionals. this process of co-education is essential to improve climate literacy and help develop the and right terminologies to use when addressing the stakeholders to improve trust between the scientific community and those who translate science to the public. to make this a more participatory process, extension professionals should have training to develop facilitation skills in discussing controversial topics (corp & darnell, 2002). unlike previous research, we included two types of extension resource providers: cooperative extension and private land conservationists from a state agency. each of these groups’ role is https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 wilson & mukembo advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 35 to work closely with farmers and landowners and are important connectors of research and how land is managed. while the land grant’s cooperative extension provides a valuable service, we are long past a time when they are the only professionals providing advisory services to producers and landowners. these groups fell similarly along the 6 americas segments, with no significant differences in perceptions on climate change. future research would need to recruit private agronomists, a group that also plays an important role in advising producers’ decisionmaking. there is also a need to explore perceptions of producers and landowners on climate change to assess how the views of extension professionals about their stakeholders aligns with the reality. acknowledgements we would like to acknowledge the support of missouri department of conservation, university of missouri’s cooperative extension, and lincoln university’s cooperative extension. thank you for the fine work you do on the ground supporting farmers and landowners each day. author contributions: k. r. 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(2022). response rates of online surveys in published research: a meta-analysis. computers in human behavior reports, 7, 100206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2022.100206 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.377 https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.41 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.12.006 https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547015581927 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2022.100206 advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. kayla n. marsh, graduate teaching and research associate, oklahoma state university, 458 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, kayla.marsh@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3574-1936 2. christopher j. eck, assistant professor of agricultural education, oklahoma state university, 457 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, chris.eck@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-3632 3. k. d. layfield, associate professor of agricultural education, clemson university, 246 mcadams hall, clemson, sc 29634, dlayfie@clemson.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1487-6922 4. joseph l. donaldson, associate professor and extension specialist of agricultural education and extension, north carolina state university, 2601 stinson drive, campus box 7607, raleigh, nc 27695, joseph_donaldson@ncsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9276-3747 117 identifying school-based agricultural education teacher needs and support gaps k. n. marsh 1, c. j. eck. 2, k. d. layfield 3, j. l. donaldson 4 article history received: may 25, 2023 accepted: august 9, 2023 published: august 22, 2023 keywords the conceptual model of support for school-based agricultural education teachers; purposeful professional development; human lens abstract the school-based agricultural education (sbae) teacher attrition crisis dates back to the passing of the smith-hughes act in 1917. for the past three decades, researchers have studied this phenomenon to better understand the needs of sbae teachers in order to increase retention as well as improve work-life balance. while several needs are recurring, current efforts are not resulting in actionable change for sbae teachers. to gain perspectives on the problem, an expert panel of sbae supporters were invited to participate in a delphi in florida, georgia, and south carolina, focused on the perceived needs of sbae teachers. the conceptual model of support for sbae teachers was introduced as a potential lens to meet the human needs of sbae teachers. the delphi resulted in 42 items being identified as areas of need for 21st century sbae teachers. all align with the historical needs of sbae teachers and demonstrate gaps in support in the areas of wellness, resources, worklife balance, relationships, and the need for purposeful professional development. further research is recommended to evaluate the identified needs. mailto:kayla.marsh@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3574-1936 mailto:chris.eck@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-3632 mailto:dlayfie@clemson.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1487-6922 mailto:joseph_donaldson@ncsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9276-3747 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 118 introduction and problem statement school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers are tasked with varied responsibilities in and out of the classroom while attempting to establish work-life balance (terry & briers, 2010). unfortunately, sbae teachers still have gaps in their abilities, complicating the work-life balance and stress that teachers face as they navigate purposeful professional development to further their human capital development (eck et al., 2019; shoulders et al., 2021). a historical review spanning three decades of sbae teacher needs assessments depicts that several needs are recurring, including general administrative tasks, public relations for the program, student behavior management, computer technology, ffa program management, and supervised agricultural experience (sae) development (dibenedetto et al., 2018). while work-life balance and teacher stress have been heavily researched in recent decades, solutions for meeting sbae teacher needs and improving job satisfaction are not fully realized (dibenedetto et al., 2018; doss et al., 2022). therefore, identifying teachers' needs on a human level is essential to support sbae teachers further and potentially offset the ongoing teacher attrition concerns (eck & edwards, 2019). this task is elusive because a “one size fits all” approach to professional learning is ineffective in meeting the needs of all sbae teachers (klassen & chiu, 2010). king et al. (2013) recommended that teacher need research results in purposeful professional development opportunities for teachers. teachers serve as the single most important factor in student success (chetty et al., 2014); without effective sbae teachers the future of an agriculturally literate society and agricultural workforce could be in jeopardy. therefore, the perceptions of sbae supporters providing professional development are instrumental in identifying needs and support gaps—recognizing that each may be limited by the phenomenon witnessed within their roles. theoretical and conceptual framework to evaluate the perceived needs of sbae teachers, maslow’s hierarchy of needs from the theory of human motivation (1943) was operationalized. specifically, maslow’s hierarchy for teacher needs (fisher & royster, 2016) retained the original hierarchy but aligned titles to better represent the needs of the k-12 education discipline. the personal growth needed to ascend within maslow’s hierarchy of teachers (2016) would require the development of essential skills, resources, social networks, and knowledge. this development of personal and professional traits is known as human capital, and the developmental needs will differ based on the career field, education, and previous experiences of the individual (heckman, 2000; schultz, 1971; smith, 2010). maslow’s hierarchy for teacher needs (fisher & royster, 2016) was overlayed on the three-component model of agricultural education (ffa, n.d.), which demonstrates the human capital teachers need to successfully facilitate 21st century sbae programs providing career experiences, leadership development, and student-centered learning in agricultural content (eck et al., 2019; ffa, 2022; smylie, 1996). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 119 to illustrate the development of career-specific human capital skills, training, experience, and education for effective sbae teachers to manage a complete 21st century sbae program, the effective teaching model for sbae teachers (eck et al., 2019) was utilized to represent the individuals’ career-specific growth toward effective teaching. as sbae teachers develop their career-specific skills, they ascend to higher levels within maslow’s hierarchy for teachers (fisher & royster, 2016). a conceptual model was established (see figure 1) to serve as a frame to assess sbae teachers’ needs. figure 1 conceptual model of support for school-based agricultural education teachers the conceptual model of support for school-based agricultural education teachers utilizes the three-component model for agricultural education (ffa, 2022) as the base of the pyramid due to the interdependency of the classroom, ffa, and sae components and the number of overlapping roles of sbae teachers. human capital development takes place in each of the classroom, ffa, and sae components (depicted as dashed line with arrows in figure 1) based on the needs of the individual sbae teacher, considering their teaching effectiveness as well as their personal and professional characteristics (eck et al., 2019). as sbae teachers develop their human capital in each of the components (i.e., classroom, ffa, sae), they ascend to higher levels of maslow’s hierarchy for teachers (fisher & royster, 2016), which further develops career-specific human capital and reduces the challenges contributing to sbae teacher attrition (doss et al., 2022; eck et al., 2019; fisher & royster, 2016; ffa, n.d.). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 120 purpose this study aimed to determine the current needs of sbae teachers and the supports in place. thus, three research questions guided this study to determine the perceived needs of sbae teachers in florida, georgia, and south carolina: (a) what are the needs of in-service sbae teachers as perceived by expert sbae teacher supporters? (b) what are the current support structures available to in-service sbae teachers according to expert sbae teacher supporters? (c) what categories within the conceptual model of support for school-based agricultural education teachers do the identified needs align? methods this delphi study aimed to reach a census population (privitera, 2020) of expert sbae teacher supporters (n = 71) in three southeastern states (i.e., florida, georgia, and south carolina). the three states were selected based on their geographical location and similarities within sbae (i.e., middle and high school sbae programs, state teacher’s associations, state ffa organization/leadership, and sbae teacher preparation faculty). the panel of experts included post-secondary agricultural education faculty, state and regional ffa support staff (i.e., recruitment and retention specialists, agricultural education curriculum specialists), state and district cte supervisors, and state department of education representatives for agricultural education. since their professional roles revolve around the preparation and support of sbae teachers, they were deemed experts, which is essential to ensure the success of the delphi approach (dalkey, 1969). additionally, the teacher supporters were deemed experts due to their holistic skill set developed over multiple years within the profession (benner, 1982). an initial personalized email followed by three contact points were used to invite experts to participate in all three rounds of the delphi (dillman et al., 2014). the delphi method (dalkey et al., 1972) was implemented to determine the needs of in-service sbae teachers and identify the current support structures available. a delphi that has more than 13 respondents per round has a reliability of .80, making it essential to reduce attrition to maintain research integrity (dalkey, 1969). qualtrics was utilized for survey instrument delivery and data collection for all three rounds, and the instruments were developed to be accessible for computer or mobile devices per the recommendations of dillman et al. (2014). round one consisted of two open-ended questions being distributed to the expert panel: (a)what do you perceive the current needs of school-based agricultural education teachers to be considering their role within a complete program (i.e., classroom/laboratory instruction, ffa advisement, and sae supervision)? and (b) what support systems are currently in place to help meet those identified needs? the goal of round one was to gain the perspective of the expert sbae supports on sbae teacher needs and supports. specifically, question one aligned with research question one and the second question aligned with the second research question of the study. the unique responses from round one were analyzed utilizing the constant comparative method (creswell & poth, 2018), https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 121 condensing duplicative and redundant statements, which were then redistributed to the panelists in round two. this method allowed the researcher to use the panelists’ voices from the open-ended responses to develop a list of items for round two. items distributed in round two were ranked on a 4-point likert-type scale of agreement: strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (4). an a priori consensus rating of 100% agreement by the panel of experts to meet consensus in round two was established. items not meeting consensus in round two were redistributed in round three, which sought to achieve consensus for any remaining items, utilizing a dichotomous scale of agreement (i.e., agree or disagree), with consensus considered at an 85% agreement level. additionally, experts were asked to provide rationale or clarifications for any items that they did not agree with (hsu & sanford, 2007) in round three. any items not reaching the 85% level of agreement were removed from the final list of items (custer et al., 1999). to address the third research question, the identified needs meeting consensus were further analyzed using axial coding as a second cycle coding method, aligning items with preexisting categories (saldaña, 2021) of subsistence, security, association, respect, and self-actualization from maslow’s hierarchy for teacher needs (fisher & royster, 2016). findings round one was designed to compile a comprehensive list of concerns currently facing sbae teachers in florida, georgia, and south carolina. the first open-ended response question was implemented asking experts, what do you perceive the current needs of school-based agricultural education teachers to be, considering their role within a complete program (i.e., classroom/laboratory instruction, ffa advisement, and sae supervision)? round one resulted in 80 statements from the 13 experts. responses varied from single words, such as “respect” and “support” to detailed statements including “training on ffa integration within a complete program,” “skills and techniques for working with students with special needs,” and “relevant evaluations that reflect their complete program.” the 80 statements were evaluated by the research team using the constant comparative method, condensing statements that were deemed to have the same meaning as another, resulting in 44 statements. those 44 statements were sent out in round two to the expert panel who rated each item on a four-point scale of agreement (i.e., 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = agree; 4 = strongly agree). for a statement to achieve consensus in round two, an a priori rating of 100% agreement amongst the experts was implemented. considering this method requires all the experts to agree or strongly agree with an item, the researchers were confident in retaining items meeting this criterion. twenty-nine items were strongly agreed upon by the expert panel as they achieved 100% agreement (see table 1). table 1 outlines the results of round two, identifying the percentage of agreement for each item. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 122 table 1 round two: level of agreement for perceptions of sbae teacher needs (n = 13) identified need % agreement purposeful professional development 100 sae support 100 support for teacher mental health 100 access to essential resources 100 community support 100 parent support 100 support from local school administration 100 classroom/laboratory support 100 ffa support 100 emotional health support 100 their planning period (i.e., not being required to cover other classes/duties during this time) 100 respect 100 relevant evaluations that reflect their complete program 100 work-life balance 100 classroom management skills 100 support to identify student mental health issues 100 skills and techniques for working with students with special needs 100 accessibility training 100 resources on ffa integration within a complete program (i.e., program of activities, national chapter award, proficiency awards) 100 state level support 100 curriculum resources 100 support for hybrid teaching (i.e., in-person, virtual, simultaneous) 100 agricultural content knowledge 100 training of "sae for all" implementation 100 pedagogical content knowledge 100 laboratory management training 100 support in providing equal opportunities to all students 100 training to implement a variety of formative evaluation techniques 100 resources to integrate experiential learning opportunities for students 100 support to aligning lab facilities to program curricula 92.3 laboratory safety resources 92.3 diversity, equity, and inclusion (dei) training 92.3 resources to recruit traditional and non-traditional ag students 92.3 clear and consistent protocols for handling covid-19 cases 92.3 greenhouse management skills 92.3 agricultural mechanics skills 92.3 training on effective online delivery techniques 92.3 resources to provide chapter level activities 92.3 resources to help students overcome various levels of public speaking anxiety 92.3 tools to address student mental health issues 84.6 lesson planning training 84.6 resources for awarding and recognizing saes 84.6 assistance/resource to develop ffa officer teams 76.9 assistance/resources for training ffa teams 76.9 note. 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = agree; 4 = strongly agree; a = items marked as either a 3 or a 4. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 123 based on the responses from round two, 15 of the 44 statements failed to reach 100% consensus, resulting in those statements being resubmitted to the experts for review in round three. in round three, experts were asked to agree or disagree with each statement; if they disagreed, they were prompted to provide the rationale as to why they disagreed. for a statement to be retained in round three, an 85% a priori level of agreement amongst the experts was set as the threshold. table 2 provides the statements for which the experts were asked to agree or disagree with. table 2 round three: level of agreement for perceptions of sbae teacher needs (n = 14) identified need agree disagree % agreement tools to address student mental health issues 14 0 100 resources to recruit traditional and nontraditional ag students 14 0 100 support to aligning lab facilities to program curricula 13 1 92.8 diversity, equity, and inclusion (dei) training 13 1 92.8 laboratory safety resources 12 2 85.7 greenhouse management skills 12 2 85.7 agricultural mechanics skills 12 2 85.7 training on effective online delivery techniques 12 2 85.7 lesson planning training 12 2 85.7 resources for awarding and recognizing saes 12 2 85.7 resources to help students overcome various levels of public speaking anxiety 12 2 85.7 assistance/resource to develop ffa officer teams 12 2 85.7 assistance/resources for training ffa teams 12 2 85.7 clear and consistent protocols for handling covid-19 cases 11 3 78.6 resources to provide chapter level activities 11 3 78.6 note. an a priori of 85% was set by the researchers to retain the characteristics. the top seven items all had an 85.7 percent agreement, meaning that the expert panel strongly agreed with the items. these strongly agreed upon items represented sbae teachers' needs for support from the community and parents as well as support for sae, mental health, and resources. the highest ranked item was the need for purposeful professional development. in contrast, the two items that did not meet consensus with a 78.6 percent agreement and represent the needs that the expert panel believe to be already available resources or outside of their potential scope to assist with. the rationale provided by the expert panel for why items that did not meet consensus included “should be taught in teacher preparation” and “these are resources already out there.” additional justification concluded that “schools can provide that support for all teachers,” explaining the best protocols for handling covid-19 as each district’s pandemic policies and “not all sbae teachers need these skills.” https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 124 the second research question aimed to develop a list of current supports in place to meet current sbae teacher needs from the expert panel. in round one the second open-ended response question asked the expert panel: what support systems are currently in place to help meet those identified needs? resulting in 12 responses with statements sharing the sentiment of: “very few,” “not many on a state level,” “none, that i am aware of any,” “professional development,” and “i can’t think of any” to detailed statements of: “this varies state by state. some of those do exist in our state. perkins funds are available at our university to help teachers with some of these issues…” and “there are pd opportunities in my state for the classroom & ffa needs, but probably not at a scale that reaches everyone. also, there are resources online for sae for all, but that could be expanded significantly.” all of the statements demonstrate that gaps in teacher needs and support exist. research question three sought to categorize the identified needs of sbae teachers based on the hierarchy of needs adopted in the conceptual model of support, with 26 needs aligning with the base of the hierarchy level of subsistence, 10 needs aligned at the level of security, and six at the level of association (see table 3). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 125 table 3 categorization of identified school-based agricultural education teachers (sbae) needs categories identified need subsistence access to essential resources accessibility training agricultural content knowledge agricultural mechanics skills classroom/laboratory support classroom management skills curriculum resources diversity, equity, and inclusion (dei) training emotional health support greenhouse management skills laboratory management training laboratory safety resources lesson planning training pedagogical content knowledge purposeful professional development sae support skills and techniques for working with students with special needs support for hybrid teaching (i.e., in-person, virtual, simultaneous) support for teacher mental health support to aligning lab facilities to program curricula support to identify student mental health issues training of "sae for all" implementation training on effective online delivery techniques training to implement a variety of formative evaluation techniques tools to address student mental health issues work-life balance security assistance/resources for training ffa teams assistance/resource to develop ffa officer teams relevant evaluations that reflect their complete program resources for awarding and recognizing saes resources on ffa integration within a complete program (i.e., program of activities, national chapter award, proficiency awards) resources to help students overcome various levels of public speaking anxiety resources to integrate experiential learning opportunities for students resources to recruit traditional and non-traditional ag students support in providing equal opportunities to all students their planning period (i.e., not being required to cover other classes/duties during this time) association community support ffa support parent support respect state level support support from local school administration note. identified needs are represented in the table at the lowest potential level of the hierarchy. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 126 twenty-six items aligning with subsistence at the base level of the hierarchy (see table 3), demonstrate the need for additional technical skills and training opportunities for all career phases to improve sbae teachers' ability to sustain their career tenure across a complete sbae program. sbae teachers' human needs were represented in 14 of the 42 items identified by the expert panel aligning with subsistence and security, including support for teacher mental health, work-life balance, and emotional health support, suggesting that an individual’s wellness is an essential need. six of the 42 identified items represent relationships and networks of support aligning with association in the hierarchy with identified items of school administrative support, parent support, and community support, illustrating the gap that exists with program communities and stakeholders. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the 42 items identified as needs demonstrate the current support gaps that exist for sbae teachers. the items align with the conceptual model of sbae teacher support, developed to identify gaps in sbae teacher needs and supported previous research focusing on careerspecific human capital development, human needs, relationships, and communities (dibenedetto et al., 2018; doss et al., 2022; eck et al., 2019). all 42 identified needs are found in the literature but call to question: why are these needs recurring if they are essential human capital needs of sbae teachers? could it be that previous work has not considered the human lens in which teacher support should be grounded? moreover, perhaps more critically, how do we change the way we approach these humanistic needs to create impactful change to reduce attrition and support sbae teachers across the profession? considering the 42 items identified within this study as critical human needs of sbae teachers and providing the development and support needed could help improve the most pivotal component of student success, the teacher (chetty et al., 2014). sbae teachers’ career-specific human capital needs are reflected in the 26 subsistence items identified as needs for sustaining and supporting sbae teachers in their daily practice, helping to provide the ability to survive within the profession (dibenedetto et al., 2018; doss et al., 2022; eck et al., 2019; 2021; fisher & royster, 2016; traini et al., 2021; yopp et al., 2020). until we can address the subsistence needs that are limiting teachers' ability to survive within the profession, teachers cannot ascend to higher levels within the hierarchy of support (see figure 1), i.e., security and association (fisher & royster, 2016). sbae teacher survival within the profession is further demonstrated by the number of identified items related to mental, physical, and emotional wellness for teachers. suggesting that resources for improving teachers’ well-being is a critical need that must be addressed before other human capital skills can be developed to effectively support teachers in their practice. sbae teacher's human needs were represented in 14 items identified aligning with subsistence and security from table 3, suggesting that an individual’s wellness is an essential need to maintain 21st century programs (fisher & royster, 2016; shoulders et al., 2021; sorensen et al., 2016). six identified items represent relationships aligning with association in the hierarchy, illustrating the importance of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 127 connecting with stakeholders to meet students' needs (doss et al., 2022; fisher & royster, 2016; sorensen et al., 2016). while resources are available, none were mentioned by the sbae teacher supporter as effective in providing the support currently needed (doss et al., 2021; king et al., 2013), as current support structures either lacked the necessary depth or did not exist. purposeful professional development and sae for all supports were specifically mentioned by the panel of experts, but there is no mention of support for the 23 other items that are currently found at the level of subsistence, as the experts did not identify themselves as a support structure to bridge the gap for sbae teachers. this lack of support causes a serve disconnect between the supporters and the teachers themselves. could this disconnect influence teacher attrition as sbae teachers long for a professional community (fisher & royster, 2016; shoulders et al., 2021)? if these expert supporters are not supporting sbae teachers, then who is? gaps currently exist and add to the stress, struggle, and overwhelming nature of the sbae profession, the depths of which are unknown. perhaps by addressing these gaps, we could create proactive change in sbae teacher work-life balance and reduce the current attrition rate within the profession (doss et al., 2021; shoulders et al., 2021; sorensen et al., 2016). based on the items found through the delphi process, sbae teachers have support gaps that need to be addressed from a more human lens to truly create proactive support instead of being reactive to teachers' human needs and attrition from the profession. expert sbae teacher supporters at a state level should review the identified needs in relation to teachers' human capital and human needs within their state. state cte faculty and staff should provide support for content rigor and relevance, increasing administrative support and justifying the respect and value of sbae programs. state ffa staff are recommended to aid and structure the development of ffa and sae activities on state-by-state bases that are inclusive and meet the needs of all students in sbae. state agricultural education teacher preparation faculty should consider the depth of current needs of sbae teachers practicing within the state by focusing on identified items representing the subsistent level, ultimately impacting teachers' survival. professional development alone cannot meet sbae teachers' mental, physical, and emotional wellness needs. facilitating and developing curriculum, pedagogical, and technical resources are essential for the future success of sbae teachers. in addition to providing purposeful professional development opportunities that increase sbae teachers' needed human capital, human wellness, relationships, and networks between expert supporters and sbae teachers should be considered. future research should aim to validate the conceptual model presented in this study to address support gaps and develop resources and purposeful professional development opportunities that will increase teachers’ human capital within the profession. qualitative research should investigate the areas and depth of sbae teacher needs. since this study was limited to three southeastern states (i.e., florida, georgia, and south carolina), the 42 items established in this study should be considered nationally to determine gaps and differences that potentially are regionally limiting. additionally, professional development should be investigated to help https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 128 identify potential causes of ongoing sbae teachers' needs. furthermore, this study should be replicated as the potential exists that the political and educational climate, along with the postpandemic mindset, played a role in the needs identified and connections to support made by sbae teacher supporters because of the timing of this study. acknowledgements k. n. marsh – conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, writing – original draft, writing – review and editing; c.j. eck – conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, writing – review and editing; d.k. layfield – validation, writing – review and editing, visualization; j. l. donaldson – validation, writing – review and editing. references benner, p. 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(2020). technical in-service needs of agriculture teachers in georgia by career pathway. journal of agricultural education, 61(2), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.02001 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2021.04064 http://doi.org/10.1086/655467 http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x025009009 http://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2016.04146 https://www.ffa.org/agricultural-education/ http://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.04175 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.02001 advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. john diaz, associate professor and extension specialist, university of florida, 1200 n. park rd, plant city, fl 33563, john.diaz@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-8759 2. laura warner, associate professor and extension specialist, university of florida, 407 rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611, lsanagorski@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2784-6666 3. lara vargas, student, university of florida, 2708 sw archer rd, gainesville, fl 32608, lvargasalvarez@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5502-1842 4. isabel taboada, student, university of florida, 2708 sw archer rd, gainesville, fl 32608, isabeltaboada@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/009-0008-2554-3163 5. cody gusto, post-doctoral scholar, university of florida, 1200 n. park rd, plant city, fl 33563, cgusto@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0008-0533 6. adriana abreu, student, university of florida, 2708 sw archer rd, gainesville, fl 32608, adriana.abreu@surgery.ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8258-1032 7. kati lawson, county extension director and 4-h agent, university of florida, 4509 george blvd sebring, fl 33875, kmcwaters@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6271-8120 8. norman beatty, assistant professor, university of florida, 1600 sw archer road, d2-39 gainesville, fl 32608, norman.beatty@medicine.ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3032-5741 158 achieving farmworker health equity in colombia: a participatory approach to identifying needs and strategies j. diaz1, l. warner2, l. vargas3, i. taboada4, c. gusto5, a. abreu6, k. lawson7, n. beatty8 article history received: may 2, 2023 accepted: august 21, 2023 published: september 12, 2023 keywords delphi technique; health care access; quality of health care; communitybased participatory action research; health disparities abstract farmworkers, who are essential to the global food supply chain, are often exposed to a range of occupational hazards that can have negative impacts on their health. hazards include exposure to pesticides, long working hours, and physical strain, among others. unfortunately, farmworkers, particularly those in lowand middle-income countries, often lack access to basic healthcare services and face numerous health inequities. colombia is no exception. the country's agricultural sector is an important part of its economy, but farmworkers in colombia face significant health challenges. many work long hours in difficult conditions and lack access to basic healthcare services. to address such challenges, there is a need for greater awareness and action targeting global farmworker health inequities, specifically in colombia. the study’s purpose was to reach consensus among community health workers who serve farmworkers in colombia on the most pervasive barriers to healthcare access and quality of care, as well as on effective strategies linked to those barriers. using the delphi technique, seven barriers and five strategies achieved consensus. the results provide insights for key stakeholders such as extension educators to consider in the development of policy and practice intended to overcome relevant barriers and advance health equity among farmworkers. mailto:john.diaz@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-8759 mailto:lsanagorski@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2784-6666 mailto:lvargasalvarez@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5502-1842 mailto:isabeltaboada@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/009-0008-2554-3163 mailto:cgusto@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0008-0533 mailto:adriana.abreu@surgery.ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8258-1032 mailto:kmcwaters@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6271-8120 mailto:norman.beatty@medicine.ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3032-5741 diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 159 introduction and problem statement farmworkers represent an especially vulnerable population that often experience considerable health inequities due to poor working conditions, low wages, and limited access to healthcare (arcury et al., 2018; arcury et al., 2019; castillo et al.., 2021; el khayat et al.., 2022; molinaguzmán & ríos-osorio, 2020). these inequities are particularly prevalent among farmworkers in latin america (el khayat et al.., 2022; lópez & valdés, 2000; mejía-mejía et al.., 2007). colombia specifically represents a troubling case as it has a high percentage of rural populations engaged in agriculture, which makes the issue of farmworker health a major public health concern (lopez & valdez, 2000; mejia-mejia et al., 2007; ministerio de salud y protección social, 2021). farmworkers in colombia often experience limited access to healthcare due to their remote locations, geographic isolation, lack of transportation, limited financial resources, lack of education and knowledge about health risks and preventive measures, discrimination, language barriers, and economic disadvantage (castillo et al., 2021; lopez & valdez, 2000; mejia-mejia et al., 2007; ministerio de salud y protección social, 2021). efforts have been made to address the critical issue of health inequities among farmworkers in antioquia, the sixth largest department of colombia, such as the provision of free healthcare services and the development of educational campaigns to raise awareness about health risks and preventive measures (ministerio de salud y protección social, 2021; quartucci, 2022). unfortunately, farmworkers in antioquia also have limited access to these health education and prevention programs that can help improve their health outcomes. there is an opportunity for extension educators in colombia to assist in overcoming these challenges by creating community-based approaches to identifying farmworker health needs and culturally responsive strategies (burton et al., 2021). theoretical and conceptual framework the cooperative extension health equity framework (cehef) is a comprehensive approach to addressing health disparities in underserved communities (e.g., farmworkers; burton et al., 2021). health equity refers to the absence of avoidable and unfair differences in health outcomes among individuals or groups due to social, economic, and environmental factors (office of health equity, 2023). cehef is a guide developed by the cooperative extension system (ces) to help extension professionals understand and address health equity issues in their work. the framework is based on a social determinants of health (sdoh) approach that acknowledges the role of social, economic, and environmental factors in shaping health outcomes. sdoh are defined as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age” (world health organization, 2021, p. 2). the national academies of sciences, engineering, and medicine (2017) cite nine sdoh that fundamentally influence health outcomes at the community level including education, income and wealth, employment, health systems and services, housing, the physical environment, transportation, the social environment, and public safety. for example, poverty is a significant social determinant of health among farmworkers, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 160 with many living below the poverty line. according to a study by villarejo et al. (2012), 62% of farmworkers surveyed had an annual income below the poverty line, and 72% of workers did not have health insurance. this lack of financial resources can result in limited access to healthcare services, inadequate nutrition, and inadequate housing conditions, which have significant implications for farmworker health and well-being. by leveraging the sdoh model, the cehef fundamentally recognizes that addressing health disparities requires a multi-level, multi-sector approach to effectively addresses these underlying factors. the cehef identifies three key overarching strategies for achieving this: (a) understanding the community context, (b) identifying and addressing disparities, and (c) building capacity for change (burton et al., 2021). the framework further advances six targeted key strategies that can be implemented at the individual, community, and policy levels. the six strategies include: (a) building community capacity, (b) promoting healthy behaviors and environments, (c) improving access to care, (d) addressing sdoh, (e) building partnerships and coalitions, and (f) using data and evaluation to guide action (burton et al., 2021). the cehef emphasizes the need for community engagement and collaboration between different stakeholders to identify and address sdoh that contribute to health disparities. this requires an understanding of the unique needs and challenges faced by underserved communities, as well as a commitment to cultural sensitivity and equity (burton et al., 2021). one strategy for integrating and delivering a cehef into a community is to use a communitybased participatory research (cbpr) approach. cbpr is a collaborative approach to research that involves community members as equal partners in the research process (wallerstein et al., 2017). this approach recognizes the importance of community knowledge and expertise in identifying and addressing health disparities. it also helps to empower and engage communities in the policy development process that is important for achieving changes to policies, systems, and environments to advance farmworker health equity. purpose the purpose of this study was to identify consensus on the most pervasive barriers and effective strategies to healthcare access and quality of care among farmworkers in antioquia, colombia. to achieve this purpose, the following objectives guided our inquiry: 1. determine primary barriers to health care access and quality of care for farmworkers. 2. determine the most effective strategies to advance health care access and quality of care for farmworkers. this research study was developed to inform collaborative efforts between government agencies and officials in antioquia, university partners, community non-profit organizations that serve farmworkers and community leaders. the results of this study will be used to inform policies and practices that advance farmworker health equity, including insights into the role of extension education. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 161 methods we utilized a modified, two-round delphi technique in this study. a delphi technique involves a series of iterative rounds of anonymous questionnaires or surveys with the goal of identifying consensus among expert panelists in the areas of policy, practice, or organizational decisionmaking in a relatively short period of time (brady, 2015; hasson et al., 2000). while delphi studies can range in rounds, “the essence of good delphi surveys is an iterative process and controlled feedback to generate consensus,” with a “closing criteria in most of the delphi studies include consensus achieved after a prefixed (usually two) rounds” (nasa et al., 2021; p. 120). the study was launched in the fall of 2022 and completed in the spring of 2023, and all verbal and written materials were presented in spanish. the panel for this study included a purposive sample of 16 community health workers (i.e., promotoras) who lived and worked in the poorest areas of antioquia, colombia (i.e., comunas) and who serve farmworker communities. the promotoras were solicited for inclusion not only because of their familiarity with the communities of interest and their associated health care needs, but also because of their own expertise in public health and health care. in many of the cases of the panelists, this familiarity stemmed not only from living in the communities but also from working as farmworkers in these communities. interestingly, more than half of the group not only were farmworkers but were part of a group called “agricologas,” which was a peer-topeer learning group focused on educating and serving the agroecology communities of rural antioquia. the delphi technique was adapted to include the minimum of two rounds, because starting collaborative efforts from a point of consensus was important but the authors understand that the panel members had limited availability because of rough realities of their poor home life and extensive work responsibilities in agricultural production and community health. to accommodate for the respondent reality and allow for more response time, two months were allocated for data collection for each round. antioquia was chosen because it represents one of the most productive agricultural regions in latin america with some of the most prevalent health inequities in colombia. a community-based approach (hacker, 2013) was used to select the panelists, eliciting recommendations from key community leaders and non-profits. as part of the community-based approach, an implementation workgroup that represented a subset of the panel (n = 5) was convened to guide various aspects of the process, including a post-study review and synthesis of findings. data collection and analysis in the first round of the two-round delphi, panellists were invited to provide their perspectives on four open-ended prompts through an online survey. the prompts asked panellists to address the most significant barriers, challenges, and obstacles to quality farmworker health care access, and strategies believed to hold the most promise for improving access to quality health care for farmworkers. prior to data collection, we administered the survey to a group of colombian clientele and extension educators in florida among colombians who provided their feedback related to survey readability and understanding. we used a group of colombians, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 162 specifically, so the pilot would evaluate these tenets based on colombian spanish dialect and cultural norms. to analyze the open-ended responses, we used a three-step thematic analysis process (braun & clark, 2012). first, two of the co-authors extracted the text that related to our research questions from the respondents’ full responses to each of the prompts. next, they grouped similar text together within each of the areas of interest (i.e., barriers and strategies). once the text was organized, the authors provided a new thematic label to the group of items that tied them all together. upon completion, the co-authors that analyzed the data put together a peerdebrief memo and spreadsheet that explained the process and provided the outcomes to the rest of the author team and an external member to elicit feedback. once feedback was collected, it was used to re-analyze data. this process continued until all authors agreed upon the created themes. we utilized the second round to identify the panel’s level of agreement (i.e., consensus) on the extent of the identified barrier and the effectiveness of each identified strategy. for barriers, we asked participants to rate the extent of the barrier using a 4-point scale, (1 = not a barrier; 2 = somewhat a barrier; 3 = moderate barrier; 4= major barrier). following delphi best practices, we utilized an a priori definition of consensus (diamond et al., 2014) specified as 2/3 of the panel selecting “major barrier.” for the strategies, we asked participants to rate the effectiveness of each strategy using a five-point scale (1 = not effective at all; 2 = somewhat effective; 3 = effective; 4 = very effective; 5 = extremely effective). for this scale, we utilized the a priori definition of consensus to be 2/3 of the panel selecting “extremely effective.” there was also an open-ended question at the end of each list asking panellists to input additional barriers or strategies for consideration. we achieved a 100% (n = 16) response rate in round one and an 81% (n = 13) response rate in round two. round two’s response was reduced due to two panellists being unable to complete the survey in the given time and another panellist passing away. even though respondents had two months to complete the round 2 survey, complexities and difficulties in their personal lives prevented their response. findings following the completion of round two, the principal investigator reviewed the results with the implementation workgroup and solicited feedback. each workgroup member received a copy of the results and was asked to provide feedback through a short, facilitated discussion. the principal investigator used four simple prompts to promote reflection, identify any perceived omissions, pinpoint any items that needed to be adapted, and collectively plan the next steps for utilizing the data. the workgroup members all had positive perspectives related to the results and did not identify any omissions or discrepancies. they also identified a set of next steps, which included meeting with the secretary of health in antioquia to discuss the results. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 163 open-ended responses from the first round generated 12 barriers to healthcare access, five barriers to quality of care, six strategies to advance healthcare access, and nine strategies to enhance the quality of care (see table 1). table 1 barriers and strategies themes synthesized from round 1 responses barriers to health care access strategies to improve health care access • insufficient resources for medical emergencies • insufficient financial resources • lack of appropriate communication between medical professionals and patients • lack of medical education in the communities • lack of transportation resources for people with disabilities • lack of trust towards medical professionals • lack medical professionals • lack of digital literacy • lack of medical insurance • limited access to professional advisors to navigate paperwork related to the healthcare system • long distances to be traveled to receive medical attention due to lack of local centers • transportation issues • create local healthcare centers with a permanent medical team • create stable transportation to increase mobility for health purposes and in case of emergencies • education and promotion of preemptive health • have a team of medical specialists go to the rural areas periodically • professional advisor for public resources • telemedicine (virtual resources) barriers to quality of care strategies to improve quality of care • inadequate infrastructure • lack of appropriately trained medical professionals for the farmworker community • limited access to medical specialists • limited access to professionals that can help navigate healthcare system costs • self-diagnostic and self-medication practices • construction of more local healthcare centers • create a medical program that focuses on preemptive care • first aid training for community members (emergency births, minor injury treatments, etc.) • have access to a professional advisor to help navigate the bureaucratic side of healthcare • have healthcare professionals visit the communities so they can plan a more comprehensive medical plan • have routine technical audits in rural medical centers • have the adequate medical resources for emergency treatment • more access to medical specialists to reduce the wait time for appointments • technical and economic support for the development and commercialization of healthy foods data analysis for round two resulted in group consensus for four barriers to health care access, three barriers to quality of care, three strategies for improving health care access, and two strategies for improving quality of care. additionally, no items were added based on the openhttps://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 164 ended prompts by panelists for either barriers or strategies. the items that are bolded in the first columns of tables 2 and 3 exhibited consensus based on our a priori definition of consensus. the items bolded in the second column in both tables did not achieve consensus based on our definition but did exhibit significant agreement (i.e., 2/3 moderate or principal barrier; 2/3 extremely or very effective). we believe that this agreement warrants consideration when evaluating the results of this study. table 2 summary of responses for barriers to health care access and quality of care barrier to access % of panelists identified as a principal barrier % of panelists identified as a moderate or principal barrier long distances to be traveled to receive medical attention due to lack of local centers 79.92 (10) 100 (13) lack medical professionals 79.92 (10) 92.30 (12) insuficient financial resources 69.23 (9) 100 (13) lack of transportation resources for people with disabilities 69.23 (9) 100 (13) lack of medical insurance 53.85 (7) 92.30 (12) insufficient resources for medical emergencies 53.85 (7) 84.62 (11) transportation issues 53.85 (7) 84.62 (11) limited access to professional advisors to navigate paperwork related to the healthcare system 46.15 (6) 76.92 (10) lack of digital literacy 46.15 (6) 69.23 (9) lack of medical education in the communities 23.08 (3) 92.30 (12) lack of appropriate communication between medical professionals and patients 23.08 (3) 46.15 (6) lack of trust towards medical professionals 15.38 (2) 23.08 (3) barrier to quality of care limited access to medical specialists 84.62 (11) 92.30 (12) lack of appropriately trained medical professionals for the farmworker community 76.92 (10) 76.92 (10) inadequate infrastructure 76.92 (10) 92.30 (12) autodiagnostic and automedication practices 61.54 (8) 76.92 (10) limited access to professionals that can help navigate healthcare system costs 30.77 (4) 76.92 (10) https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 165 table 3 summary of responses for strategies to health care access and quality of care strategy to access % of panelists identified as an extremely effective strategy % of panelists identified as an extremely or very effective strategy create stable transportation to increase mobility for health purposes and in case of emergencies 76.92 (10) 92.30 (12) have a team of medical specialists go to the rural areas periodically 76.92 (10) 100 (13) education and promotion of preventative health 69.23 (9) 100 (13) create local healthcare centers with a permanent medical team 53.85 (7) 100 (13) telemedicine (virtual resources) 38.46 (5) 69.23 (9) professional advisor for public resources 23.08 (3) 76.92 (10) strategy to quality of care have healthcare professionals visit the communities so they can plan a more comprehensive medical plan 76.92 (10) 92.31 (12) construction of more local healthcare centers 76.92 (10) 84.62 (11) more access to medical specialists to reduce the wait time for appointments 61.54 (8) 100 (13) first aid training for community members (emergency births, minor injury treatments, etc.) 61.54 (8) 100 (13) have adequate medical resources for emergency treatment 61.54 (8) 100 (13) create a medical program that focuses on preemptive care 53.85 (7) 100 (13) technical and economic support for the development and commercialization of healthy foods 53.85 (7) 100 (13) have access to a professional advisor to help navigate the bureaucratic side of healthcare 7.69 (1) 76.92 (10) have routine technical audits in rural medical centers 23.08 (3) 84.62 (11) https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 166 finally, the five-member implementation workgroup vocalized agreement with the results from round two. additionally, the workgroup identified the opportunity to use virtual resources (i.e., video conferencing) to conduct trainings and educational workshops in the areas to build the capacities of the farmworkers, their community and the community health workers alike. this implementation workgroup felt that this approach served as a meaningful intervention to connect university partners to these communities on a more regular basis to conduct community capacity efforts while policy discussions to construct additional local health centers and develop new health professionals in the area would take some time. they believed that virtual approaches to capacity development would help to alleviate issues of distance and lack of access to educational opportunities for the remote, farmworker communities. barriers the panel agreed upon four barriers to healthcare access for farmworkers, including long distances to receive medical attention, lack of medical professionals in the area, insufficient financial resources, and lack of transportation resources for people with disabilities. when it comes to quality of care, the panel agreed upon three primary barriers to quality of care, including: limited access to medical specialists, lack of trained medical professionals, and inadequate infrastructure. the barriers align with previous literature and the conundrum that is rural health (burton et al., 2021). study results reveal the challenges in providing quality health care for rural communities and the farmworkers in antioquia, colombia are no different. strategies the panel reached consensus on three strategies that would be extremely effective in addressing the barriers to healthcare access, including: creating a stable transportation infrastructure to increase mobility for health purposes and emergencies, a team of medical specialists that go out to rural areas, and education and promotion of preventative health. the panel also agreed upon two strategies that they viewed to be extremely effective for improving the quality of care, including: having healthcare professionals visit the communities so they can plan a more comprehensive medical plan and the construction of more local healthcare centers. both strategies focus on bringing more medical resources into farmworker communities. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study found local health centers can play a critical role in addressing health equity for farmworker communities, serving as a hub for healthcare services, outreach, and education; housing medical professionals; and providing a range of resources that can improve the health and well-being of farmworkers including access to primary care services. local health centers can also serve as a resource for community outreach and engagement, a component which is critical to addressing the health disparities that affect farmworker communities (hhs, 2020). by partnering with community organizations and extension educators, local health centers can help identify and address the unique health needs of farmworker communities. responses to these needs may include providing transportation to medical appointments, conducting https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 167 outreach campaigns to raise awareness about health issues, and working with local employers to improve working conditions. the panelists identified three strategies that could address barriers to healthcare access for farmworkers; creating a stable transportation infrastructure to increase mobility for health purposes and emergencies, a team of medical specialists that go out to rural areas, and education and promotion of preventative health. since transportation and geographic isolation are significant barriers, developing policies to advance new transportation development will help to alleviate existing inadequacies and impediments towards health equity (ministerio de salud y protección social, 2021). providing and promoting education on preventative health was a strategy that panelists agreed could improve healthcare access, which aligns with current approaches in colombia (quartucci, 2022). this avenue represents an opportunity for agricultural extensionists to partner with health extension educators and other health professionals to couple occupational health and safety training with general health screening and education. while the health care and transportation systems continue to evolve, a focus on preventative care will reduce farmworkers’ need to use either. by providing basic health services such as screenings, vaccinations, and preventive care, local health centers can improve health outcomes and reduce disparities among farmworkers by helping farmworkers manage chronic conditions, avoid illnesses, and establish overall health and well-being (hhs, 2020). finally, based on community-based implementation workgroup feedback, there is the opportunity to develop and utilize virtual resources to bolster the reach and impacts of community capacity development efforts as additional centers are constructed. online training have been documented as viable and effective option for reaching rural communities and increasing their access to educational opportunities (burton et al., 2021). this strategy would not be without its own inherent challenges, including the lack of information technology resources like those experienced in rural areas of colombia. the digital divide between urban and rural areas is a well-known problem globally, and colombia is no exception, where only 23% of rural households in colombia have access to the internet, compared to 58% of urban households (oecd, 2022). so, community members, key stakeholders and extension professionals may need to advocate for policy, system and environmental change to increase rural online access. beyond the implementation of the identified strategies to address health inequities for farmworkers, it is important to evaluate their impacts. this task represents an additional role for extension, as they are well-equipped and frequently engaged in such efforts. these evaluation data will help to tailor the existing approaches as they are implemented and inform other cehef-informed extension efforts as stakeholders work toward achieving health equity. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 diaz et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 168 acknowledgements j. diaz conceptualization, methodology, validation, formal analysis, investigation, writingoriginal draft, writing-review & editing, supervision, project administration; l. warner methodology, validation, formal analysis, writing-original draft, writing-review & editing; l. vargas methodology, validation, formal analysis, writing-original draft, writing-review & editing; i. taboada methodology, validation, formal analysis, writing-original draft, writingreview & editing; c. gusto validation, formal analysis, writing-original draft, writing-review & editing; a. abreu validation, formal analysis, writing-original draft, writing-review & editing; k. lawson formal analysis, writing-original draft, writing-review & editing; n. beatty formal analysis, writing-original draft, writing-review & editing. references 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(2022). national urban policy review of colombia. oecd urban studies, oecd publishing., https://doi.org/10.1787/9ca1caae-en quartucci, s. (2022, november 7). colombia launches national preventive health initiative. latina republic. https://latinarepublic.com/2022/11/07/colombia-launches-nationalpreventive-health-initiative/ villarejo, d., mccurdy, s. a., bade, b., samuels, s., lighthall, d., & williams, d. (2012). the health of california's immigrant hired farmworkers. american journal of industrial medicine, 55(5), 387-395. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20796 wallerstein, n., duran, b., oetzel, j. g., & minkler, m. (eds.). (2017). community-based participatory research for health: advancing social and health equity (3rd ed.). josseybass. world health organization. (2021). health equity. https://www.who.int/health-topics/healthequity#tab=tab_1 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.337 https://doi.org/10.1787/9ca1caae-en https://latinarepublic.com/2022/11/07/colombia-launches-national-preventive-health-initiative/ https://latinarepublic.com/2022/11/07/colombia-launches-national-preventive-health-initiative/ https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20796 https://www.who.int/health-topics/health-equity#tab=tab_1 https://www.who.int/health-topics/health-equity#tab=tab_1 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 2, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. monica gorman, associate professor of agricultural extension and innovation, school of agriculture and food science, university college dublin, belfield, dublin 4, ireland, monica.gorman@ucd.ie, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8883-3530 2. jim kinsella, professor of agricultural extension and rural development, school of agriculture and food science, university college dublin, belfield, dublin 4, ireland, jim.kinsella@ucd.ie, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6556-3555 46 embedding research and extension in postgraduate studies: a novel approach to filling the knowledge exchange competency gap in ireland m. gorman1, j. kinsella2 article history received: november 30, 2023 accepted: november 30, 2023 published: january 31, 2024 keywords advisory competencies; knowledge exchange: postgraduate; innovation abstract set against the backdrop of an absence of agricultural extension in the curriculum of agriculture degree programs in ireland between 1990 and 2010, this paper examines the knowledge exchange skills needed by the next generation of farm advisors and presents the case of a practicebased postgraduate program in ireland that seeks to address the competency gap created. it reviews an irish post graduate program that has been designed to equip graduates with the competencies to work effectively in advisory roles. it combines student, graduate, and manager survey results on their experience and assessment of professional development with this program. the evolving role of front-line farm advisors to facilitators of knowledge exchange and innovation is recognised while a range of essential competencies are highlighted. the value of this postgraduate education for early career farm advisors is evidenced through building competencies in a range of areas and gaining a deeper understanding through applied research of the complexities of innovation adoption and the barriers to change for farmers and their families. the paper concludes that greater attention is needed to developing core competencies of farm advisors to build strong relationships of trust and influence with farmer clients. mailto:monica.gorman@ucd.ie https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8883-3530 mailto:jim.kinsella@ucd.ie https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6556-3555 gorman and kinsella advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 47 introduction agricultural extension and education had been largely absent from the curriculum of undergraduate and postgraduate agriculture degree programs in ireland between 1990 and 2010. this was not a situation unique to ireland as one-way technology transfer approaches to agriculture, which placed little attention to understanding farmer decision-making processes, reflected the dominant view of the time (fielke et al., 2018). with an increasing recognition of the importance of a more two-way knowledge exchange approach to support farmer decisionmaking, a postgraduate program in agricultural innovation support was designed and developed to address the competency gap which had emerged amongst the cohort of frontline advisory staff in ireland. the development of this program and its effectiveness in addressing this gap is the subject of this paper. the depth and breadth of knowledge required to farm is considerable and growing more complex; consequently, more attention is being directed by advisory services to the process of innovation and “knowledge exchange” and understanding how to support farmers with knowledge more effectively (department of agriculture food and the marine [dafm], 2020; eu scar, 2019). the challenges and opportunities facing the agriculture and food sectors globally have been well documented and include, inter alia, the rapidly growing global population, the diminishing base of natural resources, climate change, and animal welfare concerns (charlton, 2016; tomlinson, 2013; van der ploeg et al., 2020). agricultural advisory services are expected to play an important role in the transformation process to address these challenges (piñeiro et al., 2020) by performing a set of increasingly diverse functions that go beyond the mere promotion of increasing productivity (blockeel et al., 2023). new functions, such as promoting agro-ecological practices, promoting collective actions, and facilitating innovation processes, are now considered the domain of both public and private agricultural advisory services (blum et al., 2020). birner et al. (2009) highlighted the need for reform of advisory services to better meet the needs of farmers, and this includes building their capacity in an effort to better deliver their knowledge and innovation support requirements. transition towards more sustainable agrofood systems and the emphasis on systemic, multi-actor, and transdisciplinary approaches to innovation has led to an increasing interest about actors being able to facilitate and support innovation processes (proietti & cristiano, 2023). brunori et al. (2013) and eu scar (2012) recognised that a “business as usual” approach of technological and organisational solutions is no longer adequate, and there is a growing need for increased levels of innovation in the agricultural knowledge and innovation system (akis). in supporting decision-making for these changes, farm families who are well linked into networks of knowledge and information are much better able to deal with stresses and to exploit new opportunities (fulton et al., 2003; gorman, 2004). ingram and mills (2019) highlight the importance of the new facilitating role of advisors and the need to offer them training in initiating, fostering, and brokering farmercenterd networks and in facilitating group problem-solving. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 gorman and kinsella advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 48 this paper considers the gap which exists in developing the competencies of front-line farm advisors in supporting knowledge exchange process with clients. it examines the formation and professional development of farm advisors through the case of an irish post graduate program in agricultural innovation support that has been designed to equip graduates with the competencies to work effectively in advisory roles. farm innovation and knowledge exchange european agriculture strives for sustainable intensification or the means of increasing productivity and profitability while coping with challenges such as climate change, environmental management and social concerns around food quality and animal welfare. innovation is considered essential in this quest (sayer & cassman, 2013; vermeulen et al., 2012) as reflected in the public and private sectors attention and resources focused on research and development for innovation in agriculture and the bio-economy (dwyer, 2013; eu scar, 2019). the role of science in relation to innovation is being reconfigured, and there is greater acknowledgement of the multi-player dimensions and the institutional settings that enable learning and innovation to emerge (caraça et al., 2009; leeuwis, 2004). farm innovation is increasingly seen as emerging from the lively interactions of multiple stakeholders rather than the traditional flow of new ideas from research to farmers as end users, and ingram and mills (2019) conclude that best practice is reflected in scenarios in which advisor, scientist, and farmer knowledge are effectively integrated. in the eu several cap instruments such as the eu eip-agri network and the farm advisory system directly foster these knowledge exchange, advisory, and innovation activities (beck et al., 2020). these activities are also prioritised in ireland’s agri-food strategy since 2020 (dafm, 2020), which acknowledges that an effective innovation system and an engaged and responsive knowledge exchange environment are fundamental to achieving innovation in the sector. the models for farmer engagement in the agricultural knowledge and innovation system are changing as the challenges of food security, climate change, and sustainable rural development cause us to question the dominant productivist paradigms (gorman, 2019). the importance of knowledge exchange in supporting innovation in agriculture is emphasised by rose et al. (2019) who conclude that for any concept designed to communicate new management practices to farmers, it would be prudent to consider how projects can be co-designed and make the most of trusted advisor and peer networks. velardia et al. (2021) found that to achieve sustainable agricultural practices with long-term impacts, facilitative knowledge exchange based on equitable partnerships, mutual respect, shared expectations, and shared power were important. however, ingram (2008) revealed that knowledge exchange processes can be challenging as many agronomist–farmer knowledge exchange encounters are characterized by an imbalance of power, distrust, and the divergence of knowledge. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 gorman and kinsella advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 49 evolving farm advisory services there has been a gradual evolution in thinking on agricultural extension from linear models of technology transfer to more participatory models of knowledge exchange (fielke et al., 2018; jones & garforth, 1997; manning, 2013). the traditional role of the farm advisor was that of an instructor, expected to have the answers on how to improve farm profitability but over the years there has been a change in the role of farmers from one of passive learning to more active engagement and knowledge exchange, with the role of the farm advisor shifting to that of a facilitator who is able to support peer to peer learning among farmers and take on the role of knowledge brokerage as well (cristóvão et al., 2012; manning, 2013). the shift to participatory models of agricultural extension or advisory work has been gathering momentum over the past decades (chambers, 1983; knook et al., 2018; leeuwis & aarts, 2011; pretty, 1999) with growing recognition that farmers are not passive recipients of knowledge from research but active agents of their own development. in tempering this shift of emphasis, koutsouris (2012) has cautioned against “over-preoccupation” with participatory techniques and methods and draws attention to the emerging “intermediation” functions within the akis which still has to confront the knowledge gap between the expert and the farmer and recognise the power relationships that shape local knowledge and the articulation of needs. leeuwis and aarts (2011) see the role of the extension agent as the intermediary, not aiming for pre-defined change but facilitating the potential for change in complex, dynamic settings. the core competencies in agricultural extension the core role of farm advisors can be viewed as “the conscious use of communication of information to help people form sound opinions and make good decisions” (van den ban & hawkins, 1996, p.9). while this core role of farm advisors is well accepted, benge et al. (2020) found that many extension professionals enter the field without having the appropriate functional competencies. the core competencies required by early career farm advisors have been identified by harder et al. (2010) in broad groupings around interpersonal communications skills and program management as well as technical expertise for production, farm business management, and environmental conservation. in supporting interactive innovation, lybaert et al. (2021) group the competence requirements for advisors similarly around content competence, methodological competence, and organisational competence, and they also emphasize the importance of commitment to reflection, learning, and personal development. the need for stronger business management advisory support to farmers is argued by phillipson et al. (2004). however, it is prudent to recognize that many extension professionals enter the field without the appropriate functional competencies (benge et al., 2020). millar and curtis (1997) suggested that more emphasis is needed on the processes through which effective learning takes place compared to the content of information packages. the importance of recognising and responding to the dynamics of farm families that have such a bearing on the processes of farm decision-making is highlighted by olsen et al. (2009). the need https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 gorman and kinsella advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 50 for enhanced technical competence especially in relation to integrating environmental issues in advisory services is considered by labarthe (2014) and ingram and morris (2007) who suggest that new policy challenges and opportunities associated with environmental management require a significant enhancement in the advice and support farmers require. leeuwis and aarts (2011) argue that agricultural extension has to reinvent itself as a professional practice as many of the challenges transcend the individual farm household and require new forms of collaboration. today’s extension worker needs to be able to support and facilitate collective learning and decision making, build linkages between diverse stakeholders, and create a context for learning and innovation (cristóvão et al., 2012; klerkx et al., 2012). gorman (2019) in a review of agricultural advisors’ competencies suggests that if agricultural advisors are to be able to influence individuals and groups to engage in innovative responses to farming challenges, then it follows that their training should expand their professional identities in terms of facilitation and reflective listening and encourage a critical questioning of their underlying assumptions. hansen et al (2018) found that the advisor’s relational and professional competence is crucial to achieving satisfied farmer clients. in summary, the competent farm advisor needs to stay up to date on the best technical and practical knowledge of farming, be competent in business and financial management, understand the wider context of agriculture, be able to guide individual farmers and their families towards sound decisions, facilitate peer to peer learning, and identify and build links between key stakeholders. a curriculum for extension education mulder (2012) argues that competence-based education programs have developed to counter the structural disconnect between the world of education and training and the world of work and society. straw et al. (1996) outlined some of the benefits of postgraduate extension training as development of a more professional approach with a marked improvement in core competencies, mental stimulation, lateral thinking, and career enhancement. at the postgraduate level, the challenge in curriculum design is to ensure that students develop the facets of mastersness, i.e. working autonomously, independent research, in-depth analysis, abstraction, professionalism, and being able to work in complex and unpredictable environments (bamber, 2015). the value of experiential learning through work placements has been considered by wilton (2012), including developing graduate employability and giving graduates a head start at the outset of their careers. devitt et al. (2012) discuss how every profession has its concepts and practices, ways of thinking and acting and that these provide the pathway from novice to initiate within a profession. smith (2012) outlined the key dimensions to be considered in workintegrated learning as authenticity; integrated learning supports; alignment of teaching, learning activities, and assessments with integrative learning outcomes; supervisor access; and induction/preparation processes. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 gorman and kinsella advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 51 building competencies: the masters in agricultural innovation support in 2010 in ireland, university college dublin (ucd) and teagasc1 (ireland’s agriculture and food development authority) started a master’s level program in agricultural innovation support (mais) with the stated aim to equip graduates with the skills and knowledge to be effective as front-line farm advisory and agricultural education officers. the program design combined theory with practical learning and action research, with students placed in a real advisory/education work setting. a novel aspect of the mais program is the process through which topics for research are identified each year. the network of teagasc agricultural advisors throughout ireland (approx. 250 staff) are invited at the start of each year to put forward research proposals that they feel can best inform their day-to-day work with the core criterion being that it must be focused on knowledge exchange challenges that they encounter. the initial list of proposals is then assessed and shortlisted as the “hot topics” for mais research in that year. figure 1 illustrates how the program was structured to enable the student to develop their competence for agricultural advisory work and to balance academic work and action research as an integral part of the experiential work-based learning. figure 1 the building blocks of extension competence development 1 teagasc is the public agency with responsibility for agricultural research, advisory services and education in ireland https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 gorman and kinsella advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 52 for the building blocks to result in the desired technical, communications, and project management learning outcomes for the students, certain principles were interwoven into the program. these include autonomy with students encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and competency development (biggs, 2012); active and experiential learning (honey & mumford, 1992; kolb, 1984); as well as dialogue and reflection (newman, 2014). the program curriculum the program design is illustrated in figure 2. students start the program with a semester in the university taking three core modules in 1) agricultural extension and innovation; 2) research methods; and 3) biostatistics. it is possible for students to take additional modules where they are deemed relevant to their particular area of study. figure 2 stages in the masters in agricultural innovation support on interview-based selection, students are matched to research projects that have been identified by teagasc farm advisors reflecting real life issues and challenges in agricultural advisory and education contexts. a university supervisor is assigned to each research project with a teagasc co-supervisor who guides the student to keep the research project focused on the real-life problem or challenge. the program’s three phases covered a 22-month period. the first phase is from september to december of year 1 where the students are university-based and complete modules on agricultural extension, research methods, and statistics. on finishing the first phase they are expected to have successfully completed these modules and developed a research proposal and literature review on their assigned knowledge transfer topic. the second phase is for 15 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 gorman and kinsella advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 53 months (january of year 1 to end of march of year 2), during which time the student is based at a teagasc centre (advisory office or agricultural college) for this period, with at least half of their time allocated to research and the balance to extension and/or education support activities within that teagasc centre such as preparing farm nutrient management plans, supporting farmer discussion groups, and delivering elements of agricultural education programs. phase 3, from april to june of year 2, is dedicated to final writingup and submission of thesis. while based at the teagasc centre in phase 2 the students are managed and mentored in their day-to-day work by the relevant regional manager or agricultural college principal as is the case for all advisory or education staff. there are also roundtable seminars every 3-4 months where all students and supervisors are brought together to discuss and review progress on the research projects. following completion of the program, students are given an opportunity to present their research publicly through presentations and posters at an annual “knowledge transfer” conference jointly hosted by ucd and teagasc. experience of the program to date between 2010 and 2023 there has been an intake of 126 students into the mais program, an average of nine per year and ranging from 4 to 12. the numbers who have graduated with msc degrees is 91 and with phds is four (with two more pending), while eight students withdrew from the program, eight failed to complete, and 13 are still in their 1st or 2nd year in the program. of the 91 graduates of the program to date, 43% are female and 57% male. in order to assess whether this approach is an effective model for developing extension competencies, the program’s progress to date was reviewed using: 1. a survey of the program graduates. a list of 91 graduates was compiled and contact emails were available for 81 of them. the survey yielded a total of 34 responses (42% response rate). these included at least one graduate from every year of the program with five graduates from 2013, 2015, and 2016. 2. a survey of five senior regional managers (four male, one female) in the national farm advisory service who have hosted students on placement and have subsequently had graduates employed in their regions. students and regional managers were asked their views on the importance of different competencies for agricultural extension. these competencies were identified from the literature (harder et al., 2010; leeuwis & aarts, 2011) and from the experience with the program to date. figure 3 below presents and compares the average rating by both groups where a score of three indicates a critical competence for the role, a score of two indicates an important competence while one indicates useful, and zero is not important. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 gorman and kinsella advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 54 figure 3 average rating of importance of different competencies by students (n = 34) and managers (n = 5) both managers and students gave the highest level of importance to technical and communications skills while the managers placed more importance on the technical skills. they attached similar levels of importance to the administration of schemes as to farm financial and business management and the lowest levels of importance to project management competence. this finding affirms the literature with regard to the core role of extension being the ‘use of communications to bring about cognitive changes as triggers for other forms of change by farmers’ (leeuwis, 2004, p.27) there are indications that the program is effective in enabling the students to build these critical competencies. of the 34 graduates who responded to the survey, 17 had started their career in education roles; 11 had started their careers in advisory positions while the others included research, policy, working with government, and agri-business. the earlier graduates gave information on their career moves and career development showing considerable mobility between education and advisory roles. nine graduates who started in education roles have since moved onto advisory roles while three who started as advisors have since moved into education roles. they were asked how important their master’s had been in securing their current roles, and 71% said it had been “very important,”; 21% said it was ”important” while two respondents said it had not been important. the regional managers were asked to compare the mais graduate with other early career graduate advisors in terms of the important competencies, and their responses are shown in table 1 below. 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 communication, facilitation and teaching technical agriculture financial and business management eu & dafm scheme administration project management managers average rating student average rating https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 gorman and kinsella advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 55 table 1 teagasc regional managers ratings of important advisory competencies between mais graduates and other early career graduate advisors (n = 5) competence area stronger the same communication, facilitation, and teaching 4 1 technical agriculture 4 1 financial and business management 0 5 eu & dafm scheme administration 3 2 project management 4 1 this suggests that the key competencies developed by students during the program were in communications, technical agriculture, project management, and scheme administration. one of the managers stated that: it serves as an apprenticeship for advisors and, when successful, gives graduates the opportunity to develop themselves as advisors who can operate and think independently so that they can go straight into the advisor role with confidence and a high degree of autonomy. how effective is the learning from the different components of the program? in terms of their own learning, students were asked to rate their learning from the different components and the three different stages of the program, and the average ratings are shown in table 2 below where 1 = very poor and 5 = excellent. table 2 student rating of their own learning from different phases and components of mais program (1 = very poor; 5 = excellent) phase 1 agricultural extension research methods advanced biostatistics electives preparing research proposal building relationships with classmates average rating 3.90 3.62 2.70 3.37 3.39 4.09 phase 2 advisory office agricultural college conducting research supervision round table seminars average rating 3.73 4.13 3.88 4.16 3.97 phase 3 thesis write up thesis examination & feedback dissemination (kt conference) average rating 3.68 3.62 3.72 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 gorman and kinsella advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 56 in phase 1 of the program, the two most valued modules were agricultural extension and research methods, both providing a solid basis for their research and their entry to the extension profession. the value of the agricultural extension module was noted as “important due to been put into practice for phase 2 (work placement)” and learning “how broad agricultural extension is and the complexities around adoption, innovation, and behavior change, while learning about the different methods available and the pros and cons of each was also useful.” the importance of research methods was critical to “adapting a research mindset with a strong focus on social science compared to the hard science background that we were used to in undergrad.” while the subject biostatistics was less valued, one graduate mentioned that “advanced biostatistics course has been the most useful over time, particularly as i've used varied analytical programs through the course of my employment.” while most of the responses about the first phase were positive, two respondents felt that there had been limited value to phase 1 in ucd in terms of “proper preparation in undertaking a research masters.” the highest average rating in the first phase of the program was given to building relationships with classmates and one third of respondents specifically mentioned how valuable this was leading to support networks that have persisted into their professional lives – “the relationship with my classmates was the most important thing i would say. even to this day we are still in touch.” phase 2 of the program was highly rated in terms of learning by the respondents. most reported an “excellent" experience in their advisory office or agricultural college while a small number (two respondents) were dissatisfied. typical comments about the advisory placements include “placement in agricultural advisory office is very beneficial as you learn the day-to-day tasks of an advisor’s role and also education role. it helps you gain experience in different areas.” for those in education placements “being immersed in the agricultural college so i fully understood the life of an agricultural teacher which was extremely important to my research.” comments from those on advisory and college placements included praise for the overall support they received from the wider staff cohort and appreciation for the range of activities they gained experience with. the process of conducting their research and the supervision and support given were valued for learning, and one respondent commented that phase 2 of the program had provided “so many learnings phase 2 pulled everything together for me. time management, putting learnings from phase 1 into action, working with experienced advisors, research work, working to deadlines, meeting with supervisors.” others spoke of growing independence and autonomy in this period leading to personal and professional growth from “trusting own ability and making decisions.” two respondents were not happy with their supervision but did comment that they had learned from this experience. respondents felt they learned a lot in phase 3 (thesis write-up), and that “it was great to see the fruits of our labour come together at this stage.” many commented on how challenging it was especially in terms of underestimating the time required to complete the writing up, and one commented that “i learned a lot about writing and editing. it made me appreciate just how much work goes into producing a written piece, whether large or small.” for some their key https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 gorman and kinsella advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 57 learning was about making sense of their research and thinking about its relevance with one saying that this phase “challenged me to really think of what the research actually meant beyond simply presenting the stats.” many of them emphasised how important their regular communication with supervisors and receiving feedback was during this period. almost all the students had also presented their research findings at the annual ucd/teagasc annual knowledge transfer conference, and this was a valued experience for most respondents in terms of “developing my presentation skills and being able to communicate my research to academic and non-academic audiences” while another commented that “presenting at the kt conference built up confidence and promoted my research and my profile.” discussion farmers’ engagement with the akis is changing as global issues of food security, climate change and sustainable development challenge the existing productivist paradigms (gorman, 2019), and there is a shift in understanding as to what constitutes “good” extension and education practice to support agricultural innovation —from one-way models to exchange models and increasingly towards models of co-creation and interactive innovation (fielke et al., 2018). there is also increasing recognition that many extension professionals are entering the field without appropriate functional competencies (benge et al., 2020). lybaert et al. (2021) suggest that alongside the basic disposition and attitude required in an advisor, they also require content competence, methodological competence, organisational competence, and a commitment to reflection, learning and personal development. however, as we consider the challenge of building these competencies, lybaert et al (2021) asks whether we need to focus on the competence development of individuals or should more people be involved in the innovation process as a team. we argue that both are necessary, and that individual competence complements team competence through the building of strong relationships within the akis. different models and approaches are needed to support the development of extension competence within the overall akis, within extension teams, and at the individual level. the model that has been tested with the mais program is designed for new entrants to extension and education services and is grounded in the reality of the irish akis, with the research topics arising from the challenges that advisors face. by engaging the akis actors centrally in supervision and mentoring of students, it creates an environment in which cross-generational knowledge exchange can happen, and young advisors get the opportunity to develop and shape their own professional identity and build a sense of belonging within the community of advisors. the process of research in mais allows students to develop a disciplined and reflective approach to the design of advisory programs. building a cohort of critical, reflective thinkers within extension services has been increasingly emphasised in relation to addressing sustainability issues with farmers (howlett et. al, 2016), and the mais approach is helping early career advisors to think deeply about the implications of their research and their advisory work. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 gorman and kinsella advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 58 collectively, academia and the public and private sectors’ advisory services need to strengthen their research and knowledge on the factors influencing on-farm innovation and to share learning on how to better engage farmers as seekers of knowledge and in processes of learning. the opportunities and options for postgraduate training and continuous professional development on knowledge transfer and exchange need to be extended at the national and eu levels, particularly utilizing the potential of digital and blended learning. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the graduates and advisory services’ managers who provided information for this paper. they also acknowledge the central role of teagasc in the development and delivery of the mais postgraduate program. references bamber, v. 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(2012). the impact of work placements on skills development and career outcomes for business and management graduates. studies in higher education, 37(5), 603-620. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2010.532548 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.445 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2011.09.001 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.09.003 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2011.09.003 https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224x.2020.1773283 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2010.532548 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 2, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. jamie a. greig, assistant professor, the university of tennessee, 320a morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996-4500. jgreig@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7588-6374 2. blake colclasure, senior lecturer, the university of tennessee, 236 brehm animal science building, 2506 river drive, knoxville, tn 37996. bcolclas@tennessee.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8375-286x 3. shelli rampold, assistant professor, the university of tennessee, 321d morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996-4500, srampold@tennessee.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4815-7157 4. taylor ruth, assistant professor, the university of tennessee, 201b morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996-4500, truth3@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5269-9154 5. tyler granberry, assistant professor, the university of tennessee, 114c mccord hall, 2640 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996-4500, tgranber@tennessee.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7981-0027 64 enhancing agricultural education through virtual reality: facilitation, application, reflection, and measurement in the classroom j. greig1, b. colclasure2, s. rampold3, t. ruth4, t. granberry5 article history received: may 31, 2023 accepted: july 31, 2023 published: january 31, 2024 keywords virtual reality integration; agricultural literacy enhancement; vrfarm model abstract this agricultural development methods paper presents the virtual reality facilitation, application, reflection, and measurement (vrfarm) framework, an approach for integrating and evaluating virtual reality (vr) in agricultural education to enhance agricultural literacy. the vrfarm framework is adapted from biggs’ three key components— – presage, process, and product. it draws upon the principles of student and teacher characteristics, teaching environments, instructional methods, and reflective and measurement-based evaluations. the framework proposes a mixed-methods approach for evaluation, examining qualitative and quantitative data from teachers and students engaged with vr in the classroom. vr, when appropriately integrated using the vrfarm framework, is designed to improve students' agricultural literacy, engagement, and awareness. major recommendations include using the vrfarm framework to implement and evaluate professional development programs for educators on vr use and agricultural literacy, along with fostering further research exploring the long-term impacts, diversity of educational settings and geographical locations, and inclusivity of vr in agricultural classrooms. this study establishes the vrfarm framework as a practical and research-based framework for educators, evaluators, and researchers, marking a significant step towards more innovative and effective vr agricultural education. mailto:jgreig@utk.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7588-6374 mailto:bcolclas@tennessee.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8375-286x mailto:srampold@tennessee.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4815-7157 mailto:truth3@utk.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5269-9154 mailto:tgranber@tennessee.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7981-0027 greig et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 65 introduction and problem statement an agriculturally literate person is one who understands the food and fiber system and its economic, social, and environment impacts on all americans (national research council [nrc], 1988). a lack of connection, knowledge, and awareness of agriculture from young people impede their motivation and interests to pursue ag-related careers, adding strain to an industry that is already experiencing a shortage of qualified workers (erickson et al., 2018). in addition, the public’s declining understanding and mistrust of agricultural practices can influence legislative changes targeting agricultural production (ochs et al., 2019). although a majority of research examining this decline in agricultural literacy has focused in the united states, cosby et al. (2022) identified that these trends are occurring globally. rapid advancements in the agricultural industry have led to more industrialized and globalized agricultural systems (slocum & curtis, 2017). although these advancements offer benefits, such as increased efficiency, sustainability, and food security (little, 2019), they may unintentionally create barriers between people and agriculture. in addition to shifts in the agricultural industry toward consolidation (key, 2019), urbanization has changed global human population demographics, such that there are now more people living in urban areas compared to rural areas. these and similar trends continue to create a worrisome and growing disconnect between people and the agricultural industry (dale et al., 2017; frick et al., 1995; kovar & ball, 2013; meischen & trexler, 2003). formal and non-formal agricultural education can be a means to improve agricultural literacy among k-20 youth, educators, school administrators, and policymakers (spielmaker et al., 2014). experiential learning has particular value to develop students’ deeper understanding of subject matter while building their critical thinking skills and application of gained knowledge (eyler, 2009). programs designed for youth that embrace experiential learning have been shown to improve agricultural literacy (luckey et al., 2013; pinkerton et al., 2021). the use of field trips that offer direct exposure to agricultural production have been especially useful in this endeavor for k-12 students (bayer et al., 2020; murrah-hanson et al., 2022; sigmon, 2014), as well as for post-secondary agriculture students through international travel experiences (chen et al., 2020; jarrell, 2019; roberts et al., 2020). however, significant barriers exist that impede instructors’ use of such activities, like time, resource availability, school culture, and teachers’ knowledge about agriculture (chang et al., 2013; perticara & swenson, 2019). knobloch et al. (2007) posited that agricultural literacy professionals should change programming efforts to improve the integration of agricultural topics in the classroom. modern technologies can be used to infuse agriculture-based, experiential learning to new audiences, while increasing equity and reducing the barriers of time, costs, and resources associated with physical travel. one way to address the growing issue in agricultural literacy while still engaging individuals in experiential learning is through the implementation and utilization of virtual reality (vr), which can be used as an educational tool to allow individuals to be immersed in virtual environments that mimic real life experiences. for instance, immersive vr can facilitate field-trip experiences and skill-based learning, eliminating the need to leave the classroom or https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 greig et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 66 rely on costly, bulky equipment that may also pose safety risks. recent advancements in vr technology have not only reduced its cost but also enhanced its portability and usability. unlike earlier vr iterations that were expensive and required high-end computers, modern versions, like the meta quest, are standalone, more affordable devices. this accessibility has simplified their integration into classroom settings. the development of vr applications in agricultural education has the potential to improve agricultural literacy, but an effective framework is necessary to guide successful implementation and evaluation of vr to enhance agricultural literacy. to help guide these efforts, the virtual reality facilitation, application, reflection, and measurement (vrfarm) framework was developed (figure 1). based on biggs (2003) 3p model, we replace “presage” with “facilitation,” “process” with “application,” and “product” with “reflection and measurement.” figure 1 virtual reality facilitation, application, reflection, and measurement (vrfarm) model note. this model is adapted from biggs 3-p model (biggs, 2003). purpose and procedure the purpose of this paper is to detail the (a) facilitation, (b) application, and (c) reflection and measurement factors related to vr agricultural classroom integration to enhance agricultural literacy and (d) discuss applications of the vrfarm model for both practice, evaluation, and research. its intent is to equip agricultural educators, evaluators, and researchers with a framework that goes beyond solely evaluating or researching educational outcomes. to develop a comprehensive understanding of the facilitation, application, reflection, and measurement (farm) of vr for agricultural literacy, we completed a comprehensive search of literature on topics related to vr within stem and agricultural education. our goal was to https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 greig et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 67 define characteristics and measures appropriate for the integration of vr to enhance agricultural literacy. the identified literature spanned topics like assessment characteristics in immersive educational environments, methods of classroom vr application, best practices in the measurement of literacy in specialized domains, and the specific nuances of gauging learning in virtual environments (hamilton et al., 2021; isaías et al., 2015; lee et al., 2021). to ensure a comprehensive approach specific to vr in classroom settings, we also reviewed published research on best practices for vr classroom integration. we identified studies that elaborated on pedagogical strategies, instructional design methodologies, and reflective practices that have been empirically validated in the context of vr-based educational settings. the researchers then worked together to synthesize findings, integrate overlapping theories, and draw conclusions to develop the vrfarm framework. facilitation understanding facilitation characteristics and assessments in educational settings, especially within innovative platforms like vr an important process for evaluators and researchers. for evaluators, having a clear grasp of these characteristics enables the design of more precise and effective assessments. this knowledge aids in creating assessment tools that accurately measure learning outcomes and other educational metrics as a result of engagement with the vr environment. it also helps in aligning the assessments with the unique interactive and immersive features of vr, ensuring that the assessments are not only relevant but also engaging for the learners. on the other hand, for researchers, comprehending facilitation characteristics and assessments provides a robust framework for analyzing and understanding the dynamics of vr-based educational settings. it offers a lens through which the effectiveness and impact of vr as a learning tool can be studied. additionally, it aids in the identification of areas of improvement, thus contributing to the advancement of pedagogical strategies and technological features in vr education. furthermore, it provides a basis for comparative studies, where the outcomes of vr-based learning can be compared with traditional learning environments. in identifying and measuring the characteristics of students, teachers, and the learning environment within vr settings, various methodologies and frameworks have been employed. the assessment of students' cognitive capabilities, motivation, prior knowledge, and adaptability to vr has been explored through studies aimed at understanding how assessments are constructed to evaluate students’ learning in vr (castenada et al., 2023). a systematic review spanning 20 years of empirical research on vr application in k-12 and higher education also provided insights into the evolving trends in vr literature concerning pedagogical assumptions and technological features of vr interventions (luo et al., 2021). the immediate feedback characteristic of assessments in vr showcases the potential of real-time evaluation in understanding students' decision-making. on the side of the educators, a large-scale survey investigated teachers’ perceptions towards vr technology, shedding light on their technical proficiency, pedagogical knowledge, engagement, and adaptability to vr environments (khukalenko, 2022). these studies together build a narrative on how the characteristics of all stakeholders and the learning environment can be identified and measured to enhance the educational experience in vr settings. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 greig et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 68 possible facilitation factors are outlined in table 1. a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures will likely provide the most holistic understanding of the effectiveness of vr instruction. table 1 facilitation factors and potential methods of assessment facilitation factor category facilitation factors assessment description potential assessment instruments characteristics of the student cognitive capabilities assess students’ ability to comprehend, recall, apply, analyze, and synthesize information in a vr environment. standard cognitive assessments and specific vr competency evaluations. motivation evaluate students’ drive to learn in a vr setting. self-reported surveys or observations of student engagement and participation. prior knowledge and skills assess what the students already know about the subject matter and their level of technical skill with vr. pre-assessment knowledge/skill tests. adaptability to vr ability of students to respond positively to vr learning environments. surveys, interviews, and observations of vr use and engagement over time. characteristics of the teacher technical proficiency evaluate a teacher's ability to manage the vr technology effectively. demonstrations of proficiency, peer reviews, and student feedback. pedagogical knowledge understand the teacher's knowledge of teaching methods and how well they adapt to vr environments. teacher interviews, classroom observations, and student evaluations. engagement measure how well the teacher interacts with and engages students in the vr environment. student surveys, classroom observations, and teacher selfevaluations. adaptability to vr determine the teacher's ability to adapt their teaching style to the vr environment. peer reviews, student feedback, and self-evaluations. characteristics of the learning environment immersion quality assess the quality of the vr experience, including how real or immersive the experience feels to participants. student and teacher surveys or expert evaluation. usability evaluate how easy it is for students and teachers to navigate and interact with the vr environment. usability testing, surveys, and user error logs. accessibility confirm if all students can access and use the vr technology, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities or access to resources such as reliable internet access. accessibility testing and user feedback. relevance determine if the vr environment and the tasks presented within it are relevant and appropriate to the learning goals. curriculum mapping, student surveys, and teacher evaluations. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 greig et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 69 application vr applications in agricultural education and training are currently less prevalent compared to industries such as medicine, engineering, and industrial careers (kaminska et al., 2019; kim et al., 2018). however, the potential uses for vr in agricultural education are diverse and hold promise for enhancing learning experiences across formal and nonformal settings. skill-building in agricultural systems the bulk of existing research in vr applications for formal agricultural education has focused on skill-building in power, structural, and technical systems. although simulation-based instructional methods are well-established in agricultural mechanics education, vr technology has renewed interest in how simulations can lead to more efficient and impactful outcomes for students (wells & miller, 2020b). virtual and augmented reality welding applications in agricultural mechanics courses have emerged as a form of interactive 3d-modeled environments used for technical training, most often used in conjunction with traditional technical teaching methodologies like demonstrations and guided practice with real equipment (byrd et al., 2015; wells & miller, 2020a; wells & miller, 2022). similarly, 3d-modeled simulations for safe tractor operation exemplifies the transformative potential of vr in skill development. these simulations create a secure and simulated environment where students can enhance their technical proficiency in machinery operation. this approach, as highlighted by pulley et al. (2023), not only ensures the safety of students but also offers a controlled space for them to master the intricacies of tractor operation before engaging with real equipment. in some cases, students would not be able to access any interactions with agricultural equipment without the use of these vr simulations, which allows them an avenue for the concrete experience component of experiential learning (kolb, 2015; pulley et al., 2023). cognitive outcomes and engagement the use of vr has proven to be a dynamic and transformative tool. while 360º video exhibits varied efficacy for recorded lectures, its impact on student attentiveness and engagement across diverse educational content areas is noteworthy (ranieri et al., 2022). the immersive quality of 360º experiences significantly contributes to fostering a more interactive and engaging learning environment. beyond the limitations of traditional lectures, vr offers a multifaceted approach to learning enhancement. modeling and immersive exploration within educational settings are well-documented, offering students a more vivid and memorable learning experience (ranieri et al., 2022). these applications provide students with a more vibrant and enduring learning experience, transcending the boundaries of conventional teaching methods. the cognitive advantages of vr in agricultural education extend to its capability to transport students to physically inaccessible environments virtually. this distinctive feature of vr is a pivotal asset, particularly in relation to experiential learning theory, allowing students to delve into 3d spaces intricately connected to the content being taught (kolb, 1984; 2015). examples of experiential activities include virtual field trips (domestic or international) to production or natural resource environments. these can be 360-videos of environments sometimes with audio narration or 360-image tours where users can travel image-to-image through an https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 greig et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 70 environment that could include additional interactive elements such as pop-up information in text, audio, or video form. this content can be created by the instructor or found online through various vr content hosting platforms such as youtube vr or websites such as farmvr.com. in comparison to conventional visual aids like pictures or videos, this virtual exploration fosters a more profound and impactful learning experience for students (lege & bonner, 2020). the integration of vr into agricultural education not only addresses engagement challenges but also propels cognitive outcomes to new heights. the immersive nature of vr experiences, coupled with the ability to explore complex environments, fundamentally reshapes the educational landscape, creating opportunities for deeper understanding and more lasting retention of agricultural concepts through reflection on vr experiences, abstract conceptualization of related ideas and concepts, and learning transfer (coleman, 2022; kolb, 1984). nonformal training for agricultural producers in nonformal settings, vr training for agricultural producers addresses complex phenomena such as airflow, humidity control, and temperature distribution within agricultural facilities. the invisibility of these environmental factors and the associated risks of manipulation in real environments make vr applications a valuable tool for experiential learning related to environmental controls (kim et al., 2018). similarly, using vr to train operators of unmanned aerial vehicles (uavs) in crop production reduces the physical and financial risks associated with agricultural uav crashes through training in a controlled, low-stakes environment prior to realworld practice (nguyen et al., 2019). both cases for nonformal vr training allow producers to engage in learning experiences with a strong similarity to the real application and reflect on how their virtual experience will transfer to their production operations, thereby aligning with the recommendations of coleman (2022) and kolb (2015). despite the potential benefits of vr applications in agricultural education, educators have expressed concerns about familiarity with the equipment and a lack vr-specific pedagogy when considering implementation (lege & bonner, 2020; pulley et al., 2023). these challenges align with the experiential learning recommendations of baker and robinson (2016) and coleman (2022) and are focused on the need for well-developed pedagogical tools for instructors that intentionally draw on experiential learning frameworks. addressing these concerns is crucial for the widespread adoption and effective integration of vr into agricultural education. vr methods as noted above, vr content can be found online or through vr headset app-stores such as the meta quest store. this provides access to ready-made content either through video, images, or 3d modelled environments. in addition to sourcing pre-made content, educators could also engage students, faculty, or staff in content creation. we identified three methods of vr classroom content-creation, 360-degree video, 360-degree still-image (virtual tours or field trips), and 3d-modeled environments. instruction guidance and required resources are provided in table 2. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 greig et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 71 table 2 vr content-creation method, instructions, and resources vr method instructions (steps) required resources/equipment 360-video 1. capture footage using specialized cameras (examples are insta360, ricoh theta, or gopro max) 2. process and stitch videos together using specialized software (examples are adobe premiere pro, final cut, or imovie). 3. upload videos into a virtual reality platform, such as google vr, youtube vr, unity, or specialized educational platforms like zspace and labster. 4. add interactivity like hotspots, audio narration, text, and additional resources. 5. allow learners to explore the videos using a vr headset (meta quest, htc vive etc.), a computer, or a mobile device. specialized cameras (e.g., insta360, ricoh theta, gopro max) vr software/platform (e.g., google vr, youtube vr unity, zspace, labster) vr headsets 360 still-images 1. capture images using a specialized camera or smartphone app. 2. stitch images together using specialized software or online services. 3. add interactivity and hotspots to the panoramic image. 4. integrate 360-degree still images, interactive elements, and hotspots with a virtual reality platform, such as google vr or specialized virtual reality platforms. 5. test and refine the experience for the target audience. specialized cameras or smartphone apps stitching software or online services virtual reality platform (e.g., google vr, klapty, kuula) 360 3d-modeled environments 1. develop a 3d model of the environment using specialized software or scanning technology (lidar or photogrammetry). 2. use virtual reality platforms, such as google vr, unity, or specialized educational platforms like zspace and labster, to develop interactive and engaging virtual reality experiences. 3. allow learners to explore and interact with the virtual environment using a vr headset and hand controllers or a computer with a mouse and keyboard. 3d modeling software or scanning technology virtual reality platform (e.g., google vr, unity, zspace, labster, meta horizon workrooms) reflection and measurement factors assessment model vr instruction is a relatively new mode of delivering simulated, experiential learning, and it is imperative that assessment methods be flexible as new research emerges. therefore, we propose an assessment approach intended to be comprehensive and adaptable to meet such needs. the proposed assessment model will provide a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of vr classroom instruction. the results of this assessment will be used to refine the instruction and improve the effectiveness of vr instruction in promoting agricultural literacy among learners. there are several approaches educators can pursue for evaluating learning outcomes https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 greig et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 72 as a result for vr instruction. in this section, we will detail the various avenues. some educators may find one avenue appropriate over the other, whereas others may find a blended approach more applicable to assessing their educational goals. measurement educators can evaluate the impact of their vr programming on targeted objectives specific to their content (e.g., delivering vr education on dairy and assessing students’ dairy science literacy) or on broader agricultural literacy measures such as the national agricultural literacy objectives (nalo) (spielmaker & leising, 2013). in both cases, we recommend a pre-post, postpost design to establish learners’ baseline knowledge, as well as knowledge gained and retained following their exposure to the vr educational program. educators looking to use a formal, written assessment aligning with targeted nalos might consider using standardized written assessments designed for specific grade levels of learners, such as the judd-murray agricultural literacy instrument (judd-murray, 2019). these assessments were designed to differentiate proficiency stages (i.e., exposure, factual literacy, and applicable proficiency) across the five national literacy themes. reflection in addition to traditional written assessments, experiential learning requires instructor support and facilitation in the form of providing opportunities for reflection, engagement, and connection of experiences to learning outcomes to ensure transfer of learning beyond the classroom (coleman, 2022). kolb’s (1984; 2015) experiential learning model positions application in the experiential learning scenario as the action of exploring knowledge in familiar or new settings. in kolb’s model an initial “concrete experience” is followed by a period of reflection. during the reflection, participants assess their experience either individually or with others. in turn kolb suggests that this can create opportunities to re-engage either with that experience or similar experiences in a new way. this is especially important in 360 vr where the user has the opportunity to choose their areas of attention. unlike traditional media where the producer chooses the camera angle or subject of focus, in a vr environment the user acts as the operator, choosing what to focus on. for example, if students are shown a lab space in vr some may choose to focus on equipment while others may observe the scientists in the room. as such, experiences could be different for each individual. thus, reflection offers the opportunity to identify these differences and thus re-engage with the content (or real-life scenario) later with a different point of emphasis. this is what kolb describes as creating a new concrete experience that supplements or replaces the first. when applied to the learning process, we may conclude a learner’s experience, such as learning in vr environments, may not have been an educational one if they cannot transfer concepts learned in one setting to other experiences and settings (coleman, 2022; dewey, 1938; haskell, 2001; kolb, 2015). for example, when using a skill building tool, it is necessary for the instructor to ensure that the simulated experience provides an outcome where these skills could be transferred to the realworld activity or in an experiential learning scenario where this vr experience contributes understanding to the world beyond the headset. to improve student transfer and align to best practices in experiential learning (kolb, 1984; 2015), we recommend instructors implement strategies for student reflection and transfer. such strategies may include facilitating reflective https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 greig et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 73 peer dialogue (mcleod et al., 2015), digital story telling (kim et al., 2021), and student journaling. furthermore, the content and depth of student reflections can serve as a valuable formative assessment to gauge the impact of vr applications (han, 2019). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations in conclusion, the integration of vr in agricultural education holds significant promise in enhancing agricultural education in the classroom. the comprehensive approach delineated in this paper—encompassing facilitation, application, reflection and measurement—paves the way for a more systematic, efficient, and effective utilization of vr technology within the agricultural classroom environment. by understanding the multifaceted nature of these factors, educators can optimize the vr teaching and learning environment for the benefit of both instructors and learners. furthermore, by following the practical applications and assessments provided by the vrfarm model, valuable insights will be gained on the potentials and challenges of vr in this evolving pedagogical landscape. the different modes of instruction detailed, their subsequent implementation, and the ensuing evaluation process ensure that this model will foster not only knowledge acquisition but also the capacity for knowledge transfer across varying contexts. the vrfarm model potentially provides a framework that could help guide the way agricultural literacy is taught, suggesting steps towards a more innovative, interactive, and digitally immersive educational future. implications and recommendations for practice professional development for educators plays a critical role in enhancing their competencies, shaping their teaching practices, and bolstering their confidence within specific educational contexts (colclasure et al., 2022; dibenedetto & whitwell, 2019; walsh & irving, 2021). central to these contexts is the emerging field of vr technology integration within the agricultural curriculum, as well as the improvement of k-12 students' agricultural literacy (frick et al., 1992). educational change and innovation hinge on educators' readiness and capacity to adopt new technologies and pedagogical methods. as such, professional development opportunities should focus on preparing teachers for the successful adoption of vr technologies in their classrooms, as asserted by wells and miller (2020b). in a rapidly evolving educational landscape, continuous professional growth and adaptability are crucial, and such development programs can equip educators with the necessary tools and techniques. furthermore, these programs can also bridge the gap between the current state of agricultural literacy education and its desired state by equipping educators with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively deliver agricultural education. the end goal of these professional development opportunities should not be limited to mere knowledge acquisition but should focus on the practical application of this knowledge in real-world teaching situations. however, for such programs to be effective, they must be meticulously designed to encompass both the theoretical and practical aspects of agricultural education and vr technology application. this would entail sessions on the theoretical foundations of agricultural literacy, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 greig et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 74 practical demonstrations of vr technologies, and workshops on the integration of these technologies within the teaching and learning process. in conclusion, we underscore the significance of professional development as a catalyst for enhancing both agricultural literacy and the use of vr technologies. by embracing this dualfocus approach, we can better equip our educators to meet the challenges and demands of the 21st-century agricultural education landscape. implications and recommendations for research the intersection of vr and agricultural education presents an abundance of opportunities for further empirical study. our findings, built upon the foundation of the vrfarm model, serve as a launching pad for future research. this is an emerging field, and as such research into vr and agricultural education thus far has tended to reflect its emergent nature. however, the field would benefit from longitudinal studies that assess the enduring impacts of vr on pedagogical practices, instructional assessment, and evaluative research (pelletier et al., 2023). vrfarm can be used as a framework for assessing the long-term effectiveness of vr in agricultural education. furthermore, this is not a static model and so longitudinal research should also aim to inform potential areas of model refinement. given that agricultural education is not limited to the united states and can be applied outside the boundaries of high-school curriculum, the application of vrfarm across diverse educational settings and geographical locations could also be a focus of investigation. this would shed light on the model's effectiveness in various contexts and provide rich data for comparative studies (ipek & ziatdinov, 2018). finally, the potential of vr in promoting inclusive and differentiated instruction in the agricultural classroom warrants examination. vr’s potential to cater to diverse learning styles and promote accessibility could lead to more personalized and inclusive teaching methods (rose & meyer, 2002). we hope this paper inspires future research that can further our understanding of how vr technology can be harnessed most effectively in agricultural education, and we invite researchers to use our work as a steppingstone toward more innovative research in the field. acknowledgements j. greig – formal analysis, investigation, writing-original 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(2022). students’ perspectives on using virtual reality technology in a university-level agricultural mechanics course. journal of agricultural education, 63(2), 17–36. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02017 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.353 https://cdn.agclassroom.org/nat/data/get/nalobooklet.pdf https://www.agliteracy.org/research/logic/ https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.01092 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.01152 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.02017 advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 4, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. klae d. o’brien, former graduate student, university of idaho, 875 perimeter dr., moscow, id. 84844, orbi5038@vandals.uidaho.edu. 2. sarah a. bush, assistant professor of agricultural leadership education, university of florida, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611-2060, sab5271@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6706-7037. 3. kattlyn j. wolf, professor of agricultural education, leadership & communications, university of idaho, 875 perimeter dr. ms2040, moscow, id 84844, kwolf@uidaho.edu, https://oricid.org/0000-0003-1274-6734. 4. maggie elliot, science & communications director, hop growers of america. p.o. box 2885 yakima, wa 90907, melliot@wahops.org. 58 the communication preferences of university of idaho extension professionals and their constituents k. d. o’brien1, s. a. bush2, k. j. wolf3, m. elliot4 article history received: september 4, 2023 accepted: december 7, 2023 published: december 20, 2023 keywords communication channels; communication types; census survey; covid-19 abstract as cooperative extension services (ces) grow, agriculture evolves, and urbanization increases, extension professionals are challenged to continue meeting the needs of their constituents by providing reliable, research-backed information to their communities. this includes utilizing appropriate communication means to reach their constituents. therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the communication preferences of university of idaho ces professionals and their constituents and the communication types and channels most used. we used a cross-sectional descriptive census survey design and administered the survey to all university of idaho ces faculty and educators. we analyzed the data via descriptive statistics, wilcoxon signed rank tests, and paired sample t-tests. university of idaho ces professionals ranked mainly individual communication channels as their preferred method of communication. however, they felt their constituents may prefer mass or group communication channels more than they do. ces professionals should utilize audience segmentation to serve their constituents better. covid-19 also significantly increased the time spent preparing communications and utilizing mass communications. while technological-based communication increased during covid-19, it is important to consider access and availability to constituents. understanding what resources constituents have available and how they prefer to receive their information, can help ces professionals maintain relationships with their audiences. mailto:sab5271@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6706-7037 mailto:kwolf@uidaho.edu https://oricid.org/0000-0003-1274-6734 mailto:melliot@wahops.org o’brien et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 59 introduction and problem statement the cooperative extension service (ces) provides reliable, research-backed information from land-grant universities to people, communities, and businesses (seevers & graham, 2012). although ces was designed to communicate with the public, it has been referred to as the “best kept secret” and needs to be promoted to remain relevant (ray et al., 2015). ces was founded for agricultural and rural constituents’ needs. however, today only 17% of the u.s. population resides in rural areas (national institute of food and agriculture [nifa], 2021), and 10.9% of adults are employed in agriculture with 1.3% working on farms (economic research service [ers], 2020). this can pose a gap in communication strategies in urban-based programs because communication needs and norms might differ (webster & ingram, 2007). ces has broadened and adapted programming to encompass an increasingly urban audience, but to ensure longevity, ces needs to continue evolving to meet the needs of urban audiences (ray et al., 2015). ces professionals act as communicators and liaisons of research-backed information and help to assist in the cyclical nature of communication (kurtzo et al., 2019). these individuals must rely on new media channels and social trends to determine how to broadcast their messages widely. ces professionals utilize many communication channels to send messages to their constituents, including electronic sources, face-to-face, phone, print, etc. (kurtzo et al., 2019). ces professionals suggested that understanding how to communicate effectively is an important aspect of their job and specifically included listening to constituents and reciprocating effective communication (mcdowell & mizuno, 1987). for example, age and gender have been shown to have an impact on communication preferences (lamm et al., 2016). understanding constituents’ needs, characteristics, and demographics can help ces professionals tailor their communication efforts specifically and increase the likelihood of understanding and acceptance (agunda, 1998). theoretical and conceptual framework diffusion of innovation (doi) and framing theories served as the theoretical foundation for this study. doi theory describes the process of spreading and eventual acceptance or rejection of new innovations through a social system (rogers, 2003). doi theory can be initiated by the presentation of research-based information from ces professionals, who often serve as change agents and influence the decision to accept or reject new information. those who understand their roles and identify as communicators and change agents can utilize the innovation-decision process to effectively share information on new research and innovations (rogers, 2003). extension professionals rely on constituents to be receptive and accept the information they are providing. rogers (2003) defines the process of diffusion, “by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system” (p. 11). it is believed communication channels and the social system in which the information is being spread have an impact on how the information travels and how constituents perceive it https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 o’brien et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 60 (rogers, 2003). mass media can provide the most efficient channel for communicating new information with large groups of people. however, interpersonal channels can increase the likelihood of audience reception and acceptance of information––especially if those involved in the communication have similarities or personal links (rogers, 2003). the concepts of framing theory can help to increase the effectiveness of a ces professional’s communication (daamen et al., 2001). framing theory postulates messages that are specifically designed for a selected audience are more easily understood and accepted (robinson, 2013). understanding and utilizing the concepts of framing theory can help ces professionals modify their messages and programming to fit their constituents and aid in laying a better foundation for the message to be used (robinson, 2013). framing and doi theories together can allow information to be specifically tailored for the selected audience and effectively presented to increase the likelihood of it being accepted. figure 1 conceptual model of the relationships between identity and communication preferences in the conceptual model guiding this study, the framing of the information, as impacted by the extension professional’s identity and the audience, will then have an influence on the communication types and channels utilized. communication types, individual, group, or mass communication, dictate which communication channels are then utilized for the diffusion of information (rogers, 2003). utilizing the correct communication type is important to communicate with constituents efficiently and effectively (rumble et al., 2022). additionally, it was essential to consider how covid-19 restrictions impacted the communication usage of ces professionals to both minimize the limitations of the study and assess potential long-term changes related to communication and program delivery. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 o’brien et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 61 purpose the purpose of this research was to examine the communication preferences of university of idaho ces professionals and their constituents and the communication types and channels used most commonly. further, we examined the impact of covid-19 on communication type and channel usage. the objectives for this study were: objective 1: examine differences in personal and constituent communication channel preferences of university of idaho ces educators and faculty. objective 2: examine differences in communication channel usage before and during covid-19 of university of idaho ces educators and faculty. objective 3: examine differences in time spent communicating and communication type usage before and during covid-19 of university of idaho ces educators and faculty. methods we used a cross-sectional descriptive census survey design. we administered the survey through qualtrics and recruited via email from march 1 to 16, 2021. our target population consisted of university of idaho ces faculty and educators who all have obtained a master’s or doctorate degree and work at a county office, university of idaho campus, or research and experiment station. we sent the survey to 139 individuals and received 72 full responses for a response rate of 52%. to handle non-response bias, we compared early and late respondents using mann-whitney and t-tests (lindner et al., 2001). there were no significant differences in responses. we developed a census survey following the concepts of dillman’s tailored design method (dillman et al., 2014). to establish content and face validity, we used previous literature (kurtzo et al., 2019; narine & meier, 2020; seevers & graham, 2012) to develop items that were evaluated by three faculty members from the university of idaho. the survey included 10 questions regarding the individual’s communication behavior and preferences and nine demographic questions. respondents indicated how often they utilized communication channels during a normal year, before covid-19 pandemic restrictions, and during the covid19 pandemic. they then ranked the communication channels that they most preferred to those they least preferred, followed by ranking the communication channels from most preferred by constituents to least preferred by constituents. the communication channels listed were facebook, instagram, twitter, youtube, other social media, walk-in/in-person, text, phone call, email, mailed newsletter, emailed/online newsletter, website, magazine, radio, television, or other. respondents ranked their usage of each of these channels based on a 6-point likert scale: never, monthly, biweekly, weekly, daily, or more than daily. respondents indicated what percent of their time communicating was spent in each of the communication types: individual, group, and mass (seevers & graham, 2012). respondents categorized their time by entering the appropriate percentage for each communication type in a typical year. respondents were again prompted to answer the two questions regarding which communication methods were used the most and what percentage of their time was spent communicating via each communication https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 o’brien et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 62 type in reflection of the year spent adhering to covid-19 restrictions. respondents were then asked to enter a numerical value that represented what percentage of their time during a typical week they spend communicating with their constituents and what percentage of their time they spend preparing communication materials both prior to and during covid-19. we conducted 12 follow-up interviews where participants confirmed their item responses to assist in establishing reliability. with a 52% response rate, it was also important to examine the representation of the extension educators and faculty across the state based on demographics. responses based gender, race, county type, tenure track, rank, and position title were comparable to university of idaho statistics with <4% difference for all. respondents’ age ranged from 25 to 68 with a mean of 47.55 years (sd = 12.07). time working in extension ranged from .5 years to 39 years with an average of 12.19 years (sd = 10.12). respondents represented 14 extension program areas. we analyzed the data via descriptive statistics, wilcoxon signed rank tests, and paired samples t-tests. we used descriptive statistics to describe the respondents’ preferred communication types and channels. we conducted wilcoxon signed rank tests to compare personal and constituent preferences for communication channels and changes in channel usage based on the covid-19 pandemic. we implemented paired samples t-tests to examine differences in the time spent communicating and preparing communication materials and usage of communication types before and during covid-19. findings we utilized wilcoxon signed rank tests to compare the respondents’ personal communication channel preferences with what they indicated as their constituents’ preferred communication channel preferences (table 1). constituent preferences were ranked statistically significantly higher than personal for social media (z = -2.76, p = .01) and mailed newsletters (z = -2.37, p = .02). the effect size for social media was -.33 indicating a medium effect. for mailed newsletters, the effect size was -.28 meaning a small effect. personal preferences were ranked statistically significantly higher than constituents for walk-in (z = -2.72, p = .02), phone calls (z = -2.55, p = .01), and radio (z = -2.56, p = .01). the effect size for walk-ins (r = -.32), phone calls (r = -.30), and radio (r = -.30) indicated medium effects. the differences between rankings for personal and constituent preference for text, emails, online newsletters, website, magazines, television, and other communication channels were not statistically significant. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 o’brien et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 63 table 1 wilcoxon signed rank tests of communication channel preferences (n = 71) constituent personal m sd m sd z p r social media 4.66 2.67 5.66 2.84 -2.76 .01* -.33 walk-in 2.92 2.22 2.25 1.73 -2.72 .02* -.32 text 5.08 2.60 4.97 2.33 -0.31 .76 -.04 phone call 3.27 1.84 2.73 1.50 -2.55 .01* -.30 email 2.99 1.48 3.08 1.66 -0.24 .81 -.02 mailed newsletter 6.83 1.95 7.45 2.10 -2.37 .02* -.28 online newsletter 5.83 2.06 6.15 1.87 -1.22 .22 -.14 website 6.39 2.19 6.38 1.93 -0.69 .49 -.08 magazine 8.83 1.51 8.65 1.75 -1.26 .21 -.15 radio 9.85 0.91 9.48 1.07 -2.56 .01* -.30 television 10.73 0.99 10.62 1.03 -0.96 .34 -.11 other 10.62 3.04 10.56 3.22 -0.59 .56 -.07 note. significance at the *p <.05 level, 2-tailed. 1 is most preferred, 12 is least preferred. we used wilcoxon signed rank tests to compare the communication channels before and during covid-19 restrictions (table 2). the usage of the following communication channels were statistically significantly higher during covid-19: facebook (z = -4.07, p = .00), instagram (z = -2.33, p = .02), youtube (z = -4.33, p = .00), and magazine (z = -2.31, p = .02). the effect sizes for instagram (r = -.28) and magazines (r = -.28) were a low effect. the effect size for facebook usage was -.49 meaning a medium effect. youtube had a large effect size at -.52. -the following communication channels usage were statistically significantly lower during covid-19: walk-ins (z = -6.16, p = .00) and radio (z = -2.81, p = .01). the effect size for radio was -.34 meaning a medium effect. the effect size for walk-ins was -.74 indicating a large effect. there was no statistical significance for other communication channels. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 o’brien et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 64 table 2 before covid and during covid communication channel usage (n = 69) before covid during covid m sd m sd z p r facebook 2.70 1.58 3.09 1.67 -4.07 .00* -.49 instagram 1.49 1.13 1.59 1.29 -2.33 .02* -.28 twitter 1.13 0.38 1.26 0.76 -1.63 .10 -.20 youtube 1.72 1.21 2.28 1.42 -4.33 .00* -.52 other social media 1.46 1.12 1.62 1.24 -1.75 .08 -.21 walk-in 4.07 1.40 2.43 1.28 -6.16 .00* -.74 text 3.83 1.79 3.90 1.76 -0.81 .42 -.10 phone call 4.77 1.23 4.71 1.24 -0.86 .39 -.10 email 5.14 1.18 5.20 1.16 -0.23 .82 -.03 mailed newsletter 1.78 0.86 1.67 0.72 -0.89 .38 -.11 website 2.83 1.63 2.88 1.53 -0.33 .74 -.04 magazine 1.45 0.68 1.33 0.63 -2.31 .02* -.28 radio 1.51 1.13 1.32 0.95 -2.81 .01* -.34 television 1.23 0.94 1.25 1.01 -1.00 .32 -.12 note. significance at the *p <.05 level, 2-tailed. likert scale: 1 = never to 6 = more than daily. we conducted paired sample t-tests to compare how participants spent their time communicating before and during covid-19 restrictions (table 3). there was a significant difference in time spent communicating with constituents through mass communication before covid (m = 14.75, sd = 10.71) and during covid (m = 23.40, sd = 19.15), t(72) = -4.3, p = .00. the effect size for mass communication was -.530 indicating a moderate effect. there was also a significant difference in the percentage of time spent preparing communication material before covid (m = 18.35, sd = 14.81) and during covid (m = 28.39, sd = 19.40), t(72) = -6.44, p = .00. the effect size was -.737 meaning a moderate effect. there was not a significant difference in the percentage of time spent communicating, individual communication, or group communication before and during covid-19. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 o’brien et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 65 table 3 differences in participants’ time spent communicating before and during covid (n = 72) m sd t p cohen’s d pair 1 before covid % spent communicating 28.89 17.87 -1.92 .060 -.190 during covid % spent communicating 32.25 21.58 pair 2 before covid % preparing communications 18.35 14.81 -6.44 .000* -.737 during covid % preparing communications 28.39 19.40 pair 3 before covid % individual communication 36.53 19.91 1.01 .316 .119 during covid % individual communication 34.22 22.75 pair 4 before covid % group communication 39.56 19.31 1.86 .067 .244 during covid % group communication 35.43 18.15 pair 5 before covid % mass communication 14.75 10.71 -4.30 .000* -.530 during covid % mass communication 23.40 19.15 note. significance at the *p <.05 level, 2-tailed. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the highest-ranked communication channels of university of idaho ces professionals were individual communication, with one channel falling under group. this finding was consistent with the most prevalent communication type usage and previous research that suggests constituents believe individual communication is more reliable and tailored to their specific needs (licht & martin, 2007; rogers, 2003). individual communication provides an opportunity for messages to be specifically framed for the individual (jenkins et al., 2020), but lacks the reach of group and mass communication types, such as social media. ranking of social media fell in the middle for both personal and constituents and indicated varied preferences based on high standard deviations and a range from 1 to 12 for both preferences. the variance may be based on the influence demographics and backgrounds have on preferences (agunda, 1998). the traditional foundation for communication in ces, based on rural needs (henning et al., 2014), might explain why participants prefer individual communication more than their constituents. this lack of alignment can cause communication gaps. understanding the audience’s needs, preferences for communication, and access to resources aids in efficient communication and is essential due to university of idaho ces professionals reporting they spend nearly 50% of their time before and 60% during covid-19 restrictions communicating https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 o’brien et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 66 and preparing communication. once the audience’s needs are understood, the concepts of framing theory can be applied to specifically target messages, which can increase the likelihood of adoption (daamen et al., 2001). ces professionals can utilize audience segmentation to better serve their constituents through tailored research-based information (lamm et al., 2016). the covid-19 pandemic required university of idaho ces to rapidly adapt to regulations, which is consistent with their need to adjust to the changing times (narine & meier, 2020). university of idaho ces professionals responded with an increase in time preparing materials and mass communication to combat the decreases in in-person and individual communication. technology has become heavily relied upon during covid-19 restrictions. however, not all idahoans have access to reliable internet connection that allows constituents to access social media and other technology-based content. understanding what resources constituents have available and how they prefer to receive their information can help maintain relationships with rural audiences. university of idaho ces professionals face a unique challenge in meeting demographic needs due to idaho’s growing and urbanizing population. understanding the audience’s demographics can help to better tailor programming and communication materials (curtis et al., 2012). there were several limitations in this study. we did not survey constituents, but rather assumed they would agree with the rankings provided by the respondents. we recommend future research be adapted to understand the constituent’s perspective. responses may have differed if respondents were asked to segment their audiences based on demographic groups. further research about how constituents prefer to communicate with ces would help uncover this phenomenon. there were limited respondents who indicated they used mass communication most often. while we compared early and late respondents and confirmed the sample was comparable to demographics across the state, it is still possible that more individuals use mass communication efforts. further research could reveal if or why more ces professionals do not use mass communication more often. due to time constraints, we were unable to use test retest to establish reliability and we acknowledge this as a limitation. additionally, we collected survey data during the spring of 2021 when covid-19 restrictions varied across idaho. this most likely impacted feelings regarding restrictions and a replication of this study could reveal different responses. we recommend continued research to learn more about the long-term impacts of covid-19 on the communication efforts of ces professionals. acknowledgements k. o’brien, conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, writing-original draft; s. bush, conceptualization, methodology, writingreviewing and editing, supervision; k. wolf, writingreviewing and editing; m. elliot, writingreviewing and editing. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 o’brien et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 67 references agunda, r. 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(2007). exploring the challenges for extension educators working in urban communities. journal of extension, 45(3). https://archives.joe.org/joe/2007june/iw3.php © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.393 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2001.04043 https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.1574 https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.1574 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 https://nifa.usda.gov/cooperative-extension-system https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.1061 https://archives.joe.org/joe/2013april/iw1.php https://rise.articulate.com/share/zbfcq-9jt2nv1lqyfgenuej23sqpuvxs#/ https://archives.joe.org/joe/2007june/iw3.php advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 4, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. tyson j. sorensen, associate professor, utah state university, 2300 old main hill, logan, ut 84322, tyson.sorensen@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2103-1669 2. thomas m. henderson, associate professor, california state university, chico, 400 w 1st st., chico, ca 95929, tmhenderson@csuchico.edu, https://orchid.org/0000-0001-8191-7256 3. alyssa schager, assistant professor, california state university, chico, 400 w 1st st., chico, ca 95929, aschager@csuchico.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8092-5681 4. ryann c. vierra, undergraduate researcher, california state university, chico, 400 w 1st st., chico, ca 95929, ryannvierra@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1592-4915 5. michaela j. mecham, undergraduate researcher, utah state university, 2300 old main hill, logan, ut 84322, michaelaj.mecham@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3230-4477 72 exploring the impacts of an agriculture-focused global experience three to seven years after the program t. sorensen1, t. henderson2, a. schager3, r. vierra4, m. mecham5 article history received: june 12, 2024 accepted: november 22, 2024 published: november 27, 2024 keywords puerto rico; study abroad; sdg 4: quality education abstract this qualitative illustrative case study sought to explore the impacts of an agriculture-focused global education program on college student participants three to seven years after their experience. human capital theory was utilized as a theoretical lens and outcomes of global programs model (i.e., participant development, intercultural development, intellectual development, and professional development) as an operationalized conceptual framework. a single focus group interview followed by semi-structured one-on-one interviews with each of the participants were conducted and transcripts were analyzed for thematic content. findings elucidated five emergent themes: social – traditional; hospitality – community; resourcefulness – perseverance; resources career impact, and values community or personal impact. the findings suggest that agriculture-focused global experiences have much less to do with career choice than with career enrichment for college students. this agriculture-focused global experience left participants with lasting values that they have tried to apply within their own careers and personal lives. this study has added to the literature base by showing the mid-range impacts of an agriculture-focused global experience program where a dearth of literature existed previously. to add to our findings and provide more transferability, similar and more nuanced research should be conducted with other agriculture-focused global programs. mailto:tyson.sorensen@usu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2103-1669 mailto:tmhenderson@csuchico.edu https://orchid.org/0000-0001-8191-7256 mailto:aschager@csuchico.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8092-5681 mailto:ryannvierra@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1592-4915 mailto:michaelaj.mecham@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3230-4477 sorensen et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 73 introduction and problem statement today, global experience education programs like study abroad have become a common-place practice for many universities across the united states (faupel, 2021). students greatly benefit from global engagement programs personally, socially, academically, and professionally (alexander et al., 2022; mckeown, 2009; tarchi & surian, 2022). however, from published studies that have explored longitudinal impacts of global experiences, none have had an emphasis on students within agricultural degree programs (franklin, 2010). in contrast, studies conducted to determine impacts on agricultural students lacked an emphasis on longitudinal impacts (o’malley et al., 2019; pigg et al., 2020; zhai & scheer, 2002). research is needed to better understand the impacts of such experiences on participants. it is important to understand the impacts of agriculture-focused global experience programs on personal and career development of individuals, particularly for agriculture workforce development. in this study, we seek to understand the mid-range impacts (e.g., three to seven years after the experience) of an agricultural-focused global experience on participants. conceptual framework the conceptual framework used to frame this study was adapted from the international education of students abroad model assessment program’s longitudinal alumni studies (dwyer, 2004; ies alumni, n.d.) in which data were collected from a large-scale longitudinal survey in 2002 from 50 years of global experience program (e.g., study abroad) participants (n = 3,723). the findings highlighted four beneficial outcomes of global programs on participants: personal development, intercultural development, intellectual development, and professional development (dwyer, 2004; garner, 2018). these four types of development served as the conceptual framework for this study. personal development factors, such as maturity and self-confidence are widely cited as impacts of global experiences (garner, 2018). students develop personal autonomy, emotional resilience, flexibility, and openness as a result of formal global experiences (maharaja, 2018). studies also show students develop intercultural skills through study abroad and other global experiences by gaining an understanding of their own cultural values and developing intercultural competence and cultural intelligence (alexander et al., 2022; deardorff, 2006; tarchi & surian, 2022). global experiences of any length have been shown to increase intellectual development among participants, including increased interest in academic studies, lifelong learning, graduate school, and subsequent learning within their degree programs (mckeown, 2009; norris & steinberg, 2008). global experience opportunities can also have positive impacts on the professional development of participants by helping participants understand the importance of their professional work, increasing career placement rates, and expanding opportunities within career fields (ies abroad, 2023; liu, 2019). while the literature highlights areas of student development as a result of formal global experiences, little is known about mid-range impacts from agriculture-focused global experiences. findings can provide https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 sorensen et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 74 insights and justification for post-secondary agriculture-based global programs such as study abroad and study-away experiences. purpose the purpose of this study was to explore the impacts of an agriculture-focused education program in puerto rico on college student participants three to seven years after their experience. initially investigating the etic perspective, central themes emerged: personal, professional, intellectual, and intercultural development. we then employed progressive focusing to refine the research questions to reflect the emic stance. findings can inform and ultimately improve educational practices of such programs. the overall goal of the agriculturefocused program in puerto rico was to expose participants through experiential learning to agricultural production practices, global commerce, as well as economic, social, political, and environmental challenges of a tropical island and u.s. territory. thus, this research examining the impacts of such an education program aligns with many of the un sustainable development goals (united nations, n.d.). methods thick description of the participants and context a total of eight former students who engaged in the puerto rico education program participated in the study. six of the participants had participated in the 2016 cohort and were from oregon state university while two participants participated in the 2020 cohort from california state university, chico. of the eight participants, two identified as male and six identified as female. participants had a variety of educational focuses as students but were all agriculture majors at the time of their program experience. four participants majored in agricultural education, one in agricultural business, one in agricultural communications, and one in crop science. at the time of the study, participants worked in a variety of career fields including plant science, agricultural education, and agricultural business sectors. all but two participants were still involved in the agriculture industry. the puerto rico experiential learning program was conducted in 2016 and 2020 and was open to all undergraduates irrespective of agriculture major as a non-credit learning opportunity. through an application process, 10 participants each year were selected to participate. a lead professor and a selected student (i.e., student lead) carefully and meaningfully curated an educational learning experience with the intent to give students the opportunity to expand their knowledge in agriculture, natural resources, food, culture, religion, and everyday life in puerto rico. program leaders coordinated with stakeholders in puerto rico to provide immersive experiences for students. before departure, students were guided in creating personalized learning goals for the experience. these goals were to align with their educational pursuits and personal values. the development of personalized learning objectives allowed each participant to have a unique lens https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 sorensen et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 75 throughout the experience. the final itinerary for the experience was focused on puerto rican agriculture, cultural traditions, sustainability, and ecotourism in puerto rico. participants of the educational program spent eight days and nine nights in puerto rico, taking tours through local farms, dairies, meat processing facilities, plantations, haciendas, el yunque national rainforest, and fajardo bay. students engaged with several local experts, farmers, educators, and stakeholders and were immersed in puerto rican agriculture, culture, religion, and history. both the 2016 and 2020 program itineraries were very similar. each night, participants were asked to journal as they reflected on the day and how it aligned with their personally developed objectives. research design, data collection, and analysis this qualitative research study utilized an illustrative case study design approach (stake, 2008). this case study involved two cohorts of former participants who completed the agriculturefocused global experience program in puerto rico in 2016 and 2020 with data collected from the participants in 2023. while puerto rico is a u.s. territory, we defined it as a global experience due to the vast differences in language, culture, agriculture, environment, and social factors from the students participating. student participants in this study traveled to puerto rico while studying at oregon state university in 2016 and california state university, chico in 2020. via email, we invited all former participants from the 2016 and 2020 programs to participate. six of the participants were from california state university, chico while two participants were from oregon state university. for this illustrative case study, we collected three sources of data which included a single focus group interview, followed by semi-structured one-on-one interviews with each of the participants, and the collecting and analyzing of documents such as program itineraries, example student learning goals, and field notes. the focus group and one-on-one interviews served as the main data collection point in developing the emerging themes, with documents and field notes serving as secondary artifacts to support the core findings. documents and field notes were saved from the 2016 and 2020 programs and analyzed to confirm identified themes. we conducted interviews in february and march of 2023. irb approval was obtained before data collection began. the focus group consisted of seven participants representing both cohorts, two from the 2016 cohort and five from the 2020 cohort.. the zoom interview began with a general research question (etic issue) focusing on broad topics related to their global experiences. central themes began to emerge related to personal, professional, intellectual, and intercultural development. for example, participants spoke of their experiences as “very impactful,” “life changing,” and “eye-opening” as they spoke about their career preparation, current jobs, and current life situations. we then used progressive focusing (stake, 1995) to refine the research questions to reflect the emic issues. we also used the conceptual framework to guide the formation of questions and further analysis. based on the emerging themes found in the group interview and the conceptual framework, we developed five groups of questions for the individual interviews with a series of follow-up questions: (a) was there a moment or experience that left an impact on you? (b) did your perspective change as a result of this https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 sorensen et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 76 experience? (c) if so, how is this playing out today in your life? (d) were there any important things you learned from this experience? how are they playing out in your life today? and (e) was there anything you learned from the puerto rican people? using these questions as the guide, a one-on-one semi-structured interview was then conducted with a total of six participants that had expressed interest from the focus group interview to take part in the oneon-one interviews. two participants from the initial focus group did not participate in the oneon-one interview but one additional participant who could not join the initial focus group interview did participate in the one-on-one interview. both cohorts were represented with three participants each. the six interviews each lasted approximately 30 minutes via zoom. the zoom recordings of the one-on-one interviews were transcribed verbatim and then analyzed using a thematic analysis and utilizing the conceptual framework (i.e., professional development, personal development, intercultural development, and intellectual development) as a guide (auerbach & silverstein, 2003). two separate researchers performed the coding process with intercoder/interrater checks for reliability and accuracy (yin, 2014). the two lead researchers coded individually then came together to confirm the overarching themes (yin, 2014). the initial coding yielded unanimous agreement on themes. the transcripts and the coded themes were then shared with a panel of external qualitative research experts for review and feedback (yin, 2014). after being reviewed by the experts, an agreement was reached and five themes were agreed upon: (a) social tradition, (b) hospitality community, (c) resourcefulness perseverance, (d) resources career impact, and (e) values community or personal impact. as the majority of our research team experienced the agriculture-focused education program in puerto rico as a student or facilitator, our involvement and familiarity may have influenced our interpretation. to establish credibility, member checking and triangulation of multiple data sources were utilized (lincoln & guba, 1985; stake, 2008). we involved the participants in checking and approving the initial findings to reduce research bias (creswell, 2013). there were no disagreements, clarifications, or suggested changes from the participants when presented with the initial findings. transferability was established by the use of thick, rich descriptions of the study context and the participants (lincoln & guba, 1985). we established confirmability by clearly documenting the coding process, maintaining an audit trail, and utilizing a data bank as a reference (lincoln & guba, 1985). we established dependability by utilizing external researchers to conduct an external inquiry audit (creswell, 2013; merriam, 1988). the outside researchers examined the data collection and analysis process as well as the results. findings this study sought to understand the mid-range impacts for agriculture students who participated in an agriculture-focused global experience program. five major themes emerged from the data: (a) social traditional, (b) hospitality community, (c) resourcefulness perseverance, (d) resources career impact, and (e) values community or personal impact. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 sorensen et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 77 to maintain confidentiality, the participants in this study are represented using pseudonyms. for the sake of this study, all participants will be referred to using female pronouns. theme a: social – tradition participants noted that one of the greatest impacts generated by their agriculture-focused global experience pertained to their social interactions with the people of puerto rico and fellow participants. throughout the interviews, participants conveyed how these interactions broadened their worldview as well as fostered an interest and respect for perspectives different than their own. participant 3 stated, “getting out of your comfort zone and being able to be aware of different cultures makes you a more open, curious and tolerant person.” similarly, participant 1 expressed, “when there's people coming with different backgrounds, different opinions, different perspectives, i think that's really important to be able to recognize where they're coming from.” participants noted similarities and differences in traditional social trends between the mainland united states and puerto rico as they related to agriculture. participant 6 said, i'm an agriculture communications major and so i'm super interested in how the public views agriculture and how the misconceptions are so present. so, there were a lot of similarities in that sense that changed my perspective just because i had no idea that the same challenges that they were facing, we are too. theme b: hospitality – community the hospitality and sense of community demonstrated by the people of puerto rico left a strong impression on participants. the participants seemed to compare the hospitality and sense of community openness of the puerto rican people with their own personal and cultural practices in the united states. from these comparisons, the participants shared their fondness of puerto rican hospitality and desired to be more like them in their own everyday lives. participant 2 reminisced on this by stating, “they were very humble, they were very kind, and they genuinely wanted to show us what they did.” participate 3 touched on the warm and welcoming community, affirming, i think the ability to make anybody feel welcome is something that i learned from many of the individuals that we met in puerto rico. and that's something that i hope i can help other people as they grow and develop in their own way, too. so those are some of the qualities that i learned from my experience with different individuals in puerto rico. many of the participants were surprised at how readily the people invited strangers into their home and how people in the united states tend to be a little more closed off. they discussed how they appreciated being welcomed into homes as complete strangers. participant 4 reflected on a farmer’s invitation to his home after their tour, stating, he invited us to his home, and we ate and drank, had a merry time, and it just showed us how he embraced us in his culture and life. i danced with the mother and the grandmother. it was a good time. other participants discussed similar experiences of being welcomed into the home as a complete stranger but treated like family. participant 3 stated, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 sorensen et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 78 she invited all of us over to her house and we ate and hung out and played with her little kids, and she showed us around her everyday activities. it was just such a cool experience to be welcomed into the home of somebody who barely met us earlier that week and a bunch of college kids over to your house. and it was just a great moment, it felt like the scene in a movie, and everybody had a great time, and we just laughed and hung out. and it was just a great moment of humanity. theme c: resourcefulness – perseverance resourceful practices and persevering attitudes were observed by participants in puerto rico. participants provided rich examples of ingenious agricultural applications and optimism demonstrated by agriculturists in puerto rico as well as how they have tried to emulate that attitude in their own lives. referring to the disparity of resources, participant 1 stated, i just realized, wow, we have so much technology and so much access to things that they do not have and they're still making the best of it and doing a great job. they're so passionate about what they do still. referring to how crop management processes and government regulations differ in mainland united states and puerto rico, participant 4 declared, “it's just crazy how there’s the difference in the everyday functions of the farm. it is cool to see how they could work around that.” recognizing the technological limitations of farmers in puerto rico but the resourcefulness that comes with it, participant 3 expressed: it is interesting to see just how they're moving towards making sure that they had sustainable food resources there on the island…they were dependent on barges for a lot of their food and i'm dependent on those exports… (and) being able to grow your own food or take care of your own animals, to be able to provide for your family and the people there despite a large dependence on imports from the united states. i thought that was one of the most impactful parts of the experience for me. theme d: resources career impact although the puerto rican experience did not seem to alter the career trajectories of the participants while they were students, it solidified their pathway and desire to remain in the agriculture industry. additionally, it allowed them to view their occupation through a different lens. participant 6 explained that although the trip “didn't spark anything in me that i haven't already discovered about myself,” it did, however, foster, “more of a knowledge about agriculture, the industry as a whole.” participant 6 continued, “i'm very focused on that from that agricultural communications perspective because that's what i want to do in the future, advocate for the misconceptions of agriculture.” this participant was set on her decision to pursue a career in the agricultural communications world, and the experience strengthened her knowledge and resolve for this major. many of the participants discussed how puerto rican’s work with much less resources than what the participants have experienced in the united states, but they find ways to be successful anyways. when reflecting on how the trip impacted her perspective, participant 2 discussed how the united states farmers use so many technological advancements in https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 sorensen et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 79 agriculture, including using crop insurance as a way to protect their investments. they also noted that in the united states there are also too many rules and regulations. yet, seeing how puerto rican’s farmed and dealt with natural disasters (i.e., hurricanes), changed their perspective. participant 2 stated, “i remember going out to the pineapple farm and they did everything by hand…there was no technology, there were no tractors.” comparing the regulatory framework between mainland united states and puerto rico, participant 2 discussed the agency of farmers in puerto rico and their ability to grow crops how they want to but with potential lack of concern for the environment. participant 2 continued: i think california is a huge leader in agriculture in terms of environmentalists. puerto rico doesn't have that. puerto rico is like…if it's going to work and it's going to grow, this is what we're going to do. and so those things are total opposites because we in california can only use x, y, and z where puerto rico can probably use a through z… there are less limits…i work in crop insurance, so i think about this more now than i did before the trip. theme e: values community or personal impact students’ experiences in the agriculture-focused global experience program impacted their personal lives in a way that has made the participants want to be better people. correspondingly, participant 5 remarked, “one thing that stuck out to me the most is how selfless [stakeholder] was to have us stay in her home and opening us up to puerto rico living and actually getting a real look at culture.” she continued, i think about how generous she was to us, and it makes me want to give to others and to teach them our side of agriculture and things. it definitely changed my outlook on helping others and being able to share knowledge. participant 1 discussed the challenges the puerto rican people face and how that makes them better people. she stated, they are so passionate about what they do still, and if this was my own family's operation here and we had to deal with all the problems they did, i don't know if we would be as grateful and… have as much of a positive outlook on things. that was cool to see…and is an example of how my perspective was changed during the trip. the participants discussed how the puerto rican people, despite whatever was going on around them, always found time to prioritize their relationships with people. they discussed their admiration for how they keep focused on what is most important, and how this is an example for others to live by. participant 6 discussed: there's so much to do in the world and there's so much to see so it's sometimes hard for me to live in the moment, take a breath, take a step back for a minute from everything and value the relationships and the people around me that i think that they do. i think it would be nice to be more like that. i’m so busy doing everything… i feel like there's always something that you can learn from the people around you. and i think all of us experienced something in puerto rico that we're like, oh, i should probably really take advantage of family and friends and everything, like the way that they do. but sometimes it's hard. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 sorensen et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 80 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the findings of this study revealed five key themes related to mid-range impacts of participating in an agriculture-focused global experience. our findings suggest that agriculture-focused global experiences have much less to do with career choice than with career enrichment. it is possible that with the focus on personalized learning goals, which tended to center around each of the students’ chosen careers, the experiences were contextualized through that lens and not on career choice. while that could be plausible, these findings seem to also be supported in the literature. other studies show agriculture-focused global experiences stimulate interest and deepen understanding within their own chosen career fields (liu, 2019; mckeown, 2009; norris & steinberg, 2008). faculty leading agriculture-focused global experience programs should consider this finding as they think about the purpose and goals of their own programs. it is interesting to note that the participants seemed to focus less on their careers and more on other aspects of their life when describing the impacts of the global experiences. while this research focused holistically on the mid-range impacts of an agricultural-focused global experience, further research could be beneficial to explore in more detail how and why the experiences impact their agricultural careers. such research could have implications for colleges and universities of agriculture and other agriculture-based training programs. the brief agriculture-focused global experience in puerto rico left participants with lasting values, memories, and mottos. the experience fostered cultural understanding, built participant knowledge, broadened perspectives, and strengthened relationships. serving as the conceptual framework for this study, the four categories of personal, intercultural, intellectual, and professional development were intensified. participants gained global awareness and an appreciation for cultural norms, such as hospitality and generosity. the resourcefulness of the puerto rican agriculturists, who achieved outcomes with limited resources, left an impression on participants and impacted their approach to professional and intercultural development. the immersive nature of the experience cultivated opportunities for participants to interact and collaborate with producers and industry professionals, shift paradigms, explore problem solving strategies, and experience the social inner workings of a team. by their own accounts, participants seek to apply their personal and professional growth to their own careers, thereby becoming more valuable assets in their respective workplaces. with such profound results, it is recommended that institutions provide and illuminate opportunities for authentic agriculturalbased experience programs. depending on the year, interests, and major of college participants, faculty may consider elevating awareness of global agricultural careers prior to and during the study abroad experience. considerations may include intentionally selecting students from a multitude of agricultural majors and incorporating activities and discourse relevant yet not limited to agricultural practices, culture, food security, and agricultural careers. it is recommended that participants should immerse themselves fully by following the natives’ ways of life, even if for a brief period of time, for an authentic experience. whether implementing daily journaling https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 sorensen et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 81 centered around learning goal(s), partner reflection with the use of prompts, and/or group debrief sessions; reflective learning should be practiced throughout the experience. furthermore, it is recommended that faculty leads consider a cross-collaboration with other institutions to encourage interdisciplinary reflection, learning, and content exchange. this study has added to the literature base by showing the mid-range impacts of an agriculturefocused global experience program where a dearth of literature existed previously. based on our findings, agriculture-focused global experiences seem to be a productive investment for student development that has impacts well beyond the experience itself. more longitudinal research is needed to determine long-term impacts of agriculture-focused global experiences. moreover, further research should be conducted to determine if/how the number of participants and/or universities affects the quality and impact of the program. researchers should consider measuring the satisfaction as well as personal and professional growth of students who assisted with itinerary development versus those who did not. location and relevant activities could also be examined to determine the most empowering learning experience for participants. acknowledgments this study received no funding. an abstract of this research was previously presented at the american association for agricultural education western region research conference in 2023. author contributions: t. sorensen – methodology, formal analysis, supervision, project administration, writing-original draft, writing-review and editing; t. henderson – methodology, formal analysis, supervision, writing-original draft, writing-review and editing; a. schager – formal 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(2002). influence of international study abroad programs on agricultural college students. journal of international agricultural and extension education, 9(3), 23– 29. https://doi.org/10.5191/jiaee.2002.09303 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.511 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ej899299.pdf https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2019.03191 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2019.03191 https://doi.org/10.1016/s2212-5671(15)00258-0 https://doi.org/10.4148/2831-5960.1104 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15347-6_440 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15347-6_440 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-021-00554-0 https://sdgs.un.org/goals https://doi.org/10.5191/jiaee.2002.09303 advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. nathan palardy, assistant professor of policy state and local government, university of florida, 1087 mccarty hall b, gainesville fl 32603, n.palardy@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6396-3627 2. matthew sowcik, associate professor of leadership development, university of florida, 217 rolfs hall, gainesville fl 32603, sowcik@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5630-2281 146 aligning land grant leadership programs with the needs of elected officials through extension: perceptions, priorities, and participation among florida county commissioners n. palardy 1, m. sowcik 2 article history received: april 28, 2023 accepted: august 10, 2023 published: september 10, 2023 keywords leadership program evaluation; community leadership development; community capacity building; leadership education abstract addressing complex challenges has become the norm for local elected officials, and the need for skilled leadership at the local level has never been greater. county commissioners are not only tasked with day-to-day county management but must also make crucial decisions on issues such as pandemic response, rapid population growth, and natural disasters. the purpose of our study is to assess a university-based leadership development program for county commissioners, offered in collaboration between extension at the university of florida and the florida institute for county government. we explore attitudes toward leadership programs among florida county commissioners, show which competencies commissioners prioritize for leadership development, and identify potential barriers to participation. we find that county commissioners believe that leadership programs improve the effectiveness of leaders and the quality of local government. additionally, we discover that the highest priority leadership competencies are strategic planning, communication, economic trends, conflict resolution, and critical thinking. finally, our study shows that universities that partner with county government associations to offer leadership programs can create an important avenue for rural, resource-constrained counties to build the capacity of elected officials. mailto:n.palardy@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6396-3627 mailto:sowcik@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5630-2281 palardy and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 147 introduction and problem statement florida is home to 22 million people within its 67 counties, with conservative estimates suggesting that the state’s population will grow by 900 new citizens each day (office of economic & demographic research, 2019). florida’s population continues to transition to urban areas, while at the same time wicked agricultural and environmental issues are emerging (florida state university, 2010). for example, citrus greening, a plant disease introduced to florida in 2005, is responsible for over $1 billion in annual damages and threatens the sustainability of the citrus industry in the region (li et al., 2020). county commissioners are the front line of community leadership (mckee et al., 2016) and often “find themselves overwhelmed at the number and scope of decisions they must make and the criticism expressed by their constituency” (rinehart & smith, 1995, p. 2). florida’s changing landscape necessitates that local leaders adapt to face new challenges and possess the capacity to lead their communities into the future. leadership programs available through extension at the university of florida’s institute of food and agricultural sciences (uf|ifas) are essential for local government leaders to be knowledgeable, systems thinkers, and responsive to human and environmental issues that affect food, agricultural, and natural resources systems locally. as part of an ongoing evaluation of attitudes and access to leadership programs, we conducted a survey of county commissioners attending the florida association of counties 2022 legislative conference. our goals were to gauge attitudes toward leadership programs among florida county commissioners, uncover which competencies commissioners would like to prioritize for development, and identify potential barriers to participation in the institute for county government (icg) leadership programs. we also investigated access to the leadership programs among commissioners from rural, resource-constrained counties. theoretical and conceptual framework the conceptual framework for the study is based on the targeting outcomes of program (top) model (rockwell & bennett, 2004), provided in figure 1, which was developed from bennett’s hierarchy (bennett, 1975). in the top model, the seven levels of bennett’s hierarchy inform program development and program performance. the top model provided a robust framework to assess the evolving needs of commissioners and provided avenues to refine the leadership programs to address these needs. specifically, the survey gathered information on the attitudes, skills, and aspirations of commissioners (top model level 3) and examined leadership program graduation data to examine participation (top model level 5). the use of the top model was ideal to both gain the necessary feedback to create positive change and to provide data to share with other programs with similar objectives. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 palardy and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 148 figure 1 the top model (rockwell & bennett, 2004) partnership with the institute for county government in 1996, uf|ifas extension formed a partnership with the icg, which aids county commissioners in their personal and professional development. the goals of leadership programs are threefold. first, the programs look to build leadership capacity. next, these programs supply the skills to “initiate change and increase human capital” (mckee et al., 2016, p. 202). finally, “these programs give participants an overview of other related issues such as the environment, interpersonal relationships, the political system, and urban interface” (mckee, et al., 2016, p. 202). currently, the icg and uf|ifas extension offer three programs: • the certified county commissioner program (ccc)— “is a voluntary program of study designed for county commissioners to learn information and enhance skills relevant to their duties and responsibilities. courses are taught by a team of experts, which includes university faculty, government officials, professional speakers, florida association of counties members and florida association of counties staff” (florida institute for county government, 2023c). • the advanced county commissioner program i (acc i)— is an advanced leadership program designed for graduates of the ccc program. the content focuses on introductory-level leadership competencies like increasing self-awareness and decision making and strategic planning to aid commissioners in bringing positive change to leaders’ counties (florida association of counties, 2023). • the advanced county commissioner program ii (acc ii)— builds off the outcomes of the ccc and acc i programs, providing context to the issues each commissioner is addressing in their counties. both contextual expertise and leadership skills are addressed to help commissioners gain new perspectives on complex issues across florida (florida association of counties, 2023). the programs are well attended, and, as of 2020, the ccc program has 482 graduates, the acc i program has 259 graduates, and the new level, the acc ii program, reached full attendance at 20 commissioners (florida institute for county government, 2023a). each program takes one year to complete, and costs range from up to $1750 for ccc and $450 for acc i and ii. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 palardy and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 149 purpose the purpose of our study is to determine attitudes toward leadership programs among florida county commissioners. additionally, the study identifies which leadership skills commissioners prioritize in leadership development programs. finally, the study addresses the impact that potential barriers have on participation in the icg leadership programs, specifically whether commissioners from rural, resource-constrained counties have similar access to the icg leadership programs as counties without this barrier. we identify rural, resource-constrained counties using the definition for fiscally constrained counties under florida statute § 218.67 (2022). fiscally constrained counties are rural and have limited revenue-raising capacity. we focus on fiscally constrained counties because these counties have a strong need for quality leadership yet lack the internal resources to provide it. out of 67 florida counties, 29 (~43%) are designated as fiscally constrained. methods we distributed 120 surveys during a lunch session to county commissioners attending the 2022 florida association of counties legislative conference. our eight-question survey asked commissioners their county1, how strongly they agreed or disagreed with statements pertaining to the importance and effectiveness of leadership development programs, which leadership competencies they prioritized for development, and to identify barriers to participation. competencies were pulled from the course subjects taught in the ccc, acc i, and acc ii curriculum. these competencies are often taught in multiple programs and at varying levels. we followed the best practices for survey design found in dillman et al. (2014). a copy of the survey is available in the appendix. fifty-two surveys were returned for a response rate of 43.3%. to determine the representativeness of our sample, we used data provided by the icg from the year 2022 on the current population of florida county commissioners (florida institute for county government, 2022). as seen in table 1, our sample composition is similar to the population with respect to the proportion of commissioners from rural and fiscally constrained counties. we note that graduates from the programs are overrepresented in our sample. county commissioners who have already taken part in the programs may perceive leadership education more favorably, potentially biasing our results in a positive direction. because we relied on a convenience sample of commissioners attending the conference, we do not generalize our results beyond the respondents. 1 for the purpose of identifying commissioners representing fiscally constrained counties https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 palardy and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 150 table 2 composition of our sample vs. the population of florida county commissioners in 2022 sample (n = 52) population (n =374) number of counties represented 31 67 from rural county 40.3% 42.5% from fiscally constrained county 32.7% 38.5% ccc graduates 59.6% 37.4% acc i graduates 46.2% 25.7% acc ii graduates 26.9% 9.4% note. data on the current population of county commissioners was obtained from icg (florida institute for county government, 2022). in addition to analyzing survey data, we used secondary data on graduation2 from the icg leadership programs to examine whether access differed for commissioners from fiscally constrained and non-constrained counties (florida institute for county government, 2023b). first, we compared two time series depicting the number of graduates from fiscally constrained and non-fiscally constrained counties. second, we compared the proportion of fiscally constrained and non-fiscally constrained commissioners holding office in 2022 and are graduates from each leadership program. the data spans from 2007 to 2022 and includes the number of graduates, the county that each commissioner represents, and the graduation year. findings attitudes toward leadership education we first asked county commissioners whether they were aware of the leadership programs offered by icg. of our sample, ~90% were aware of the icg leadership certifications, indicating that the program is well-known. next, we asked how much they agree on a 5-point likert scale with four statements related to the importance of access to programs and whether such programs improve local government. we found high levels of agreement with all four statements, as shown in figure 2. interestingly, while ~84% of our sample strongly agreed or 2access is typically investigated using enrollment and applicant pool data (see castleman & long, 2016). however, using enrollment data is inappropriate in the context of the icg leadership programs because all commissioners are automatically enrolled in the certified county commissioner program upon election. further, when a commissioner completes a leadership program, they are automatically enrolled in the next program tier. although there are limitations when using graduation data to investigate access (e.g., we do not observe commissioners that participate but do not graduate from the programs), it is the best data available and can still provide valuable insight. for example, if we find that a smaller proportion of commissioners from fiscally constrained counties are program graduates compared to non-fiscally constrained counties, this may indicate that fiscally constrained counties have less access to the programs, potentially due to a lack of resources, and more effort can be directed towards increasing participation among fiscally constrained commissioners. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 palardy and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 151 somewhat agreed that participation in leadership programs makes county commissioners more effective, only ~78% strongly or somewhat agreed that taking part in leadership programs would make themselves more effective. figure 2 county commissioner attitudes toward icg leadership development programs prioritization of topics for leadership development we asked county commissioners to identify the five most important competencies in which they would like further development. figure 3 shows that the top five most frequently selected competencies were strategic planning, communication, economic trends in florida, conflict resolution, and critical thinking. we also asked county commissioners whether there were any skills or topics that were not included in our list. the open responses fell into the following categories: change management, root cause analysis, statutory duties of county commissioners, county budgeting and finance, bridge building, time-management, public speaking, writing, and trust building. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 palardy and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 152 figure 3 prioritization of competencies by county commissioners access to leadership education programs commissioners were asked in an open-ended question to name any barriers to participation. only ten respondents identified barriers, nine of which related to time and scheduling and one that related to digital learning. while the ccc program shifted to being taught virtually during the covid-19 pandemic and is likely to continue as an online program, acc i and ii have resumed sessions taught in-person. in addition to analyzing primary data, we used secondary data from icg to compare the number of commissioners representing fiscally constrained counties who graduated from the leadership programs to commissioners representing non-fiscally constrained counties (florida institute for county government, 2023b). the data spans from 2007 to 2022 and includes the number of graduates, the county a commissioner represents, and the graduation year. our visualization of graduation from the icg leadership education programs, presented in figure 4, shows that enrollment in ccc and acc i is cyclical, likely due to election cycles and term lengths, creating larger “freshman” classes of county commissioners in certain years. figure 3 also shows that graduation from fiscally constrained counties is comparable to graduation from non-fiscally constrained counties throughout the study period. although limited data is available on graduation from acc ii since the launch of the program in 2019, the short series follows a similar pattern. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 palardy and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 153 figure 4 graduation from icg leadership programs among county commissioners 2007–2022 note. the acc ii program was launched in 2019 and had no graduates in 2020 because the class schedule was changed due to the covid-19 pandemic. this resulted in the 2020 class graduating in august 2021. data provided by the icg (florida institute for county government, 2023b). as a final check, we used data on all county commissioners holding office in 2022 to compare the proportion of leadership-program graduates from fiscally-constrained and non-fiscallyconstrained counties. an examination of the proportions provides added insight into how much graduates of the program make up the total population of county commissioners as well as the population from each county type. the results are presented in figure 5 and show that the proportion of commissioners from fiscally constrained counties who were graduates of the programs is equal or higher than the proportion of commissioners from non-fiscally constrained counties. a test of equal proportions3 revealed no differences between the groups for the acc i and acc ii programs. however, for the ccc program, the test indicated that the proportion of fiscally constrained commissioners is significantly larger (χ! = 5.414, 𝑝 = 0.019). taken together, the graphical evidence and the test of equal proportions suggest that fiscallyconstrained county commissioners have comparable access to icg’s leadership programs. 3the null hypothesis of this test is that the proportions of the two groups are the same. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 palardy and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 154 figure 5 percent of program graduates among 2022 florida county commissioners note. data provided by the icg (2022). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations through extension, we have opportunities to convey crucial context and skills to county commissioners, who, with their power to zone, budget, and plan future development, make regular decisions that have substantial implications for local agricultural and environmental systems. our study gauges the attitudes of commissioners toward leadership programs, uncovers the top priority competencies as well as barriers to participation, and investigates access to the programs among commissioners from rural, resource-constrained counties. regarding attitudes, we find strong agreement among commissioners that access to leadership programs is important and that these programs improve local government. the positive perceptions found within our sample is an important step towards demonstrating that the programs have strong buy-in from the target audience. a key takeaway is that extension professionals with a thorough understanding of leadership education can provide a valueadded resource in the form of leadership development to local elected officials. all five of the top-ranked competencies are taught throughout acc i and ii, indicating that the leadership programs are well-aligned with the priorities of florida county commissioners. the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 palardy and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 155 top-ranked items include a blend of skills and context-focused topics. it is no surprise that county commissioners ranked the competencies in this order. due to the nature of their job, the top competencies (e.g., strategic planning and communication) are related to “problem solving skills” (mumford et al., 2000). other skills (e.g., humility and emotional intelligence) associated with “social judgement skills” fall further down the list most likely due to commissioners’ beliefs they already possess the competencies that help leaders understand people and work in social systems (mumford et al., 2000). our results suggest that extensionbased leadership development programs can address two important needs: (a) develop the core competencies most needed by local leadership, and (b) serve as a trusted information source on topics important to decision making. insight from our competency rankings can be used by extension specialists to design and improve their own programs. however, context plays a critical role in leadership development, and competency rankings may change based upon commissioners’ needs. future research could collect and compare competency rankings across different programs to establish a national extension leadership development resource. given that the goal of the county commissioner leadership development programs is to build the capacity of local elected officials in all counties, access is an especially important consideration. we analyze whether fiscally constrained counties, which tend to be rural and resource constrained, have access comparable to that of non-fiscally-constrained counties. we find no substantial difference in terms of historical graduation numbers and the proportion of 2022 commissioners who are graduates of each program. additionally, while a few commissioners from both types of counties identified time and scheduling as barriers to participation, responses from fiscally constrained and non-fiscally constrained counties were indistinguishable. taken together, the evidence from our sample does not indicate that fiscally constrained counties are disproportionately affected by barriers to the programs. our examination of the leadership programs administered by icg and extension presents the results from a single state, and future research should consider the perceptions, priorities, and participation of elected officials towards leadership programs in other contexts to supply more insight. additionally, though the goal of these leadership programs is to build the capacity of local communities, there is little empirical research that links participation to economic or social outcomes. such studies would supply valuable insight into whether leadership programs can effect change at the community level. acknowledgements we thank becky berentsen and eric poole at institute for county government for their support and assistance with our study. author contributions: n. palardy – conceptualizations, formal analysis, investigation, writing-original draft; m. sowcik – conceptualization, investigation, writing-review and editing. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 palardy and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 156 references bennett, c. (1975). up the hierarchy. journal of extension, 13(2), 7–12. castleman, b. l., & long, b. t. (2016). looking beyond enrollment: the causal effect of needbased grants on college access, persistence, and graduation. journal of labor economics, 34(4), 1023–1073. https://doi.org/10.1086/686643 dillman, d. a., smyth, j. d., & christian, l. m. (2014). internet, phone, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: the tailored design method. john wiley & sons, incorporated distribution for fiscally constrained counties, fla. stat. § 218.67 (2022). https://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2022/218.67 florida institute for county government. (2022). current county commissioners 12-2022. distributed by the institute for county government. florida institute for county government. (2023a). all icg graduates. distributed by the institute for county government. florida institute for county government. (2023b). certified county commissioner program. https://flicg.org/certified-county-commissioner-program/ florida state university. (2010). urban percentage of the population for states, historical. https://www.icip.iastate.edu/tables/population/urban-pct-states li, s., wu, f., duan, y., singerman, a., & guan, z. (2020). citrus greening: management strategies and their economic impact. hortscience, 55(5), 604–612. https://doi.org/10.21273/hortsci14696-19 mckee, v., odom, s., moore, l., & murphrey, t. (2016). impacts of an agricultural leadership extension program for county officials. journal of agricultural education, 57(4), 202– 216. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2016.04202 mumford, m. d., zaccaro, s. j., connelly, m. s., & marks, m. a. (2000). leadership skills: conclusions and future directions. the leadership quarterly, 11(1), 155–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1048-9843(99)00047-8 office of economic & demographic research. (2019). demographic estimating conference. http://edr.state.fl.us/content/conferences/population/demographicsummary.pdf rinehart, s. h., & smith, k. l. (1995). leadership and managerial skills of county commissioners. journal of extension, 33(1), article 1rib3. https://archives.joe.org/joe/1995february/rb3.php https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 https://doi.org/10.1086/686643 https://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2022/218.67 https://flicg.org/certified-county-commissioner-program/ https://www.icip.iastate.edu/tables/population/urban-pct-states https://doi.org/10.21273/hortsci14696-19 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2016.04202 https://doi.org/10.1016/s1048-9843(99)00047-8 http://edr.state.fl.us/content/conferences/population/demographicsummary.pdf https://archives.joe.org/joe/1995february/rb3.php palardy and sowcik advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 157 rockwell, k., & bennett, c. (2004). targeting outcomes of programs: a hierarchy for targeting outcomes and evaluating their achievement. faculty publications: agricultural leadership, education & communication department, 48. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/aglecfacpub/48/ © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.333 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/aglecfacpub/48/ advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 4, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. henry o. akwah, precision agriculture instructor, 308 asb, university of arkansas community college – batesville, 2005 white drive, batesville, ar 72501, henryofosu.akwah@uaccb.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3164-3614 2. donald m. johnson, university professor, university of arkansas, e108 afls building, fayetteville, ar 72701, dmjohnso@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2592-654x 3. george w. wardlow, professor and head, university of arkansas, e108 afls building, fayetteville, ar 72701, wardlow@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5701-8250 4. cengiz koparan, assistant professor, university of arkansas, e108 afls building, fayetteville, ar 72701, ckoparan@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3940-0055 5. aurelie poncet, assistant professor, university of arkansas, 115 plant sciences building, fayetteville, ar 72701, poncet@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0137-3023 28 inservice needs of selected arkansas agriculture teachers related to precision agriculture h. o. akwah1, d. m. johson2, g. w. wardlow3, c. koparan4, a. poncet5 article history received: june 7, 2024 accepted: september 16, 2024 published: october 18, 2024 keywords borich model; educational needs assessment; sdg 4: quality education abstract the purpose of this study was to determine selected arkansas schoolbased agricultural education (sbae) teachers’ perceptions of the importance, ability to teach, inservice needs, and barriers relative to incorporating precision agriculture (pa) into their programs. a nonprobability sample (n = 44) of teachers participating in an introductory pa workshop completed the survey. teachers rated each of the pa competencies as being above average or high importance but rated their ability to teach each competency as being none or below average. when competencies were grouped into seven pa topics, teachers had inservice needs for each topic with mean weighted discrepancy scores (mwdss) ranging from 8.16 (guidance and autosteering systems) to 11.81 (geographic information systems). years teaching experience, row-crop experience, and experience with pa had negligible to substantial negative correlations with inservice needs in each pa topic. a majority of teachers rated the lack of equipment (86.3%), curriculum materials (84.1%), personal knowledge (81.9%), and inservice opportunities (63.7%) as being either moderate or serious barriers to incorporating pa into their programs. these results indicated a perceived need for inservice education in pa, provided insight into priority topics, and identified potential barriers to incorporating pa into the curriculum. mailto:henryofosu.akwah@uaccb.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3164-3614 mailto:dmjohnso@uark.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2592-654x mailto:wardlow@uark.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5701-8250 mailto:ckoparan@uark.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3940-0055 mailto:poncet@uark.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0137-3023 akwah et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 29 introduction and problem statement precision agriculture (pa) is a management approach that applies technology to manage spatial and temporal variation in crop production with the potential to improve economic and environmental sustainability (association of equipment manufacturers, 2023; oliver et al., 2013). pa technologies include real-time kinematic gps for on-the-go position monitoring, variable rate technology for application of inputs (seed, fertilizer, and chemicals), unmanned aerial vehicles for digital image acquisition, guidance and autosteering for machine operation, yield monitoring and mapping for collecting georeferenced yield data, soil sensing for measuring and mapping soil properties, and geographic information systems for storing and mapping georeferenced agronomic data (ess & morgan, 2017; mcfadden et al., 2023; skouby, 2017). a 2019 survey of 165 primarily midwestern us farm supply companies (erickson & lowenbergdeboer, 2020) found that 92% used real-time kinematic gps and guidance and autosteering systems, 81% used geographic information systems, 40% used unmanned aerial vehicles, and 27% used soil sensing technology; only 4% reported not using any pa technology. erickson et al. (2018) found a majority of farm supply employers preferred high school or community college graduates for pa equipment operator (81%) and technician (59%) positions. despite these pa career opportunities pa is not commonly taught in school-based agricultural education (sbae) programs due to a lack of funding, equipment, teacher knowledge, and curriculum materials (chad, 2022). therefore, a need existed to determine the specific inservice needs of selected arkansas sbae teachers related to pa and to determine their perceptions of barriers to teaching pa. this data could be used to assist pa implementation. theoretical and conceptual framework shulman’s (1986, 1987) work related to teacher knowledge formed the theoretical framework for this study. according to shulman, effective teaching requires content knowledge (ck) and general pedagogical knowledge (gpk), plus a blending of these two types of knowledge into a specialized form of teacher knowledge called pedagogical content knowledge (pck). according to shulman (1987), pck “is that special amalgam of content and pedagogy that is uniquely the province of teachers, their own special form of professional understanding” (p. 8). shulman (1986) stated that pck involves “the ways of representing and formulating the subject that make it comprehensible to others . . . [through] . . . the most useful forms of representation of those ideas, the most powerful analogies, illustrations, examples, explanations, and demonstrations” (p. 9). according to etkina (2010), “deep content knowledge is a necessary condition for the development of pck” (p. 2). research in mathematics education (caparo et al., 2005), science education (etkina, 2010; neumann et al., 2019), and agricultural education (rice & kitchel, 2015; wooditch et al., 2018) broadly supports this contention. grossman et al. (1989) highlighted the importance of ck when they stated, “good teachers not only know their https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 akwah et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 30 content but know things about their content that make effective instruction possible’’ (p. 24). because ck is essential to the development of pck, this study focused primarily on evaluating teacher’s ck as a precursor to the development of pck for teaching pa principles, practices, and application skills. purpose the purpose of the study was to determine the inservice needs of selected arkansas schoolbased agriculture education (sbae) teachers related to precision agriculture (pa). specific objectives were to determine: 1. the perceived importance arkansas sbae teachers place on teaching selected pa topics in their programs. 2. arkansas sbae teachers’ perceived abilities to teach selected pa topics. 3. the in-service needs of arkansas sbae teachers related to the pa topics as indicated by mean weighted discrepancy scores (mwdss). 4. the relationship between arkansas sbae teacher and community characteristics, and teacher pa in-service needs. 5. arkansas sbae teachers’ perceptions of barriers to incorporating pa competencies into the curriculum. methods this study employed a non-probability convenience sample (n = 44) of arkansas sbae teachers participating in a two-hour introduction to pa workshop conducted in july 2023 as part of the state agriculture teacher summer conference. paper surveys were administered immediately prior to the workshop and all teachers provided usable data. because a non-probability sample was used, these results should not be generalized beyond the respondents; however, according to johnson and shoulders (2017), “studies yielding valid results of interest to the profession from a specific group of respondents, regardless of their generalizability, can add to the body of knowledge and assist researchers as they design and conduct research” (pp. 310-311). the survey instrument contained three sections. the first section listed 29 specific pa competencies, grouped into seven pa topics (rtk-gps, 3 items; variable-rate technology, 5 items; unmanned aerial vehicles, 4 items; guidance and autosteering, 4 items; yield monitoring and mapping, 4 items; soil sensing, 4 items; and geographic information systems, 5 items). each pa topic was described in the instrument prior to each pair of scales. the competencies were identified based on previous research (ess & morgan, 2017; mcfadden et al., 2023; skouby, 2017). for each competency, respondents rated (a) the importance of teaching the competency to their students, and (b) their current ability to teach the competency. importance and ability were both measured on 1 to 5 likert scales (1 = no importance/ability, 2 = below average importance/ability, 3 = average importance/ability, 4 = above average importance/ability, and 5 = high importance/ability). the second section listed seven potential barriers to teaching precision agriculture (chad, 2022) measured on a 1 to 4 likert-type scale (1 = not a barrier, 2 = https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 akwah et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 31 minor barrier, 3 = moderate barrier, and 4 = serious barrier). the third section contained five items related to teacher and community characteristics such as years of teaching experience, experience with row crop farming and precision agriculture, school zip code, and teacher perceptions of their county’s economic dependance on row crop farming. the instrument was reviewed by a panel consisting of two university experts in pa and two in social science research who were familiar with the research context and objectives; these experts judged the instrument to possess face and content validity (gates, et al., 2018). coefficients of stability, established with 13 preservice agricultural education students who completed the instrument twice at a 14-day interval, ranged from .85 to .98 for pa importance and from .57 to .93 for pa ability. reliability for potential barriers was .93. because inservice priorities were identified by pa cluster, not by individual competencies, coefficient alpha reliabilities were estimated post-hoc to determine the extent to which teachers’ ratings of importance and ability, respectively, were consistent within each pa cluster. coefficient alpha reliability estimates for the summated pa topic importance scales ranged from .86 (unmanned aerial vehicles) to .96 (yield monitoring and mapping); reliability estimates for the summated pa ability scales ranged from .93 (unmanned aerial vehicles) to .98 (multiple scales). mean weighted discrepancy scores (mwds) were calculated for each of the seven pa topics using equation 1 based on borich (1980). mwds = [(σi – σa) / n] x mit. (1) where: mwds = mean weighted discrepancy score for the pa topic. σi = sum of the importance ratings for all competencies in the pa topic. σa = sum of the ability ratings for all competencies in the pa topic. n = number of competencies in the pa topic mit = mean importance rating for all competencies in the pa topic. based on the 1 to 5 scales used to measure both importance and ability, each mwds could theoretically range from −4.0 to 20.0, with larger positive scores indicating greater inservice needs (borich, 1980). because each mwds was based on summated importance and ability scales for each pa topic, the mean importance scores were considered interval level measurements (batterton & hale, 2017; dillman et al., 2014; norman, 2010), overcoming the criticisms of mwds calculated on individual ordinal level items (narine & harder, 2021). findings among the 44 respondents, teaching experience ranged from 0 years (two newly hired teachers) to 42 years (1 teacher), with a median of 12.0 years and an interquartile range of 22.0 years. a majority of respondents (88.6%) reported no experience with row crop farming or with pa technologies (77.3%). analysis of school zip codes indicated that 20 (45.5%) teachers taught at schools located in the two primary row crop areas of arkansas, the arkansas river valley and the arkansas alluvial plain while the remaining teachers (54.5%) taught at schools located in areas primarily characterized by poultry, timber, and livestock production (williams, 2023). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 akwah et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 32 when asked to indicate the extent to which their county was economically dependent on row crop agriculture, 43.2% indicated “not at all dependent,” 27.3% indicated “somewhat dependent,” and 29.6% indicated “highly dependent.” the first objective was to determine the importance teachers placed on teaching the pa topics and competencies (see table 1). using the vague descriptors suggested by lindner and lindner (2024) for summated 5-point likert scales, teachers rated the importance of teaching each pa topic as being of “above average” importance. based on the mean topic importance ratings, the unmanned aerial vehicle and geographic information systems were the most important topics while the yield monitoring and mapping and guidance and autosteering topics were the least important. only one individual competency (configure a yield monitoring system) was rated as being of no or below average importance by 10% or more of the teachers; conversely, each of the 29 competencies was rated as being of above average or high importance by between 70.5% and 93.3% of the teachers. table 1 arkansas sbae teachers’ perceptions of the importance of pa topics and competencies importance pa topic competency none or below averagea (%) average (%) above average or highb (%) mc sd unmanned aerial vehicles (uavs) 4.40 0.59 use computer program to analyze digital uav images 0.0 6.8 93.2 develop a “mission plan” to fly uav 0.0 9.1 90.9 manually fly a uav 2.3 6.8 90.9 select correct camera for specific uav application 2.3 9.1 88.6 geographic information systems (gis) 4.39 0.62 create a field map 2.3 4.6 93.2 determine sources of geographic data 0.0 9.1 90.9 edit a field map 2.3 6.8 90.9 describe coordinate system used in gis 2.3 6.8 90.9 import data into a gis program 0.0 15.9 84.1 soil sensing (ss) 4.23 0.65 select the correct sensor for a specific task 2.3 9.1 88.6 use a computer program to analyze soil sensor data 0.0 13.6 86.4 determine when to use proximal and remote sensing 2.3 13.6 84.1 determine when to use grid vs. zone sampling 2.3 15.9 81.8 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 akwah et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 33 importance pa topic competency none or below averagea (%) average (%) above average or highb (%) mc sd variable rate technology (vrt) 4.20 0.0.74 identify the primary components of vrt system 2.3 9.1 88.6 operate vrt equipment in the field 2.3 9.1 88.6 identify common sensors used in vrt 2.3 11.4 86.4 configure a variable rate controller 2.3 13.6 84.1 develop a prescription application map 4.6 15.9 79.5 realtime kinematic gps (rtk-gps) 4.17 0.66 pair tractor or implement receiver (rover) with rtk base station 0.0 15.9 84.1 explain basic operating principles of rtkgps 0.0 18.2 81.8 identify sources of position error in rtkgps 0.0 22.7 77.3 yield monitoring and mapping (ymm) 4.07 0.0.87 identify common sensors used in ymm systems 6.8 13.6 79.6 configure a yield monitoring system 11.4 9.1 79.6 calibrate a grain moisture sensor 6.8 15.9 77.3 identify primary components of a ymm system 9.1 15.9 75.0 guidance and autosteering systems (gas) 3.98 0.88 operate a tractor in the field with lightbar 4.6 15.9 79.5 operate a tractor in the field with autosteering 6.8 15.9 77.3 set an ab line and swath width for autosteering 6.8 15.9 77.3 set an ab line and swath width for lightbar guidance 9.1 20.4 70.5 note. acombined no and below average importance responses. bcombined above average and high importance responses. c based on 5-point scale where 1 = no ability, 2 = below average ability, 3 = average ability, 4 = above average ability and 5 = high ability. the second objective was to determine teachers’ perceived ability to teach the pa topics and competencies (see table 2). using the vague quantifiers suggested by lindner and lindner (2024), teachers perceived their ability to teach each pa topic as below average. teachers rated their ability to teach the soil sensing, unmanned aerial vehicle, and guidance and autosteering https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 akwah et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 34 topics highest, and the variable rate technology, real-time kinematic gps, geographic information systems, and yield monitoring and mapping topics lowest. between 61.4% and 84.1% of teachers rated themselves as having no or below average ability to teach each of the 29 pa competencies. conversely, between 2.3% and 20.4% rated themselves as having above average or high ability to teach each of the 29 pa competencies. table 2 arkansas sbae teachers’ perceptions of their ability to teach pa topics and competencies ability pa topic competency none or below averagea (%) average (%) above average or highb (%) mc sd soil sensing (ss) 2.29 0.69 select the correct sensor for a specific task 79.6 13.6 6.8 determine when to use grid vs. zone sampling 84.1 9.1 6.8 determine when to use proximal and remote sensing 84.1 11.4 4.6 use a computer program to analyze soil sensor data 77.3 18.2 4.5 unmanned aerial vehicles (uavs) 1.99 1.08 use computer program to analyze digital uav images 79.6 9.1 11.4 develop a “mission plan” to fly uav 68.2 15.9 15.9 manually fly a uav 61.4 18.2 20.4 select correct camera for specific uav application 75.0 11.4 13.6 guidance and autosteering systems (gas) 1.93 1.21 operate a tractor in the field with lightbar 68.2 15.9 15.9 operate a tractor in the field with autosteering 70.5 15.9 13.6 set an ab line and swath width for autosteering 72.7 18.2 9.1 set an ab line and swath width for lightbar 72.7 18.2 9.1 variable rate technology (vrt) 1.76 0.88 identify the primary components of vrt system 77.3 18.2 4.5 operate vrt equipment in the field 77.3 13.6 9.1 identify common sensors used in vrt 79.6 15.9 4.5 configure a variable rate controller 79.6 18.2 2.3 develop a prescription application map 77.3 20.4 2.3 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 akwah et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 35 ability pa topic competency none or below averagea (%) average (%) above average or highb (%) mc sd realtime kinematic gps (rtk-gps) 1.71 0.81 pair tractor or implement receiver (rover) with rtk base station 84.1 13.6 2.3 explain basic operating principles of rtkgps 68.2 29.5 2.3 identify sources of position error in rtk-gps 84.1 13.6 2.3 geographic information systems (gis) 1.70 0.94 create a field map 72.7 20.4 6.8 determine sources of geographic data 75.0 18.2 6.8 edit a field map 75.0 18.2 6.8 describe coordinate system used in gis 79.6 15.9 4.5 import data into a gis program 79.6 13.6 6.8 yield monitoring and mapping (ymm) 1.68 0.95 identify common sensors used in ymm systems 79.6 15.9 4.5 configure a yield monitoring system 79.6 15.9 4.5 calibrate a grain moisture sensor 79.6 13.6 6.8 identify primary components of a ymm system 77.3 13.6 9.1 note. acombined no and below average ability responses. bcombined above average and high ability responses. cbased on 5-point scale where 1 = no ability, 2 = below average ability, 3 = average ability, 4 = above average ability and 5 = high ability. the third objective was to determine the pa inservice needs of arkansas sbae teachers. when inservice needs were prioritized using mwdss (see figure 1), the highest need was in the geographic information systems topic (mwds = 11.81) and the lowest inservice need was in the guidance and autosteering topic mwds = 8.16). however, the relative magnitude of the mwdss indicated inservice needs in each of the seven pa topics. by comparison, the lowest mwds in this study was higher than the largest score (mwds = 5.59) reported by wells and hainline (2021) in a national study (using the same 1 to 5 scaling) of teacher inservice needs related to more traditional agricultural mechanics competencies. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 akwah et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 36 figure 1 arkansas sbae teachers’ pa inservice needs as prioritized by mean weighted discrepancy scores (borich, 1980) the fourth objective was to determine the relationship between selected teacher characteristics and perceived pa inservice needs. the demographic variables years of teaching experience, experience with row crop farming, and pa experience all had negative correlations with pa inservice needs (as indicated by mwds) for each pa technology (see table 3). more experienced teachers, those with row crop experience, and those with precision agriculture experience indicated somewhat less need for inservice in each of the pa topics. the magnitude of these correlations ranged from negligible to moderate (davis, 1971), with the largest correlation (r = -.36 between pa experience and the mwds for unmanned aerial vehicles) explaining only 13.0% of the variance in inservice needs. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 akwah et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 37 table 3 relationship between selected arkansas sbae teacher characteristics and inservice needs by pa topic pa topic years taught row crop experiencea pa experiencea geographic information systems (gis) -.19 -.13 -.16 unmanned aerial vehicles (uavs) -.19 -.26 -.36 realtime kinematic gps (rtk-gps) -.11 -.24 -.23 variable rate technology (vrt) -.23 -.19 -.02 yield mapping and monitoring (ymm) -.17 -.19 -.01 soil sensing (ss) -.25 -.11 -.17 guidance and autosteering systems (gass) -.10 -.21 -.33 note. acoded as no = 0 and yes = 1 and analyzed using point-biserial correlations. the final objective was to describe teachers’ perceptions of the barriers to incorporating pa into their programs (see table 4). lack of equipment for teaching pa was perceived as a serious barrier for almost three-fourths (72.7%) of the teachers and as a moderate barrier by an additional 13.6% of teachers. a majority of teachers also indicated that lack of curriculum materials (84.1%), level of personal knowledge (81.9%), and lack of inservice opportunities (63.7%) were either moderate or serious barriers (combined categories) to incorporating pa into their programs. conversely, only a minority of teachers perceived lack of administrator support (34.1%), lack of fit with state curriculum standards (27.3%), or lack of student interest (22.8%) as being moderate or serious barriers to incorporating pa into their programs. table 4 arkansas sbae teachers’ perceived barriers to incorporating pa into sbae programs not a barrier minor barrier moderate barrier serious barrier potential barrier f % f % f % f % lack of equipment 1 2.7 5 11.4 6 13.6 32 72.7 lack of curriculum materials 0 0.0 7 15.9 18 40.9 19 43.2 level of personal knowledge 1 2.7 7 15.9 20 45.5 16 36.4 lack of inservice opportunities 1 2.3 15 34.1 20 45.5 8 18.2 lack of administrator support 12 27.3 17 38.6 10 22.7 5 11.4 lack of student interest 16 36.4 18 40.9 8 18.2 2 4.6 pa does not fit state standards 21 47.7 11 25.0 10 22.7 2 4.6 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study used a non-probability sample of arkansas sbae teachers, so caution should be used in generalizing the findings beyond the respondents. however, because the study participants https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 akwah et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 38 self-selected to attend an inservice workshop on pa technologies they may be the most likely to teach pa in their agriculture programs. additionally, the findings and recommendations may have practical implications for similar groups of teachers. few arkansas sbae teachers had experience in row crop production or with pa. the mwds for each pa topic indicated a high perceived need for inservice education with mwdss higher than those reported by wells and hainline (2022). therefore, teacher inservice workshops should be offered with immediate priority placed on geographic information systems, soil sensing, unmanned aerial vehicles, real-time kinematic gps and variable rate technology. these workshops should focus on the specific pa competencies included in the survey instrument. years of teaching experience, row crop experience, and pa experience were all negatively correlated to pa inservice needs but did not explain large amounts of variance in inservice needs. therefore, little need exists to target pa workshops to specific subgroups of teachers. in addition to a lack of personal pa knowledge, teachers perceived that a lack of curriculum materials and a lack of equipment posed moderate to serious barriers to teaching pa. because pa is not being taught in arkansas sbae programs, teachers are likely unaware of a variety of free and low-cost curriculum materials currently available from a number of sources. state agricultural education leaders should evaluate and curate a list of the best materials, categorized by pa topic and containing appropriate hyperlinks or contact information, and share this list with interested teachers. the cost of hands-on laboratory materials is a more difficult barrier to overcome. while pa educators have described relatively inexpensive models for teaching yield monitoring and mapping (massey et al., 2020), variable rate application (dickinson, et al., 2007; massey & kirk, 2013), and geographic information systems (nawaz & sattar, 2016), some equipment is beyond typical sbae program budgets. agricultural educators should explore opportunities for equipment grants, cooperative ownership and sharing of teaching equipment, and industry and dealer partnerships to support hands-on pa instruction. incorporating pa into the sbae curriculum will be challenging. but, given the importance of pa and the employment and further education opportunities associated with pa, efforts must be made to overcome these barriers and incorporate pa into the sbae curriculum. acknowledgments this work was supported, at least in part, by the usda national institute of food and agriculture, hatch project 1024473 and the university of arkansas division of agriculture this work was based on akwah, h. o. (2024). inservice needs of selected arkansas agriculture teachers related to precision agriculture systems. [doctoral dissertation, university of arkansas. scholarworks@uark. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/5373/ https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/5373/ akwah et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 39 author contributions: h. o. akwah – conceptualization, investigation, formal analysis, writingoriginal draft; d. m. johnson – conceptualization, investigation, formal analysis, writing – review and editing; g. w. wardlow – conceptualization, investigation, writing – review and editing; c. koparan – conceptualization, writing – review and editing; a. poncet – conceptualization, writing – review and editing. references association of equipment manufacturers. 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(2018). the development of preservice agriculture teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge through a greenhouse for teachers course. journal of agricultural education, 59(3), 1−14. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2018.03001 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.509 https://www.tojsat.net/journals/tojdel/volumes/tojdel-volume04-i02.pdf#page=42 https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2018.1497217 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-010-9222-y https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-010-9222-y https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2015.03090 https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x015002004 https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.57.1.j463w79r56455411 https://doi.org/10.32469/10355/62370 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2021.02217 https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/agriculture-385/ https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2018.03001 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 3, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. danny morris, assistant professor, university of tennessee at martin, 554 university street, martin, tn 38238, dmorri25@utm.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0598-9790 2. john c. ricketts, professor, tennessee state university, 3500 john a. merritt blvd., nashville, tn 37209, jricket1@tnstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0559-5803 3. david hochreiter, ph.d. candidate, tennessee state university, 3500 john a. merritt blvd., nashville, tn 37209, dhochrei@tnstate.edu, https://orcid.org/009-001-7899-9905 59 factors influencing tennessee farmers’ adoption of technology: a survey of tennessee agricultural enhancement program participants d. morris1, j. c. ricketts2, d. hochreiter3 article history received: july 10, 2025 accepted: august 10, 2025 published: september 29, 2025 keywords adoption; technology; farmers; sdg 9: industry, innovation, & infrastructure abstract farmers adopt new technologies to be competitive and farm efficiently. this study explored what factors influence technology adoption among row crop and livestock farmers in tennessee. utilizing rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory, this study investigated the impact of economic benefits, cost, peer influence, compatibility, and demographic characteristics on the adoption decisions of farmers. this study employed a mixed-methods approach by combining the delphi technique and survey research. thirty experts participated in the delphi and 675 farmers completed the quantitative instrument. the results of the delphi study provided a list of technologies that farmers are currently looking to adopt along with what promotes and hinders adoption. survey research revealed that economic benefits are the most influential factor in adoption, while cost and compatibility can serve as barriers. demographic characteristics such as education level, farm size, farm income, and years of experience significantly influence adoption decisions. binary logistic regression and bayesian regression analyses indicated that adopter categories, innovativeness, economic factors, demographics, and socioeconomic factors significantly influence adoption decisions. the conceptual model developed from this study suggests the inclusion of various influential factors to improve the predictability of adoption decisions. mailto:dmorri25@utm.edu https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2forcid.org%2f0009-0008-0598-9790&data=05%7c02%7cjricket1%40tnstate.edu%7cd14864ccf62c45954bec08ddf0b01f0c%7c7c539505f12946aea6cfecaf413b8b0d%7c0%7c0%7c638931361666774762%7cunknown%7ctwfpbgzsb3d8eyjfbxb0eu1hcgkionrydwusilyioiiwljaumdawmcisilaioijxaw4zmiisikfoijoitwfpbcisilduijoyfq%3d%3d%7c0%7c%7c%7c&sdata=geabpifoyf6o8e%2bsbl3uybubdbjecbfcfopky%2fji4pg%3d&reserved=0 mailto:jricket1@tnstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0559-5803 mailto:dhochrei@tnstate.edu https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2forcid.org%2f009-001-7899-9905&data=05%7c02%7cjricket1%40tnstate.edu%7cd14864ccf62c45954bec08ddf0b01f0c%7c7c539505f12946aea6cfecaf413b8b0d%7c0%7c0%7c638931361666783804%7cunknown%7ctwfpbgzsb3d8eyjfbxb0eu1hcgkionrydwusilyioiiwljaumdawmcisilaioijxaw4zmiisikfoijoitwfpbcisilduijoyfq%3d%3d%7c0%7c%7c%7c&sdata=xq6vubx%2b%2bu1fj4ow5wtswvmpdr7woc1i%2ff61nmsv%2fno%3d&reserved=0 morris et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 60 introduction and problem statement the adoption of innovations and technologies by farmers enhances agricultural enterprises in multiple ways, from reduced inputs to increased production, profits, and sustainability. this research supports the united nation’s goal to help farmers foster innovation to be more sustainable. loevinsohn, et al. (2013, p. 2), described agricultural technology as “the means and methods of producing crops and livestock.” the goal of technology itself is the production of a good or service that is easier, less expensive, or less laborious while simultaneously increasing efficiency. technologies are designed to save time and reduce effort by making the applicant's work easier than it would have been without the innovation (bonabana-wabbi, 2002). the factors that influence the decision to adopt or not adopt a technology are all influenced by an individual’s characteristics, access to information regarding the technology, peer influence, and a myriad of other factors (rogers, 2003). previous research on the transformation of agriculture has mostly concentrated on the technical aspects of integrating new technologies to enhance agricultural practices and output. a growing number of studies conducted in recent years have looked at how farmers are utilizing new technologies and the key factors that influence their decision to adopt technologies (carlisle, 2016; li et al., 2019; yaseen et al., 2023).. according to mwangi and kariuki (2015, p. 209), “researchers should clearly state how they are defining technology adoption so that they can develop an appropriate tool to measure it.” despite substantial work on technology adoption in agriculture, few statewide studies integrate farmer elicited technology priorities with multivariate adoption modeling that compares row-crop and beef farmers within the same study. this study addresses that gap by combining a three-round delphi with a state-wide quantitative survey to describe how economic benefits, cost, compatibility, peer influence, and producer characteristics influence adoption decision in tennessee. theoretical and conceptual framework the theoretical framework for this study includes rogers’ (2003; rogers et al., 2014) diffusion of innovations theory and ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior (tpb). the theory of rational choice (trc) was also used in this study to further explain the motivational behaviors of farmers when looking to adopt a new technology (smith, 2012). the principal components of the diffusion of innovations theory incorporated in this study encompasses the definition of innovation, the social networks through which information is disseminated, influential factors in deciding to adopt an innovation, and the categories of adopters as defined by rogers (2003). these foundational components of the theory are equally significant to the postulation of each respective theory. the framework for adopting innovations is best described as a theory of dissemination of information and individual behavior or as a theory of communication and collective behavior (edison & geissler, 2003; nyairo et al., 2021). hence, the incorporation of tpb into this study. according to wright (2004), it can take prolonged periods for individuals to incorporate new technologies and concepts into routine practices and procedures. once individuals are https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 morris et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 61 introduced to an innovation, people begin their decision-making process, which includes discovery and understanding, evaluation of benefits and costs, selecting a choice, execution, and confirmation (rogers, 2003). these internal processes are parts of cognitive behavior and have influences that go beyond the individual level. by communicating ideas with others through dissemination, the community, as a whole, engages in discovering the advantages and disadvantages of an innovation. while an individual’s decisions can be hard to observe, the adoption rate of an entire group within a social network such as the agricultural industry is more easily observed (takahashi et al., 2020). the trc assumes that individuals make informed decisions by performing a cost-benefit analysis of each alternative and choosing the option that maximizes their utility (ajzen, 1991). in agricultural production, this theory suggests that a farmer will adopt an innovation if they think that it will provide more benefits than costs, otherwise known as a return on investment. an additional theory that is relevant to the adoption of new technology is the tpb. the tpb suggests that an individual's behaviors are primarily influenced by three factors: behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (doran et al., 2020). in agriculture, a farmer’s decision to adopt a new technology could potentially be influenced by their perceptions of how effective the technology is, the opinions of their fellow farmers, and how difficult it is to use. the trc highlights the importance of knowing what behaviors farmers believe to be important and their expectations of how likely they can exude these behaviors (pannell et al., 2006). the conceptual framework for the study was based on the work of meijer et al. (2015, p. 1) who developed a conceptual model that captures “the characteristics of the farmer, the external environment, and the characteristics of agricultural innovations as the extrinsic factors that influence adoption.” there are numerous factors, both direct and indirect, that impact a farmer's adoption decision, including individual characteristics, environmental factors, features of the innovation, and an aggregation of the influence from both peers and other third parties. all these factors interact with one another to affect a farmer’s final decision. combined, these “intrinsic and extrinsic factors interact and drive adoption and influence a farmers’ decisionmaking process” (meijer et al., 2015, p. 40). this work demonstrated how the four attributes of economic benefits, cost of technology, compatibility, and peer influence collectively affected a producer’s adoption decision. purpose the primary purpose of this study was to identify the factors that had the greatest impact on tennessee farmers’ decisions to adopt new technology. the research objectives included the following: 1. identify the key technologies that expert row crop and livestock producers prioritize for adoption on their farms. 2. describe the readiness and willingness of farmers to adopt new technologies based on adopter category and level of innovativeness. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 morris et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 62 3. describe the influential factors impacting technology adoption. 4. explain farmers' decisions to adopt or not adopt technology based on adopter category, innovativeness, and influential factors. 5. develop a comprehensive model to illustrate the decision-making process regarding the adoption of specific technologies in row crops and beef cattle production. methods this study asked experts what technologies were most important and farmers whether they would adopt or not adopt identified agricultural production practices. this study employed a mixed-methods approach to understand the factors influencing tennessee farmers’ adoption of new technologies. a delphi study (dalkey & helmer, 1963) and survey research employing descriptives, inferential statistics, and binary logistic regression were used to address the research objectives. the delphi study was conducted with 28 expert farmers and 2 extension specialists, identified by the tennessee department of agriculture, to determine the key technologies farmers are considering adopting. the study progressed through three rounds to reach a consensus, focusing on influential factors such as economic benefits, compatibility, cost, and peer influence. the first round involved open-ended questions, followed by ranking these factors in subsequent rounds. by the third round, a consensus was achieved for technologies that were important to the farmer participants (see table 1) along with what factors ultimately had the greatest influence on adoption decisions. table 1 technologies reported from delphi study technologies livestock farmers are looking to adopt technologies row crop farmers are looking to adopt artificial insemination biologicals embryonic transfer cover crops forage innovations data management software gis technologies fertility technology invitro fertilization gis technologies medications/vaccinations pesticides sexed semen precision agricultural technologies (pats) smartphone apps seed genetic traits smartphone apps tillage innovations using dillman’s (2000) system of five compatible contacts, the quantitative survey was distributed to 5,420 tennessee farmers participating in the tennessee agricultural enhancement program, a successful cost-share program in the state. there were 675 responses for a return rate of 12.4%. incomplete responses were removed from the database used for the regression analyses, which left (n = 675; 576 livestock farmers and 99 row crop farmers) actual https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 morris et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 63 subjects in the study. generally accepted protocols and procedures to mitigate nonresponse error were followed, and late respondents (the later 50%) were compared to early respondents as prescribed by lindner et al. (2001) and lindner (2002). using an independent samples t-test, it was determined there was no significant difference for each independent variable between early (n = 427) and late (n = 241) respondents. the independent variables included adopter categories, innovativeness, economic benefits, cost, compatibility, peer influence, education, years of farming experience, operation size, and annual farm income. the dependent variables were the adoption decisions for specific technologies, which varied between row crop and livestock farmers. survey participants were asked to self-categorize themselves in adopter categories (1 = innovators, 2 = early adopters, 3 = early majority, 4 = late majority, 5 = laggards). to avoid response bias, descriptions of each category were provided, not the name of each category. in addition, a 5-item innovativeness scale was completed by farmers. innovativeness scores were interpreted as follows: strongly agree = 5.00 – 5.99, agree = 6 – 6.49, neutral = 6.50 – 7.49, disagree = 7.50 – 8.49, strongly disagree = 8.50 – 10.00. the perceived importance of economic benefits, cost of technology, compatibility, and peer influence to adopting new technology used likert-type items interpreted as: very important = 5.00 – 4.51, important = 4.50 – 3.51, neutral = 3.50 – 2.51, unimportant = 2.50 – 1.51, very unimportant = 1.50 – 1.00. binary responses (adopt or not adopt) were collected to determine which specific technologies farmers would adopt. descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression predicted the likelihood of technology adoption based on independent variables. descriptive statistics, such as means and standard deviations, were reported for adopter categories, innovativeness, economic benefits, compatibility, cost, peer influence, education, years of farming experience, size of operation, and annual farm income. all tests used a significance threshold of α = 0.05 set a priori. the odds ratio (exp(b)) was calculated to identify the magnitude of the relationship of adoption to the other independent variables in the study. a multicollinearity test was conducted using the variance inflation factor to determine the level of collinearity between independent variables. a backward stepwise binary logistic regression procedure was used to predict adoption and each of the influential factors and demographics, for the purpose of better understanding what causes a farmer to adopt a technology. finally, a hosmer and lemeshow test was conducted to assess the goodness of fit of the regression logistic models (hosmer et al., 2013). bayesian regression was also employed for variables where binary logistic regression was inconclusive, as bayesian regression is well suited to handle model data with small sample sizes and can provide accurate estimations (mcneish, 2016). findings the delphi study was utilized to generate a list of technologies that farmers were looking to adopt. the statewide survey revealed that livestock farmers emphasized medications, reproductive technologies, and forage innovations, while row crop farmers prioritized seed https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 morris et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 64 genetic traits, cover crops, and precision agriculture technologies (pats). economic benefits were the primary driver of adoption decisions, followed by compatibility, cost, and peer influence, with insufficient economic returns as the main barrier. the participants were asked to rank technologies by importance, with lower mean scores indicating higher priority based on participant rankings (1 = most important, 10 = least important). the livestock farmers indicated that reproductive technologies, forage innovations, and medications were the technologies they were prioritizing to adopt for their operations. the row crop producers reported that seed genetic traits, cover crops, and precision agricultural technologies were the technologies that they were considering for adoption. the findings suggest that livestock farmers prioritize technologies enhancing animal health and reproduction, while row crop farmers focus on yieldenhancing and precision technologies, driven primarily by economic returns. adoption readiness by adopter category and innovativeness livestock farmers (n = 576) predominantly identified in the early majority (38.4%) and late majority (35.9%), with lower innovativeness scores (m = 8.79–9.16). row crop farmers (n = 99) leaned toward being classified as the early majority (44.4%) and early adopters (23.2%), with higher levels of innovativeness (m = 7.00–8.96). anova revealed significant innovativeness differences across adopter categories (p < 0.05). for livestock farmers, early adopters were more innovative than late majority (p < 0.01) and laggards (p < 0.01). for row crop farmers, innovators surpassed early majority (p < 0.02), late majority (p < 0.01), and laggards (p < 0.04). cohen’s d confirmed that level of innovativeness had a medium effect on technology adoption (cohen’s d = 0.71 for livestock, 0.73 for row crop; p < 0.001). these results indicate row crop farmers are more innovative and more readily adopt new technologies, aligning with their larger, more commercial operations, while livestock farmers are more cautious, reflecting smaller farms. influential factors on technology adoption livestock farmers commonly held bachelor’s degrees (39%), with the early majority having the highest education levels. their operations averaged 50–100 head of cattle, with laggards managing smaller herds (25–50 head). experience increased from innovators (10–15 years) to laggards (20+ years), with income levels typically being below $50,000. row crop farmers reported higher incomes (28% earned > $1,000,000) and larger operations (56% with 1,000– 5,000 acres), with 74% farming 20+ years. influential factors included economic benefits, cost, compatibility, and peer influence. participants were asked how influential each of these factors were on their decision to adopt new technologies. economic benefits (m = 3.99; sd = 0.42 for row crop, m = 3.41; sd = 0.49 for livestock) and cost (m = 3.81, sd = 0.60; m = 3.47, sd = 0.52) were the most influential factors, followed by compatibility (m = 3.74, sd = 0.38; m = 3.09, sd = 0.34) and peer influence (m = 3.39; sd = 0.53; m = 3.09, sd = 0.33). those with higher education, larger operations, and higher incomes were more likely to adopt new technologies. farmers with 10–15 years’ experience showed the highest adoption rates, suggesting a balance of experience and openness to innovation. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 morris et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 65 predicting adoption decisions table 2 summarizes significant predictors (p < 0.05) and their odds ratios (or), indicating the likelihood of adoption per unit increase in the predictor. table 2 significant predictors of technology adoption technology group predictor or p-value nagelkerke r² artificial insemination livestock operation size (25–50 head) 2.65 0.03 0.15 operation size (200+ head) 4.05 0.01 adopter cat. (em vs. laggards) 6.01 <0.001 embryonic transfer livestock education (ms vs. hs diploma) 2.65 0.01 0.15 operation size (200+ head) 5.39 0.01 adopter cat. (em vs. laggards) 3.27 0.02 forages livestock adopter cat. (em vs. laggards) 3.32 0.05 0.09 years farming (5–10 vs. 1–5 years) 8.62 0.05 gis technologies livestock compatibility 2.17 0.01 0.02 medications livestock years farming (20+ vs. <5 years) 5.21 0.03 0.10 sexed semen livestock operation size (100–200 head) 3.45 0.01 0.11 adopter cat. (em vs. laggards) 4.40 0.01 smartphone apps livestock annual income (>$250,000 vs. <$50,000) 7.81 0.05 0.13 adopter cat. (ea vs. laggards) 3.58 0.02 biologicals row crop innovativeness 20.04 0.03 0.75 education (ms vs. hs diploma) 9.86 0.03 adopter cat. (innovators vs. laggards) 23.45 0.00 peer influence 0.41 0.01 cover crops row crop cost 0.17 0.05 0.00 data management row crop adopter cat. (ea vs. laggards) 27.48 0.03 0.52 gis technologies row crop operation size (1,000–5,000 acres) 16.50 0.04 0.12 note. odds ratio (or) > 1 indicates increased adoption likelihood; or < 1 indicates decreased likelihood. nagelkerke r² reflects model explanatory power; 0.4 or higher suggest a strong relationship. for livestock technologies, larger operations are more likely to adopt artificial insemination (or = 2.65-4.05), embryonic transfer (or = 5.39), and sexed semen (or = 3.45, reflecting economies of scale. early majority farmers were more likely to adopt artificial insemination (or = 6.01), embryonic transfer (or = 3.27), forage innovations (or = 3.32), and sexed semen (or = 4.40) compared to laggards, indicating faster adoption among moderately innovative farmers. years of farming experience (20+ years, or = 5.21) predicted medication use, likely due to established practices. compatibility (or = 2.17) was key for gis technologies, emphasizing integration with existing systems. for row crop technologies, innovativeness (or = 20.04) and master’s-level education (or = 9.86) strongly predicted biologicals adoption, with innovators (or = 23.45) leading, though peer influence reduced adoption (or = 0.41), suggesting skepticism among peers. higher costs https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 morris et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 66 decreased cover crop adoption (or = 0.17), highlighting economic barriers. early adopters (or = 27.48) drove data management adoption, reflecting their tech-savvy nature. larger operations (or = 16.50) readily adopted gis technology, aligning with precision farming needs. for technologies with multicollinearity (fertility, pesticides, pats, seed genetic traits, smartphone apps, tillage innovations), principal components (pc1: cost/economics; pc2: compatibility/operation size/income) were used. pc2 significantly predicted pesticide (or = 4.16) and smartphone app (or = 3.85) adoption, indicating combined influence of farm scale and compatibility. models showed strong explanatory power (nagelkerke r square = 0.08–0.75) and good fit (hosmer-lemeshow p > 0.05, except gis livestock, p = 0.00). seed genetic traits results were inconclusive due to low variability. comprehensive adoption model the conceptual model (see figure 1) integrates significant findings and expands current understandings. economic benefits consistently increased adoption, while cost and compatibility often reduced it. adopter categories, peer influence, operation size, income, education, years of experience, and innovativeness had mixed effects, varying by technology. newer technologies (e.g., biologicals) were favored by innovators/early adopters, while older technologies (e.g., forage innovations) were adopted by late majority/laggards. principal components (pc1, pc2) confirmed the combined influence of economic factors, compatibility, and operation size. economic benefits were the only factor that did not negatively influence the adoption of certain technologies. compatibility had mixed effects across technologies, indicating that integration with existing systems can either facilitate or hinder adoption depending on the context. cost had a varying impact on technology adoption. this finding is likely caused by differing levels of income amounts for row crop and livestock farmer subjects. this supports kinyangi (2014) who suggested the influence of cost on technology adoption is dependent on whether the farmers possess the required resources to purchase the technology. for newer technologies, adopter categories positively influenced adoption. however, when analyzing older technologies, adopter categories had a negative influence on adoption. the model underscores that economic benefits and farm scale drive adoption, with adopter categories shaping technologyspecific patterns. economic benefits and larger operations consistently drove adoption, with adopter categories influencing technology-specific outcomes. these findings provide insights for targeting extension efforts to enhance technology uptake among tennessee farmers. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations using a delphi study and survey research, we examined how farmers prioritize certain technologies and what factors, such as economic benefits, costs, compatibility, and peer influence, impacted their decisions. we found that the adoption of innovative technologies is essential for improving sustainability, reducing production costs, and increasing overall productivity. we affirmed numerous aspects of rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations theory. consistent with rogers’ adopter classifications, our findings indicated that innovators and early https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 morris et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 67 adopters were significantly more likely to adopt new technologies than the late majority and laggards. the impact of peer influence alights with the theory of planned behavior’s subjective norms, including perception of what fellow farmers value can either accelerate or hinder adoption. the mixed effects of compatibility are consistent with the perceived behavioral control since certain technologies are perceived to be easier to integrate and thus more readily adopted. the theory of rational choice (smith, 2012) opines that people make decisions by performing a cost-benefit analysis of various options and choosing the one that results in the highest levels of utility. this study’s findings relate to this theory by showing how farmers adopt technologies that provide more utility for themselves and their operations. economic benefits were ranked as the most influential factor in adoption decisions for both livestock and row crop farmers. costs, however, posed significant barriers for certain technologies, deterring adoption. other factors, including compatibility with existing practices and peer influence, also played crucial roles in determining whether technologies would be embraced. demographic characteristics, such as education level, years of farming experience, and operation size, were found to significantly influence technology adoption. farmers with higher levels of education and larger operations were more likely to adopt new technologies, as were those with more years of farming experience. farmers with 10 to 15 years of experience exhibited the highest adoption rates, likely reflecting a balance of practical experience and openness to new ideas. larger operations also demonstrated a greater willingness to adopt advanced technologies. figure 1 synthesizes our empirical results with diffusion of innovations, the theory of planned behavior, and rational choice mechanisms, highlighting how perceived economic benefits and farm size interact with norms and compatibility constraints to shape adoption. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 morris et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 68 figure 1 influential factors to technology adoption model note. adapted from meijer et al. (2015) and modified with findings from the study. the bolded items in the model were found to be statistically significant to technology adoption. the plus symbols (+) signify variables that positively influenced adoption while the minus symbols (-) indicate variables that negatively influenced adoption. this study revealed the critical roles that economics, cost, compatibility, and peer influence have on technology adoption decisions. through the delphi study, technologies were identified that farmers are actively looking to adopt. innovativeness was influential to technology adoption, but an improved measurement of innovativeness was recommended for future research. this innovativeness metric could include questions that asked about openness to new ideas, risk tolerance levels, management styles, and adoption experiences, and assess the farmers’ attitude toward continued learning. the study contributed to agricultural development by providing insight into the relationships between adopter categories, innovativeness, economics, compatibility, peer influence, and certain demographics influence a farmer’s decision to ultimately adopt or not adopt specific agricultural technologies. this work should be replicated in other states or regions to aid researchers in predicting technology adoption among farmers. the model needed to include the use of multivariate dependent variables to capture more https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 morris et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 69 variance and improve its robustness, such as measuring different stages of adoption (no adoption, experimental use, partial adoption, and full adoption) to enhance accuracy and reliability. given the importance of economic benefits as seen in this study and others (bellon & reeves, 2002; karlan et al., 2014; rogers, 2003), economic benefits need to be emphasized to promote the adoption of new technologies and in educational programs to increase adoption rates among farmers. we discovered compatibility negatively influences certain technologies, so educators should focus on addressing knowledge gaps to align existing and new technologies. smaller operations were less open to adopting technologies, indicating a need for educational programs addressing scalability issues. finally, initiatives to create a culture of innovation for farmers, tailored to different adopter categories and varying innovativeness levels, are recommended. acknowledgments funding information: this work is supported by the united states department of agriculture national institute of food and agriculture, nextgen program, award #2023-7044-40157. conflict of interest: there are no conflicts of interest. previous dissemination: this article is a truncated version of a dissertation at tennessee state university. the dissertation was not yet published at the time of this article submission. artificial intelligence: ai was not used for this study. author contribution statement: d. morris – formal analysis, investigation, and writing original draft; j. ricketts – formal analysis, writing, reviewing, and editing; d. hochreiter – writing, reviewing, and editing. references ajzen, i. 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(2004). how do land managers adopt scientific knowledge and technology? contributions of the diffusion of innovations theory. in: n. munro, p. dearden, t. b. herman, k. beazley, & s. bondrup-nielson, (eds.). making ecosystem-based management work: proceedings of the fifth international conference on science and management of protected areas. sampaa. https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs_journals/2004/rmrs_2004_wright_v002.pdf https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2016.1186549 https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2014.912493 https://iiste.org/journals/index.php/jeds https://doi.org/10.33687%2f009.01.3510 https://doi.org/10.1071/ea05037 https://doi.org/10.4324%2f9780203710753-35 https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12539 https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs_journals/2004/rmrs_2004_wright_v002.pdf morris et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 72 yaseen, m., manzoor, r., shabbir, m., hussain, s., & maqsood, a. (2023). a review on adoption of technology and its impact on agricultural productivity. journal of agricultural sciences, 18(3), 87-98. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014792 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.647 https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014792 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 1, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. kayla n. marsh, graduate teaching and research associate, oklahoma state university, 318 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, kayla.marsh@okstate.edu, https://orcid/orf/0000-0003-3574-1936 2. christopher j. eck, assistant professor, oklahoma state university, 234 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, chris.eck@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-3632 3. will doss, assistant professor, university of arkansas, afls e108, fayetteville, ar 72701, wd009@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3163-7528 55 validation of the school-based agricultural education model of support instrument k. n. marsh1, c. j. eck2, w. doss3 article history received: september 23, 2024 accepted: february 12, 2025 published: february 28, 2025 keywords sbae needs; job satisfaction; humanistic lens; sbae teacher wellbeing abstract research on the needs of school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers has been conducted since 1983, driven by historic attrition within the profession, yet we do not have the depth of understanding necessary to provide actionable change to sbae teachers to empower and support them in their practice. the conceptual model of support for school-based agricultural education teachers was used to frame this study's purpose of establishing an instrument that takes a more human lens to support sbae teachers. the instrument resulted in five components including personal needs, intracurricular program needs, relationship needs within the school and community, classroom/instructional needs, and school-based support needs with a total of 46 items validated through the principal component analysis with .60 reliability for all 46 items was indicated with a cronbach’s alpha of .951. recommendations include evaluating the humanistic needs of inservice sbae teachers. additionally, preservice teacher preparation programs should use the instrument to evaluate sbae teacher aspirants during their student teaching internship. future research should consider the current needs of sbae teachers using the validated instrument to determine opportunities to increase the level of effectiveness and individual wellness of sbae teachers. mailto:kayla.marsh@okstate.edu https://orcid/orf/0000-0003-3574-1936 mailto:chris.eck@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-3632 mailto:wd009@uark.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3163-7528 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 56 introduction and problem statement driven by historic attrition, school-based agricultural education (sbae) teacher needs research has been conducted since 1983 (dibenedetto et al., 2018; eck & edwards, 2019). needs continue to evolve with stress, personal wellness, and work-life balance representing areas of focus in sbae research that are related to the overwhelming amount of work, dedication, tasks, and the mental, physical, and emotional stress that comes with managing an sbae program (best et al., 2023; marsh et al., 2023; phipps et al., 2008; shoulders et al., 2021). to maintain sbae teacher job satisfaction and develop career specific human capital (i.e., education, skills, training, and experiences directly related to a chosen career; fisher & royster, 2016), leading a balanced life (i.e., personal wellness, boundaries, and work-life balance) has been recommended (eck et al., 2020; marsh et al., 2023). however, marsh et al. (2023) reported 21st century programs were still faced with support gaps and inadequate professional development in previously identified need areas, potentially resulting in frustration and burnout (klassen & chiu, 2010; marsh et al., 2023). researchers have identified specific challenges impacting sbae teachers' job satisfaction (boone & boone, 2009; dibenedetto et al., 2018; doss et al., 2023). doss et al. (2023) reported 114 items across seven categories associated with challenges impacting job satisfaction: classroom activities, sbae program management, relationships, professional development, personal factors, and miscellaneous job responsibilities. while dibenedetto et al. (2018) and doss et al. (2023) recommended further exploration and professional development to address these recurring issues, neither provided the depth needed for proactive solutions to improve sbae teacher needs or job satisfaction. this task is elusive because a “one size fits all” approach to career-specific human capital development through professional development is often ineffective in meeting the needs of all sbae teachers (klassen & chiu, 2010), perhaps requiring a more human lens, giving rise to the need for this study. theoretical and conceptual framework the conceptual model of support for sbae teachers was developed to describe professional development needs within a hierarchy of support (marsh et al., 2023), giving the needs and job satisfaction of sbae teachers a human lens. as such, this model served as the conceptual framework for this study. when describing the conceptual model of support for sbae teachers, it uses the three-component model for agricultural education (ffa, n.d.) as the base of the pyramid due to the interdependency of the classroom, student leadership and career development (ffa), and supervised agricultural experience (sae) components in sbae programs and the overlapping roles among each experienced by sbae teachers. human capital development takes place in each of the three components (depicted as dashed line with arrows in figure 1) based on the needs of the individual sbae teacher taking into consideration their teaching effectiveness, personal characteristics, and professional characteristics (eck et al., 2019). as sbae teachers develop human capital in each component, they ascend to higher levels (subsistence, security, association, respect, self-actualization) of maslow’s hierarchy for https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 57 teachers (fisher & royster, 2016), further developing career-specific human capital and reducing challenges contributing to sbae teacher attrition (doss et al., 2023; eck et al., 2019; fisher & royster, 2016; ffa, n.d.). figure 1 the conceptual model of support for school-based agricultural education teachers (marsh et al., 2023). items categorized as subsistence (i.e., accessibility training, classroom management skills, and support for teacher mental health) represent “need(s) for sustaining and supporting sbae teachers in their daily practice, helping to provide to the ability to survive within the profession” (marsh et al., 2023, p. 126). the subsistence level items within the hierarchy will need to be supported differently to meet sbae teachers' human needs than items at the level of association (i.e., community support, parent support, and support from school and local administration). association-needs represent the importance of belonging and the relationships that support and surround sbae teachers (doss et al., 2023; marsh et al., 2023). while the conceptual model of sbae teacher support is focused on individual sbae teacher needs, maslow’s hierarchy of needs does not describe or account for how school site, community, and external factors can influence a teacher’s effectiveness and practice. impacts of these external factors, either positive or negative, can be understood with self-determination theory (sdt). sdt suggests individuals have three basic needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness, providing a rationale supporting how external factors can impact an sbae teacher’s level of effectiveness and individual wellness (ryan & deci, 2000). currently, there is not a way to objectively measure and quantify teacher needs based on their location within the model, providing for the need of this study. evaluating sbae teachers' https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 58 human needs and where they align within the model of support can improve how we address human capital development within the profession, promoting their effective sbae teaching practices (eck et al., 2020; marsh et al., 2023). purpose and objectives a current limitation within the conceptual model of support for sbae teachers is that needs are conceptually aligned at the lowest potential level within the hierarchy (i.e., subsistence; see figure 1). a validated instrument could assess an individual's human needs, representing needs within different levels of the hierarchy, and provide clear insight to meet specific human capital needs of individuals. additionally, the development of a valid instrument for evaluating sbae teacher’s needs to discover national trends within the profession has been recommended (duncan et al., 2006). given this clear need, the purpose of this study was to establish a more human lens to support sbae teachers. the following research objectives guided the study: 1. determine the primary components of support for sbae teachers. 2. validate the conceptual model of support for sbae teachers as a potential instrument for evaluating teacher needs. 3. determine the internal consistency reliability of the components of the instrument. methods and procedures a non-experimental survey research design (privitera, 2020) was employed to evaluate inservice sbae teachers (n = 3,729) within region ii of naae (i.e., arkansas, louisiana, kansas, colorado, new mexico, oklahoma, and texas) using a census approach. the email contact frame was developed using existing listservs and email frames, allowing for personalized communication. five-hundred-fifty-three emails were returned undeliverable, resulting in an accessible population of 3,176. email correspondence followed the tailored design method (dillman et al., 2014), including the purpose of the study, authenticity (university logo), and the lead researcher’s contact information, along with the anticipated timeline for data collection. the initial email was followed by three points of contact to invite sbae teachers to participate in the study (dillman et al., 2014), resulting in 581 responses (18.3% response rate), of which 303 responses were complete and eligible for data analysis. while nonresponse bias was of concern given the response rate, respondents were representative of the population of interest. data collected in this study was compared to the corresponding population values of sbae teachers, per recommendations from the national center for education statistics (bose, 2001). specifically, naae region ii was reported to be 46.0% female as of the 2023 national supply and demand study (foster et al., 2024), which is the same as the respondents (46.0% female and 54.0% male). in addition, respondents aligned with the supply and demand study related to certification type (i.e., majority traditionally certified) and state representation (i.e., texas was the largest, followed by oklahoma). given the anonymous nature of data collection (i.e., mass email and listserv recruitment) and the approved irb protocol, collecting nonrespondents was not possible, which is a limiting factor of the study, and the data presented should be considered accordingly. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 59 the instrument was developed using items from the findings of doss et al. (2023) and marsh et al. (2023) focusing on job satisfaction, human capital, and individual human needs of sbae teachers. based on previous literature (boone & boone, 2009; clark et al., 2014; dibenedetto et al., 2016; doss et al., 2023; marsh et al., 2023; maslow, 1943; rosser, 2020; touchstone, 2015), the 153 items were organized into categories by the research team, including classroom factors (40 items), sbae program management (31 items), relationships (26 items), professional development (9 items), personal factors (10 items), and miscellaneous job responsibilities (19 items) to encompass the comprehensive model for sbae. the classroom factors categories represent characteristics like classroom management, land lab instruction, keeping student records, and lesson planning (boone & boone, 2009; dibenedetto et al., 2018 doss et al., 2023). sbae program management factors consist of items such as the role of the ffa advisor, training cde teams, sae programs, and program planning and prioritization (boone & boone, 2009; dibenedetto et al., 2018 doss et al., 2023; rosser, 2020; touchstone, 2015). relationship factors represent interactions between sbae teachers and others, such as students in the agriculture program, the school secretary, the superintendent, local community members, and assistant principals (boone & boone, 2009; doss et al., 2023; fisher & royster, 2016; marsh et al., 2023; rosser, 2020; touchstone, 2015). the professional development construct factors include state professional organizations, clear policies and procedures, life-long learner, and purposeful professional development (boone & boone, 2009; doss et al., 2023; eck et al., 2020; marsh et al., 2023). personal factors construct included health (mental, physical, and emotional), work and home life balance, and teacher motivation (boone & boone, 2009; clark et al., 2014; doss et al., 2023; marsh et al., 2023; maslow, 1943). the individual needs construct includes rest, balanced nutrition, the ability to ask for help, and the ability to navigate life crises (fisher & royster, 2016; marsh et al., 2023; maslow, 1943). participants were asked to identify their current level of effective integration on a five-point likert-type scale (i.e., 1 = never/high need and 5 = always/low need), for each of the 153 items. to address research objectives one and two, a principal component analysis (pca) was used to reduce the number of items in the instrument to a smaller dataset of related items (costello & osborne, 2005). pca with a varimax rotation, developed by kaiser (1958), was chosen with the assumption that the seven constructs are correlated due to the relation with sbae teacher needs (doss et al., 2023). the research team evaluated the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) measure of sampling adequacy, eigenvalues, parallel analysis, component loadings, and commonalities for item reduction. while the initial instrument was evaluated for face and content validity, additional validity was established through the pca (field, 2018 privitera, 2020). to address reliability, cronbach’s alpha coefficients were established to provide internal consistency reliability for model of support for sbae teachers instrument per the third research objective. findings research objective 1: determine the primary components of support for sbae teachers to address research objective one, the 153-item instrument (see table 1) was analyzed to determine the primary components to reduce items in the model of support for sbae instrument using pca. the kmo measure of sampling adequacy equaled 0.77 which is within https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 60 the accepted range according to cerny and kaiser (1977). the initial pca resulted in 34 components loading above a 1.0 eigenvalue. the 34 components were compared to parallel analysis resulting in eight factors loading above the output. data were re-analyzed (pca with varimax rotation) fitting the 153 items with the eight factors accounting for 51.8 percent of the variance found. the component and communality loadings of the rotated matrix of all 153items were analyzed and it was determined 54-items should be retained from the varimaxrotated pca. items were fixed to eight components based on loadings of 0.6 or higher in at least one component area. a sample of the 99 items not retained included statements related to managing paperwork, managing instructional time, maintaining student records, developing a program budget, lesson planning, relationships with cte directors, relationships with university faculty in agricultural education, relationships with the state ffa association, managing lab/facilities, develop curriculum, used new technology, and engage in professional organizations. table 1 retained pca component loadings and communalities (54 items, n =303) items 1 2 3 4 5 6 communality r_5 .54 .384 r_8 .53 .480 r_9 .90 .856 r_10 .63 .545 r_12 .67 .489 r_16 .82 .733 r_19 .89 .834 r_21 .76 .710 r_22 .85 .778 r_23 .84 .78 r_24 .65 .54 c_1 .67 .63 c_3 .75 .65 c_12 .68 .65 c_23 .59 .50 c_25 .66 .56 c_28 .656 .59 p_1 .73 .61 p_2 .68 .51 p_3 .72 .62 p_4 .72 .59 p_6 .81 .72 p_7 .77 .65 p_8 .73 .73 p_9 .77 .65 p_11 .76 .66 p_12 .70 .69 p_14 .80 .73 p_15 .77 .66 p_18 .68 .55 p_20 .67 .59 p_28 .62 .57 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 61 items 1 2 3 4 5 6 communality m_5 .65 .54 m_15 .75 .68 pr_4 .58 .43 pr_9 .55 .53 pe_1 .84 .75 pe_2 .69 .56 pe_3 .81 .73 pe_4 .68 .52 pe_5 .68 .57 pe_7 .85 .78 pe_8 .83 .75 pe_10 .65 .53 mh_1 .74 .58 mh_2 .81 .68 mh_3 .75 .61 mh_4 .76 .61 mh_5 .78 .65 mh_7 .67 .57 mh_8 .59 .44 mh_10 .80 .67 mh_15 .31 .36 .45 mh_16 .35 .32 .52 .53 note. factor loadings below .30 are not displayed; extraction values are based on communalities; r = relationships, c = classroom/instruction, p = program factors, m = miscellaneous factors, pr = professional factors, p = personal factors, mh = maslow’s hierarchy – individual needs. items with a strikethrough were not retained. please see the attached instrument for the original items and corresponding item codes. the 54 retained items were then re-analyzed using an additional pca to verify the number of components using the reduced dataset. the analysis resulted in a kmo measure of 0.91. six components resulted in eigenvalues above parallel analysis (i.e., a simulated data set with the same number of items and respondents to optimize component extraction), demonstrating the need to re-analyze the pca with a varimax rotation while limiting items to fit within six components. the component loadings and communalities of the rotated matrix were analyzed using a varimax rotation of the retained 54 items to develop the final component structure of items resulting from the six components (see table 1). the pca fit to six components resulted in 46 (of 54) items loading at or above a 6.0, explaining 58.7% of the variance in the dataset. the five components are outlined in table 2 with the corresponding and updated item numbers to represent the sbae model of support instrument. one construct (professional needs) and eight items did not fit the six-construct model. removed items included managing relationships with other teachers, appreciation of individual differences, purposeful professional development, and the ability to ask others for help. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 62 table 2 emerging components and retained items (46 items) component title item corresponding item description 1. personal needs (safety and security) p_1 ability to take care of yourself p_2 manage stress p_3 health (mental, physical, and emotional) p_4 change in family dynamics p_5 work and home life balance p_6 death of a relative or close friend p_7 financial loss p_8 emotional health support p_9 support for teacher mental health p_10 teacher motivation p_11 rest p_12 balanced nutrition p_13 exercise and physical activity p_14 body function is regulated p_15 good general health p_16 established a routine p_17 i can cope with stress/anxiety in healthy ways 2. intracurricular program needs i_1 role as the ffa advisor i_2 managing the ffa chapter i_3 managing the total agricultural education program i_4 attending fairs/showing/exhibitions i_5 training cde teams i_6 being competitive in cdes i_7 livestock and project center management i_8 training lde teams i_9 being competitive in ldes i_10 being competitive with livestock projects i_11 sae programs i_12 sae visits i_13 fundraising for ffa activities i_14 ffa award applications i_15 resources for awarding and recognizing saes 3. relationship needs within school and community r_1 relationship with principal r_2 relationship with transportation director r_3 relationship with superintendent r_4 relationship with school board r_5 competence of superintendent r_6 competence of school board r_7 competence of counselors 4. classroom/instructional needs c_1 teach effectively c_2 ability to use different teaching methods and strategies c_3 engaging students in critical thinking activities c_4 standards alignment c_ 5 amount of time allotted for preparation 5. school-based support needs s_1 relationship with assistant principals s_2 competence of assistant principals note. p = personal needs, i = intracurricular needs, r = relationship needs, c = classroom/instructional needs, and s = school-based support needs. the numbers presented in this table will be used from this point forward. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 63 research objective 2: validation of the sbae model of support instrument the final instrument resulted in five components represented with 46 items. all 46 items loaded at a value greater than .60 (guadagonli & velicer, 1988), and their communalities meet an acceptable level, according to hair et al. (2010). the original instrument represented 153 items compiled from different validated studies of doss et al. (2023) (132 items) and marsh et al. (2023) (42 items). using the constant comparative method, 21 duplicative items from the studies were removed to create the comprehensive original 153 items prior to data collection (creswell & poth, 2018). the resulting 46 items are considered valid based on the pca results measuring the component (privitera, 2020) of the model of support for sbae. in addition to the validity of the previously developed items, a reliability estimate based on 46 items resulted in an acceptable cronbach’s alpha of .95 (nunnally, 1978). we evaluated the deletion of any item that may have increased the total cronbach’s alpha score. after analysis of the item-total statistics, it was determined that the removal of any item would decrease the total cronbach’s alpha level instead of increasing it, resulting in the retention of all 46 items as part of the valid model of support instrument for sbae teachers. research objective 3: determine the internal consistency reliability of the components of the instrument the 46-item instrument was deemed valid through a pca loading on five components, with a cronbach’s alpha of .95. reliability estimations were calculated using the corresponding items within each of the five components. the first component, identifying personal needs depicting individuals' subsistent and safety needs, is a combination of 17 items, resulting in a cronbach’s alpha of .96. it was determined that the removal of any of the 17 items would result in a decreased cronbach’s alpha of the first component, leading to all items being retained. the 17 items have substantial positive correlations (davis, 1971), demonstrating interrelated items measuring the personal needs component (field, 2018). the second component, intracurricular program needs, depicted program-specific needs related to ffa and sae, represented by 15 validated items, resulting in a cronbach’s alpha of .95. it was determined that the removal of any of the 15 items would result in a decreased cronbach’s alpha of the second component, leading to all items being retained. the 15 items have substantial positive correlations (davis, 1971), demonstrating interrelated items measuring the intracurricular program needs component (field, 2018). the third component included relationship needs from the surrounding school and community, with seven items representing relationships with and the competence of individuals who serve in support roles within proximity of the sbae program with resulting cronbach’s alpha of .90. the removal of any item would reduce the cronbach alpha of the instrument, resulting in all items being retained. additionally, the seven items have substantial positive correlations (davis, 1971), demonstrating a measure of interrelated items. the fourth component included classroom/instruction needs and resulted in cronbach’s alpha of .83 for the five validated items. the deletion of any item would result in a reduction of cronbach’s alpha, so all items were retained. the five items have a moderate to very strong positive correlation (davis, 1971). the fifth component, school-based support needs, included two items with a cronbach’s alpha of .51, thus falling below the acceptable threshold of .70 or greater (nunnally, 1978). eisinga et https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 64 al. (2013) suggested that coefficient alpha for a two-item scale is not a meaningful measure and recommended reporting the spearman-brown reliability indicator. the spearman-brown estimate resulted in .51 for the two items, but the deletion of the two items would reduce the overall 46-item instrument reliability with a cronbach’s alpha of .95, leading researchers to retain the two items even though two-item scales are problematic (yan & green, 2011). conclusions and recommendations this study resulted in a valid and reliable sbae model of support instrument. the five emerging components included personal needs, intracurricular program needs, relationship needs, classroom/instructional needs, and school-based support needs. these represent six of the seven original categories. while professionalism was the category lost through the pca, could it be that being professional is assumed? in addition, school-based support emerged as its own component, demonstrating a difference in item performance with items that referred to relationships and competence of administrators versus relationships and competencies of others who serve in support roles within proximity of the sbae program. perhaps this is due to the administrative tasks of assistant principals who manage and engage with sbae teachers more directly. the retention of two items within this component may suggest that further research is needed to consider the implications and additional items that may expand the school-based support needs of sbae teachers. the personal needs component represented the greatest quantity of retained items and were merged from personal factors and maslow’s hierarchy of needs representing human psychological needs for subsistence and safety as an individual and within the profession, aligning with the conceptual model of support for sbae. could it be that sbae teachers’ basic human needs are not being met and teachers are becoming more frustrated within the profession (marsh et al., 2023; ryan & deci, 2000; fisher & royster, 2016). in addition to personal needs, intracurricular needs was the second largest retained component, representing a plethora of tasks related to program planning, ffa advisement, competitive events, and sae management. while the classroom/instruction component was reduced to five items, the items are closely related to historical sbae needs, potentially indicating a change is needed in tactics used to support teachers in meeting their classroom/instruction needs. the classroom/instruction needs identified in this study aligned with those in the sbae effective teaching instrument (eck et al., 2019) representing the human capital skills needed to be effective. regardless of the historical context of these needs, new teachers are being prepared through sbae teacher preparation programs or entering the profession from alternative routes, therefore the need to consider and evaluate this component remains essential. we recommend the sbae model of support instrument be used by stakeholders (i.e., administration, state staff, and teacher mentors) to continually evaluate the humanistic needs of in-service sbae teachers to provide the context for how sbae teachers need the content, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 marsh et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 65 curricula, professional development, mentoring and/or resources to be presented to make them more impactful for supporting their needs, reducing potential job-related stress and increasing retention within the profession. additionally, preservice teacher preparation programs should use the instrument as a student self-assessment to evaluate the sbae teacher aspirants during their professional education core courses and student teaching internship, measuring the impact of early field experiences, supports, professional networking, and student teaching placement opportunities that meet their humanistic needs and develop their human capital prior to entering the sbae classroom. employing a longitudinal design would allow teacher preparation programs to observe the growth of students from their pre-service program into their career, where it would be expected that participants continue to grow and develop, moving them from the subsistence level up through respect and self-actualization (marsh et al., 2023). given the variety of uses for the instrument (i.e., complete program/instrument or specific component), it is recommended that assessment data evaluate individual components or item responses to determine the needs of participating sbae teachers. future research should consider the current needs of sbae teachers using the validated instrument to determine opportunities to increase the level of effectiveness and individual wellness of sbae teachers (ryan & deci, 2000). perhaps such implementation could improve work-life balance and job satisfaction by helping sbae teachers manage a successful program (marsh et al., 2023; phipps et al., 2008; shoulders et al., 2021). it is also recommended that the model of support instrument be evaluated to consider if the components reflect the needs of those involved in non-formal agricultural education and higher education professions within agriculture and adapted, as needed, to provide a humanistic lens to inform retention and job satisfaction efforts. acknowledgments this manuscript is based on data published in the proceedings of the national conference of the american association for agricultural education. marsh, k. n., eck, c. j., & doss, w. 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(2011). coefficient alpha: a reliability coefficient for the 21st century? journal of psychoeducational assessment, 29(4), 377–392. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/0734282911406668 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.549 http://doi.org/10.1037/a0019237 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.347 http://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346 https://issuu.com/texasffa/docs/magazine_summer_2020_no_bleed_full https://www.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.68 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2021.04067 https://www.ffa.org/agricultural-education/ https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2015.02170 https://www.doi.org/10.1177/0734282911406668 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 1, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. amy harder, associate dean and professor, 1376 storrs rd., united 4134, storrs, ct 06269-4134, amy.harder@uconn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-2028 2. lendel kade narine, extension associate professor, utah state university, 4900 old main hill, logan, ut 84322, lendel.narine@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-2770 3. stacey stearns, communications specialist, university of connecticut extension, 1376 storrs road, unit 4134, storrs, ct 06269-4134, stacey.stearns@uconn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4711-7244 97 decision-making and data quality: applying fraud response strategies to clean survey panel data a. harder1, l. k. narine2, s. stearns3 article history received: december 18, 2024 accepted: february 3, 2025 published: march 8, 2025 keywords sdg 4: quality education; online surveys; survey straightlining; low-quality indicators; extension professionals abstract survey panels provide extension professionals with a valuable tool for collecting data on a wide range of topics without overburdening their program participants. paid data panels are particularly useful for gathering unbiased feedback about extension programs. however, some survey participants in these panels engage in satisficing or straightlining behaviors to earn rewards with minimal effort, which compromises data quality. this study explored whether survey panelists’ perceptions of online survey items varied based on response quality. it compared normal and low-quality responses across broad issue areas and investigated whether age, education, income, or gender identity influenced these differences. analysis of 94 respondents in each group revealed no significant data quality differences based on age, education, income, or gender identity. there was a statistically significant difference in data quality when using an open-ended question requiring greater cognitive effort. we recommend adopting more conservative data cleaning strategies. while this approach has limitations, its benefits are particularly valuable when the data informs an organization’s strategic priorities. mailto:amy.harder@uconn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-2028 mailto:lendel.narine@usu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-2770 mailto:stacey.stearns@uconn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4711-7244 harder et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 98 introduction and problem statement online survey technologies have made it increasingly easy for researchers to contract with forprofit survey providers to collect data from convenience samples. in the u.s., extension professionals have used survey panel vendors to investigate questions about a diverse array of topics, including programming priorities, consumer perceptions, willingness to pay, and water conservation (harder et al., 2023; holt et al., 2015; kelly et al., 2019; warner & diaz, 2021). using a data panel can prevent extension clientele from becoming fatigued by multiple survey requests, particularly when the clientele population may be limited. furthermore, contracted data panels tend to provide respondents who are not familiar with extension services and are less likely to have biased answers (warner & diaz, 2021) which can be useful when the questions being asked are relevant to the general population. however, the integrity of the data obtained from survey panel systems is challenged by the potential for respondents’ dishonest behavior associated with the incentive system used by many panel providers. some participants will engage in unethical behaviors to gain the incentive or multiple incentives (chandler & paolacci, 2017; lawlor et al., 2021) or put forth the minimal effort needed to receive the reward in a strategy often described as satisficing (hamby & taylor, 2016; roberts et al., 2019). evidence of such behavior has been found in the extension literature (harder et al., 2023; narine et al., 2020; warner & diaz, 2021). without data cleaning, fraudulent and/or low-quality responses can increase bias, erode data quality, and negatively impact organizational and programmatic decisions. conceptual framework conceptually, the ability to identify fraudulent responses relies upon the identification of variables likely to be associated with such behaviors. intermixed in the discussion of how to identify valid responses is the potential influence of demographics on response quality. prattchapman et al. (2021) found age, race/ethnicity, marital status, income, and college completion characteristics were significantly different when comparing retained versus excluded responses to a web-based healthcare survey. cognitive ability was found to be consistently related to lower quality responses caused by satisficing behaviors in a study by kaminska et al. (2010); similarly, zhang and conrad (2014) found less educated respondents more likely to exhibit speeding and straightlining behaviors. further, they found younger respondents tended to speed more often than older respondents. fortunato et al. (2022) reported similar results and found men were more likely to exhibit “errors produced when respondents fail to provide quality responses through various satisficing behaviors” (p. 456), which they described as shirking. based on the literature, researchers should consider the degree to which the demographic characteristics of the sample population may account for undesirable survey response behaviors. pozzar et al. (2020) identified fraudulent responses as “those that strongly suggested automation or respondent misrepresentation” (results, para. 2). sometimes, less certainty https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 harder et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 99 exists regarding the validity of responses. low-quality or suspicious indicators are those “that could reasonably be attributed to respondent error or coincidence” (pozzar et al., 2020, results, para. 2). multiple strategies for identifying and removing fraudulent or low-quality responses exist (e.g., arndt et al., 2022; belliveau & yakovenko, 2022; yarrish et al., 2019). previous research by spreen et al. (2020) found significant differences between the responses of “qualified, nonproblematic respondents” (p. 848) and their counterparts who were flagged for failing screening metrics. qualtrics (2023) offers the use of relevant id fraud scores which are designed to provide a numerical estimate of the likelihood that a response has been provided by a bot. belliveau et al. (2022) and lawlor et al. (2021) also recommended protocols for improving the validity of survey panel data. commonly, straightlining and speeding are associated with fraudulent or low-quality responses. straightlining can be defined as repetitively selecting the same response option across items, based on zhang and conrad’s (2014) description of the behavior. speeding – the practice of going through a survey faster than reading comprehension allows – can be estimated based on an average reading speed of 300 words per minute (carver, 1992). given dueling concerns about protecting data integrity while not erroneously removing valid responses and decreasing the sample size (johnson et al., 2023), the threshold of low-quality indicators that should be used to guide data cleaning decisions is unclear. previous researchers (e.g., revilla & ochoa, 2015; yarrish et al., 2019) cautioned against the quality of responses with multiple negative indicators. is a single low-quality indicator sufficient to warrant a response’s removal? we sought to answer this question to increase the likelihood that data obtained from panels in applied extension research can be trusted to guide strategies to advance practice. purpose the purpose of our study was to determine if survey panelists’ perceptions of items in an online survey are significantly different based on response quality. objectives were to (a) assess differences in perceptions of broad issue areas between low-quality responses and normal responses, and (b) determine if any differences in perceptions were attributed to or moderated by age, education, income, and gender identity. methods data were collected in 2023 for a needs assessment conducted in connecticut to assess adult residents’ perceptions of various issues with the intent of using the results to inform extension program planning. we contracted with a for-profit survey panel vendor to obtain 1,000 usable responses from a convenience sample chosen to increase the odds that subgroups would be sufficiently large for meaningful analysis. the survey instrument contained three sections and is available as an appendix. previous versions of the instrument were used by narine et al. (2020) and harder et al. (2023). the version used for our inquiry was reviewed for face validity by two https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 harder et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 100 lifelong connecticut residents with multiple years of extension experience; minor revisions to reflect local context were made based on their feedback. data collection began with a soft launch via qualtrics on august 25, 2023. the contracted panel provider sent 22 responses for our review. data collection was completed on september 9, 2023, with 1,030 responses. an unknown number of responses were removed by the contracted panel provider due to duplication of ip addresses, speeding, and bad open text (a. olea, personal communication, october 4, 2023). we also removed responses due to relevant id fraud scores, underage respondents, speeding, straightlining, and illogical open text. low-quality (lq) open-ended responses were then identified, such as when a respondent provided text like “i don’t know” unless an additional logical explanation was included. unclear responses (e.g., “is very informative and help to have you healthy safely”) and refusal to respond were also considered lq, consistent with revilla and ochoa (2015) and schmidt et al. (2020). we removed 20 responses with two or more low-quality indicators, leaving 94 responses with one low-quality indicator. data analysis sought to determine if participants’ perceptions toward issue areas differed based on their response quality, age, education, income, and gender identity. after the screening process, the lq response group consisted of 94 observations. however, there were 876 respondents in the normal quality (nq) group. a random sample of 94 observations was taken from the nq group using the select cases function in spss. as a result, the lq response group (n = 94) and nq group (n = 94) were equal in sample size. a chi-square test was used to compare the lq and nq groups based on age, education, income, and gender identity. a priori p was set to 0.05 for statistical significance; results of the chi-square test indicated there were no statistically significant differences in age (x2 = 11.09, p = .085), education (x2 = 4.02, p = .546), income (x2 = 1.01, p = .798), and gender identity (x2 = 0.43, p = .513) between the lq and nq groups. this implies the groups exhibited similar background characteristics. the survey instrument gathered data on respondents’ perceptions toward 45 items. a principal component analysis (pca) was used to reduce the data into broad issue areas, each comprising highly intercorrelated items. however, four youth-focused issue items had low factor loading scores and did not emerge as a unique factor. therefore, the final pca was conducted on 41 issue items. this reduction was appropriate to explain the variation in perceptions towards issues based on response quality without having to repeat the analysis for each issue item (warner, 2012). each factor was treated as an interval variable because a construct score was calculated from the raw scores of items within the factor (carifio & perla, 2008; likert, 1932). an independent samples t-test with cohen’s d estimate of effect size was used to determine if there were statistically significant differences in perceptions towards each issue area based on response quality. a series of two-way anovas were conducted to assess the potential role of demographic factors on the differences in perceptions between the lq response group and the nq group. perceptions toward each issue area were examined based on the interaction effect of group membership and age, education, income, and gender identity. the interaction effect https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 harder et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 101 was necessary to conclude whether differences in perceptions varied because of demographics and group membership. therefore, the statistical significance of the interaction term determined if the influence of group membership on perceptions depended on age, education, income, and gender identity. findings data reduction a pca with a varimax rotation was used to extract latent components from the 41 issue items, hereafter referred to as issue areas. the scree plot indicated four components were ideal and together explained 62% of the common variance across items. the kaiser–meyer–olkin measure was 0.91 which indicates good sampling adequacy. bartlett’s test was statistically significant (x2 = 6313.85, p < 0.001), which suggests the data was not an identity matrix and therefore, a pca was appropriate (jolliffe, 2002). the four factors or issue areas, all with eigenvalues above 2.00, were labeled as follows: (a) agriculture (9 items, cronbach’s α = .92), (b) natural resources (8 items, cronbach’s α = .93), (c) wellbeing and family (10 items, cronbach’s α = .92), and (d) resilience and health (14 items, cronbach’s α = .93). perceptions of issue areas by response quality as shown in table 1, findings from the independent samples t-tests showed there were statistically significant differences in respondents’ perceptions of all issue areas based on response quality. looking at cohen’s d, the effect sizes were large for agriculture and natural resources and medium for well-being and family, and resilience and health. based on cohen’s d, there was a 71% percent chance that an individual picked at random in the low-quality group had a lower mean score compared to those in the normal group for agriculture and natural resources. for resilience and health, there was a 66% chance that an individual picked at random in the low-quality group had a lower score compared to individuals in the normal group. lastly, for wellbeing and family, there was a 62% chance that an individual picked at random in the low-quality group had a lower score compared to individuals in the normal group. the effect was more pronounced for the issue areas of agriculture and natural resources, but the low-quality response group rated all issue areas significantly lower compared to the respondents in the normal group. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 harder et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 102 table 1 differences in perceptions based on response quality issue area group m sd t p (two-sided) d agriculture lq 3.52 0.76 5.43 <.001 0.79 nq 4.06 0.58 wellbeing and family lq 3.41 0.82 2.93 <.01 0.43 nq 3.77 0.85 resilience and health lq 3.26 0.73 4.08 <.001 0.60 nq 3.68 0.69 natural resources lq 3.24 0.83 5.39 <.001 0.79 nq 3.87 0.78 note. lq = low-quality group, nq = normal group. table 2 shows the direct and moderating effects of the response group and age based on the two-way anova. as established in table 1, response quality had a statistically significant direct effect on perceptions toward all issue areas. however, age did not have a direct effect on perceptions across any issue area. lastly, results show the interaction between the response quality group and age did not have a statistically significant effect on perceptions. this suggests age did not influence the differences in perceptions between the low-quality response group and the normal group. table 2 effect of age and response quality on perceptions issue area effect f p ηp 2 agriculture quality 18.44 <.001 .10 age 1.19 .31 .04 quality x age 0.31 .93 .01 wellbeing and family quality 7.98 <.01 .04 age 0.70 .65 .02 quality x age 0.56 .76 .02 resilience and health quality 13.79 <.001 .07 age 1.37 .23 .05 quality x age .61 .73 .02 natural resources quality 16.52 <.001 .09 age 1.05 .40 .04 quality x age .46 .84 .02 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 harder et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 103 like the results in table 2, table 3 shows response quality had a direct and statistically significant effect on perceptions across all issue areas. yet, income did not have a direct effect on perceptions, and the interaction between the response quality group and income did not have a statistically significant effect on perceptions. therefore, respondents’ income did not influence the differences in perceptions between the low-quality response group and the normal group. table 3 effect of income and response quality on perceptions issue area effect f p ηp 2 agriculture quality 21.49 <.001 .11 income 0.22 .88 .00 quality x income 1.43 .24 .02 wellbeing and family quality 6.16 <.01 .03 income 1.67 .17 .03 quality x income 1.23 .30 .02 resilience and health quality 9.92 <.001 .05 income 1.85 .14 .03 quality x income 1.12 .34 .02 natural resources quality 19.50 <.001 .10 income 2.26 .08 .04 quality x income 1.98 .12 .03 consistent with previous results, table 4 shows the established direct effect of the response quality group on perceptions across all issue areas. it also indicates gender identity did not directly influence perceptions, while the interaction between group membership and gender identity did not influence perceptions. gender identity was not a moderating variable in the model which indicates it did not account for the differences in respondents’ perceptions on all four issue areas between the low-quality response group and normal group. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 harder et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 104 table 4 effect of gender identity and response quality on perceptions issue area effect f p ηp 2 agriculture quality 29.33 <.001 .14 gender identity 0.04 .84 .00 quality x gender identity 0.05 .82 .00 wellbeing and family quality 8.75 <.001 .05 gender identity 3.20 .08 .02 quality x gender identity 0.39 .53 .00 resilience and health quality 16.76 <.001 .08 gender identity 3.92 .05 .02 quality x gender identity 0.96 .33 .01 natural resources quality 28.50 <.001 .13 gender identity 0.38 .54 .00 quality x gender identity 0.01 .93 .00 respondents’ educational level did not have a statistically significant effect on their perceptions of issue areas (see table 5). likewise, the interaction between group membership and education was not an influential factor across all issue areas. therefore, education did not moderate the effect of response quality on perceptions toward issue areas. table 5 effect of education and response quality on perceptions issue area effect f p ηp 2 agriculture quality 22.46 <.001 .11 education 1.11 .36 .03 quality x education 0.38 .86 .01 wellbeing and family quality 4.11 .04 .02 education 1.68 .14 .05 quality x education 0.82 .53 .02 resilience and health quality 12.18 <.001 .07 education 1.16 .33 .03 quality x education 0.53 .76 .02 natural resources quality 22.25 <.001 .11 education 1.34 .25 .04 quality x education 0.17 .97 .01 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 harder et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 105 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations researchers conducting web-based surveys with paid panels to inform extension strategic planning and programming decisions should consider adopting more conservative strategies for cleaning data than have previously been indicated in the literature. while some researchers (revilla & ochoa, 2015; yarrish et al., 2019) have implemented or recommended methods based on removing responses with multiple low-quality indicators, we found that responses with a single low-quality indicator were significantly different from those without low-quality indicators. further, those differences could not be attributed to age, income, or gender identity, which might have been expected based on prior research, which found that younger, less educated, and/or male respondents are more likely to demonstrate satisficing or other undesirable survey-taking behaviors (fortunato et al., 2022; pratt-chapman et al., 2021; zhang & conrad, 2014). an important component of the methods we applied to clean the data was the inclusion of an open-ended question, which required respondents to demonstrate more cognitive effort than needed for the other instrument items. over 80% (n = 78) of the 94 respondents who were flagged for a single low-quality indicator received that designation because they had indicated they did not know or were not sure of the answer to the question, refused to answer the question, or provided an unclear response to the question. these respondents were not guilty of other satisficing behaviors and passed the other screening checks we conducted, and their responses would have been included in the final data set had it not been for their low-quality response to the cognitively demanding question. in this way, the open-ended responses alerted us to a problem we would have otherwise missed. we advise extension researchers to consider incorporating at least one cognitively demanding question in their survey instruments so it can be used as a screening tool in the data cleaning process. extension researchers face drawbacks when adopting a more conservative data-cleaning strategy. extension researchers may have a reduced sample size or need more participants due to the higher number of responses discarded. additional budget requirements and data cleaning can be inconvenient; however, low-quality data that negatively impacts the organizations’ strategic priority areas is a larger problem (johnson et al., 2023). extension researchers also need to be cognizant of the ethical issues of removing data and use a data cleaning system that ensures data integrity (lawlor et al., 2021). we believe the drawbacks of a conservative data cleaning strategy outweigh the benefit of using high-quality data that helps guide the organization and influence policy decisions to advance agricultural development. implications and recommendations arising from extension education research are frequently based on survey data, and researchers should strive for data accuracy and integrity via consistent and transparent data cleaning processes. our study was conducted with paid survey panelists in one state in the u.s., which is a limitation of the study. the results may not be generalizable to other geographic locations or other online survey respondents recruited through different methods. however, we believe the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 harder et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 106 extensive literature covering concerns about respondent behavior for online surveys is one argument for sharing our results; the problem is clearly not limited to a single state in a single country nor has a definitive solution for fixing the problem been identified yet. there is a need for those of us who use online surveys to guide organizational, programmatic, and development policy decisions to share what we learn as we strive to protect the integrity of data used for those decisions. secondly, the insignificant cost to experiment with the inclusion of a single cognitively demanding question in an online survey is so low that researchers may elect to experiment with this strategy in their own investigations with very little risk. we urge those 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(2014). speeding in web surveys: the tendency to answer very fast and its association with straightlining. survey research methods, 8(2), 127–135. https://doi.org/10.18148/srm/2014.v8i2.5453 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.573 https://doi.org/10.2196/23021 https://doi.org/10.2196/30730 https://www.qualtrics.com/support/survey-platform/survey-module/survey-checker/fraud-detection/ https://www.qualtrics.com/support/survey-platform/survey-module/survey-checker/fraud-detection/ https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439314531214 https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfz035 https://doi.org/10.12758/mda.2019.05 https://doi.org/10.1093/jssam/smz030 https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224x.2020.1844771 https://doi.org/10.18148/srm/2014.v8i2.5453 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 4, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. niamh dunphy, phd student, school of agriculture and food science, university college dublin, belfield, dublin 4, ireland, niamh.dunphy@ucdconnect.ie, http://orcid.org/0009-0003-4603-170x 2. seamus kearney, signpost climate advisor, teagasc dungarvan, shandon, co. waterford, ireland, seamus.kearney@teagasc.ie, http://orcid.org/0009-0000-2767-2390 3. sinéad flannery, assistant professor in behavioural science in agriculture and rural development, school of agriculture and food science, university college dublin, belfield, dublin 4, ireland, sinead.flannery@ucd.ie, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9352-975x 32 behavioural drivers and barriers for adopting climate mitigation actions on dairy farms n.dunphy1, s. kearney2, s. flannery3 article history received: february 13, 2025 accepted: october 21, 2025 published: november 15, 2025 keywords sdg 13: climate action; climate change; farmers; behaviour change abstract the adoption of climate mitigation actions on farms has the potential to lessen the effects of climate change on agriculture. the purpose of this study is to identify the behavioural drivers and barriers for adopting climate mitigation actions on dairy farms. this study employed a qualitative methodological approach consisting of 24 semi–structured interviews with dairy farmers in the republic of ireland. this study provides insights into the drivers and barriers for the adoption of climate mitigation actions at farm level. an increase in workload, being sceptical of the benefits of mitigation actions, and increases in costs incurred were the three biggest barriers for adopting climate mitigation actions at farm level. an increase in revenue and farm productivity, wanting to benefit the environment, and advisory support were the three biggest drivers when adopting climate mitigation actions on farm. from the findings of this study, policy and agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (akis) recommendations are offered. a call for policies that subsidise the cost of mitigation actions for farmers and promote actions that reduce workload levels on farms are proposed. akis recommendations on how agricultural advisors can support farmers when implementing mitigation actions are also offered. mailto:niamh.dunphy@ucdconnect.ie http://orcid.org/0009-0003-4603-170x mailto:seamus.kearney@teagasc.ie http://orcid.org/0009-0000-2767-2390 mailto:sinead.flannery@ucd.ie http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9352-975x dunphy et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 33 introduction and problem statement agriculture is one of the biggest contributors to ghg (greenhouse gas) emissions, accounting for 11% of global emissions (statista, 2024). the european parliament declared a european and global climate emergency in 2019 (erbach, 2021). maintaining a sustainable food security relies on a reduction in ghg emissions from agriculture at farm level (hatfield et al., 2011). accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to identify the behavioural drivers and barriers for the adoption of climate mitigation actions at farm level. farmer adoption of climate mitigation actions is a critical step in reducing agriculture’s significant contribution to ghg emissions. in 2015, the united nations adopted 17 sustainable development goals (sdg) (opoku, 2016). these sdgs reflect a global shift to socio–economic development which is underpinned by environmental sustainability, social inclusion, and economic development (sachs et al., 2016). sdg 13 is closely linked to this research as it relates to climate action. if sdgs are not achieved, there will be devastating implications: increased poverty and hunger, degradation of water quality, human health and well–being, and global warming will accelerate. therefore, understanding how best to support farmers in the uptake of mitigation actions at farm level will contribute to sdg 13 (lal, 2020). the un paris agreement set out ambitious climate targets for the european union (eu) to achieve by 2030 and 2050. the 2030 goal is to reduce ghg emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels (teevan et al., 2021), while the eu is legally committed to achieving net–zero emissions by 2050 (world economic forum, 2021). knowledge on farmer decision–making is essential to reduce ghg emissions arising from agriculture (farstad et al., 2022). this study explores the implementation of actions from ireland’s marginal abatement cost curve (macc) to identify drivers and barriers farmers experience when adopting these climate mitigation actions. farmer engagement with discussion groups, having off–farm employment, age, education level, and size of family are all factors that influence farmer’s willingness to adopt mitigation actions (crudeli et al., 2022; wang et al., 2022). therefore, identifying the behavioural drivers and barriers influencing irish farmers' adoption of climate mitigation actions can help support a reduction in agricultural ghg emissions and contribute towards achieving the eu's 2030 and 2050 climate goals. theoretical and conceptual framework the com–b model exploring farmers’ decision–making process is complex (farstad et al., 2022). darnhofer (2020) highlighted farmers’ decisions are not always based on science–informed actions and often they are made based on the farmer’s goals and values. however, it is important to also consider the behavioural and contextual conditions of farmers’ decision–making process (brown et al., 2021). cofré–bravo et al. (2019) highlighted the importance of farmer networks, and how their social environment significantly influences decision–making. therefore, a theoretical model, which considered all of these factors, was required to achieve the purpose of this study. accordingly, this study utilised the capability–opportunity–motivation behavioural model (com–b) (michie et al., 2011) as the theoretical and analytical framework. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 dunphy et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 34 the com–b model was developed from an extensive literature review of previously existing frameworks (michie et al., 2011). the com–b model proposes human behaviour is a result of the interactions between capability, opportunity and motivation within an individual (michie et al., 2011). if an individual is lacking in any three of the components (capability, opportunity or motivation), they will not achieve the desired behaviour. if sufficient levels of capability, opportunity and motivation are reached, the desired behaviour can be achieved. capability is defined by an individual’s psychological and physical capacity to implement a behaviour, including having the necessary knowledge and skills (michie et al., 2011). opportunity is defined as all the factors that lie outside an individual or prompt the behaviour (michie et al., 2011). motivation is defined as all the brain processes that energise and direct behaviour. this includes habitual processes, emotional responding and analytical thinking (michie et al., 2011). the com–b model is used frequently in health care research (mcdonagh et al., 2018; murphy et al., 2023) and more recently has seen an increase in its use in agriculture (burrell et al., 2024; farrell et al., 2023). the use of the com–b model in agriculture suggests farmers’ decision– making process when opting to implement climate mitigation actions on their farm is influenced by a range of factors, both internal and external to the farmer. the com–b model thus provides a theoretical lens to identify and classify the behavioural factors (i.e. drivers and barriers) influencing adoption of climate mitigation actions on farm. purpose the purpose of this study was to identify the behavioural drivers and barriers for adopting climate mitigation actions on dairy farms using the com–b model of behaviour change. this study used the com–b model to shed light on the drivers and barriers influencing farmer adoption of climate mitigation actions at farm level. methods a qualitative methodological approach was applied to this study to identify the behavioural drivers and barriers for adopting climate mitigation actions on dairy farms in ireland. a qualitative research approach enables a researcher to develop new knowledge about human interaction, thoughts, experiences, behaviour and culture (ohman, 2005). in–depth semi– structured interviews with farmers (n = 24) were conducted. questions in the semi–structured interview guide were informed by the com–b model and centred around farmer engagement/disengagement with climate mitigation actions on farm and the reason for this. the study population consisted of dairy farmers who avail of public advisory services in the republic of ireland. figure 1 shows the location and engagement levels of each semi–structured interviewee. all interviews were conducted between october and december 2023. each interview took place on farm, lasting 50 minutes on average. all interviews were audio– recorded and transcribed verbatim by the first author prior to analysis. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 dunphy et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 35 figure 1 region, location and engagement level of semi–structured interviews in ireland. farmer selection for the semi–structured interviews was purposive. a criteria sheet was developed by the research team which ranked farmers into three categories; (a) lowly engaged (n = 6); (b) moderately engaged (n = 9); and (c) highly engaged (n = 9) with climate mitigation actions. the criteria sheet consisted of climate mitigation actions farmers could implement on their farm. the climate mitigation actions used in this study were derived from the marginal abatement cost curve (lanigan et al., 2023). advisors in each region were contacted by the first author to identify potential interviewees. advisors completed the criteria sheets on behalf of the farmers as the information required was already known to them. farmers were not aware of the criteria sheet or their engagement level. the advisor contacted farmers to seek permission to conduct the interview, once agreement was made, the first author made contact and a suitable time and date was arranged for the interview. if a farmer was engaged with five or less actions, they were deemed lowly engaged. if a farmer was engaged with less than 13 but more than five actions, they were deemed moderately engaged. finally, if a farmer was engaged with 13 or more actions on the criteria sheet, they were deemed highly engaged. the research team created six regions across ireland based on dairy farmer population to ensure similar spread of lowly, moderately, and highly engaged dairy farmers within each region. as the number of mitigation actions farmers are involved with influences their engagement with further mitigation actions (tensi et al., 2022), this research methodology was applied to ensure drivers and barriers farmers experience come from a range of farmers, those who implement little to no actions and those who implement many actions. although all semi–structured interviewees were male, an effort was made to include female farmers in this study. female farmers were present in the sampling frame however, only one female was identified by advisors. this farmer declined to participate in an interview. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 dunphy et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 36 table 1 profile of semi–structured interview participants farmer gender region engagement level farmer 1 male 1 moderate farmer 2 male 6 moderate farmer 3 male 3 high farmer 4 male 5 low farmer 5 male 2 moderate farmer 6 male 2 moderate farmer 7 male 1 high farmer 8 male 1 low farmer 9 male 5 moderate farmer 10 male 4 moderate farmer 11 male 4 high farmer 12 male 3 moderate farmer 13 male 6 high farmer 14 male 6 low farmer 15 male 3 low farmer 16 male 4 moderate farmer 17 male 3 high farmer 18 male 4 high farmer 19 male 4 high farmer 20 male 5 high farmer 21 male 2 high farmer 22 male 2 low farmer 23 male 4 moderate farmer 24 male 2 low data analysis the data collected was analysed using thematic analysis through the software package nvivo (version 12.7.0 (3873)). an inductive and then deductive approach was applied based on the known constructs of the com–b model. to achieve data familiarisation, the semi–structured interview transcripts were read repeatedly. inductive coding was utilised primarily, and themes were formed organically. after coding, the transcripts were reread to ensure no data had been omitted. a deductive approach was then taken to categorise the themes based on the known constructs of the com–b model. the frequency of which themes emerged in the data was used as an indicator of their level of influence as drivers or barriers in implementation levels. throughout this study the authors engaged with reflexivity by continuously self–reflecting on their positions and influence in data collection and analysis. data coding was done independently by the lead author and confirmed by verifying findings with the other authors. by providing detailed descriptions of interviewees (table 1) the authors have allowed readers to assess the applicability of the findings of this study to different cohorts of farmers. finally, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 dunphy et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 37 credibility was achieved by conducting interviews with farmers in an environment they are comfortable in and over a prolonged engagement which ensured a nuanced understanding of their experiences with drivers and barriers when implementing climate mitigation actions on farms. clear record keeping of semi–structured interview transcripts, coding schemes and author notes were kept to ensure transparency of the findings. findings in line with the com–b model, the factors that influenced the adoption of climate mitigation actions varied across the sample. table 2 provides a summary of the findings from this study. in the sections that follow, each influencing factor is discussed in detail. table 2 com–b model for climate mitigation actions at farm level capability opportunity motivation psychological • knowledge & educaion (–) physical • agricultural advisor (+,–) • policy (+) automatic • farmer habit (+) • wanting to benefit the environment (+) physical social • publicity (+) • other farmers (+,–) reflective • suits farm system (+,–) • financial (+,–) • workload (–) • potential success (–) note. barriers (–) and drivers (+) that influence farmer adoption of climate mitigation actions. farmers’ capability to implement climate mitigation actions capability reflects a farmer’s psychological and physical ability to implement climate mitigation actions. psychological capability relates to having the knowledge and cognitive ability to implement climate mitigation actions e.g., farmer knowledge and education. physical capability refers to the ability required to implement climate mitigation actions e.g., physical strength and stamina. in relation to the implementation of climate mitigation actions, capability relates to engaging in the necessary thought processes and reasoning around implementation (michie et al., 2011). the psychological capacity of farmers shaped their behaviour towards implementing climate mitigation actions. farmer knowledge and education farmer knowledge on how to implement climate mitigation actions on their farm acted as a barrier for adopting climate mitigation actions at farm level. lack of knowledge and awareness around how to implement climate mitigation actions and not being fully aware of the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 dunphy et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 38 advantages of implementation restricted adoption levels. this aligns with previous research conducted with scottish farmers where those with higher education levels tended to adopt mitigation actions quicker as education is likely to promote knowledge around environmental issues (barnes & toma, 2012; prokopy et al., 2008). while some farmers in this study are interested in implementing a particular climate mitigation action on their farm, their lack of knowledge about them is preventing action. they feel they would “need to know more about them before [they would] put them in”. the findings of this study suggest having knowledge about mitigation actions has a positive influence on implementation levels of the actions. this aligns with the findings of dunphy et al. (2025) and those of moerkerken et al. (2020) who found that knowledge of ghgs is a robust determinant for reducing ghg emissions on farm. all farmers interviewed as part of this study have an awareness of climate mitigation actions, but they do not necessarily know how to implement these mitigation actions. for example, all farmers interviewed were aware of grass measuring, but a lack of procedural knowledge acted as a barrier when opting to implement grass measuring on their farm. grass measuring relates to the climate mitigation action of measuring how much grass is available for grazing on farm which helps to optimise grass quality and quantity (creighton et al., 2011). these findings align with those of regan et al. (2021) who identified the drivers and barriers affecting dairy farmer behaviour to engaged with grass measuring in ireland. they identified lack of farmer knowledge as having an influence on farmer decision–making when choosing to implement grass measuring which mirrors the findings of this study with a similar study population and location. as grass measuring requires a high level of knowledge to implement this is likely a reason for non–adoption on farms. farmers’ opportunity to implement climate mitigation actions opportunity relates to factors external to a farmer (e.g., other farmers, advisors, and policies) that influences their decision–making when implementing climate mitigation actions on their farm. policy measures, publicity, other farmers, and farm advisors were all factors that shaped farmers’ individual behaviour, positively and negatively, when implementing climate mitigation actions. agricultural advisor the role agricultural advisors play, both positively and negatively, in this study is evident throughout. agricultural advisors play an important role as they have a responsibility to communicate expert advice and new research findings to farmers in a way farmers can adopt (carlock, 2007). most farmers reported their agricultural advisor as having a positive influence on their decision to implement climate mitigation actions on their farm. in this study, agricultural advisors and the role they play in facilitating discussion groups helped encourage farmers to implement climate mitigation actions: “i started grass measuring in 1998… it was the influence of teagasc [agricultural advisor organisation] that got me started, i could not function without it [grass measuring] now” (farmer 18). the pivotal role discussion groups play in driving behaviour change is apparent with encouraging farmers to incorporate biodiversity into their farm management systems (leader et al., 2024) https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 dunphy et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 39 within this study, it was evident agricultural advisors have an influential role, the third biggest, in farmers’ decision to implement climate mitigation actions on their farm. knowledge exchange and the supply of new knowledge is valued by farmers (cofré–bravo et al., 2019; oreszczyn et al., 2010), and are essential for implementation of new practices because farmers rely on knowledge sources for farm innovation. this study also establishes knowledge exchange and the supply of new knowledge is valued by farmers (moojen et al., 2024). however, agricultural advisors acted as both drivers and barriers for farmers when adopting climate mitigation actions in this study. for some farmers they acted as a barrier in relation to implementing climate mitigation actions on their farm: “i had my advisor out during the year and when i was asking her about it [sowing multi–species swards], she really did not convince me to go ahead with it, so i didn’t.” (farmer 16) policy policy measures were found to influence farmers positively in relation to the uptake of mitigation actions on their farm. although policy measures are forceful, for some farmers it meant that unless they were forced to change their farming habits, they would not: “sometimes until you're forced to do certain things, you'll not do it.” (farmer 1) lane et al. (2018) found farmers view government regulations as a more critical issue than implementing climate actions affecting their decision–making process. similar findings are seen in liu et al. (2014) study that proved political ideology strongly influences farmers’ knowledge of climate change which enhances the opportunity for implementation. similar findings were found this study: i will try it, because if it comes to the stage where we need to do it i'd like to have a head start on it, it would be nice to have your foot dipped into the water before you’re pushed in. (farmer 1) publicity in this study, publicity around climate mitigation actions acted as a driver for farmers to implement the a climate mitigation action. this was also seen in a study by habib–ur–rahman et al. (2022) which illustrates how social media sites can be used to spread knowledge about climate change which encourages action in asia. some farmers in this study started using protected urea because it was a “buzz word.” farmers also feel it is important to gain good publicity for implementing climate mitigation actions on their farm. farmers are conscious of how the public view the farming sector: “look, for a farmer to be seen to be doing something even just for the public to see it, so even as simple as getting the public on side.” (farmer 11). this is also seen in mills et al. (2017) study where farmers report they want to be seen “to be doing the right thing” and feel it is important to keep the public’s view of agriculture positive. other farmers it is unsurprising other farmers e.g., neighbours, farmers in discussion groups etc., are sources of information for farmers given the academic literature that supports it (garforth et al., 2003). peer–to–peer learning involves a two–way (or more) exchange of knowledge between farmers through explaining, listening, discussing and working together with another farmer who might be more knowledgeable on the topic (cooreman et al., 2018). other farmers had both a https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 dunphy et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 40 positive and negative influence in implementing climate mitigation actions on farms. in this study, interviewees report they start doing an action because another farmer is implementing the action or encourages them to implement the action: “if you see your neighbour doing something it would get you thinking like we’re putting in solar panels now and the farmer next door is now as well because we have.” (farmer 10). this is also seen in the findings from farstad et al. (2022) where farmers have the confidence to implement mitigation measures as a result of positive learning experiences from their farming peers. their findings also suggest farmers find their support for implementing climate mitigation actions in their local community with other farmers. the negative influence other farmers have on farmers decision–making process is largely related to farmers telling other farmers about negative experiences they had with implementing climate actions: “if i thought it would work of course i’d try it out but i just don’t think, from what i’ve seen from other farmer testimonials, i don’t think i’ll go ahead with it” (farmer 10). in this study, other farmers mostly shaped farmer behaviour in a positive way i.e. increased adoption levels. the negative influence other farmers have on farmer behaviour can be seen as a leveraging factor but not as a barrier to behaviour. farmers’ motivation to implement climate mitigation actions motivation is defined as the brain processes that direct and energise behaviour (michie et al., 2011). automatic motivation relates to emotions and impulses while reflective motivation relates to evaluating and planning. throughout this study, there are a number of factors which impact farmers’ motivation to implement climate mitigation actions on their farm. farmer habit farmers’ habits acted as a driver when adopting mitigation actions on their farm. in relation to spreading protected urea instead of a type of fertiliser that emits more ghg emissions, farmers tend to stick with their habitual ways and continue to do what they have always done on their farm. while le dang et al. (2014) highlighted farmer habit as a barrier to farmer adoption as a general constraint, the findings from this study offer a different perspective by showing that habitual practices are particularly evident in fertiliser use where they prove especially resistant to change." however, for farmers who are in the habit of implementing climate mitigation actions on their farm, farmer habit has a positive effect on these farmers and reinforces the action. some farmers have fenced off watercourses and stopped topping hedges as these were measures in an agri–environmental scheme in recent years and they got into the habit of implementing these mitigation actions. these farmers have continued to implement these actions since the scheme ended. there are similarities between the farmers in this study and those described by mankad (2016) and momenpour et al. (2024) where farmer habitual is a determining factor when adopting low–carbon agricultural technologies. momenpour et al. (2024) explored farmers’ intentions to adopt low–carbon technologies in iran. they concluded farmer habit had the second largest influence on farmer behaviour to adopt to climate change. this echoes the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 dunphy et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 41 findings presented in this study where other farmers milk record their herd annually, as “it’s something that has always been done on the farm.” wanting to benefit the environment farmers in this study reported they implement climate mitigation actions on their farm for the environmental benefits the action brings about. this was identified as the second biggest driver influencing the implementation of climate mitigation actions on their farm. this influence was especially evident when farmers speak about the hedgerows on their farm. there is a sense of pride amongst farmers, if they see other farmers doing something for environmental reasons they are proud of each other. additionally, when farmers see the positive results of implementing a climate mitigation action, this encourages them to keep implementing the action each year on their farm. some farmers reference how they “couldn’t go back to cutting the hedges.” suits farm system farmers are influenced both positively and negatively to implement a mitigation action if it suits a farm system. for farmers who do not record milk production on their farm, they feel their current farm system works well and if they were to begin recording milk production, they would have to change what they do: “if i was milk recording, i’d feel like i’d have to be more ruthless when i am culling cows and then i’d have to buy in and i just don’t see the justification… what i have is working so far” (farmer 15). contrary to this, many farmers find implementing climate mitigation actions on their farm suits their farming system and this positively influences them to implement these actions each year. farmers reported spreading slurry using low emission slurry spreading (less) techniques suited their farm systems because their contractor uses less techniques: “the main reason i use the low emission slurry spreader is because i can spread slurry in spring and you can still graze it in a weeks’ time” (farmer 23). financial financial risks and incurring costs to the farmer act as a barrier for farmers in the uptake of climate mitigation actions. in this study, increasing farm expenses was the third biggest barrier for farmers when implementing climate mitigation actions on their farm. this is in line with other studies examining barriers for implementation of climate mitigation actions which found farmers consider saving money their priority when adopting these actions (moerkerken et al., 2020; roesch–mcnally et al., 2018). in some cases, farmers had implemented climate mitigation actions on their farm and “stopped because of the cost.” however, the extra revenue created from engaging in climate mitigation actions was the biggest driver when implementing climate mitigation actions on farm. this finding was also observed in moerkerken et al. (2020) study which showed the positive relationship between implementing climate mitigation actions and ‘cost saving’ as a motivation for taking action. farmers in this study who record milk production on their farm do so because they feel they can increase production and income. similarly, when farmers are asked why they have reduced their fertiliser input their responses alluded to the financial gain made to their farming business: “well the biggest reason https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 dunphy et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 42 [they reduced fertiliser inputs] was price and the second reason was i just wanted to reduce my input that was basically it, it was down to cost” (farmer 12). farmers in this study are not willing to spend money to reduce their ghg emissions. farmers report “the big motivation is what you can save financially.” this is unsurprising as farstad et al. (2022) also found that although farmers acknowledged the value climate mitigation actions have for the environment, their focus is on the economic performance of their farm. climate mitigation outcomes often come as a by–product or side effect of practices implemented to improve profitability (reduce cost) of farming operations (farstad et al., 2022). workload this study found if a climate mitigation action increases a farmer’s workload, they are less likely to implement the action. tasks that are time–consuming and laborious have a relatively low uptake on farm. based on data frequency, a higher workload is the biggest barrier for farmers to implement climate mitigation actions on their farms. similarities were found by regan et al. (2021) as farmers perceived grass measuring as a time–expensive task. farmers find recording milk production, grass measuring, incorporating multi–species swards, spreading protected urea, using sexed semen, and soil sampling all jobs that add to their workload: “i stopped milk recording and i never went back to it because it’s another job and i’m here on my own and it’s very slow in the morning and evening” (farmer 14). these findings are similar to those of mitter et al. (2019), who found climate change adopters cite workload on small–scale farms as a barrier to adoption. farmers in the current study feel some climate mitigation actions are not always worth the time invested which compromises behaviour with these actions. these findings suggest adoption of mitigation actions that place considerable strain on time and resources will result in low implementation levels unless these barriers can be overcome. potential success of mitigation actions being sceptical of the benefits of implementing climate mitigation actions on farm acted as the second biggest barrier to farmer adoption levels in this study. in relation to multi–species swards, farmers are sceptical of the persistence of the plant in swards: i don’t do multi–species because there is no retention… the animals don’t like it, it fades away after a few years and it’s hard to manage. (farmer 13) these are rational reasons for not incorporating multi–species swards on farms (vanclay & lawrence, 1994). in relation to grass measuring, regan et al. (2021) showed that all farmers are convinced of the benefits of grass measuring, but less than half of farmers were engaged with grass measuring on a regular basis. the findings presented in this study show some farmers do not see any benefits to engaging in this timely task: “i don’t see the benefit of it [grass measuring], the cows will tell you if you haven’t enough grass” (farmer 15). a smaller percentage of farmers in this study are engaged with grass measuring on a regular basis highlighting the importance of perceiving grass measuring as beneficial. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 dunphy et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 43 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the findings from this study shed light on the influencing factors for adopting climate mitigation actions on farm. an increase in workload, being sceptical of the benefits of mitigation actions, and increases in costs incurred were the three biggest barriers when adopting climate mitigation actions on farms. an increase in revenue and farm productivity, wanting to benefit the environment, and advisory support were the three biggest drivers when adopting climate mitigation actions on farms. considering these findings, recommendations to the akis and policies can be made to enhance implementation levels of climate mitigation actions on farms. policy makers should develop policies that subsidise the cost of mitigation actions whilst also promoting actions that reduce workload levels for farmers. participation in previous agri– environmental schemes has led to the formation of habitual practices among farmers, resulting in the continued implementation of scheme–related actions even after financial incentives ceased. this suggests that such schemes can foster long–term behavioural change in the form of habit rather than financial motivation. future policies should include a ‘carrot’ approach initially for farmers, which will hopefully result in sustained long–term change in the form of farmer habits. the akis should take into consideration the findings from this study; in particular, the influence agricultural advisors have on farmer behaviour. in this study, agricultural advisors played both positive and negative roles in the uptake of mitigation actions on farms. some advisors influenced farmer decision–making based on their own unconscious biases as opposed to providing farmers with the knowledge around actions and letting farmers make their own decisions. the akis should provide agricultural advisors with training to help advisors become aware of their own biases when giving farmers advice on mitigation actions. the akis should consider expanding its advisory services to further support advisors in its crucial role of encouraging farmers to implement climate mitigation actions on their farm. agricultural advisors should also promote peer–to–peer learning opportunities for farmers to facilitate knowledge exchange to address scepticism of mitigation actions experienced by farmers. peer– to–peer learning environments could be created through discussion groups, which have proved to be a successful educational space for farmers (o’connor et al., 2021). additionally, the akis should promote the use of advisory support tools that have been proven successful in raising farmer knowledge on mitigation actions available to them such as those of dunphy et al. (2025) have developed. these changes to policy have the potential to increase adoption of climate mitigation actions on farm, which will result in a reduction of ghg emissions arising from agriculture and contribute to achieving sdgs, specifically sdg 13 (climate action). several key areas warrant further research to verify and advance our understanding of the drivers and barriers influencing the uptake of climate mitigation actions on farms. future research should consider the influence of farmer demographics in decision–making processes to further enhance the findings presented within this paper. this study focused on exploring factors that influence dairy farmer adoption of mitigation actions on farms. extending the study to a larger subset of farmers associated with different enterprises (e.g., tillage, drystock, etc.) https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 dunphy et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 44 would be useful to determine if similar drivers and barriers are experienced across enterprises. furthermore, all farmers interviewed in this study were male. the population of female farmers in ireland is low (13.4%) (cso, 2020). hence, it was difficult to recruit female farmers to participate in this study. valuable future research should focus on drivers and barriers female farmers experience when implementing climate mitigation actions on their farms. other drivers and barriers are likely to be uncovered if the circle of inquiry is expanded. future research could also explore and compare typologies of farmer engagement. this may offer an enriched and further nuanced understanding of farmer behaviour towards climate mitigation actions and reveal additional valuable insights into farmer behaviour. the findings from this study fill a gap that was missing in the literature: information of the drivers and barriers dairy farmers in ireland experience when implementing climate mitigation actions on their farms. although this area requires further research, the findings of this study can be a foundational baseline of knowledge on this cohort and inform future research. acknowledgments funding information: this work was supported by the teagasc walsh scholarship programme [grant number 2021309]. conflict of interest: there are no identified conflicts of interest among the authors. previous dissemination: this paper was presented at the agricultural economics society of ireland early career day meeting in january 2025. https://aesi.ie/2025/01/31/early–career– day–meeting–recap/ artificial intelligence: artificial intelligence tools were not used in any stage of the study or the manuscript’s preparation. author contribution statement: n. dunphy – formal analysis, transcription, data coding, investigation, writing–original draft. s. kearney – confirming data coding, writing–review and editing. s. flannery –confirming data coding, writing–review and editing. references barnes, a. p., & toma, l. 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(2021). what you need to know about the european green deal – and what comes next. world economic forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/what–you–need–to–know–about–the– european–green–deal–and– what–comes–next/ © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.583 https://euagenda.eu/upload/publications/green-deal-eu-foreign-development-policy-ecdpm-briefing-note-131-2021.pdf https://euagenda.eu/upload/publications/green-deal-eu-foreign-development-policy-ecdpm-briefing-note-131-2021.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121825 https://doi.org/10.1080/13892249485300061 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159677 microsoft word 335-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. jarred shellhouse, strategic communications manager, university of florida, po box 110270, gainesville, fl 32611, jshellhouse@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4671-7854 2. nicole l. p. stedman, associate provost and dean, university of florida, po box 115500, gainesville, fl 32611, nstedman@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7970-1798 3. j. c. bunch, associate professor and associate department chair, university of florida, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 1 am i an imposter? navigating the research journey of university faculty j. shellhouse1, n. l. p. stedman2, j. c. bunch3 article history received: may 1, 2023 accepted: june 20, 2023 published: july 10, 2023 keywords researcher education; self-efficacy; identity abstract university faculty are charged with advising graduate students through their degree program and equipping them with skills needed to conduct research, but there is limited literature that observes researcher identity development from student to tenured professor. using self-efficacy as a guide, this phenomenological study examined the research journey of 19 university faculty to better understand the process of researcher identity development. data were collected from faculty at three annual research conferences regarding four life stages: (1) first contact with research, (2) dissertation, (3) early-career faculty, (4) post-tenure and/or promotion. findings indicated faculty navigate researcher identity crises following the transition from graduate student to faculty, and researcher identity must be self-identified before accepting external validation as a researcher. adequate development as a researcher is imperative for graduate students to be effective future members of the academy, which relies on confident, effective faculty advisors to teach them. our study reports practical suggestions to better prepare graduate students for careers as faculty by setting them up for early research success, as well as strategies to help reduce researcher identity crises experienced by early-career faculty. shellhouse et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.335 2 introduction a doctor of philosophy degree (phd) is a research preparation degree at its core. becoming a researcher is an ongoing process requiring doctoral students to continually invest in themselves while seeking help from faculty (phillips & pugh, 2010). students expect doctoral programs to teach them the process to become a researcher (phillips & pugh, 2010), but technical skills are separate from actually feeling like a researcher and developing a researcher identity. it is imperative for faculty to foster a learning environment which both teaches students technical research skills and equips them with a researcher identity to be successful in their field. identity is not an object or quality one can possess; it is a process that continuously develops throughout life (beijaard et al., 2004). understanding one’s own identity can help deter confusion in values, goals, and desired roles (erikson, 1968). faculty’s research often corresponds with their own interests and motivations (åkerlind, 2008), creating greater importance for faculty to fully understand their identity. further, evans (2011, p. 425) defined researcher development as “the process whereby people’s capacity and willingness to carry out the research components of their work or studies may be considered to be enhanced, with a degree of permanence that exceeds transitoriness.” researcher development describes the process in which a person begins to learn about and conduct their own research, with measurable inputs like grants submitted or doctoral students mentored, as well as outputs such as refereed journal publications (browning et al., 2017). this process needs further exploration, because “only when we understand how researcher development occurs can we develop effective policy for the improvement of practice” (evans, 2012, p. 17). the development process of identity is anchored in bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy theory, which served as the framework for this study. theoretical framework bandura (1977) posited perceived self-efficacy is when an individual believes in their ability to perform an order of behaviors to complete a task or achieve a desired outcome. bandura (1986) identified four sources that influence an individual’s self-efficacy: (a) mastery experiences, (b) vicarious experiences, (c) social persuasion, and (d) somatic/emotional states. for this study, mastery experiences, in which an individual has the opportunity to attempt a task and successfully complete the task, could be a faculty member successfully publishing a journal article. vicarious experiences involve observation of other, similar individuals’ successes of other individuals, also known as modeling. for example, a junior faculty member may observe the successes of a senior faculty member and adjust their behavior to mimic them. the third source, social persuasion, is when an individual is told by others they can or will not be successful. finally, somatic/emotional states involve an individual’s reactions to a situation (i.e., coping with stressors). in terms of identity development, kuhlmann and ardichvili (2015) studied the development of expertise and found that expertise developed quicker when the individual had a natural shellhouse et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.335 3 interest and intelligence to match the discipline, a strong worth ethic, a toleration for ambiguity, and worked for an employer who had complex issues to solve (kuhlmann & ardichvili, 2015). these qualities enhanced the motivation for individuals to think critically at work and develop their own desire to enhance technical skills and create solutions to complex problems resulting in increased self-efficacy as an expert (kuhlmann & ardichvili, 2015). everyone develops researcher identity on a unique timeline, yet some factors can foster progression through the process. structured interventions to support research faculty and staff allow them to define their future development and support needs to chart a guiding path for future research. the manner in which self-efficacy contributes reciprocally to identity development is evidenced in many ways. with additional constraints around research expectations and researcher identity, it becomes even more important to explore this developmental process. purpose and objective the purpose of this study was to understand faculty perceptions of their own research journey as it related to their identity development. due to the processual nature of identity, we sought to understand the researcher identity development journey from first experiences with research to careers as university faculty. this was achieved through the guidance of the following research questions: 1. how does researcher identity develop in university faculty? 2. what events encourage formation of researcher identity? 3. what events discourage formation of researcher identity? 4. what emotions do faculty navigate as they become more experienced researchers? methods this study used a qualitative phenomenological approach. this study’s target population were university faculty in the united states, which were identified through purposive sampling. specifically, university faculty were recruited at annual research conferences of three associations predominately focused on education. in total, 19 university faculty representing fourteen different universities across the united states participated in the study (table 1). shellhouse et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.335 4 table 1 demographics of participants participant age range gender research appointment earned tenure and promotion p1 35-39 f 25% no p2 30-34 f 40% no p3 25-29 f 50% no p4 30-34 m 0% no p6 35-39 m 50% no p11 25-29 f 30% no p12 30-34 m 25% no p14 a 45-49 f 30% no p15 35-39 f 50% no p20 35-39 f 0% no p7 40-44 f 30% yes p8 45-49 f 30% yes p9 50-54 m 0% yes p10 45-49 m 10% yes p16 40-44 f 40% yes p17 55-59 f 0% yes p18 60-64 m 40% yes p19 36-40 f 30% yes p5 60-64 f 25% not disclosed anote: p13 did not complete the data collection process. data collection and analysis data were collected through four journey mapping sessions. journey mapping, as a research tool, is a method to “provide a graphic visualization or a map of a customer or user’s experience” (howard, 2014, p. 11). faculty at each of the three research conferences were asked to participate in an hour-long session to collect data on their journey as a researcher. in journey mapping, custer (2018) noted the first step is to create a framework by selecting the chronological boundaries seeking to be investigated, as well as the specific constructs (or dimensions) on which data should be focused. our study used four chronological boundaries, or life stages, in relation to each person’s researcher identity development: (a) first contact or experience with research, (b) dissertation defense, (c) early faculty career, and (d) postpromotion and/or tenure (if applicable). it was not a requirement to have achieved promotion and/or tenure to participate in this study, so some faculty did not participate in the final stage. in addition, we collected data on the subjects’ (a) actions, “what were you physically doing in this stage in regard to research?”; (b) thoughts, “as you were doing those things, what were you thinking?”; (c) feelings or emotions, “draw a picture or an emoji to help show us what you were feeling at this stage”; and (d) insights, “give us context about your life at this stage” for each of the four life stages. shellhouse et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.335 5 once data were collected for each dimension in all four life stages, faculty identified two additional peaks in their journey. first, faculty indicated which life stage they felt they took on “researcher” as a piece of their self-identity. secondly, participants indicated in which life stage they felt their peers and colleagues validated them as a researcher. this was completed by having the faculty place light bulb (self) and thumbs-up (world) sticky notes on a grid, which acted as a timeline across life stages (figure 1). figure 1 data collection process following all journey mapping sessions, phenomenological reduction was used to analyze data (moustakas, 1994). this involved putting the phenomenon on a level plane without assuming the initial hierarchy of reality, and then delimiting the data into meaning units, before finally clustering the meaning units into themes (moustakas, 1994). richardson (2010, p. 4) asserted that there is “no single right way to create a customer journey,” but rather, each organization needs to discover what works for their respective situation. following, the data in all four life stages were examined holistically to understand the essence of the entire experience. to promote triangulation, each researcher developed their meaning units individually, then gained consensus among each other to achieve a more credible product (tracy, 2010). findings this section will discuss the essence of each life stage examined to better understand the faculty researcher identity development journey. after each life stage is presented, a holistic presentation of shared meaning is explained. findings indicated faculty felt somewhat comfortable and confident with research at the peak of their dissertation, but self-efficacy shellhouse et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.335 6 drastically fell as they entered their early career as faculty. after the tenure and promotion process, faculty often had a strong increase in self-efficacy and researcher identity development. first contact with research participants indicated their first research experience often came late in their undergraduate experience or the beginning of their graduate program. while the actual research work varied from conducting content analyses, creating literature reviews, drafting questionnaires, or studying statistics, this life stage had two major emotions that emerged: curious and overwhelmed. these two feelings seemed to correspond with the level of support the participant felt at that time. participants who primarily felt curious during this first research experience discussed engagement in the data collection process. they articulated experiences designing questionnaires and identifying populations and samples to be studied. some of them also helped with qualitative and quantitative analysis on the data that were collected. p2 conducted content analyses through their first research experience, noting a broadening understanding of the research process, stating, “research encompasses much more than i thought. this is kind of fun.” p2’s first experience with research allowed them to find an interest in continuing to develop their researcher identity. p12 said, “i thought it [my research] was challenging, in a good way. it sparked my motivation to meet that challenge.” p12 enjoyed the critical thinking the research required of them and began to develop as a researcher because of a first experience that motivated them to do more. a separate group of the participants felt overwhelmed as they began their research journey. these individuals were reading literature and writing about it, collecting lab samples, and analyzing statistics. p7 said they felt completely overwhelmed through the whole process, thinking, “i don’t know what i am doing!” they went on to say they received “no training and zero guidance.” p1 explained they were a first-generation college student and joined a graduate program where they perceived their peers to have much more research experience than they did. “i’m an imposter,” p1 wrote. “i have no idea what i’m doing.” further, p8 was attempting to read and synthesize literature to write a literature review, but felt they had no guidance. “this is so confusing. i am so unprepared” (p8). for this group of now-faculty, the first research experience developed a feeling of anxiety more than interest because they did not feel adequately prepared to tackle tasks at hand. one of the separating factors that emerged from the data between the two groups mentioned above was the perception of support from faculty and peers. p2 acknowledged thinking the research process was kind of fun, but they did not see a future career as a researcher. toward the end of their master’s program, “my advisor told me i was good at research and should consider a phd.” that extra push of validation and support motivated p2 to continue pursuing graduate school to a doctoral degree. p12 indicated peer and advisor engagement and support helped them to better enjoy research. “it helped to have a fellow group of grad students going shellhouse et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.335 7 through a similar experience. i also had a phenomenal mentor as my grad. advisor who helped me through” (p12). on the other hand, a lack of support and community allowed p3 to develop more apprehension and apathy toward the research process: “i felt isolated in a lab. i didn’t feel confident in research. i was just going through the motions.” the lack of support felt by p3 inhibited perceived progression in researcher identity development. dissertation the dissertation life stage was filled with many consistent actions among the participants, who reported they were analyzing data, writing, reading literature, working with their advisor and committee, and preparing for their defense presentations. participant responses in this life stage emerged in three major attitudinal themes: (a) this was exciting! (b) this is a challenge i can handle. (c) i am not prepared. out of these three attitudes presented, the data showed most participants were excited about this life stage. for the group of participants who were excited and confident in their research abilities in this stage, there was a sense of relief and awe that paralleled. p3 stated, “this [dissertation process] was not as bad as i thought it would be. people seem to value my research. i enjoyed this process.” the dissertation journey can be an arduous one, but p2 also looked back on the process with a sense of pride, necessitating a need to stop and revel in the moment. they captured these thoughts regarding the end of their dissertation defense: “i can’t believe i just did all of that. i can’t believe i’m done and it went so fast. my committee is saying good things, i need to remember this.” for these participants, the dissertation life stage was a challenge, but curiosity and identity as a researcher continued to develop through the process. other faculty looked at this life stage as a challenge but felt equipped with the tools and skills needed to push through it. p9 noted the following thoughts to themselves, just before they defended their dissertation to their committee: “i hope i have prepared enough. i believe i will finish the process.” p9 did not look at the dissertation as an easy task to check off a list, but they felt confident in their abilities to successfully complete their product. p14 articulated similar experiences of reassuring themselves, writing, “i had to tell myself to keep going. ‘you can do this. you are so close. don’t stop. time for you to be the expert!’” faculty who viewed the dissertation as an accomplishable challenge indicated feelings of confidence and excitement toward research once their committee validated their success by signing off on it. while the majority of participants had confidence as a researcher in this stage, there were still a few who did not feel adequately prepared. unlike the previous life stage, feeling supported by advisors and mentors did not seem to have as much influence in changing this feeling. p1 wrote about publicly defending their dissertation: “i filled up the room. my friends came, administration came, janitors came. i was supported but yet i felt that i might not be good enough in terms of my work.” after successfully defending, however, p1 was able to recognize the research skills at which they excelled and felt more confident in their abilities as a researcher. p7 wrote about their struggle in the weeks leading up to their defense: “my chair doesn’t have time for me. my chair had more phd students than he ever had—all three finishing at once. we fought for his time and often i did not “win.’” because of this lack of time, shellhouse et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.335 8 p7 went into their dissertation defense feeling less-than-prepared, but also felt more confident in their research knowledge and skills as it pertained to their study, after they successfully defended. early career faculty data in this life stage illustrated the largest drop in self-efficacy as a researcher. some faculty grew more confident as they progressed through their early career years, but only one of the 19 participants indicated complete confidence as a researcher at the beginning of their faculty career. instead of confidence and excitement toward research, participants indicated feeling overwhelmed and burned out. p19 was one of the faculty feeling overwhelmed in this life stage. to them, early career meant defining their own reputation and line of research, except they did not feel confident in either of those components, stating: “what is my research line? what the hell do i have that is publishable? how much ‘research’ am i supposed to do? my god, i will never be tenured.” the internal struggle that p19 felt was influenced by the expectations of their university to achieve promotion and tenure, weighed against the work they were currently doing which they felt was “publishable” and adequate. more often, however, faculty explained overwhelming feelings sparked by tenure and promotion expectations at their university. p17 stated, “i was worried about the tenure process, confused by some university policies and procedures, and frustrated by lack of institutional support and consistent changes.” for p17, the lack of confidence did not parallel a lack of researcher identity, but a lack of certainty in navigating the tenure process. p16 and p15 also articulated problems they ran into while trying to achieve tenure. “how am i supposed to balance grant writing with research and advising and teaching?” (p16). the other faculty expectations they had created a burden for achieving research expectations. p15 noted, ‘i love what i’m doing but i’m not sure i’m doing enough research. oh wait. i know i’m not doing enough research. what’s enough?” subjective expectations and the pressures put on the faculty to achieve tenure inhibited the productivity and confidence they felt as a researcher. other faculty felt they began their career with a sense of burnout about their research. p11 discussed transitioning from a graduate student into a faculty role: i wasn’t really jazzed or excited about my past line of research. it seemed to be valuable to the stakeholders i worked with (which i appreciated), but was looking to realign my research agenda with something i was more passionate about. p11’s research had been dictated by stakeholders’ interest rather than their own, which caused early career burnout and a need to refocus their research agenda. p12 recognized that burnout is something that could easily occur and discussed their methods to try and prevent it from happening: “i try to spend my research time only doing things that interest me so i don’t burn out, but teaching is what drives my day to day. research is what i use to scratch my curiosity itches.” in either case, the early career faculty role marked a decrease in self-efficacy as a researcher while they attempted to balance the additional duties of their job with the tenure and promotion process. shellhouse et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.335 9 post promotion and/or tenure the participants who achieved promotion and/or tenure had two major attitudes toward research identity. the first was confidence and excitement, while the other was still overwhelmed and fearful. in the confident group, p7 discussed this life stage as one marked with more freedom, stating, “i get to set my own agenda and pursue research in areas i am interested in. i work just as hard, but with more confidence and without fear. i’m excited to research (not a chore).” the freedom to research what they wanted and break away from the pressures of the tenure process were echoed through p9’s sentiments, “now i can focus on what i really want to study. i can be a mentor. break the cycle. support junior faculty.” p9 saw tenure as an opportunity to help foster research independence and researcher identity in junior faculty in areas they did not feel supported. p16 also articulated feeling relieved and excited, stating, “i can breathe! i am refocusing my priorities in research, spending more time on meaningful projects. what do i want to be known for?” for p16, achieving tenure was a milestone that allowed them to better invest in their own research reputation. not every tenured faculty echoed the same confidence in their researcher identity. p18 discussed their thoughts on navigating the next level of the promotion process: “the promotion process is more difficult; the bar keeps moving. this process is more subjective than pre-tenure. there is less support from profs. i need to stay focused on the goal.” because of the ambiguous expectations for promotion, p18 did not feel confident in their abilities to navigate the research expectations. p19 said, “i am scared and unsure. i feel like an imposter and i worry people are about to really find out how not good i am.” they believed that tenure marked a time of external validation, but did not believe they actually had the knowledge, skills, and reputation needed to achieve that milestone. overall the overall emotional journey of the faculty participants’ researcher identity is represented in figure 2. however, we also asked each participant to acknowledge the life stage in which they felt they developed their researcher identity, and when they felt the world gave them external validation as a researcher (table 2). shellhouse et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.335 10 figure 2 emotional research journey of university faculty shellhouse et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.335 11 table 2 self-identity and external validation of participants’ researcher identity participant first research experience dissertation defense early career post tenure and promotion p1 s w n/a p2 s w n/a p3 s w n/a p4 s w n/a p5 s w p6 s w n/a p7 a p8 s w p9 w s p10 w s p11 b w n/a p12 s w n/a p14 c s w n/a p15 s w n/a p16 s w p17 s w p18 s w p19 d s p20 s w n/a self total 4 10 1 2 world total 0 6 9 2 note. green “s” cells note instances in which the faculty possessed self-identity as a researcher. blue “w” cells note instances when the faculty felt external validation by the world as a researcher. a participant 7 did not answer the questions regarding self-identity nor external validation. b participant 13 did not complete the data collection process. c participant 11 does not yet identify as a researcher. d participant 19 does not yet feel the world has validated them as a researcher. while the internal identity sometimes developed in the same life stage as the external validation, the data showed external validation rarely comes before self-identity formed. for 13 faculty, self-identity developed before external validation. for two, external validation and selfidentity developed simultaneously. another two faculty indicated their self-identity developed after external validation. finally, one faculty did not feel they had developed their self-identity yet, and another did not yet feel they had received external validation. shellhouse et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.335 12 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations our study illustrated a journey of faculty members’ research highs and lows, aligning largely with bandura’s (1986) four main influences on a person’s self-efficacy. participants who felt successful in their first research experience articulated perceived support, often learning closely from their advisor, aligning with bandura’s (1986) sources of social persuasion and vicarious experiences. participants who did not perceive high levels of research self-efficacy in the first stage discussed low support from others and not knowing enough about the process to be successful. this low level of support conversely echoes the social persuasion source because a perceived lack of support lowered self-efficacy. participants experienced a collective spike in perceived self-efficacy in the ‘dissertation’ life stage. successfully completing and defending a dissertation served as both a mastery and vicarious experience, by learning from and being validated by advisors and committees. validation by peers helped the participants stabilize their own professional identity (archer, 2008). perceived support, or social persuasion, from other graduate peer communities aided in self-efficacy and confidence as a researcher as the participants overcame life and university obstacles to achieve this milestone (gardner, 2008; roska et al., 2018). the dissertation stage brought focus to the participants’ family life, making somatic/emotional experiences more important in this new life stage (bandura, 1986). as participants began a faculty role, a large perceived self-efficacy decline ensued. we conclude this is related to increased expectations and pressures faculty face, such as securing grants, advising students, and creating curricula (boyd & smith, 2016), while facing the dominant concern of career progression and tenure processes (austin, 2010). knowledge about the research process, relationship support, and personal engagement must exist to develop as a researcher (albertyn et al., 2018), but we conclude successful faculty also need clear guidelines to navigate the promotion process and meet all departmental expectations. additionally, many faculty members leave their institution of graduate study to begin their career, often losing social support from a pre-established peer network. with new colleagues, new faculty may also struggle to model those they deem successful. these losses and additional emotional stressors are indications of low self-efficacy (bandura, 1986). following tenure, participants indicated signs of growing self-efficacy. the successful achievement of tenure and/or promotion serves as both a mastery experience and social persuasion, as faculty’s peers validate their success. developing expertise takes about ten years (ericsson & charness, 1994), so this confidence as a researcher and validation experienced through tenure and promotion aligns with this timeline. participants who had reached full professorship indicated higher efficacy levels than those who had only achieved the associate level. finally, data showed external validation rarely developed before self-identity as a researcher. we contend it is imperative for faculty to foster enough research support to graduate students, so they develop their researcher self-identity. external validation is not as crucial for the student until they perceive their own researcher self-identity. shellhouse et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.335 13 inexpert researchers need support to develop researcher identity. our study adds to previous literature regarding self-efficacy and researcher identity development by pinpointing various stressors and triumphs that inhibit or aid development. faculty who want to better prepare graduate students for this sometimes-arduous journey should not only focus on giving students mastery experiences, but also develop coursework for graduate students to understand strategies to balance all the faculty expectations they will have. additionally, helping new faculty cultivate internal and external support groups can give them both social persuasion and vicarious experiences to better develop identity as a researcher. this study should be replicated, and we recommend a similar study be conducted longitudinally to get richer data that are not influenced by recall bias. our study also grouped the associateand full-level professors, but differences could be uncovered through future scholarship. acknowledgements j. shellhouse – data 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(2010). qualitative quality: eight “big-tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research. qualitative inquiry, 16(10), 837–851. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800410383121 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 2, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. richie roberts, associate professor and graduate coordinator, louisiana state university, 131 jc miller hall, louisiana state university, baton rouge, la 70803, roberts@lsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2993-4945 119 visual q methodology: a methodological approach to empower marginalized populations in agriculture throughout the global south r. roberts1 article history received: june 2, 2023 accepted: july 31, 2023 published: january 31, 2024 keywords factor analysis; images; research methodology; visual analysis abstract ensuring that marginalized populations become empowered in agriculture is vital to the success of global agricultural development goals. however, these populations have reported lacking access, power, and voice. perhaps one strategy researchers can use to address this issue is through visual q methodology. in this methodological paper, i argue that by combining the tenets of q and visual methodologies, researchers can offer empirically grounded findings that evoke powerful, rich insight into the perspectives of marginalized populations in agriculture who may lack the communication skills to articulate their perspectives through words. to this point, however, the approach has lacked clear guidance, which has led to diminished quality in the published literature on visual q methodology. in response, i offer six principles to guide visual q methodological studies moving forward: (a) relationship-building with participants, (b) participant training, (c) concourse development, (d) q set sampling, (e) data collection, and (f) data analysis and interpretation. mailto:roberts@lsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2993-4945 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 120 introduction, rationale, and statement of purpose the literature on global agricultural development has been dominated by research that has focused primarily on using quantitative data to demonstrate the impact of various strategies and interventions (meinzen-dick et al., 2019). however, change regarding the methodological approaches used to address research issues and problems in agricultural development has begun to emerge. for example, rubin (2016) argued that methodological transformation was underway as researchers increasingly began to use non-traditional data sources such as drawings, images, and other visual representations to demonstrate the outcomes and impacts of development approaches in agriculture. in this article, i aim to contribute to the new wave of methodological innovation occurring in the agricultural development literature by providing a rationale for using visual q methodology to empower marginalized populations in the global south who often lack the communication skills to express their attitudes, beliefs, and perspectives. on this point, researchers in neuroscience (azizan et al., 2006; schlochtermeier et al., 2013) have reported that humans can process and comprehend image-based information better than textual-based. further, images elicited a statistically significant difference regarding individuals’ emotional responses compared to when the information was presented in a textual-based format (azizan et al., 2006; schlochtermeier et al., 2013). after reporting similar findings, kiefer and pulvermüller (2012) concluded that image-based information helped stimulate the affective domain of learning, which helped the participants relate to the material more intimately. therefore, the use of images in research has the potential to stimulate greater understanding— a key rationale for the use of visual q methodology for research on global agricultural development. individuals often interpret images based on what they know (machin & ledin, 2018). as such, images can serve as a way to amplify the lived experiences of marginalized populations in agriculture by providing a glimpse into the ways their voices, sociocultural complexities, and indigenous ways of knowing have been muted (rose, 2022). therefore, images can evoke understanding that may be lost in textual-based communication. images can also be used to allow individuals to reframe their experiences in ways that can challenge, disrupt, and create change (machin & ledin, 2018). or, as weber (2008) explained, “images provoke action for social justice” (p. 46). although visual q methodology has not been used extensively, with greater exposure, it could be used to answer research questions relevant to global agricultural development. to begin, i provide a description of q methodology followed by an overview of the use of visual approaches in social science research. thereafter, i provide a rationale for combining the two methodologies and describe the product of its application through examples. finally, i address the inherent limitations of visual q methodology while charting possibilities for the approach’s use in research on global agricultural development. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 121 q methodology william stephenson (1953) introduced the idea of q methodology, often referred to as simply q, in the 1930s and later provided a more nuanced perspective of the approach in his seminal work the study of behavior: q technique and its methodology. similar to other approaches, q has been defined differently based on scholars’ epistemological and ontological worldviews (watts & stenner, 2013). however, at its most basic level, q can be understood as the study of individuals’ attitudes, beliefs, opinions, or perspectives. therefore, q’s best applications occur when researchers desire to understand a group’s collective points of view, articulate similarities and differences in perspectives, or reject the mind-body dualism, i.e., that an individual’s internal sphere can be accessed by measuring their behavior (brown, 1980). although traditional quantitative research collects and analyzes data about a phenomenon through numeric data, q challenges participants to communicate their subjective perspectives using self-referent meanings (brown, 2000). to accomplish such, q draws on the philosophical underpinnings of both quantitative and qualitative paradigms (watts & stenner, 2013). however, it should be noted that q is not purely either; instead, it is a paradigm in its own right (stephenson, 1953). it is through this conceptualization that global agricultural development scholars should engage with q and begin to understand its possibilities. a major tenet of q methodology is concourse development (brown, 1980). a concourse in q is the full range of perspectives on a phenomenon in the form of statements. each q investigation will generate a unique number of statements during this phase. for example, rampold et al. (2020) reported creating 235 unique statements during the concourse development phase, while roberts et al. (2020a) generated 154 statements. the number of statements in both studies was then reduced to 36 to mitigate redundancy and participant fatigue during the sorting process (rampold et al., 2020; roberts et al., 2020a). to operationalize the concourse, q methodology can be facilitated through a novel procedure, called a q-sort, which allows individuals to arrange their views in the form of statements onto a forced distribution printed on a physical board (mckeown & thomas, 2013). this process begins when the researcher poses a condition of instruction, or a framing question, by which participants sort statements reflecting their views onto a forced distribution. after collecting each participant’s q-sort, researchers can generate a correlation matrix based on each participant’s ranking of the statements, which helps facilitate a factor analysis. a key difference between traditional factor analysis used in quantitative research and the process used in q is that researchers do not correlate an instrument’s items. instead, individual sorts are correlated (brown, 1980). through the use of this approach, factors emerge that allow researchers to examine similar and disagreeing perspectives. as such, q can promote the expression of a sample’s views on a phenomenon while providing a flexible approach to allow findings to emerge. it should be noted that a central tenet of q is the use of purposeful sampling to identify individuals who hold diverse perspectives (watts & stenner, 2013). consequently, small sample https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 122 sizes are appropriate in q because participants’ “observational perspectives are their own” (roberts & montgomery, 2017, p. 154). other unique aspects of q are that validity and reliability have not historically been significant concerns for this methodological approach (mckeown & thomas, 2013). as an illustration, in quantitative research, creswell (2012) explained that reliability represented the accuracy of instruments to produce consistent results. however, in q methodology, researchers place more importance on the replication of similar findings. for example, could participants in a similar context sort the same statements, resulting in similar factors? because of this, brown (1980) argued that q only provides insight into participants’ views at a particular point in time instead of being able to generalize to a population of interest. therefore, this innovative research approach allows researchers to gain unique insights into participants’ perspectives on a phenomenon. visual methodologies research on global agricultural development has begun using spoken and written word to illuminate challenges over the past few decades more prominently (meinzen-dick et al., 2019). however, words can fail to capture critical forms of communication in individuals’ lives, such as body movement, gestures, sounds, and the visual (riessman, 2008). as a result, a visual turn has begun to emerge in the literature on global agricultural development as scholars have chosen to use photography and images to help tell the stories of marginalized populations who may lack the skills to communicate their experiences through spoken and written word (meinzen-dick et al., 2019). at the heart of visual methodologies is merging textual-based data and images to evoke a thick, rich description of the phenomenon (pink, 2007). photovoice, photo elicitation, and visual narratives are recent examples of this new methodological wave in social science research (riessman, 2008). at their core, visual methodologies require researchers to engage intimately with their participants to identify issues and problems in a given context (roberts et al., 2020b; rose, 2012). consequently, using visual methodologies can generate opportunities for marginalized populations to actively participate and critically reflect on how they have been excluded, diminished, and silenced (emmison et al., 2012). through these conscious-raising experiences, visual methodologies can empower participants by ensuring their voices have been heard while also strategizing realistic ways they could create change in their social context (mitchell, 2011). to accomplish this, researchers using a visual methodological approach provide their participants with cameras to allow them to capture images and symbolic representations to allow others to “see through their eyes” (pink, 2007, p. 5). through this insight, visual methodologists (emmison et al., 2012; mitchell, 2011; rose, 2012) have argued that other individuals can begin to understand marginalized populations’ experiences and advocate for change. as such, visual methodologies require participants to undertake multiple roles, such as change agent, investigator, and photographer (riessman, 2008). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 123 visual q methodology ensuring that marginalized populations become empowered in agriculture is vital to the success of global agricultural development (agard & roberts, 2020; richardson & roberts, 2020). however, these populations have reported lacking access, power, and voice in the industry (richardson et al., 2023; roberts & edwards, 2017). perhaps one strategy researchers can use to address this issue is through visual q methodology. by combining the tenets of q and visual methodologies, researchers can offer empirically-grounded findings that evoke powerful, rich insight into the perspectives of marginalized populations in agriculture who may lack the communication skills to articulate their perspectives through words. although visual q has not been widely used, some researchers have advanced the methodology (brown, 1980; kinsey, 1993; naspetti et al., 2016; simpson, 1989; stephenson, 1980). despite this, the literature on this approach has lacked clear guidance, which has led to a lack of quality in the published literature on visual q methodology. in response, i offer six principles to guide visual q methodological studies moving forward: (a) relationship-building with participants, (b) participant training, (c) concourse development, (d) q set sampling, (e) data collection, and (f) data analysis and interpretation. principle #1: relationship-building with participants building relationships with participants, the first principle in visual q research is a complex and multifaceted process that requires careful planning, ethical considerations, and ongoing effort. effective relationship-building enhances the quality of data collected and contributes to the overall success of the research project. researchers must prioritize transparency, respect, and ethical conduct to ensure that participants' rights and well-being are upheld. relationship-building with participants is perhaps the most critical phase since visual methodologies require a deep connection and commitment between the researcher, participants, and the broader community (pink, 2007). this phase can require considerable time and follow-through (mannay, 2015). when researchers have completed the appropriate work in this phase to build relationships, the participants will often be more open and honest about their experiences and perspectives (machin & ledin, 2018). these strong relationships can set the tone for the remainder of the research project (rose, 2012). in this phase, researchers should use purposeful sampling to identify participants who hold a unique perspective on the phenomenon of interest. principle #2: participant training the second principle, participant training, involves establishing group sessions by which the researcher explains the intent of their approach while also providing guidance to participants about fundamental photography and ethical considerations. this process can begin with an initial meeting with participants in which the researchers discuss the project’s intent and how they intend to cultivate an encouraging culture in which all participants can contribute and ask questions. these group sessions should be established early in the process to build rapport. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 124 if possible, it can also be helpful to recruit a professional photographer to attend sessions so that they can provide insights into how to capture powerful, evocative images. the researchers should also be clear that all images that participants submit should be accompanied by a corresponding caption to help accurately convey the image’s story. regarding ethics, the researchers should be clear about what should be included in photographs and what not to include. for example, rose (2012) noted that many researchers using a visual methodological approach ask that participants not capture photographs involving human subjects. however, riessman (2008) argued that including human subjects can bring deeper meaning to the study. ultimately, whether or not to include human subjects, especially the faces of the subject depicted, will be the decision of the institutional review board (irb) and the human subject present in the image. by establishing a positive rapport with participants through regular interactions, researchers can create a culture of encouragement. during the relationship-building phase, researchers can inspire participants by sharing stories of visual q can be used to empower marginalized populations. researchers can also create a culture of encouragement by sharing recommendations about ways participants can tell their stories through images more evocatively. principle #3: concourse development the most appropriate way to develop a concourse has long been debated in the q literature (lee, 2019). for example, some scholars have advocated using naturalistic approaches to understand a population’s view on a topic. this approach involves collecting qualitative data through interviews, documents, and observations to create relevant statements that represent the concourse. meanwhile, other scholars (brown, 1980; mckeown & thomas, 2013) have argued that a concourse can be generated from literature reviews, existing quantitative instruments, social media, blogs, and the popular press. more recently, researchers have begun to use a blend of naturalistic and other sources to create the concourse of a study. in visual q methodology, however, the participants should be asked to explore their local context to capture images based on the researcher’s instructions during training sessions. as participants capture photographs, they should be asked to journal to record their perceptions of the experience. researchers should specify the number of photographs and accompanying captions they wish the participants to submit during this phase. some visual q methodological studies published in the literature have not used this approach; instead, the researcher(s) selected images they perceived were relevant to achieve the study’s purpose. if possible, i recommend avoiding this practice because the resulting images will likely lack context and may not be relevant to the participants. therefore, participant-captured images should be considered the gold standard during concourse development for visual q studies. principle #4: q set sampling q set sampling involves the researcher refining the concourse by establishing boundaries to define what matters. stephenson (1953) argued there was no single way to create a q set: “[it] may be designed purely on theoretical grounds, or from naturally occurring (ecological) https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 125 conditions, or as required for experimental purposes, to suit the particular requirements of an investigation” (stephenson, 1953, p. 223). despite the lack of structure inherent in stephenson’s (1952) position, watts and stenner (2012) suggested that researchers examine the concourse against their research question(s) to determine their relative fit. therefore, a clearly defined research question can help set parameters regarding what images from the concourse should be mobilized for further use. one contemporary technique used to create the q set is using a naturalistic approach and operationalizing the resulting categories as dimensions (richardson & ramlo, 2020). however, stephenson (1978) and sylvester (2020) advocated for using fisher’s balanced block design (see table 1) to classify the q set—a more quantitative-oriented approach. to accomplish this, stephenson (1978) opined that the components of the concourse could be categorized in the following way: (a) feelings—ranging from pleasure to unpleasant, (b) morality—ranging from positive to negative, and (c) reality—ranging from realistic to unrealistic. creating the q set through this approach would be similar to quota sampling in quantitative research by which researchers seeks to obtain a diverse sample regarding demographic variables. a visual q set, however, is a sampling of images, and no population exists by which it could be designed or benchmarked. because of this limitation, researchers could also use pre-existing theories as a basis for the categories by which to generate the visual q set (watts & stenner, 2012). table 1 fisher’s balanced block design causes effects a. feeling b. morality c. reality pleasure (a) positive (c) realistic (e) unpleasure (b) negative (d) unrealistic (f) note. table adapted from stephenson (1978). one major issue that researchers often struggle with is how to know when the concourse is complete. on this point, eden et al. (2005) explained that concourse development should be treated similarly to a qualitative analysis by which researchers stop once saturation has been achieved, i.e., when images and captions become repetitive and do not add new insights. therefore, this element of concourse development has often been considered a judgment call by researchers influenced by experience and resource constraints (eden et al., 2005). although the number of images to include in the visual q set can vary considerably, most will have between 20 to 60. time and other potential challenges should also be considered when determining the visual q set. therefore, conducting a pilot study could help refine the q set. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 126 principle #5: data collection after establishing the q set, researchers should ask the participants to sort the images on a forced distribution of negative to positive integers. brown (1980) described this process as “the technical means whereby data are obtained for factoring” (p. 7). the images should be sorted based on the condition of instruction, or a framing question the researcher poses. table 2 provides instructions for facilitating this process through seven steps. table 2 seven steps to facilitate the collecting of data in a visual q methodological study step example instructions 1. present the condition of instruction and pre-sorting • “read each caption and sort the images into three piles using the question: ‘what are your thoughts on women’s roles in agriculture in sub-saharan africa?’” • “pile the images most like you on your right and least like you to your left. then, put images you do not feel strongly about in the middle pile.” 2. initial positive rankings • “now review your most like you pile. begin to place the images onto the far right columns of the forced distribution. fill in the rest of the right side of the forced distribution with the images that are most like you.” 3. initial negative rankings • “now review your least like you pile. begin to place the images onto the far left columns of the forced distribution. fill in the rest of the left side of the forced distribution with the images that are “most like you.” 4. complete rankings • “now that most of your images are placed on the left and right columns use the remaining images to fill out all spaces on the forced distribution.” 5. reconsider rankings • “now that you have placed all images on the forced distribution, go ahead and rearrange any images until you feel the forced distribution accurately represents your view.” 6. capture rankings • record the positions of the images on the forced distribution. 7. post-sort interview • “would you mind walking me through your thought process for why you placed the images the way you did?” an example condition of instruction for a study on global agricultural development could be: “what are your thoughts on women’s role in agriculture throughout sub-saharan africa?” the participants could then sort the images using a rank order of their preference, from most unlike https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 127 me to most like me, on a forced distribution. the use of forced versus free distributions has long been a point of discussion in q methodology (watts & stenner, 2013). despite this, the use of a forced distribution in q has emerged as the most prominent approach because “it permits a fully commensurate and less ambiguous comparison of q sorts… [or in other words]… it provides data in a more convenient and processed form” (watts & stenner, 2013, p. 51). figure 1 provides an example of a forced distribution for a study using a 36-image q set, with array positions ranging from -4 to +4. figure 1 example of a forced distribution used for a visual q investigation -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 most unlike me most like me it should also be noted that after completion of the sort, q researchers should conduct a postsort interview to gain deeper insight into why participants ranked images the way they did. the type of interview approach used can vary. for example, focus group interviews could help participants make sense of and assign meaning to how they sorted the images collectively (rose, 2012). however, researchers could also employ one-on-one interviews to allow meaningmaking to occur independently (riessman, 2008). principle #6: data analysis and interpretation the final stage, data analysis and interpretation, begins after the participants have completed sorting images. the product of the process, the q sort, can then be analyzed using a combination of computer software and naturalistic processes to emerge an interpretation of the data. multiple computer software programs, e.g., kenq, pqmethod, and q factor, exist to assist researchers with analyzing q sorts. for example, all major q analysis programs can input and analyze data through factor analysis. however, it should be noted that factor analysis does introduce a level of subjectivity into the analytic process because decisions must be made regarding how to rotate the factors and which to retain to emerge relevant findings. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 128 because of this, some scholars (mckeown & thomas, 2013; stephenson, 1953) have made a case for selecting factors on a theoretical basis rather than a statistical one. as an illustration, through analysis of factor loadings, a researcher may discover an individual would have provided a theoretically important sort but loaded significantly on another factor. through this discovery, the researcher could facilitate a manual rotation of the factors to examine whether their initial hunch could be explained differently. it should also be noted that an automated factor rotation function exists within most q statistical programs, called varimax. varimax rotates factors on a statistical basis; however, describing the factor may prove difficult because the resulting product often lacks a theoretical basis. nevertheless, because of its ease of use, varimax rotation is often a good entry point into q analysis for beginning researchers (watts & stenner, 2012). table 2 provides an example of a factor matrix using a varimax rotation from a study published by roberts and montgomery (2017) that had a three-factor solution regarding school-based agricultural education teachers’ epistemological positions. despite the rotational approach used, factor analysis in visual q allows researchers to group sorters through their shared viewpoints based on their sort’s correlation to factors. as a result, sorters that correlate highly and significantly with a factor, but do not load significantly on another factor, are described as defining that particular factor. using sorters who define the factor, an average score can be computed, and researchers can understand the dimensions that constitute each factor. at this point in the analytic process, however, the factors exhibit no meaning besides grouping individual sorters, and as a result, they persist as numerical abstractions until further interpretation. q data analysis programs provide various statistical outputs that can help researchers at this stage with additional interpretation. here are a few statistical outputs that mauldin (2012) recommended considering to aid in the interpretation of factors: (a) correlations between factors, (b) z-scores differences, (c) distinguishing and consensus images for each array, and (d) participant demographics. despite such recommendations, the q literature provides little guidance on how much weight each statistical output should be given when making a final interpretation of factors. typically, through deeper analysis, the researchers emerge a name for each factor and describe it through a narrative that weaves images along with direct quotes from participants’ post-sort interviews and journals. table 3 offers practical recommendations to facilitate the interpretation of visual q findings. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 129 table 3 facilitating the interpretation of visual q findings stages explanation examine the highest and lowest z-scores (positive and negative) • although some researchers only examine z-scores that are 1.0 or above, z-scores within three columns (positive and negative) should be considered examine consensus and distinguishing images for arrays • ensure all consensus and distinguishing images that were statistically significant are considered. these outputs can be beneficial when understanding how factors are different yet similar assign provisional factor names • trying out provisional factor names at this stage can help you describe what you observe in the data. you can always revise the names later, but this practice can aid in sensemaking consider post-sort interviews, journals, and participant demographics • by considering emergent qualitative findings in concert with q output data and participant demographics, similarities and discrepancies can become more visible create factor mock-ups with data support • use factor array positions and zscores to create an ideal sort. this process can help you understand how the images fit together holistically for each factor • consider potential themes or concepts that can help you describe each factor finalize factor names and interpretation • based on the data available and your interpretation of such, finalize the names of the factors and how you will describe each with the support of data note. interpretation recommendations used to create this table were adapted from mauldin (2012). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 roberts advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 130 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations ensuring a safe and inclusive food system throughout the world will be critical to furthering global agricultural development (world bank, 2023). however, the ability to achieve such has been compounded by issues such as extreme poverty, disease, water scarcity, and other wicked problems that oppress already marginalized populations even more (fuglie et al., 2021). consequently, it has become critical to understand the perspectives of these marginalized populations in agriculture so the industry can respond to their needs better (international fund for agricultural development, 2023). visual q methodology could be one approach used to achieve this aim. as such, visual q methodology has exciting possibilities for social scientists focused on global agricultural development issues. however, the methodological approach also has several complexities that researchers will have to learn to navigate. for example, visual q will take considerable time and resources in the field to complete effectively. because many marginalized populations in the global south lack access to technology and the internet, web-based options for data collection will likely not be an option for the foreseeable future. consequently, i encourage greater debate about visual q’s utility for global agricultural development. further, i recommend that researchers focused on global agricultural development explore whether their line of inquiry could support the use of this approach. although the method has inherent limitations, it allows researchers to be flexible enough to adapt to contextual-based challenges while employing a creative, thought-provoking methodology. despite the intensive nature of visual q, it can be accomplished with relatively small numbers; for instance, 15 to 30 participants would be enough to achieve quality results. as such, the method could be adapted to be more cost-effective. also, because 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(2023, september 19). understanding poverty: agriculture and food. the world bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture/overview © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.359 https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture/overview advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 1, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. kellie claflin, assistant professor, the ohio state university, 2120 fyffe rd., columbus, oh 43210, claflin.11@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8499-1742 2. brooke l. thiel, assistant professor, north dakota state university, eml 155, fargo, nd 58108, brooke.thiel@ndsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8744-9473 3. christopher j. eck, assistant professor, oklahoma state university, 457 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, chris.eck@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-3632 46 a content analysis of sbae preservice teacher disposition assessments k. claflin1, b. l. thiel2, c. j. eck3 article history received: december 4, 2023 accepted: march 25, 2024 published: april 3, 2024 keywords teacher preparation; assessments abstract effective teaching is complex as it encapsulates professional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal knowledge. professionalism is often tied to dispositions, although ambiguous definitions and cultural sensitivity make it a difficult task. therefore, this study aimed to establish a comprehensive list of dispositions associated with sbae teacher preparation. the purpose of this study was to examine the use of dispositions assessments in school-based agricultural education (sbae) teacher preparation programs in the north-central region of the american association for agricultural education by conducting a content analysis. the sample frame included 22 dispositions, and all of them appeared in the assessments at least once, resulting in 554 dispositions across the documents. this study contributes to our understanding of teacher dispositions, an important facet of teacher education preparation programs. however, we are left with additional questions relating to practice, research, and theory. according to prior research, students bring their dispositions into their learning experiences, but those learning experiences and other factors influence changes concerning the decision to teach as a career. mailto:claflin.11@osu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8499-1742 mailto:brooke.thiel@ndsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8744-9473 mailto:chris.eck@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-3632 claflin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 47 introduction and problem statement effective teaching is complex as it encapsulates professional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal knowledge (schulte et al., 2005). accordingly, teacher preparation programs should foster the self-awareness required to enact the knowledge and skills needed as an educator (schussler et al., 2010). dispositions, “the habits of professional action and moral commitments that underlie an educator’s performance,” (council of chief state school officers, 2013, p. 6; council for the accreditation of educator preparation [caep], n.d.) were introduced by the interstate new teacher assessment and support consortium (intasc) in the 1990s to focus on how teachers use knowledge and skills (schussler et al., 2010) and are used as an accreditation requirement for teacher preparation programs (caep, 2022). within school-based agricultural education (sbae), the importance of dispositions is highlighted in a model for teacher preparation in agricultural education and the standards for sbae teacher preparation programs (american association for agricultural educators [aaae], 2017). however, there is only one study examining dispositions within the context of sbae, finding sbae teachers hold differing opinions regarding which dispositions are the most important for preservice teachers (bachman & thiel, 2021). yet, there are several challenges related to dispositions in teacher preparation, including approaches to teaching dispositions (edwards & edick, 2006) and the assessment of dispositions (saltis et al., 2021). professionalism is often tied to dispositions, although ambiguous definitions and cultural sensitivity (creasy, 2015; davis, 2016) make it a difficult task to assess. therefore, this study aimed to establish a comprehensive list of dispositions associated with sbae teacher preparation. theoretical and conceptual framework this study was informed by the concept of dispositions within the context of teacher preparation programs. dispositions are critical regarding teacher effectiveness and student achievements (edwards & edick, 2006; flowers, 2006; schulte et al., 2005). within the caep framework, teacher dispositions are grouped with knowledge and skills, with scholars noting dispositions are contingent on knowledge and skills (borko et al., 2007). dispositions highlight teachers' internal beliefs and values, such as care, fairness, and honesty (flowers, 2006). it is not enough for teachers to have only content and pedagogical knowledge; they also need to be able to nurture relationships with students and colleagues (saltis et al., 2021). dispositions influence teachers' actions (tiilikainien et al., 2019) and are tied to teacher competence (shavelson, 2013). while dispositions are complex (edward & edick, 2006), tiilikainien et al. (2019) suggested two categories for dispositions: attention-oriented (e.g., personal and contextual factors) and intention-oriented (e.g., curricular factors). dispositions relate to career-choice behavior, including preservice sbae teachers (bachman & thiel, 2021; lent et al., 2002; rocca & washburn, 2008). preservice teachers bring their internal beliefs, specific ideas, values, and dispositions with them as they enter teacher preparation https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 claflin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 48 programs (flowers, 2006; hammerness et al., 2005; saultz et al., 2021). in addition, as preservice teachers engage in learning experiences related to becoming an educator, they rely on their existing dispositions (lent et al., 2002). due to the importance of dispositions on teacher effectiveness (eck et al., 2021) and the impact on future career choices, dispositions should be a focus within teacher preparation programs (vagi et al., 2019). for teacher candidates to increase their professional dispositions, they need to reflect on their unexamined values and beliefs and work with mentors to provide feedback (saltis et al., 2021). purpose the purpose of this study was to examine the use of dispositions assessments in pre-service agricultural education teacher education programs in the north-central region of aaae. this study provides an understanding of what and how dispositions are being assessed in agricultural education teacher preparation programs to assist teacher educators in cultivating the dispositions of preservice teachers and their programs. the following research objectives guided this study: 1. identify which dispositions are included in preservice sbae teacher assessments. 2. determine the frequency of dispositions included in preservice sbae teacher assessments. 3. identify what theories, frameworks, standards, or literature informed the disposition assessments used in the region. 4. determine when dispositions are assessed within preservice sbae teachers’ education. 5. determine by whom preservice sbae teachers’ dispositions are assessed. methods this study used a content analysis method (neuendorf, 2017) to identify and examine the use of dispositions in preservice sbae teacher education programs. content analysis is “the systematic, objective, quantitative analysis of message characteristics” (neuendorf, 2017, p. 1). the sample frame for this study included all agriculture teacher preparation programs in the north-central region of aaae. according to the aaae (2020) standing rules and the national teach ag campaign (national association of agricultural educators, n.d.), there are 39 colleges and universities within the north-central region of aaae currently training preservice sbae teachers. invitation emails were sent to all schools in the sampling frame, with one to three unique contacts made via email between march and june of 2022. seventeen institutions provided disposition instruments and handbooks or written policies which outlined how the disposition assessments are utilized within the teacher preparation program, which accounted for a 44% response rate (n = 17). there were seven 1862 land-grant institutions, one 1890 land-grant institution, two public non-land grant agricultural and renewable resources universities, and three private institutions represented in the sample. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 claflin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 49 the initial coding frame was deductively developed based on current standards for teacher education and previous dispositions research (neuendorf, 2017). neuendorf recommends the coding frame should have categories that are “exhaustive and mutually exclusive,” to ensure validity and reliability, as well as to avoid ambiguity during the coding process (neuendorf, 2017, p. 131). the coding frame was comprised of four sections mirroring the research questions: (a) a list of preservice sbae teacher dispositions; (b) theories, frameworks, standards, or literature that informed the dispositions; (c) who assessed the dispositions; and (d) when the dispositions were assessed during the preservice teacher education program. two members of the research team piloted the coding frame by concurrently coding three institutions’ documents to calculate intra-coder reliability. upon completion of the pilot, intraclass correlation coefficient (icc) estimates and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated using spss based on a mean-rating (k = 2), absolute-agreement, two-way mixedeffects model. excellent reliability was found between the two coders in the pilot. the average measure of icc was .973, with a 95% confidence interval from .956 to .984 (f (65, 65) = 36.996, p < .001). discussion about the pilot led to further refinement of the coding frame to ensure consistency and mutually exhaustive categories. the main content analysis was conducted by randomly assigning institutions to the two coders and using the updated coding frame. upon completion of the independent coding, the data were collapsed into one dataset, and total counts and frequencies were calculated for each objective. findings objective 1 the first objective of this study was to identify which dispositions were included in assessments of preservice sbae teachers. a total of 22 dispositions were included in the coding frame, and all of them appeared in the assessments at least once, resulting in a total of n = 554 dispositions across the documents. table 1 outlines the 22 dispositions and their subdefinitions, which were also used to conduct the content analysis. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 claflin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 50 table 1 sbae preservice dispositions and sub-definitions disposition definition timeliness/punctuality • meets deadlines. • is on time for class/observations/etc. attendance • is present for entire class/observations/etc. commitment to students’ learning • believes all students can learn • takes responsibility for student learning • advocates for what students need to be successful diversity, equity, & inclusion • embraces and celebrates diversity (ability, race, socioeconomic status, culture, gender, etc.) • able to recognize strengths in all students • recognizes their own biases • seeks to understand perspectives and differences • open to diverse ideas and opinions • respects learners as individuals with unique backgrounds, skills, abilities, interests, and perspectives ability to communicate • listens • uses appropriate verbal communication skills • uses appropriate written communication skills • uses appropriate digital communication skills • uses appropriate non-verbal communication skills reliable/responsible • is responsive (responds to emails, etc.) • asks for help • communicates absences • is independent/takes initiative/self-motivated • is organized/maintains accurate records/completes quality work • follows through on responsibilities • manages their time appropriately • has a strong work ethic • is task-oriented/sets goals emotional maturity • is able to maintain emotional control • is patient • uses self-disclosure appropriately • identifies personal responsibility in conflict and problem situations • accepts consequences • advocates for themselves (communicates their needs) • engages in conflict resolution • approaches challenging conversations • is professional in their interactions creative • is inquisitive • initiates creative solutions to problems • is innovative • uses unique classroom ideas/thinks outside the box https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 claflin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 51 collaborative • is able to work with others • is driven to collaborate (seeks input from others) • supports the work of others • builds consensus within a group • is helpful and service-minded • contributes their part to the group commitment to the profession • is dedicated to teaching and learning • understands expectations and is willing to work to meet them • values knowledge and educational experiences • participates in professional development • advocates for the importance of the content area engaged and attentive • participates in class/observations • shows interest in class/observations appearance and attire • meets the school dress code policies relatable/relationships • builds and maintains positive relationships • able to build and maintain positive rapport empathetic/caring/compassio nate • is considerate of others • sees and focuses on the good in people • is able to understand others’ feelings • is concerned for the well-being of others • makes students feel valued flexible • able to manage change • is adaptable reflective • is receptive to feedback • is self-aware genuine/authentic • is their authentic self • is genuine in their words and actions • is trustworthy to do the right thing integrity • follows laws and regulations • tells the truth • displays academic integrity • maintains confidentiality • adheres to code of ethics lifelong learner • displays a positive attitude toward learning • maintains a growth mindset leadership • empowers others • delegates appropriately • demonstrates an ability to lead students • holds students accountable positive attitude • maintains a positive attitude problem solving • assesses situations from multiple perspectives • sees the big picture • systems-thinking approach to solving problemssees how the parts of a system fit and work together • uses systematic processes to solve problems (appropriate data, etc.). • is strategic in the way they think and plan https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 claflin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 52 objective 2 the second objective aimed to determine the frequency of dispositions included in preservice sbae teacher assessments. the dispositions which appeared the most in analyzed documents were reliable and responsible (n = 65), reflective (n = 48); commitment to student-learning (n = 44), commitment to the profession (n = 43), and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (n = 40). the least frequent dispositions included genuine and authentic (n = 6), creative (n = 6), maintains a positive attitude (n = 4), and exhibits leadership skills (n = 3). the frequency and percentages of the dispositions can be found in table 2. table 2 frequency counts of dispositions in university assessments (n = 554) dispositions f % reliable and responsible 65 11.73 reflective 48 8.66 commitment to student-learning 44 7.94 commitment to the profession 43 7.76 commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion 40 7.22 emotional maturity 39 7.04 ability to communicate 38 6.86 timeliness/punctuality 36 6.50 collaborative 33 5.96 integrity 32 5.78 flexible 21 3.79 lifelong learner 19 3.43 empathetic, caring, compassionate, and respectful 17 3.07 problem solver 13 2.35 appearance and attire 13 2.35 engaged and attentive 12 2.17 relatable/builds relationships/builds rapport 12 2.17 attendance 10 1.81 genuine and authentic 6 1.08 creative 6 1.08 maintains a positive attitude 4 0.72 exhibits leadership skills 3 0.54 in examining the number of university assessments in which a disposition appeared, commitment to students’ learning and reflective appeared in 16 of the 17 disposition assessments (94.12%). collaborative appeared in 15 assessments (88.24%) and timeliness/punctuality, reliable and responsible, commitment to the profession, and integrity appeared in 14 of the assessments (82.35%). the least frequent dispositions included creative (23.53%), genuine, authentic, and honest (23.53%), exhibits leadership skills (23.53%), and https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 claflin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 53 maintains a positive attitude (17.65%). table 3 includes a comprehensive list of the number of assessments which included the 22 dispositions. table 3 most common dispositions included in university assessments (n = 17) dispositions f % commitment to students’ learning 16 94.12 reflective 16 94.02 collaborative 15 88.24 timeliness/punctuality 14 82.35 reliable and responsible 14 82.35 commitment to the profession 14 82.35 integrity 14 82.35 ability to communicate 13 76.47 emotional maturity 13 76.47 commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion 12 70.59 lifelong learner 12 70.59 empathetic, considerate, caring, and compassionate 10 58.82 flexible 10 58.82 appearance and attire 9 52.94 relatable/builds relationships/builds rapport 8 47.06 problem solver 8 47.06 attendance 7 41.18 engaged and attentive 5 29.41 creative 4 23.53 genuine, authentic, and honest 4 23.53 exhibits leadership skills 4 23.53 maintains a positive attitude 3 17.65 objective 3 the third objective of this study was to identify what theories, frameworks, standards, or literature informed the dispositions assessments. of the 17 collected assessments, (n = 8) did not report what standards or literature assisted the development of the dispositions assessment. of those assessments which included the influences of the development of the assessments, the majority were informed by other standards outside of the coding frame, including the danielson framework, k-12 disposition assessments, and biblical verses (n = 10). intasc standards informed four of the assessment tools, three were informed by state professional teaching standards, and one was informed by caep standards. see table 4 for more details regarding the standards that informed the disposition assessments. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 claflin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 54 table 4 standards that informed the development of dispositions instruments (n = 17) standards f % other 10 58.82 intasc 4 23.53 state professional standards 3 17.65 caep 1 5.88 did not list 8 47.06 note. other included danielson framework, other universities’ disposition instruments, other assessment tools used at the k-12 level, and biblical verses. objective 4 objective four identified when dispositions were assessed during agricultural education preservice teacher training. overwhelmingly, 88.24% (n = 15) of assessments were completed during student teaching. assessments were completed 23.53% of the time during teacher education courses, during field experiences, and prior to admission in the program (n = 4). other times outside of the coding frame were also identified 41.18% of the time (n = 7), including disciplinary referrals and prior to student teaching. five programs (29.41%) did not list the timing for the assessments in their materials (n = 5). table 5 includes additional information about when dispositions assessments were completed. table 5 times during pre-service training when dispositions are assessed (n = 17) time f % during student teaching 15 88.24 other 7 41.18 during teacher education courses 4 23.53 during field experiences 4 23.53 admission to the program 4 23.53 did not list 5 29.41 note. other included discipline referrals and prior to student teaching. objective 5 the final objective aimed to determine who conducted disposition assessments during preservice agricultural education teacher education. the majority (58.82%) of assessments were completed by the university supervisor (n = 10) and the cooperating teacher (n = 10). the student was also responsible for assessing themselves nearly half of the time (n = 8, 47.06%). rarely were course instructors (17.64%) or academic advisors (11.76%) responsible for this task. some dispositions guidelines indicated program/licensing coordinators as an assessor of dispositions, which were categorized as other for the purpose if this study. table 6 includes https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 claflin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 55 additional information regarding individuals responsible for completing disposition assessments at the preservice level. table 6 individuals responsible for completing disposition assessments (n = 17) individual f % university supervisor 10 58.82 cooperating teacher 10 58.82 student (self-assessment) 8 47.06 other 6 35.29 instructors in courses 3 17.64 academic advisor 2 11.76 did not list 5 29.41 note. other included program/licensing coordinators. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study aimed to examine the use of disposition assessments in sbae teacher education programs. while dispositions are a required part of accreditation for teacher preparation programs (caep, 2022) and literature provides clear linkages to why dispositions are essential for effective teaching (edward & edick, 2006; schussler et al., 2010), there is lack of clarity surrounding the use of dispositions and how they are measured (saltis et al., 2020). dispositions are seen as personal inputs that impact the learning experiences of preservice teachers, which impact their self-efficacy and outcome expectations or their belief that they can be successful as agriculture teachers. this research provided a beginning list of dispositions utilized by 17 teacher preparation programs in the north central region of aaae. twenty-two dispositions were identified as being listed at least once, with 554 individual dispositions listed across 17 disposition assessments. fourteen of the 22 (63%) dispositions appeared in at least half of the assessments, and 12 institutions included at least one disposition related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, echoing the recent requirements for equity in caep accreditation assessments (caep, 2020). reliable and responsible was the most frequently listed disposition, and committed to student learning, and reflective dispositions were used by all but one institution. while teacher preparation programs are measuring similar dispositions, there are differences in terminology indicating a lack of consistency, putting the onus on teacher preparation programs to develop on their own (flowers, 2006; saltis et al., 2020). the ambiguity of teacher dispositions was also apparent within the finding of what sources informed the development of assessments. the most noted source was the intasc standards, which is unsurprising, as intasc introduced dispositions to focus on how teachers use knowledge and skills (schussler et https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 claflin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 56 al., 2010). however, a wide variety of sources were indicated, including state standards, k-12 teacher assessment tools, and other universities’ disposition instruments. the disposition assessments were mainly used during the student teaching experience. since disposition assessments were mainly used at the end of the teacher preparation programs, it aligns with the finding that university supervisors and cooperating educators were the most common individuals tasked with completing disposition assessments. it is interesting to note that only 47% of programs indicated having preservice students self-assess themselves using disposition assessments since teacher preparation programs are encouraged to foster a selfawareness of skills and dispositions among their teacher candidates (schussler et al., 2010). limitations of the study include the interpretations of the meanings of disposition wording and definitions on the assessments. additionally, due to the nature of the content analysis, we could only assess what was included in the documents provided to us. therefore, aspects of the disposition assessment process, such as what informed the creation of the assessment, who is assessing preservice teachers, and when dispositions are assessed, may not be entirely representative of reality. this study contributes to understanding teacher dispositions, an essential facet of teacher education preparation programs. however, we have additional questions relating to research and practice. further research should be conducted to understand what influences students' dispositions and their effect on their belief in their ability to become an agriculture teacher. what are the best practices for utilizing dispositions within a teacher education program? when and how should disposition assessments be used? regarding practice, teacher preparation programs in sbae and beyond can utilize this initial list to identify important dispositions to focus on or for programs looking to create or revise their list. additionally, we encourage teacher preparation programs to incorporate dispositions throughout the entire teacher preparation program and help foster preservice teachers' development of appropriate dispositions. with dispositions linked to effective teaching, this area of study requires more exploration. acknowledgements k. claflin conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, writing original draft, writing review & editing; b. l. thiel conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, writing original draft, writing review & editing; c. j. eck writing review & editing. references american association for agricultural education. 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(2019). dynamics of preservice teacher quality. teaching and teacher education, 85, 13–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.06.005 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.449 https://www.naae.org/teachag/college.cfm https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071802878 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2008.02038 https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2020.1817217 https://www.jstor.org/stable/27094714 https://openriver.winona.edu/eie/vol12/iss1/7 https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487110371377 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.12.011 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.06.005 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 1, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. d. barry croom, professor, university of georgia, 2360 rainwater road, tifton, ga 31793, dbcroom@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7710-5212 2. anna m. scheyett, professor, university of georgia, four towers room 143, 405 college station road, athens, ga 30602, amscheye@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3459-3794 3. kaitlin brianna yoo, project management and communication graduate student researcher, university of georgia, 321 hoke smith annex , 1225 lumpkin street, athens, ga 30602, brianna.yoo@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4705-4837 5 factors that contribute to extraordinary stress in farmers d. b. croom1, a. m. scheyett2, k. b. yoo3 article history received: september 27, 2023 accepted: february 16, 2024 published: march 18, 2024 keywords agricultural communities; stressors; delphi technique; cumulative stress model; rural stress; farming-related stress abstract this research aimed to identify the conditions leading to stress in farmers. rural and agricultural communities face heightened stress levels due to multiple factors, with cumulative negative consequences, as proposed by the cumulative stress model (csm). this study engaged a panel of experts with lived and professional experiences in an intentional and iterative delphi process to identify stressors in agricultural communities. employing the three-round delphi technique by turoff and linstone (1975), this study integrated diverse perspectives and expertise while minimizing biases arising from group discussions or face-to-face interactions. the findings indicate that most stressors, such as farm operating costs, commodity prices, weather, labor shortages, crop/livestock diseases, economic fluctuations, and work-related accidents, were beyond individual control. these stressors can lead to a sense of powerlessness, particularly challenging in communities valuing independence and self-reliance. furthermore, farm operating costs, commodity prices, weather, labor shortages, and crop/livestock diseases ranked among the top stressors. debts, loans, and work-related accidents also contributed to stress. notably, farm operating costs, commodity prices, and weather emerged as the three most highly rated stressors across all categories—lack of control, sudden fluctuations, and farmingrelated stressors. addressing these stressors is paramount for monitoring and improving the well-being of agricultural communities. mailto:dbcroom@uga.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7710-5212 mailto:amscheye@uga.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3459-3794 mailto:brianna.yoo@uga.edu croom et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 6 introduction and problem statement farmers and agricultural workers face disproportionately high rates of mental health challenges, including suicide, depression, anxiety, and psychological distress (cuthbertson et al., 2021; pratt, 2022). these challenges stem primarily from uncontrollable factors such as weather, input costs, commodity prices, labor shortages, and government policies (cuthbertson, 2021), compounded by the physical hazards inherent in farm work. agriculture ranks as one of the most hazardous professions in the united states, with a constant risk of fatal and nonfatal injuries (the national institute for occupational safety and health (niosh)). moreover, the unique aspect of farming is that farm families reside and work within the confines of the agricultural operation, increasing the risk of injury to adolescent children when farmers are under significant stress (stoneman & jinnah, 2015). adding to this complexity is the prevailing mental health stigma within agricultural communities, where values of stoicism, individualism, and reluctance to seek help contribute to underreporting stress and emotional distress (cuthbertson et al., 2021). consequently, individuals and families in these communities grapple with multiple stressors in an environment that discourages open discussion and support for these issues. statement of the problem addressing stress-induced illnesses in the agricultural sector necessitates more than symptomatic treatment based on a general understanding of the causes of stress. to effectively assist georgia armers in managing stress, preventing suicide, and treating stress-related illnesses, healthcare professionals and farmer support organizations must pinpoint the underlying sources of stress experienced by these farmers. theoretical and conceptual framework stress is the physical, emotional, or psychological strain caused by difficult circumstances (mcewen & sapolsky, 2006). chronic stress can be harmful because the body constantly produces higher stress hormones without allowing recovery time (cohen et al., 2007; mcewen & sapolsky, 2006); exposure to chronic stress is more likely to result in permanent changes in a person's emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses (cohen et al., 2007). over time, chronic stress can cause significant damage to a person's body and psyche. of particular impact is the level of empowerment and social support experienced by persons under stress (rice, 2012). the feeling of powerlessness (such as helplessness in the face of adverse weather events) and the perceived lack of social support exacerbate stress and its impact (israel et al., 1994). the cumulative stress model (csm) developed by israel et al. (1994) is a theoretical framework that describes how chronic stressors, such as poverty, discrimination, violence, and social disadvantage, can impact individuals such as farmers. the model suggests that exposure to multiple stressors can lead to a "stress pile-up" effect, where stressors accumulate and interact to create a cascade of negative consequences for farmers. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 croom et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 7 the csm combines internal and external stress factors into one model. in considering an individual's stress experience, csm combines environmental factors with the internal factors of powerlessness, lack of social support, and preexisting physical and mental health conditions. israel et al. (1994) organized these factors into five major elements: (a) the psychoenvironmental conditions that lead to stress; (b) the perception of that stress by the individual and community; (c) short-term responses to the stressor; (d) long-term impacts of the stress on health and mental health; and (e) variables that mitigate or alleviate stress include a supportive social network, secure socioeconomic status, and capacity for autonomous decisionmaking (israel et al., 1994). in farming, the accumulation of stressors may lead to self-harm and suicide (bjornestad et al., 2021). purpose the purpose of this study is threefold: (a) to identify the stressors and psycho-environmental conditions leading to stress among farmers in georgia, and (b) to assess the seriousness of these stressors in the lives of farmers. this research serves as the initial step toward developing extension-based interventions aimed at addressing the most detrimental stressors identified, enhancing social support, and bolstering community resources to mitigate the adverse effects of chronic stress on farmers in georgia. methods we used a three-round delphi technique that turoff and linstone (1975) proposed to conduct this study. one of the strengths of the delphi method is that it allows for the integration of diverse perspectives and expertise while minimizing the potential biases that can arise from group discussions or face-to-face interactions. participants the panel of experts consisted of a purposive sample of individuals in the agricultural industry in georgia. we used a purposive sampling technique to select participants with the requisite expertise and knowledge to provide informed opinions and recommendations on the topic of interest. purposive sampling further allowed us to recruit a diverse and well-rounded group of experts with varying perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences related to the research question. delphi studies often address complex or specialized topics, making it essential to involve experts most relevant to the research question. table 1 lists the panelists and their areas of expertise in the industry. to increase accuracy and reliability, we chose 23 panelists. dalkey (2002), as referenced by warner and harder (2020), established that a panel of more than 13 experts yields a cronbach's alpha over .90. of our 23 panelists, nine were male, and 14 were female, 21 were white, and two were black. it should be noted that most of our panelists lived in rural counties, as defined by the united states census bureau (ratcliffe et al., 2016). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 croom et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 8 table 1 number of panelists and their leadership position or area of expertise number of panelists leadership position or area of expertise 2 executive leaders in a commodity association 4 rural extension agents 2 agricultural extension agents 4 farmers 2 leaders in a non-profit farm organization 4 rural stress researchers at a major university 1 representative in an agricultural finance agency 1 agent in the usda farm service agency 1 mental health care professional 2 rural disaster response provider 23 total panelists we sent an initial invitation to participate to 27 prospective panelists in the fall of 2022. from this initial list, 23 (85%) agreed to serve as expert panelists. we sent the first round of the survey by email in december 2022. the questionnaire asked the panel to respond to a list of 24 variables based on the literature by rating how much stress each caused for agricultural communities. research studies that drove the questionnaire's development pointed to the pressing need to address elevated stress levels in rural communities, particularly in regions such as rural georgia, where residents encounter unique challenges. these challenges encompass financial hardships, limited healthcare access, and a scarcity of job opportunities, all contributing to increased stress (beehler et al., 2021; mohatt et al., 2021). one of the primary sources of stress in rural areas of georgia is the pervasive financial hardship experienced by many residents. with poverty rates surpassing national averages, individuals and families frequently struggle to make ends meet, leading to difficulties paying bills and food insecurity (osinubi & escalante, 2013). additionally, limited access to healthcare and mental health services compounds the problem, as medically underserved rural areas lack sufficient healthcare providers and facilities, leaving physical and mental health issues untreated (kutek et al., 2011; osgood & pink, 2022; scheyett et al., 2023). furthermore, the dearth of job opportunities in rural georgia, stemming from the decline of traditional industries, contributes to feelings of hopelessness and high stress levels (erwin, 2017; myers, 2019). finally, stressors of direct relevance to agriculture, such as weather, input costs, commodity prices, and labor availability, were considered, given the importance of agriculture to the economy of rural communities in georgia (smith & maples, 2023). we also encouraged panelists to add variables to this list based on their experiences. we placed the items in a likert-type instrument with responses ranging from 1(no stress) to 4 (severe stress). we utilized a four-point scale because it may be easier for respondents to navigate. with fewer response options, the respondents are forced, in a sense, to make a decisive choice. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 croom et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 9 twenty-three (100%) panel members from round one replied to the first round of the survey in mid-december 2022. following guidelines described by warner and harder (2020), we established a priori that consensus on items in the first round was achieved when 67% of panelists indicated that the item was a moderate or severe stressor. in round two, sent to panelists on january 10, 2023, we provided panelists with a list of the factors that had attained 67% or more consensus and asked them if they agreed that these factors were moderate/severe stressors (1 = strongly disagree, 4 = strongly agree) and a priori agreed that those where 67% or more of panels agreed these were moderate/severe stressors would be retained, and sent on to round three. in round three, sent to panelists on january 30, 2023, we asked panelists how important it was to retain each factor as a significant stressor in agricultural communities (1=not at all important, 4=very important); we also established a priori the consensus cutoff at 67%. limitations the delphi method relies on subjective expert opinions, so findings may not be universally applicable. in addition, our participants were predominantly white and female, so responses may not fully represent the community. despite these limitations, the study provides valuable insights and a basis for further research and targeted interventions, with the need to interpret results in light of these constraints and address them in future studies. findings fourteen of the original 24 factors were rated as moderate/severe stressors for agricultural communities by 67% or more of the panelists in the first round of responses. in round two, six factors were retained at the 67% consensus level, and the remaining eight factors that attained 67% consensus were used in round three. seven of these eight factors attained 67% consensus or higher. results of the three rounds of the delphi process, including the average score for each factor and the number and percentage of panelists who selected each variable at either of the two highest likert points (3 or 4), are shown in table 2. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 croom et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 10 table 2 delphi process stress factor results stress factors round 1 (n=23) round 2 (n=21) round 3 (n=23) final decision m # 3 or 4 % 3 or 4 m # 3 or 4 % 3 or 4 m # 3 or 4 % 3 or 4 weather 3.26 22 96% 3.55 19 90% retained from round 2 retain commodity prices 3.52 23 100% 3.65 20 95% retained from round 2 retain farm operating costs 3.52 20 87% 3.85 20 95% retained from round 2 retain crop/livestock disease 3.00 16 70% 3.15 17 81% retained from round 2 retain farm-related pests 3.00 13 57% discard lack of available labor 3.35 20 87% 3.50 20 95% retained from round 2 retain poor health 2.87 14 61% discard lack of access to healthcare 2.90 17 74% 2.95 15 71% 3.17 18 78% retain lack of health insurance 2.96 16 70% 3.00 16 76% 3.13 19 83% retain high rates of covid-19 2.13 8 35% discard alcohol misuse 2.70 11 48% discard opioid and other drug misuse 2.96 15 67% 3.00 16 76% 3.09 16 70% retain work-related accidents 2.87 16 70% 2.85 16 76% 3.09 17 74% retain a high proportion of older adults in the community 2.48 12 52% discard sudden changes to the local economy (e.g., a large employer shuts down) 3.09 17 74% 3.01 16 76% 3.13 18 78% retain divorce 2.30 10 43% discard debts and loans 3.35 19 83% 3.55 19 90% retained from round 2 retain poverty 3.00 18 78% 2.85 14 67% 2.96 18 78% retain high housing costs 3.09 16 70% 3.10 15 71% 2.82 13 57% discard low high school graduation rates 2.35 11 48% discard poor quality housing 2.78 14 61% discard high unemployment 2.78 15 67% 2.75 13 62% 2.87 16 70% retain high number of single-parent households 2.65 13 57% discard lack of transportation 2.78 14 61% discard note. the column labeled "# 3 or 4" refers to the number of participants who chose agreed (3) or strongly agreed (4) on the instrument. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 croom et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 11 the final list of factors selected by the panel as the most significant stressors in agricultural communities is summarized in table 3. table 3 the final list of stressors, average final score, and round in which selected stressor f round selected farm operating costs 20 2 commodity prices 20 2 lack of available labor 20 2 weather 19 2 debts and loans 19 2 lack of health insurance 19 3 lack of access to healthcare 18 3 sudden changes to local economy (e.g., a large employer shuts down) 18 3 poverty 18 3 crop/livestock disease 17 2 work-related accidents 17 3 opioid and other drug misuse 16 3 high unemployment 16 3 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations first, it is essential to note that over half of the stressors involve factors over which an individual would have little or no control—the costs associated with operating a farm, commodity prices, weather, lack of labor, crop/livestock disease, sudden changes to the local economy, and work-related accidents. given that the impacts of stress are made worse by an accompanying sense of powerlessness and lack of self-efficacy (braveman et al., 2018; scheyett et al., 2019), it is essential to recognize the particular toxicity of stressors over which an individual can have little impact. this may be difficult for farmers individuals in agricultural communities, where values such as independence, autonomy, and "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" are held dear (scheyett et al., 2019). all but one (labor) of these lack-of-control stressors identified by the panel were also factors where sudden fluctuations or changes in situation are possible—sudden changes in farm costs, commodity prices fluctuations, weather events such as hail storms or tornadoes, the sudden appearance of diseases such as corn rust or avian influenza in crops or animals, sudden changes in local economies, and work-related accidents. five factors directly related to farming were rated in the top half of the stressors list —farm operating costs, commodity prices, weather, lack of available labor, and crop/livestock disease. one could arguably add debts and loans to this list since farmers may carry debt from year to year and work-related accidents, given the high rates of accidents associated with farming. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 croom et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 12 looking at the list generated by the panel, it is striking that three stressors -farm operating costs, commodity prices, and weather -were most highly rated across all three categories. as waldman et al. (2021) and yazd et al. (2019) suggest, when the negative attributes of these three factors are present, such as high farm operating costs, low commodity prices, and severe weather, the stress levels of farmers may reach levels where self-harm and suicide are the only solutions that farmers perceive will alleviate the stress. our findings suggest that attending to these three stressors, in particular, will be important in monitoring the well-being of farmers in georgia. the agricultural industry in georgia plays a significant role in the health and welfare of the citizens in this state (national agricultural statistics service, 2019), and farming is a mainstay in the industry's role. this study reveals critical stressors for georgia farmers that suggest the need for continual monitoring, perhaps by, but not limited to, state agencies and public health organizations. while we relied on studies conducted in other states to guide the development of this study, we hesitate to suggest that these previous studies have answered the question of what causes stress among farmers. as conn (2023) notes, the characteristics and demographics of american farming communities are highly varied. for example, jones and field (2002) found no evidence of farmer suicide or self-harm in selected farming communities in pennsylvania. nevertheless, bjornestad et al. (2021) found several factors that may contribute to farmer suicide and self-harm in midwestern states. the diverse geographic, economic, social, and demographic characteristics of american farmers call for further research to continually identify and rank the most significant stressors farmers face in their respective locations. extension programs are tailor-made for local farmers' needs, so we recommend that extension implement systematic mechanisms to identify high-risk stress factors experienced by farmers. researchers at the university of georgia are working to develop a model system designed to predict where stressful conditions are likely to appear within a specific geographic region by combining economic, agronomic, climate, social, health, and emergency services databases and analyzing the data. once the model predicts the presence of stress in a local area, the extension disaster education network can be deployed to assist with mitigation and recovery efforts (extension disaster education network, 2019). extension can also foster collaboration between local extension services and community stakeholders, including counseling centers, churches, and public health programs, to develop and implement supportive programs and interventions. these collaborative efforts can offer essential mental health services, financial support, and social resources to help farmers cope with their unique challenges. implementing these recommendations can enhance farmers' quality of life and mental health. acknowledgements d.b. croom and a.m. scheyett conducted the formal analysis, investigation, and writing-original draft; k.b. yoo conducted portions of the literature review, and assisted with the formal analysis, writing, review, and editing. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 croom et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 13 references beehler, s., corcoran, f., mcconkey, m. k., jasken, j., & mcintyre, a. 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(2021). socioeconomic threats are more salient to farmers than environmental threats. journal of rural studies, 86, 508–517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.07.016 warner, l. a. s., & harder, a. (2020). conducting the needs assessment #10: the delphi technique. edis, 2020(4). https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-wc364-2020 yazd, s. d., wheeler, s. a., & zuo, a. (2019). key risk factors affecting farmers' mental health: a systematic review. international journal of environmental research and public health, 16(23), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234849 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.401 https://doi.org/10.1037/rmh0000114 https://doi.org/10.1037/rmh0000225 https://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/theme-articles/farm-stress/risk-induced-stressors-for-row-crop-producers https://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/theme-articles/farm-stress/risk-induced-stressors-for-row-crop-producers https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.07.016 https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-wc364-2020 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234849 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 1, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. madison a. dyment, m.s., university of florida, 411 rolfs hall po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32608, madison.dyment@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4702-8284 2. annie r. specht, ph.d., the ohio state university, 200l agricultural administration building, 2120 fyffe road, columbus, oh 43210, specht.21@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8482-1057 3. emily b. buck, ph.d., the ohio state university, 200y agricultural administration building, 2120 fyffe road, columbus, oh 43210, buck.210@osu.edu 19 international interests: student and industry perspectives on agricultural communication curriculum development in ontario m. a. dyment1, a. r. specht2, e. b. buck3 article history received: august 1, 2024 accepted: december 12, 2024 published: january 13, 2025 keywords agricultural communication; curriculum development; sdg 4: quality education; ontarian agriculture; stakeholder perceptions and needs abstract this study explores the potential development of an agricultural communication program at the university of guelph. it aims to understand the current knowledge of, and interest in, the discipline among ontarian agriculture students and industry professionals, and the perceived importance and employability of hypothetical program graduates. using a qualitative descriptive case study approach, focus groups with 18 students and six industry professionals were conducted. data were collected through open-ended questions, analyzed using open coding and thematic analysis, and triangulated with demographic surveys. the findings reveal a general lack of understanding of agricultural communication among ontarian students, who nonetheless recognize the field's potential to bridge gaps between producers and consumers, particularly through social media and diverse job opportunities. industry professionals emphasized the growing importance of storytelling, crisis communication, and the need for polyskilled graduates capable of addressing varied communication needs within the agricultural sector. both stakeholder groups expressed interest in an agricultural communication academic program. recommendations include engaging broader industry support for the program, integrating agricultural communication training across existing agricultural disciplines at the university of guelph, and continuing research to refine curriculum development. mailto:madison.dyment@ufl.edu https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2forcid.org%2f0009-0001-4702-8284&data=05%7c01%7cmadison.dyment%40ufl.edu%7c65f0e75276ab4756f6d508dbe2325142%7c0d4da0f84a314d76ace60a62331e1b84%7c0%7c0%7c638352477963213443%7cunknown%7ctwfpbgzsb3d8eyjwijoimc4wljawmdailcjqijoiv2lumziilcjbtii6ik1hawwilcjxvci6mn0%3d%7c3000%7c%7c%7c&sdata=to0qtwu6cd2wv%2bfxc%2f9nmsaurxl8ytbclflipb2acba%3d&reserved=0 mailto:specht.21@osu.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8482-1057 mailto:buck.210@osu.edu dyment et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 20 introduction and problem statement the agricultural communication discipline is present and growing in the united states, with over 40 programs nationwide (cannon et al., 2016; fernandez et al., 2020; miller et al., 2015; tedrick, 2009). these academic programs have consistently adapted to encompass modern characteristics as dictated by industry (cartmell & evans, 2013; tucker et al., 2003). today, programs focus on communicating agricultural sciences and information to consumers, teaching a blend of courses influenced by mass communications, journalism, and agricultural industries (ahrens & gibson, 2013; cannon et al., 2016; corder & irlbeck, 2018; irani & doerfert, 2013; kurtzo et al., 2016; tucker et al., 2003. these skills are in high demand due to increased consumer scrutiny, distancing from agriculture, and a decrease in agricultural literacy (cannon et al., 2016; kurtzo et al., 2016). moreover, the discipline is expanding internationally, with recent studies proposing agricultural communications academic programs in the united kingdom and australia, showing value in international expansion (miller et al., 2020; thorn et al., 2022). problem statement considering international impacts, the canadian agricultural sector remains one of the dominant industries in the nation (agriculture and agri-food canada, 2017) but lacks dedicated agricultural communication undergraduate degree programs to address declining agricultural literacy. the university of guelph, the flagship agricultural institution in canada, does not offer an undergraduate distinction in the discipline (university of guelph, n.d.). this study explores ontario agricultural stakeholders’ understanding of agricultural communications and illustrates stakeholder desire for a future agricultural communication program at the university of guelph to inform curriculum development efforts, while making important international contributions to disciplinary literature. theoretical and conceptual framework this study employs wolf’s (2007) curriculum development model and glatthorn’s (2005) process-oriented curriculum theory to guide its exploration of agricultural communication program development. glatthorn’s (2005) perspective, which focuses on the stages of curriculum development, provided the foundation for stakeholder engagement and curriculum design. it emphasizes understanding preliminary matters such as which groups should be represented in developmental sessions, the participation structure, and identifying starting points for discussions. this theoretical perspective guided the initial conversations with stakeholders to determine interest in program development, ensuring a comprehensive approach to curriculum planning. glatthorn’s (2005) emphasis on using multiple sources to develop curriculum further informed the selection of stakeholders for this study. wolf’s (2007) model, encompassing three phases of curriculum visioning, curriculum development, and alignment, coordination, and development, structured the study's approach to understanding stakeholder perceptions and informed the study methods and participants. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 dyment et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 21 while each phase is important for holistic curriculum development, this study follows the structure of the preliminary curriculum visioning phase. in this phase, wolf (2007) suggests initial conversations through focus groups with key stakeholders, such as students and employers, to determine their perceptions and needs. this phase is crucial for gathering insights and setting a foundation for subsequent curriculum development stages. these frameworks aid in identifying key stakeholder groups and guiding the initial conversations necessary for developing a relevant and effective agricultural communication program. this integrated approach aims to ensure that the proposed program will effectively prepare graduates to meet the challenges of the agricultural communication field and support the growth and development of the agricultural industry in ontario and broader canada. purpose this needs assessment explored ontarian agricultural industry professionals’ and agricultural students’ understanding of agricultural communication and illustrated stakeholder requests for a future ontarian agricultural communications program situated in the university of guelph. the following research questions guided this study: 1. what do ontarian agriculture students and industry professionals know about agricultural communication? 2. do ontarian agriculture students desire an agricultural communication program? 3. do ontarian agricultural industry professionals desire an agricultural communication program? a. how important are skilled agricultural communication graduates in the eyes of industry professionals? b. how employable would these graduates be in the ontarian agricultural industry? methods a qualitative descriptive needs assessment design was chosen to gain a foundational understanding of the landscape of ontarian agricultural stakeholder perceptions for proposed agricultural communication curriculum. needs assessments are customary for beginning stages of curriculum development (gonsalves et al., 2014). as part of a larger study, participants were selected using purposive and snowball sampling methods. purposive sampling was employed to select ideal industry representatives (n = 6) based on desired characteristics or knowledge (palinkas et al., 2015). representatives from the main ontarian agricultural sectors (beef, dairy, poultry, swine, and general food production) were identified through provincial commodity group webpages and recruited through an irb-approved email. snowball sampling broadened the reach of the study for the student population (n = 18) (sadler et al., 2010). the president of the student federation of the university of guelph ontario agricultural college (oac) put out a call for recruitment, with an additional call disseminated through the oac newsletter. students then recommended others for participation. emphasis was placed on majors and years in school. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 dyment et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 22 data collection and analysis data were collected via focus groups conducted over zoom to accommodate location challenges. four focus groups with students (n = 6; n = 4; n = 4; n = 4) and two with industry professionals (n = 4; n = 2) were conducted between september and november 2022. each session lasted approximately one hour. a demographic survey was distributed via qualtrics after focus groups. open-ended questions facilitated participant conversation, aligning with case study recommendations (yin, 2016). focus group sessions were recorded and transcribed, with participants receiving identifying numbers to ensure confidentiality. the transcripts manually analyzed using open coding, which allowed for thematic discovery among the data. coding and thematic analysis were conducted by the primary researcher. demographic survey responses were analyzed using spss for quantitative frequencies. limitations, trustworthiness, and scope of study the study employed a relatively small sample size (n = 24), which is common in qualitative research (marshall, 1996). student participants were more represented than industry professionals due to convenience and scheduling challenges. different focus group leaders for some sessions could introduce variation in responses, though a script was provided for all moderators to follow, and the original moderator's sessions were recorded and reviewed by the other moderators for consistency. measures were taken to enhance trustworthiness, including credibility, dependability, and transferability (cope, 2014). data triangulation involved comparing student and industry responses with researcher notes and relevant literature, enhancing the study's validity (yin, 2016). crystallization further enriched trustworthiness by incorporating the primary researcher's experiences with ontarian agriculture, providing context to the findings (lindlof & taylor, 2011). this study is part of a larger investigation into the development of agricultural communication programs. positionality statement the primary researcher grew up in rural ontario and has knowledge of ontarian dynamics and institutional affiliations. this offers a unique lens to approach analysis. both other researchers are agricultural communication faculty with no personal or professional connections to the subjects. findings rq1: what do ontarian agriculture students and industry professionals know about agricultural communication? student participants this research question elicited a broad array of student responses. students noted their level of understanding of the field and what came to mind for them when considering agricultural communications. these encompassed areas of disciplinary purpose, and job opportunities and https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 dyment et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 23 availability. identified themes among students were lack of understanding, bridging gaps, social media, and broad and diverse job opportunities. most participants admitted to having a lack of understanding of agricultural communication. they noted having less concrete knowledge of topics covered by agricultural communication and professional opportunities in the field. this was consistent across student focus groups and may be attributed to a lack of educational opportunities in the discipline. the theme of bridging gaps emerged early, largely through the context of connecting producers with consumers. students consistently leveraged bridging the gap between consumers and producers to characterize the role of agricultural communication in the industry and as a valuable skill to be learned through study in this discipline. one student said, “when i think about ag communication, i think of the producer-consumer gap and trying to bridge that gap.” a gap between researchers and agricultural producers also surfaced among student responses. from this line of questioning, students characterized agricultural communication and identified job opportunities. social media prominently emerged. this characterization from students was well articulated by one student, who noted that, “a lot of communications work is definitely over social media, and a lot of farmers are on twitter largely to catch each other up on what’s going on.” student participants singled out younger generations as frequent users of the medium and noted social media as a prominent career opportunity. looking more specifically at careers, student participants characterized broad and diverse job opportunities in the field of agricultural communication. education was a common response among students for characterizing the field of agricultural communication and as a career option for program graduates. this can be seen in another student’s response, who when thinking of what agricultural communication means to her said, “my first thought is 100% education. communication is key if you’re trying to educate someone on any topic, not just agriculture, so that’s really the first thing that comes to mind and i feel they are really connected.” a different student also noted that careers in educational fields would be applicable for graduates. she specifically mentioned the lack of a formal agricultural education system in canada but pointed out that “[agricultural companies or commodity groups] have programs where some of their employees will go and teach kids about agriculture, so that’s a possibility for agricultural communicators.” agricultural boards and commodity groups were identified as prominent employment opportunities for graduates. students named specific organizations, like dairy farmers of ontario, with these boards communicating to producers and consumers. student participants also emphasized marketing as a key component of agricultural communication, including opportunities outside traditional agriculture. journalism was another noted job opportunity. the range of identified careers also extends to job availability. students noted a disparity between full-time job positions in agricultural communication versus part-time positions or internship opportunities. one student accentuated this, saying, “especially in private industry, which is what i want to do, there’s not a ton of jobs for post-grads and it’s hard to find space for https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 dyment et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 24 us outside of internships.” however, other students, disputed this, with one stating, “i think there are a lot of communication jobs out there and there will continue to be more, but i think they’re not as well-known.” industry participants for industry participants, the themes that emerged included transactional field, storytelling, and translating. when asked what comes to mind when considering agricultural communication, an interesting response was the idea of a transactional field. one professional illustrated that, in the past, communications work was transactional, involving professionals disseminating the bare facts about the industry as a “necessary evil,” but indicating a shift to more engagement and two-way communication. industry participants also characterized the field of agricultural communication through the lens of storytelling. another professional best characterized this theme by saying, “[agricultural communicators] are storytellers. we tell the story to a wide variety of different audiences and how you tell that story depends on who you’re selling it to.” aside from storytellers, industry professionals noted that agricultural communicators often work translating for the industry. one summarized this by saying, “i think the key role we play is translating a variety of information to different audiences effectively.” rq2: do ontarian agriculture students desire an agricultural communication program? when directly asked if they would be interested in studying agricultural communication, most students responded positively, with responses sorting into preferred format and degree of interest. for preferred format, the opportunity to study agricultural communication as a minor or certificate was most frequently mentioned. participants noted that this discipline would be a valuable supplement to other existing agricultural programs at the university of guelph oac. students said that communication skills apply to a variety of agricultural careers, establishing value for students in other program areas to receive this training. a student notably mentioned that “the university of guelph doesn’t currently have a lot of good programs with these types of courses, so it would be very beneficial for a lot of different people.” other students did indicate a desire to study agricultural communication as an undergraduate major. among the five students who expressed an interest in having this as their primary discipline, a commonality of “settling” for another agricultural major to still be involved in agriculture emerged. this is summarized by one student by saying, “i absolutely would study in this. i didn’t have an interest in ag business, but i wanted to be an ‘aggie,’ so i settled.” looking at degree of interest, some students reported that they initially would have considered enrolling in an agricultural communication program but now appreciate the program they currently study. only two students expressed a lack of desire to study agricultural communication in any capacity. markedly, these students all indicated that they still saw value in agricultural communication. one participant exemplified this, stating, “i’m not personally interested but i think it will become very prevalent in the future. any job will require communication skills, especially in agriculture, so everyone should have knowledge in this.” https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 dyment et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 25 students unanimously indicated that they believed an agricultural communications program would be a valuable opportunity for a variety of oac students. from these responses, they implied that the discipline would be considered a supplement for any existing agricultural major and viewed as increasing job acquisition among agricultural graduates. all students agreed that an agricultural communication program would not only coincide with but also uplift the culture and experience of the oac. one student said, i think there’s a lot of people that are either taking animal science, or food, agriculture and resource economics, or ag business because they want to be in agriculture, but they don’t really fit. so, this would benefit the school and a lot of students. rq3: do ontarian agricultural industry professionals desire an agricultural communication program? industry professionals were given different questions. the themes that emerged were growth and transition, need for poly-skilled communication graduates, and crisis communications and activism. when asked what place agricultural communication has in the canadian agricultural industry, professionals noted that the field is an area of growth and transition. aside from a shifting workforce, changes were also mentioned in consumer interactions and the agricultural industry’s perceptions of the field’s importance. participants gave personal accounts informed by their experiences that indicated a surge in career opportunities. one participant summarized this, saying, our company is pulling away from advertising and marketing budgets and investing in communications elements. these platforms are much more effective at driving our message forward…so it’s a growth industry. it’s going to steal some of the budget from some of the traditional platforms for how we try to influence our customers’ decisions. industry participants stated a need for poly-skilled communication graduates. professionals connected budgetary issues playing a role in this, with two professionals noting that many agricultural companies lack the fiscal range to hire specialists in different areas of communications despite needing a variety of skillsets. this requires graduates to have a comprehensive understanding of a wide range of communications areas. crisis communications and activism were notable themes for job opportunities in the field. multiple participants emphasized the role crisis communications plays in agriculture, particularly during a time when the industry is under immense scrutiny and facing unprecedented challenges. anti-agriculture activism was presumed to endure, with participants stating the need for trained agricultural communicators to counteract these attacks on the industry and defuse situations. one specifically connected crisis communications and activism, saying, “i don’t think activism is going anywhere, and a key part of crisis communications is [understanding how to] keep your advocates, shift your ‘ambivalents’ and counteract your adversaries.” when asked what emphasis should be placed on educating and training students in agricultural communication, participants unanimously responded that it is a priority. they emphatically highlighted the value in all agricultural students having some level of training in agricultural https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 dyment et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 26 communications and that a notable gap exists at the university of guelph. one participant stated, “it’s extremely high priority. we hire a summer intern every year to help the marketing team and other than their own social media experience, we haven’t had any that have had formal grounding in their education to prepare them.” another substantiated this, stating, “there’s a huge gap. people either go to guelph for animal science or ag business but they can’t get an agriculture background in anything communications related.” a different professional even stated, “every single person that i hired for 15 years out of the university of guelph said the same thing, ‘my education did not prepare me for this job.’” rq3a and b: how important are skilled agricultural communication graduates in the eyes of industry professionals? how employable would these graduates be in the ontarian agricultural industry? given the direct relation to the broader rq2, much of the same data is reported for this subquestion. the emergent themes were priority for all agricultural students, growth industry, and new job opportunities. industry participants all agreed that this should be a made an educational priority for all agricultural students. participants specifically stated that the oac needs a program to train students in this discipline, with one professional claiming “it needs to be built as a base for every ag and food student to have because…you need a base in communications, and i think we need a specialization for people who want to do it as a career.” when tracing how hireable these graduates would be, the industry responses around job opportunities were the most reflective. professionals highlighted agricultural communication as a growth industry in broader canadian agriculture, with two professionals specifically stating that new job opportunities within the past 20 years have been created that did not exist when they were graduates of the university of guelph oac. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations perceptions of agricultural communication varied between stakeholders. students generally had limited knowledge, often holding stereotypical views of the field. industry professionals had more informed perspectives, viewing agricultural communication as evolving from transactional to more engaging, emphasizing storytelling and translation of complex information (joubert et al., 2019; park et al., 2021). social media emerged as a key component for both groups, and students recognized various career opportunities, noting the discipline's expanding role in canadian agriculture (canadian federation of agriculture, n.d.). all students recognized the discipline’s potential value and agreed that an agricultural communication program would enhance the university of guelph oac’s offerings. industry responses emphasized the need for collaborative communication skills to address complex issues. they identified agricultural communication as a growth area, with communication efforts often proving more effective than traditional marketing (cannon et al., 2016; fernandez et al., 2020; miller et al., 2015; weckman et al., 2000). professionals stressed the need for poly-skilled communicators due to budget constraints (doerfert & miller, 2006). crisis communications was also crucial (hamel & saindon, 2017; kovar & ball, 2013; powell et al., 2008), aligning with https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 dyment et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 27 trends in u.s. programs (cannon et al., 2016; edgar et al., 2012). industry participants unanimously prioritized training in agricultural communication, citing a gap at the university of guelph oac. the introduction of an agricultural communication program would supplement existing agricultural programs. improved communication skills would enhance students' employability and address a critical need in the agricultural sector (cannon et al., 2016; kurtzo et al., 2016). industry professionals’ need for poly-skilled communicators indicates that graduates from such a program would be highly employable. moreover, these findings align with industry trends in the united states and support the growth of the agricultural communication field (doerfert & miller, 2006; miller et al., 2015). desired skills and competencies identified by ontarian stakeholders largely reflect existing subject matter in u.s. agricultural communications programs (cannon et al., 2016; miller et al., 2015), substantiating the discipline’s content and confirming international connections between the u.s. and ontarian industries. at present, the literature centers on u.s. curriculum, with very few publications on the needs of canadian industry and student stakeholders. with an observed desire to expand the discipline internationally (miller et al., 2020; thorn et al., 2022), this study provides an additional example of such efforts and a framework for international curriculum development work. in future, the canadian agricultural industry should be more broadly engaged to support such a program. with interest established, the university of guelph oac should be involved in future efforts to identify how and where such a program would best fit within the institution. industry stakeholders should be engaged in the process. further research in this subject should continue the other stages of wolf’s (2007) framework to have a comprehensive curriculum development plan. other stakeholders’ opinions from outside ontario or within the university of guelph should also be taken into consideration. additionally, studies should be conducted to better understand whether there is value in moving away from traditional agricultural communication, and if more emphasis should be placed on other related, but distinct areas such as science, life science, food, and natural resources communication. acknowledgments author contributions: m. dyment – formal analysis, investigation, writing-all drafts and copyediting; a. specht – formal analysis, writing-review and editing; e. buck – formal analysis, writing-review and editing. references agriculture and agri-food canada (2017, november 10). canada’s agricultural 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(2016). qualitative research from start to finish (2nd ed.). guilford press. © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.531 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-021-00305-x https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ej839874 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-2018.2010.00541.x https://aceweb.org/agricultural-communications-timeline/ https://undergrad.osu.edu/majors-and-academics/majors/detail/7#:~:text=the%20agricultural%20communication%20major%20provides,enjoy%20persuading%2c%20writing%20and%20designing https://undergrad.osu.edu/majors-and-academics/majors/detail/7#:~:text=the%20agricultural%20communication%20major%20provides,enjoy%20persuading%2c%20writing%20and%20designing https://undergrad.osu.edu/majors-and-academics/majors/detail/7#:~:text=the%20agricultural%20communication%20major%20provides,enjoy%20persuading%2c%20writing%20and%20designing https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2462 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2003.01022 https://www.uoguelph.ca/programs/msc-in-capacity-development-and-extension/ https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2157 https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.294 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 2, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. suzanna windon, associate professor, pennsylvania state university, 386 shortlidge rd. university park, pa, 16802, sxk75@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9103-5123 2. carolyn henzi, phd candidate, pennsylvania state university, 386 shortlidge rd. university park, pa, 16802, cmh704@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3330-017x 3. claudia schmidt, associate professor, pennsylvania state university, armsby building, university park, 16802, czs786@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8597-7288 56 farmers’ motivation for learning and developing new skills s. windon1, c. henzi2, c. schmidt3 article history received: october 31, 2024 accepted: may 15, 2025 published: june 13, 2025 keywords farmers; job motivation; motivation for learning and developing new skills; self-leadership competencies; sdg 4: quality education abstract this study utilized an online survey to examine the relationships between farmers' self-leadership skills, job motivation, and motivation for learning and developing new skills. a self-selected, chain-referral sampling strategy, a convenience sampling, was employed, resulting in 59 responses. the results show statistically significant positive associations among the variables. farmers’ motivation for learning and development was moderately associated with job motivation (r = .34, p ≤ .05) and selfleadership (r = .40, p ≤ .05). a stronger association was found between job motivation and self-leadership (r = .59, p ≤ .05). these findings suggest that higher motivation is linked to stronger self-leadership competencies among farmers. chi-square analysis indicated a significant association between motivation for learning and gender (χ² = 67.31, p ≤ .05), with no significant associations found for age, educational level, employment status, tenure in farming, farm size, land ownership, or number of agricultural commodities produced. the findings suggest that extension services should enhance farmers’ motivation for continuous learning and skill development through targeted educational interventions. these insights should guide future research and practical initiatives, ensuring farmers have the necessary skills and support to succeed in an everchanging agricultural environment. mailto:sxk75@psu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9103-5123 mailto:cmh704@psu.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3330-017x mailto:czs786@psu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8597-7288 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 57 introduction and problem statement this paper contributes to the advancement of agricultural development by providing new insights into the factors influencing farmers’ job motivation, self-leadership competencies, and motivation for learning and developing new skills, offering practical implications for improving agricultural practices and supporting sustainable development. farmers’ motivation and willingness to learn and develop new skills are crucial to adapting to global challenges that agriculture faces due to the covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and a growing population (united nations, n.d.). implementing improved practices, technologies, and business management strategies enables farmers to increase their production yield and sustain economically viable agriculture (national institute of food and agriculture, n.d.). agricultural producers desire to be successful, increase their profit, remain competitive, and improve their quality of life (bhatta et al., 2019; franz et al., 2009). this desire leads farmers to participate in educational programming that spans diverse topics across different formats and lengths (franz et al., 2010), mainly when these programs are need-focused (westbrook et al., 2009). silvert et al. (2022) wrote that agricultural extension enhances the livelihoods of rural individuals and communities by building capacity and connecting them to information, technologies, and marketing opportunities. previous literature suggested that extension professionals and outreach educators increase farmers’ participation and engagement in extension programs that help them learn and develop new skills and foster job motivation (mills et al., 2018). limited studies examined the relationship between farmers’ self-leadership skills, job motivation, and motivation for learning and development. the present study hypothesized that an individual’s self-leadership skills, job motivation, and motivation for learning and developing new skills are positively correlated. theoretical and conceptual framework we propose an integrative framework combining leading theories to explore the relationships among self-leadership, job motivation, motivation for learning and development, and demographic variables. this approach views learning outcomes as indicators of goal-directed behavior. motivation allows individuals to initiate actions (hiriyappa, 2008 p. 1)or sustain behaviors in particular situations. research indicates that farmers are highly motivated to learn and integrate new skills into their work (bhatta et al., 2019; franz et al., 2009). self-leadership self-leadership involves influencing oneself to foster the self-motivation and self-direction required for effectiveness (manz, 1986; manz & sims, 1991). it is a continuous process of selfdiscovery and behavioral regulation, utilizing strategies to boost self-efficacy, manage actions, and pursue meaningful goals (manz & neck, 2006). bandura’s (1991) self-regulation theory emphasizes self-observation, judgment, and reaction, aiding individuals in setting realistic goals and reinforcing positive behaviors. self-determination theory (sdt) links motivation to personal growth and self-regulation (deci & ryan, 2012). bryant and kazan (2012) identify four pillars of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 58 self-leadership: defining values, reflecting on motivation, planning, and building productive habits, which promote purposeful, goal-oriented behavior. job motivation job motivation encompasses forces that drive work-related behavior, both intrinsic and extrinsic (pinder, 2008). herzberg’s two-factor theory (herzberg et al., 1959) distinguishes between factors causing satisfaction (e.g., achievement) and dissatisfaction (e.g., salary). according to robinson et al. (2003), the most substantial sources of farmers’ satisfaction are pride of ownership, making a satisfactory income, self-respect by doing a worthwhile job, meeting a challenge, enjoyment of work tasks, and ensuring a future income. vroom’s expectancy theory (1964) links motivation to the belief that effort leads to meaningful rewards. alderfer’s erg theory (1969) categorizes needs into existence, relatedness, and growth, forming a continuum influencing satisfaction. these frameworks highlight how self-leadership competencies enhance intrinsic motivation, reduce reliance on external direction, and improve work performance (manz, 2015; stewart et al., 2019). mccombs (1991) mentions the relationship between the willingness to learn and motivation itself, stating that a motivated person is a lifelong learner, and a lifelong learner is a motivated person. hence, farmers’ motivation to learn is essential to acquiring new skills, enabling them to be competitive. manz (1986) highlights that self-leadership involves managing tasks with low intrinsic motivation through self-imposed strategies and leveraging the inherent motivational value of tasks, suggesting a strong relationship between self-leadership and intrinsic motivation in fostering more engaged and effective behaviors in organizations. motivation for learning and development farmers’ motivation to learn stems from intrinsic and extrinsic factors and values. intrinsic motivators include personal satisfaction, curiosity, and self-fulfillment (deci & ryan, 1985). these factors and values are reflected in bergevoet et al. (2004), where dutch dairy farmers ranked higher in enjoying farm work, working with animals, and producing a good and safe product, rather than the goal of achieving maximum income. for farmers, intrinsic motivators and values might involve improving production outcomes or engaging with innovative practices (mills et al., 2018). lunneryd and öhlmér (2009) and willock et al. (1999) sustain that farmers’ values affect their decision-making, shaping how farmers process and pay attention to information and forecast consequences, which all precede and successively direct their choices. muri et al. (2020) and hansen and greve (2014) highlight that farmers are primarily intrinsically oriented and motivated; they emphasize the importance of individual characteristics and nonmonetary benefits in improving farmers’ wellbeing, valuing the nature of work, independence, and performance. franz et al. (2009) reported that farmers from the united states southeast region prefer the following learning formats: hands-on activities (99%), demonstrations (96%), and farm visits (94%), followed by field days, discussions, and one-on-one sessions. farmers indicated that they do not prefer game-related activities, comics, role-playing, or radio. however, this perception might have changed given recent advances in game-based learning (klit et al., 2018). extrinsic motivators, such as financial rewards or job security, drive decisions to participate in learning programs with clear, practical benefits like profitability or efficiency gains (franz et al., 2009; ryan & deci, 2020). lunneryd and öhlmér (2009) state that values https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 59 related to high profitability positively affect how farmers collect and process information in their decision-making to engage in learning and innovation. öhlmér (1998) found that the nature of farmers’ values affects their problem detection and searching for options. the research underscores the importance of tailoring educational programs to address intrinsic and extrinsic motivations to meet farmers’ immediate needs and long-term growth. adult learning theory andragogy, the study of adult learning, posits that adults learn best when the material is relevant, practical, and aligned with their motivations (knowles, 1980; knowles et al., 1998). adults are self-directed learners who use personal experiences as resources and focus on problem-solving. in agricultural education, effective programs resonate with farmers’ practical needs (franz et al., 2010). high self-leadership skills further reduce the need for external motivation, emphasizing intrinsic rewards and self-management (lovelace et al., 2007; neck & houghton, 2006). relationship between motivation and demographics demographics significantly influence farmers’ motivation to learn and adopt new skills. knowledge and skills are critical for integrating new agricultural practices (kanyi et al., 2017). gender, age, education, and farm size shape motivation and participation in educational programs. for instance, narine et al. (2019) found that age and technology literacy impact farmers’ use of modern tools. sarie et al. (2023) demonstrated a positive association between demographics and the adoption of innovative practices. meece et al. (2009) indicated that gender influences motivation for professional development, with males generally more motivated in competitive settings, while females show stronger intrinsic motivation in collaborative environments. recognizing these differences can improve the design and effectiveness of professional development opportunities in education. understanding these factors is essential for designing effective outreach programs and fostering sustainable agricultural development. purpose this descriptive-associational study assessed pennsylvania farmers’ self-leadership, job motivation, and motivation for learning and developing new skills. moreover, this study determined the relationship between farmers’ motivation for learning and developing new skills and farmers’ demographics. the following three research objectives guided this study: (a) describe farmers’ self-leadership competencies, job motivation, and motivation for learning and developing new skills; (b) describe the relationship between farmers’ self-leadership competencies, job motivation, and motivation for learning and developing new skills, and (c) describe the relationship between farmers’ motivation for learning and development and selected demographic variables. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 60 methods this study is an offshoot of a more comprehensive study (windon & robotham, 2021) approved by the institutional review board. the study targeted self-identified pennsylvania farmers, with a sample (n = 59) selected using a self-selected and chain-referral convenience sampling approach (fricker, 2008). data was collected via an open web page survey, with recruitment supported by agriculture-related organizations in pennsylvania in 2020. recruitment utilized the penn state extension website, an online magazine press release, a newspaper, farm bureau county websites, and the penn state extension facebook page. after excluding incomplete responses, the final dataset included 59 out of 91 surveys. a panel of seven experts (including educators, administrators, academic faculty, and a graduate student) assessed the survey instrument for face and content validity. a pilot study conducted during a three-day agriculturerelated event verified the scale’s reliability. nonresponse bias was evaluated by comparing early (first 25) and late (last 25) respondents based on submission time. a t-test showed no significant nonresponse bias (lindner et al., 2001; miller & smith, 1983), confirming that the sample represents the study population (see table 1). however, caution is advised as the sample was not randomly selected, limiting generalizability to all pennsylvania farmers. instrumentation the research instrument comprised three scales to measure self-leadership competencies, motivation for learning and developing new skills, and job motivation. the self-leadership competencies scale included 11 items measured on a five-point likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), with a cronbach’s alpha of .74. example items were: “i easily prioritize tasks during my busy season on the farm.” these scale items were adapted from benge et al. (2011), bruce and anderson (2012), conklin et al. (2002), and others. the motivation for learning and developing new skills scale was adapted from llinares-insa et al. (2018). the scale consists of two items using a five-point likert scale with a cronbach’s alpha of .70. sample items included: “i like to learn new things about my work, even if it is about small details.” lastly, the job motivation scale contained three items, measured on a five-point likert scale, achieving a cronbach’s alpha of .82. example items were: “i take pride in doing my job as well as i can.” the scale is derived from vithessonthi and schwaninger (2008). a five-point likert-type scale was used to collect data for this study, following the guidelines outlined by lindner and lindner (2024). the true limits of the response categories were defined as follows: strongly agree = 5.00–4.51, agree = 4.50–3.51, neither agree nor disagree = 3.50– 2.51, disagree = 2.50–1.51, and strongly disagree = 1.50–1.00. the alpha level for statistical significance was set a priori at .05 (lindner & lindner, 2024). we treated independent and dependent variables as interval data. spearman association analysis examined relationships between variables, while chi-squared analysis explored the link between farmers’ motivation for learning and their demographics. the questionnaire included eight demographic variables represented in table 1. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 61 table 1 descriptive statistics of farmers’ demographics items n frequency percent gender 54 100.0 male 38 70.4 female 14 25.9 i prefer not to say 2 3.7 age 55 100.0 under 25 6 10.9 25-34 13 23.6 35-44 7 12.7 45-54 8 14.5 55-59 4 7.3 60+ 17 30.9 education level 53 100.0 high school 13 24.5 associate’s or technical certificate 13 24.5 bachelor’s 21 39.6 graduate degree 6 11.3 tenure in farming 55 100 100.0 <5 years 12 21.8 5-9 years 10 18.2 10-14 years 8 14.5 15-19 years 3 5.5 20-24 years 4 7.3 25+ 18 32.7 employment status 52 100.0 full-time farm 20 38.5 part-time farm/seasonal work 9 17.3 work off farm full-time. 16 30.8 work off-farm part-time 6 11.5 work off-farm seasonal 1 1.9 farm size 53 100.0 under 5 acres 3 5.7 6-10 acres 6 11.3 11-40 acres 8 15.1 41-60 acres 3 5.7 61-80 acres 3 5.7 81-150 acres 7 13.2 151-250 acres 8 15.1 251-400 acres 5 9.4 over 400 acres 10 18.9 number of ag commodities 52 100.0 one 9 17.3 two 14 26.9 three 7 13.5 four or more 22 42.3 ownership of land 53 100.0 owned land 44 83.0 rented land 9 17.0 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 62 findings the first objective of this study was to assess farmers’ self-leadership competencies, job motivation, and motivation to learn and develop new skills. the overall mean score for selfleadership competencies was 3.93 (sd = .49, n = 61), as shown in table 2. this score falls within the agree range, indicating that farmers moderately agreed on the importance of selfleadership skills and demonstrated a reasonable level of proficiency. the relatively low standard deviation suggests moderate consistency in responses, meaning that most participants shared similar perceptions of their self-leadership abilities. specifically, participants indicated greater needs in areas such as balancing work and personal life during peak farming seasons, managing stress, making timely decisions, and prioritizing tasks effectively. on the other hand, farmers reported higher proficiency in applying their personal values at work, working independently, maintaining self-confidence, and achieving business goals. table 2 farmers’ self-leadership competencies items strongly disagree, (%) disagree, (%) neither agreed or disagree, (%) agree, (%) strongly agree, (%) m sd i can balance my professional and personal life. 3(5.0) 14(23.3) 15(25.0) 25(41.7) 3(5.0) 3.18 1.02 i can manage my stress effectively. 1(1.7) 10(16.9) 17(28.8) 28(47.5) 3(5.0) 3.39 .89 i can make decisions quickly. 0(0) 8(13.6) 14(23.7) 24(40.7) 13(22.0) 3.71 .98 i can prioritize tasks. 1(1.7) 2(3.4) 14(23.7) 32(54.2) 10(16.9) 3.82 .82 i can achieve my work-related goals. 0(0) 0(0) 12(20.3) 35(59.3) 12(20.4) 4.02 .64 i feel self-confident. 1(1.7) 3(5.0) 3(5.0) 30(50.0) 23(38.3) 4.17 .87 i do my work independently. 0(0) 1(1.7) 1(1.7) 19(32.2) 38(64.4) 4.59 .62 i apply a set of values in the workplace. 0(0) 0(0) 3(5.0) 18(30.0) 39(65.0) 4.60 .589 note. the farmers’ self-leadership scale was measured using a 5-point likert scale: strongly agree = 5-4.51, agree = 4.5 -3.51, neither agree nor disagree = 3.5-2.51, disagree = 2.5-1.51, strongly disagree = 1.5-1. the overall mean score for farmers' job motivation was 4.72 (sd = .42, n = 59), as presented in table 3. this score falls within the strongly agree range, indicating that farmers expressed high job motivation. the higher score suggests that, on average, farmers felt highly motivated in https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 63 their work, with many reporting a sense of personal satisfaction, pride in their roles, and a proactive approach to improving their job performance. the relatively low standard deviation of .42 further reinforces this interpretation, as it indicates that the responses were closely clustered around the mean, reflecting a strong consensus and consistency in job motivation among the participants. overall, these findings suggest that job motivation is uniformly high across the group of surveyed farmers. table 3 farmers’ job motivation items strongly disagree (%) disagree (%) neither agreed or disagree, (%) agree (%) strongly agree (%) m sd i think of ways of doing my job effectively. 0(0) 0(0) 2(3.4) 20(33.9) 37(62.7) 4.59 .56 i take pride in doing my job as well as i can. 0(0) 0(0) 1(1.7) 11(18.6) 47(79.7) 4.78 .46 i feel a sense of personal satisfaction when i do my job well. 0(0) 0(0) 1(1.7) 11(18.6) 47(79.7) 4.78 .46 note. the farmers’ job motivation scale was measured using a 5-point likert scale: strongly agree = 5-4.51, agree = 4.5 -3.51, neither agree nor disagree = 3.5-2.51, disagree = 2.5-1.51, strongly disagree = 1.5-1. the overall mean score was 4.33 (sd = 0.54, n = 59), as shown in table 4. this score falls within the agree range, indicating that farmers expressed a high level of motivation to learn and develop new skills. the standard deviation suggests a moderate level of variability in responses, implying that while most participants were motivated, some variation in perceived motivation levels existed within the group. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 64 table 4 farmers’ motivation for learning and developing new skills items strongly disagree (%) disagree (%) neither agreed or disagree, (%) agree (%) strongly agree (%) m sd i view changes as an opportunity to learn and not as a difficulty. 0(0) 1(1.7) 10(16.9) 30(50.8) 18(30.5) 4.19 .54 i like to learn new things about my work, even if it is about minor details. 0(0) 0(0) 1(1.7) 24(40.7) 34(57.6) 4.56 .53 note. the farmers’ motivation for learning and development scale was measured using a 5-point likert scale: strongly agree = 5-4.51, agree = 4.5 -3.51, neither agree nor disagree = 3.5-2.51, disagree = 2.5-1.51, strongly disagree = 1.5-1. the second research objective was to describe the relationship between farmers’ selfleadership, job motivation, and motivation for learning and developing new skills. table 5 presents spearman’s correlation among farmers’ motivation for learning and development, job motivation, and self-leadership. the results indicate a statistically significant positive association between the variables. specifically, there is a moderate positive association between farmers’ motivation for learning and development and job motivation (r = .34, p ≤ .05), suggesting that farmers motivated to develop new skills are also more likely to exhibit high job motivation. additionally, a moderate to strong positive association was found between farmers’ motivation for learning and development and self-leadership (r = .40, p ≤ .05), as well as between farmers’ job motivation and self-leadership (r = .59, p ≤ .05). these findings suggest that farmers with higher motivation for learning and development and those with higher job motivation tend also to exhibit stronger self-leadership competencies. table 5 spearman’s intercorrelation among farmers’ motivation for learning and development, job motivation, and self-leadership. items farmers’ motivation for learning and development farmers’ job motivation farmers selfleadership farmers’ motivation for learning and development. 1 farmers’ job motivation. .339* 1 farmers’ self-leadership. .403* .592* 1 note. *statistical significance was determined using an alpha level of .05 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 65 the third research objective aimed to assess the association between farmers’ motivation for learning and development and various demographic variables. a chi-square analysis was conducted to examine these associations, with statistical significance set at p ≤ .05. the study revealed that gender was the only demographic variable significantly associated with farmers’ motivation for learning and development (χ² = 67.311, df = 42, p = .0108). in contrast, no significant associations were found between farmers’ motivation for learning and development and other demographic factors such as age, educational level, employment status, tenure in farming, farm size, land ownership, and the number of agricultural commodities produced. for these variables, p-values were greater than .05, indicating no significant relationships with motivation for learning and development. table 6 chi-square analysis on association between overall farmers’ motivation for learning and development and selected demographic variables. demographic factors valid cases χ2 df p gender 54 67.31 42 .01 age 55 101.29 105 .58 educational level 53 65.24 60 .30 employment status 52 81.67 80 .43 tenure in farming 55 123.99 105 .10 farm size 53 153.23 160 .64 land ownership 53 15.13 20 .78 number of agricultural commodities farmers produce 53 61.07 60 .44 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study explores the relationship between farmers’ motivation for learning and developing new skills, self-leadership competencies, and job motivation within pennsylvania. this study's findings align with existing literature, showing that autonomy and intrinsic motivation are deeply interconnected, supporting the self-determination theory (deci & ryan, 2012) and the theoretical alignment with adult learning theory (knowles et al., 1998), where purposeful, selfdirected individuals are most likely to sustain lifelong learning behaviors. in this study, farmers demonstrate strong self-leadership skills such as goal setting, selfconfidence, adherence to values, and independent work, supported by the literature (bryant & kazan, 2012; hansen & greve, 2014; muri et al., 2020; neck & manz, 2012). however, challenges persist in balancing personal and professional life during peak seasons, particularly in stress management, decision-making, and task prioritization; this points to potential risks of burnout and other mental health issues during peak farming seasons. leadership educators and human resources practitioners should incorporate modular training based on stress management, work-life balance, decision-making, and prioritization strategies (e.g., mindfulness-based farming practices, digital time management tools) into extension programs https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 66 curricula to address these needs. as bryant and kazan (2012) suggest in their four pillars of the self-leadership model, incorporating values, reflection, planning, and habits promotes purposeful, goal-oriented behavior. practitioners should incorporate peer-led reflection tools in programming that might promote farmers’ goal setting and alignment with core values, as well as peer mentoring strategies where seasoned farmers reflect on real-life prioritization and decision-making approaches to model adaptive leadership for less experienced peers. by enhancing self-leadership skills, farmers can improve personal and professional outcomes through greater self-efficacy (neck & manz, 2012). the study confirms high job motivation among farmers, who take pride in their work and seek effectiveness in their roles. high job motivation suggests identity-based occupational commitment, where farmers derive intrinsic satisfaction beyond financial gain (bergevoet et al., 2004; hansen & greve, 2014; muri et al., 2020). these findings support muri et al.'s (2020) study, which identified a positive association between farmers’ job satisfaction and motivation. farmers in pennsylvania are also strongly motivated to learn and develop new skills, perceiving change as an opportunity for growth. strong motivation to learn reflects active engagement in professional development, aligning with adult learning theories that emphasize self-direction and intrinsic interest (knowles, 1980; knowles et al., 1998). these findings align with mccombs’ (1991) assertion that motivated individuals are lifelong learners. furthermore, the study found a positive relationship between farmers’ motivation to develop new skills and self-leadership competencies, supporting bryant and kazan’s (2012) four-pillars self-leadership model. according to manz (1986), effective selfleadership enables individuals to manage both inherently motivating and less appealing tasks, fostering overall productivity. in this study, gender was the only demographic variable significantly associated with motivation for learning and development. the positive association between farmers’ motivation for learning and development, job motivation, and self-leadership further suggests that these aspects of motivation are interconnected. these findings highlight the importance of gender in shaping farmers' motivations for skill development while underscoring the broader role that motivation and self-leadership play in driving farmer success. furthermore, the lack of associations with demographics, except gender, might suggest that motivation is shaped more by psychosocial roles and responsibilities than by structural or economic factors, supporting the findings of meece et al. (2009). thus, incorporating qualitative follow-up studies would help to understand the nature of gender differences in motivation for learning and development. this study is subject to certain limitations. an open survey link utilizing an anonymous response format restricts the ability of researchers to track participants and engage in a more detailed discussion of the included variables. moreover, it is challenging to confirm that all respondents were exclusively farmers. another limitation is that the results cannot be generalized to the entire population of farmers in pennsylvania or beyond; they merely represent the participants in this study. additionally, this study found a disproportionate gender distribution of farmers, which may impact the study outcomes and interpretation. gender was the only significant association between farmers’ motivation for learning and development and demographics. this https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 67 finding must be interpreted cautiously, but it opens the possibility of reflecting on cultural roles, access issues, or time availability. despite these limitations, this research underscores the significant association among farmers’ self-leadership, job motivation, and motivation for learning and developing new skills. future studies should explore how demand-driven innovation adoption in agriculture impacts farmers’ motivation and learning behaviors. extension educators should incorporate motivational analysis as a common practice in design extension programming. need-based, learner-centered approaches guided by knowles’ (1980) adult learning theory can be reinforced by pre-program diagnostic tools to understand farmers’ dominant motivational drivers, whether intrinsic (e.g., innovation) or extrinsic (e.g., profitability). silvert et al. (2022) highlighted the importance of addressing gender norms to expand women’s access to social capital and learning opportunities. given the strong gender link, future research should prioritize participatory and intersectional studies to design responsive strategies for different farmer subgroups. data-driven decisions can improve gender equity and increase program uptake. extension programs should strengthen curricula by incorporating self-leadership concepts and theories into leadership development training to fill a theoretical and practical gap. incorporating behavioral self-regulation models, such as bandura’s self-regulation (1991) and bryant and kazan’s four-pillar model (2012), into extension programming would boost farmers’ motivation and skill acquisition but also empower farmers to pursue change proactively. franz et al. (2009) emphasize that farmers prefer hands-on activities, demonstrations, farm visits, field days, and discussions. although game-based learning was historically underutilized, recent advancements (klit et al., 2018) suggest potential for broader acceptance. gender also influences motivation for learning and developing new skills. meece et al. (2009) note that historically, gender norms restricted women’s educational and professional opportunities, though significant progress has been made in recent decades. extension programs should continue offering targeted support to foster farmers’ learning and professional growth, ensuring their resilience and success in an evolving agricultural landscape. summarizing, enhancing agricultural practices, and boosting motivation among farmers requires a comprehensive approach that considers both personal and professional aspects of farming. the findings from this study suggest that strategies should prioritize comprehensive skill development programs aimed at improving job satisfaction, fostering self-leadership, and addressing the specific challenges farmers face, particularly around work-life balance and stress management. incorporating gender-sensitive strategies and encouraging a culture of proactive learning can help farmers improve their motivation and productivity and ultimately contribute to more sustainable farming practices. these insights should guide future research and practical initiatives, ensuring farmers have the necessary skills and support to succeed in an everchanging agricultural environment. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 68 acknowledgments funding information: this research was funded by the college of agricultural sciences at the pennsylvania state university. previous dissemination: portions of this research were presented at the 2024 national agrability training workshop in atlanta, ga, as a poster presentation and as a distinguished research paper at the 2022 american association for agricultural education annual conference, aaae, oklahoma city, ok, and as a poster at the 2022 association for international agricultural and extension education annual conference, aiaee, thessaloniki, greece. artificial intelligence: grammar and style support was provided using grammarly app which incorporates open ai’s chatgpt (version gpt-4), which assisted in enhancing the overall clarity and flow of the manuscript. all final content was reviewed and approved by the authors to maintain accuracy and integrity. author contribution statement: s. windon –formulation of overarching research goals, design of methodology, validation, quantitative data collection and analysis, writing of manuscript including revisions and final publication draft. c. henzi writing the literature review of the manuscript, including revisions, and editing. c. schmidt –conceptualization, writing the literature review, revision of the manuscript, and editing. references alderfer, c. p. 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(2021). the relationship between farmers’ quality of life and their leadership competencies. advancement and agricultural development 2(2), 5-72. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.565 https://doi.org/10.58812/wsa.v1i01.374 https://doi.org/10.4148/2831-5960.1058 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015130 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015130 https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/food https://doi.org/10.1386/jots.5.2.141_1 https://eesd.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/242/2021/10/howfarmerslearnmeetings.pdf https://eesd.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/242/2021/10/howfarmerslearnmeetings.pdf https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-9552.1999.tb00814.x https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.105 advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 4, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. matt benge, associate professor, university of florida, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32610, mattbenge@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5358-3233 2. amy vu, state specialized program extension agent ii, university of florida, po box 110620, gainesville, fl 32611, amy.vu@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7547-7282 49 challenges and barriers to developing commercial beekeeping education programs in florida m. benge1, a. vu2 article history received: july 27, 2023 accepted: december 1, 2023 published: december 18, 2023 keywords extension; program development; planned behavior abstract honey bees are vital to florida agriculture as they play an important role in pollinating a variety of the state’s crops and the demand for honey bee pollination and bee-related products continues to increase as the need for more food increases. cooperative extension plays an important role in florida’s agricultural sector, yet many extension agents do not focus much time and attention on commercial beekeeper education. using the program development model, we sought to understand the challenges and barriers of florida agriculture extension agents to conducting commercial beekeeping programs. we conducted a focus group with the honey bee extension education team to identify potential barriers and challenges. one major finding is that agriculture extension agents are using a variety of definitions and descriptions when classifying who a commercial beekeeper is. the major challenges that affect florida extension agents conducting commercial beekeeping programs are a lack of resources, little technical/subject matter knowledge and experience, lack of trust with commercial beekeepers, understanding clientele needs, and other agent job responsibilities take priority demands. florida extension needs to provide a strategic plan with specific goals, objectives, and training for agriculture extension agents to conduct commercial beekeeping programs. mailto:mattbenge@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5358-3233 mailto:amy.vu@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7547-7282 benge & vu advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 50 introduction and problem statement agriculture plays a pivotal role in florida’s economy, as it is the second highest grossing economic industry in the state and utilizes 9.70 million acres of land for ranches and farms for agricultural production (united states department of agriculture, national agriculture statistics service [usda-nass], 2019). honey bees are vital to florida agriculture, ranking third in the nation in number of colonies (united states department of agriculture, national agriculture statistics service [usda-nass], 2020) and pollinating a variety of crops such as almonds, melons, blueberries, squash, cucurbits, and more (florida department of agriculture & consumer services [fdacs], 2021). in recent years, demand for many pollinator-dependent crops has increased across the united states (u.s.), which has resulted in a demand for increased pollination services. florida’s extension agents need to be prepared and equipped (harder et al., 2010; seevers et al., 1997) to work with and educate florida’s 520 commercial beekeepers (calderone, 2012) to match the demand for pollinator services. many florida extension agents conduct educational programs for hobbyist (or backyard) honey beekeepers; however, many agents do not conduct commercial beekeeping programs (s. mukhtar, personal communication, july 21, 2020). historically, this has been the case all over the nation, with extension personnel focusing on hobbyist beekeepers and less so on commercial beekeepers. the florida department of agriculture & consumer services (fdacs) categorizes backyard beekeepers as an individual who manages 0-40 colonies, sideliners are those with 41-100 colonies, and commercial beekeepers manage 101 colonies or more (branden stanford, personal communication, 2023). however, there is no consensus on what is considered a “commercial beekeeper” on a national or international scale or even within the beekeeping community in florida, which can cause some confusion. while there are many reasons extension agents focus their programmatic efforts on hobbyist beekeepers, it is important to acknowledge the reason for little to no commercial beekeeping programs in florida. due to the importance honey bees contribute to the florida, and to the u.s.’ agriculture, it is critical to understand the barriers and challenges florida extension agents face to developing commercial beekeeping programs. theoretical and conceptual framework program development “is a process designed to bring about effective programming” and is a “system of interrelated parts, all of which work together to achieve defined goals” (seevers et al, 1997, p. 102). the program development model (pdm) is made up of three primary components: (a) program planning, (b) program design and implementation, and (c) program evaluation (seevers et al., 1997). program planning guides the formation of a program, such as identifying needs, setting program priorities, and developing goals and objectives. within the program design and implementation component, extension agents create curriculum and presentation materials and identify and choose appropriate program delivery methods (i.e. field day, group workshop, webinar, etc.). lastly, program evaluation refers to the planning and implementing of evaluation measures to ensure outcome were achieved (diaz et al., 2019). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 benge & vu advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 51 when linked together with thoughtful and intentional planning, these components provide the foundation for successful extension programming. however, a breakdown within one of the pdm processes can be a challenge for extension professionals to effectively educate their clientele (boone et al., 2002). purpose the purpose of this research was to understand the challenges and barriers of florida agriculture extension agents to developing commercial beekeeping programs. the two research questions guiding this study were: (a) how do florida agriculture extension agents describe commercial beekeeping? (b) what challenges do florida agriculture extension agents face when developing commercial beekeeping programs? methods a qualitative design utilizing focus groups was used to understand the challenges and barriers of florida agriculture extension agents when conducting commercial beekeeping programs. focus groups allow participants the opportunity to share opinions and engage in feedback with others and therefore promote discussion and deeper thought into an issue (morgan, 1998). a focus group was conducted with members of the honey bee extension education team (hbeet), which is a working group of 11 florida extension agents with the sole purpose to develop and conduct education programs for commercial beekeepers. though the literature typically recommends three focus groups (krueger & casey, 2000), conducting one focus group with the hbeet members was appropriate because of their membership in this appointed working group and can speak on the challenges and barriers to commercial beekeeping programs. a semi-structured moderator’s guide was created by the researchers consisting of five questions to satisfy the research questions, such as “what is commercial beekeeping?” and “what challenges exist to conducting commercial beekeeping programs?” the interview guide was reviewed by a four-member panel for face and content validity (morse et al., 2002). the study received approval from the institutional review board (irb) prior to being conducted, and each participant consented to participate in the study. nine of the eleven hbeet members participated in the virtual focus group which lasted 47 minutes and was audio-recorded. the lead researcher served as the moderator for the focus group interview while the other researchers took observational notes as a form of secondary data collection that was also utilized for analysis (merriam & tisdell, 2016). once the audio recording was transcribed verbatim, the data was analyzed using the constant comparative method where first the researchers analyzed and coded the data individually before comparing together (krueger & casey, 2000; morgan, 1998). the researchers utilized nvivo 12 qualitative software to organize, code, and analyze the data collected. the constant comparative method was used to reduce data into identifiable, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 benge & vu advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 52 recurring themes (lincoln & guba, 1985). the researchers analyzed the data individually and then met to discuss emergent themes together, which was important in this study since one of the researchers did not have an extension background and acted as an external check to the other researchers with extension backgrounds. eisner (1991) stated the importance of establishing credibility within qualitative research “allows us to feel confident about our observations, interpretations, and conclusions” (p. 110). we first used member checking with four focus group participants both prior and after analyzing the data to ensure accuracy and understanding of the emergent themes. second, we invited one of the moderator’s guide reviewers to peer debrief our emergent themes to ensure accuracy and application of the data. third, thick and rich descriptions were used to ensure transferability of the findings. findings findings from research question one regarding the first research question, participants described commercial beekeeping in four different ways: (a) bee products and pollination services, (b) florida definition of commercial beekeeping, (c) usda definition of beekeeping, and (d) money. many of the extension agents were uncertain about how they should classify commercial beekeepers and what specifications defined a commercial operation compared to a hobby operation which led to the use of multiple descriptions. bee products and pollination services participants indicated a variety of bee product and pollination services that should be considered in the definition of commercial beekeeping. tatiana explained that a commercial beekeeper is someone that provides pollinator services or sells bee-derived products. jk suggested that a beekeeping operation should be considered a product or service that comes from their bee business. francisco provided a description of bee products and services he uses to define a commercial beekeeper: i think that a commercial beekeeper operation should be a product or a service that comes from the bee industry. those could be different things like honey production, could be the sale of queens, could be the building of the housing for the bee, could be a pollinator of acres. so, i think that any product or service related to the honey bee industry should be considered a commercial operation. florida definition of commercial beekeeping florida defines a commercial beekeeper as someone that has a minimum of 101 colonies (b. stanford, personal communication, 2023). some of the participating extension agents were not comfortable with this definition due to it not involving a monetary aspect and that the definition excluded other pieces of beekeeping that can also count individuals as beekeepers that do not have hives. sarah explained she does not use florida’s definition for commercial beekeeping, and bonnie followed suit by stating, “i was never comfortable with that florida https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 benge & vu advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 53 definition for extension work.” jessica explained that she came from a small farm background and believed a beekeeper should not be defined by a minimum number of colonies. teresa expanded on what jessica mentioned by stating: i'm a cheerleader for extension, so if we are talking about large farms and small farms, we could probably think the same way about beekeepers that those hundred or more hives will be a large bee farm and others who may have, you know, 5-10, or maybe less, but they are making some money. from that [they] could be considered maybe like small bee farms. usda definition of commercial beekeeping the participating agents all utilized the usda definition of a farm to describe a commercial beekeeping operation which states that if beekeepers made more than one thousand dollars it is considered a commercial operation. jk explained he used the $1,000 definition of a farm because “it makes sense.” jessica supported jk’s comment by stating, “basically, anybody that makes money off of a beekeeping like $1,000 or more, i consider that commercial.” money sarah, jessica, bonnie, and francisco agreed that if the beekeeping operation is trying to maximize their profit, it should be considered a commercial operation and not a hobby. jessica stated that “if they’re aiming to make money from their beekeeping operation and they’re doing that, and they’re considering themselves a business, then, to me that’s commercial.” sarah agreed with jessica’s statement and said, “if there is some sort of exchange of money involved… that’s a commercial transaction and so they produce commercially.” jk added that using a “profit threshold [to be considered commercial] does not make sense.” francisco stated that if a beekeeper is not making money off of their operation, then it is not sustainable and should be considered a hobbyist operation rather than a commercial operation. findings from research question two regarding the second research question of understanding the challenges when implementing commercial beekeeping programs, five themes emerged: (a) agent’s lack of resources, (b) agent technical/subject matter knowledge and experience, (c) lack of trust with commercial beekeepers, (d) understanding clientele needs, and (e) other agent job responsibilities take priority demands. agent’s lack of resources the participating agents felt they did not have the proper resources for beekeeping programs and they do not have access to house bees at their local offices due to safety concerns. they thought that this is one of the main reasons that agents lack resources when needing to understand clientele needs. tatiana explained that they would like to have a bee program in their county, but a lot of extension offices lack the space and materials to conduct the proper programs. additionally, francisco stated, “not having the proper resources to be able to conduct programs decreases the agent’s experience with commercial beekeeping programs.” https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 benge & vu advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 54 agent technical/subject matter knowledge and experience the extension participants felt they do not have enough knowledge experience with bees to understand beekeeping and educate others on the topic, as well as enough knowledge on bee products and pollination services. the participating agents understood the rules and regulations that beekeepers must abide by but often refer their commercial beekeepers to fdacs because they did not feel confident enough to provide information beyond the fdacs’ website. agents also felt they lacked major knowledge on the production scale of beekeeping and staying up to date with emerging techniques. ray explained that he knows the basics of beekeeping but clarified, “i don’t really have anything to probably offer them at this point; they know more about the subject than i do.” tatiana agreed with ray and stated, “i think that another challenge is we don't have enough knowledge ourselves to teach at the commercial level; ask me about bugs and plants, but everything else goes over my head.” lack of trust with commercial beekeepers francisco and tatiana explained that commercial beekeepers feel as if they are being neglected when compared to hobby-type beekeeping operations and that commercial beekeepers have lost trust in extension due to the beekeeping information that is published through fdacs applying more to hobby beekeepers. tatiana expressed her concern effectively by stating: the commercial beekeepers feel left out, more or less, kind of like what happens with small organic farms versus the conventional farms that they feel like all the resources and research goes to the larger acreage of the big players. now the commercial beekeepers feel like most of the beekeeping information coming from fdacs and extension efforts go towards hobbyist beekeepers so they don't have [trust] in extension. and i think that's one of the barriers that we have. we need to have enough good relationships with at least a few beekeepers to get into the group and try to break that mentality of “we are not going to help you” or “what we have is not useful for you.” understanding clientele needs sarah, bonnie, tatiana, and jessica explained that they do not understand what commercial beekeepers’ educational needs are, which impacted their ability and willingness to dive into the realm of commercial beekeeping education. bonnie expressed a need for a needs assessment to be conducted on what commercial beekeepers need by stating, “we don’t really know what they want. we need to do like focus groups…to figure out what they need and how we could use it to our advantage.” jessica echoed what the other agents were expressing and provided further: i myself don't feel like i know enough about what they need, and therefore, what my role [would be] to fill the educational gap would be. and it seems like a lot of the issues that they are dealing with are kind of like outside of our educational realm. other agent job responsibilities take priority demands many of the participating agents expressed difficulty with dedicating time to focus on commercial beekeeping stakeholders due to the other demands of their job. sarah expressed concern that the low number of recorded commercial beekeepers in her county makes it challenging to have specific educational programs, and the other programmatic demands and https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 benge & vu advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 55 high number of other commodity producers need her time and attention. luke expressed a similar concern and that he must have at least ten clientele registered to conduct an educational program. prior to her extension career, sarah was an extension user and sometimes felt that “extension doesn’t actually have the time for you and you’re actually not that important,” which is a concern for her, and she does not want commercial beekeepers to have that same perspective. bonnie and sarah recommended a collaborative regional approach to meet commercial beekeepers needs which would make it “easier to pull together enough expertise and enough participation to warrant a formalized educational program.” conclusions, discussion, and recommendations many of the florida extension agent participants indicated they did not feel comfortable with conducting commercial beekeeping programs because they did not know enough about both standard beekeeping knowledge and commercial beekeeping practices. additionally, participants were not using a singular description to define and understand commercial beekeeping, adding to the narrative of not being knowledgeable and potentially misinformation about beekeeping. participants recognized that each state and government agencies define commercial beekeeping differently from one another which is problematic when setting educational goals and objectives. the barriers the participants faced occurred in the planning and designing/implementing phases of the pdm framework (seevers et al., 1997), suggesting extension agents might be having difficulty planning educational programs for an audience that is unknown and hard to reach. we recommend that florida agents work together with the florida hbrel to identify what they define as commercial beekeeping. the florida definition is any beekeeper who manages 101+ colonies (branden stanford, personal communication, 2023). finding a common definition will help agents work together to know how to identify target audiences for programs (i.e. “who are the commercial beekeepers in my county?”). this may also set a standard for other extension programs around the nation. additionally, some resources already exist to help florida agriculture agents with conducting commercial beekeeping programs such as the commercial beekeepers needs assessment produced by bammer et al. (2022) second, extension agents need to be technically competent to serve the needs of their clientele (harder et al., 2010; seevers et al., 1997). regarding the pdm, many of the challenges and barriers fell within the program planning component, such as agents’ lack of information. florida extension needs to better prepare extension agents to conduct commercial beekeeping programs, provide in-service trainings, and hire agricultural extension agents with knowledge (benge et al., 2011) of beekeeping and commercial beekeeping practices. uf/ifas hbrel provides a university of florida master beekeeper program that agents can participate in to develop a baseline understanding of beekeeping practices. once the basics of beekeeping are met (i.e. knowing beekeeping terminology, understanding honey bee pest and diseases, etc.), florida extension should invite commercial beekeepers and other stakeholders within the beekeeping industry to have a discussion related to their challenges and needs. visiting https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 benge & vu advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 56 commercial beekeeping operations, collaborating with district apiary inspectors, regularly attending county and state honey bee association meetings, and being in contact with local beekeepers association presidents can help agents identify needs in their counties and districts while building connections with beekeepers. agents with a willingness to learn about beekeepers’ practices, needs, challenges, and concerns may help build trust between one another, and through time, beekeepers may identify agents as a resource. florida extension must better prepare and offer trainings (formal and nonformal) to extension agents interested in working with commercial beekeepers, so that they are equipped and prepared to create a successful program. supporting the commercial beekeeping industry will ultimately impact the high-quality fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other agricultural crops that are dependent on beekeepers throughout the nation. creating a baseline for successful beekeeping programs in florida can provide an example for other states around the u.s. and beyond. acknowledgements m. benge formal analysis, investigation, methodology, resources, writing-original draft; a. vu formal analysis, investigation, writing-original draft. references bammer, m., benge, m., & warner, l. a. (2022). identifying and assessing the needs of florida commercial beekeepers using nominal group technique. journal of agricultural education, 63(1), 80-97. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.01080 benge, m., harder, a., & carter, h. (2011). necessary pre-entry competencies as perceived by florida extension agents. journal of extension, 49(5), article 3. https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.49.05.03 boone, e. j., safrit, r. d., & jones, j. (2002). developing programs in adult education: a conceptual programming model (2nd ed.). waveland press. calderone, n. w. (2012). insect pollinated crops, insect pollinators and us agriculture: trend analysis of aggregate data for the period 1992–2009. plos one, 7(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037235 diaz, j., chaudhary, a. k., jayaratne, k. s. u., & warner, l. a. (2019). program evaluation challenges and obstacles faced by new extension agents: implications for capacity building. journal of extension, 57(4), article 26. https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.57.04.26 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.01080 https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.49.05.03 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037235 https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.57.04.26 benge & vu advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 57 eisner, e. w. (1991). the enlightened eye. qualitative inquiry and the enhancement of educational practice. macmillan. florida department of agriculture & consumer services. (2021). florida agriculture overview and statistics. https://www.fdacs.gov/agriculture-industry/florida-agricultureoverview-and-statistics harder, a., place, n. t., & scheer, s. d. (2010). towards a competency-based extension education curriculum: a delphi study. journal of agricultural education, 51(3), 44–52. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2010.03044 krueger, r. a., & casey, m. a. (2000). focus groups: a practical guide for applied research (3rd ed.). sage. lincoln, y. s., & guba, e. g. (1985). naturalistic inquiry. sage. merriam, s., & tisdell, e. j. (2016). qualitative research: a guide to design and implementation (4th ed.). john wiley and sons. morgan, d. l. (1998). planning focus groups. in d. morgan, & r. krueger, (eds.), the focus group kit. (vol. 2). sage. morse, j. m., barrett, m., mayan, m., olson, k., & spiers, j. (2002). verification strategies for establishing reliability and validity in qualitative research. international journal of qualitative methods, 1(2), 13-22. https://doi.org/10.1177%2f160940690200100202 seevers, b., graham, d., gamon, j., & conklin, n. (1997). education through cooperative extension. delmar publications. united states department of agriculture, national agricultural statistics service. (2019). florida agriculture overview. https://www.nass.usda.gov/statistics_by_state/florida/publications/annual_statistica l_bulletin/2019/a1thru10over-2019.pdf united states department of agriculture, national agricultural statistics service. (2020). other agriculture. https://www.nass.usda.gov/statistics_by_state/florida/publications/annual_statistic al_bulletin/2020/f1thru5-2020.pdf © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i4.379 https://www.fdacs.gov/agriculture-industry/florida-agriculture-overview-and-statistics https://www.fdacs.gov/agriculture-industry/florida-agriculture-overview-and-statistics https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2010.03044 https://doi.org/10.1177%2f160940690200100202 https://www.nass.usda.gov/statistics_by_state/florida/publications/annual_statistical_bulletin/2019/a1thru10over-2019.pdf https://www.nass.usda.gov/statistics_by_state/florida/publications/annual_statistical_bulletin/2019/a1thru10over-2019.pdf https://www.nass.usda.gov/statistics_by_state/florida/publications/annual_statistical_bulletin/2020/f1thru5-2020.pdf https://www.nass.usda.gov/statistics_by_state/florida/publications/annual_statistical_bulletin/2020/f1thru5-2020.pdf advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 4, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. bradley m. coleman, assistant professor, department of agricultural education, communications and leadership, oklahoma state university, 238 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, b.coleman@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 2. j. c. bunch, associate professor, department of agricultural education and communication, university of florida, 307a rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 3. brian e. myers, professor and chair, department of agricultural education and communication, university of florida, 305 rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611, bmyers@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2593-9159 14 entering the agricultural education professorate: hiring authorities’ perceptions of tenure-track faculty needs b. m. coleman1, j. c. bunch2, b. e. myers3 article history received: july 9, 2024 accepted: september 16, 2024 published: october 11, 2024 keywords early-career faculty competencies; delphi; developing scholars; sdg 4: quality education abstract the purpose of this delphi study was to identify the competencies needed by first-year, tenure-track faculty in the profession of agricultural education and its related specializations (i.e., teacher education, extension education, leadership development, and agricultural communication) as perceived by hiring authorities. the expert panel was composed of 31 individuals across 25 states who were hiring authorities of agricultural education faculty. at the completion of the third round, there were a total of 52 competencies that reached consensus with the panel. the competencies were situated into three thematic categories: (a) professional skills, (b) technical skills, and (c) personal attributes. a visual framework, including the competencies, categories, and subcategories is presented. we recommend that this framework be used by graduate programs of agricultural education and related specializations as a potential framework for evaluating their programming. the time is ripe for a profession-wide conversation around the development and preparation of future faculty, and how to establish a community of scholars. future research should be conducted to examine the best practices, such as mentorship and collaboration, to sustain and support faculty over their career and how such practices may be effectively implemented across the agricultural education professorate. mailto:b.coleman@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-5747 mailto:bunchj@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 mailto:bmyers@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2593-9159 coleman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 15 introduction and problem statement early-career, tenure-track faculty are often met with several challenges associated with their multidimensional roles, including an abundance of responsibility, vague performance expectations from university administration, and insufficient support systems (greene et al., 2008; love et al., 2023; nir & zilberstein-levy, 2006). these challenges are often heightened during the transition period from graduate school into a tenure-track faculty role (gosling et al., 2020; larson et al., 2019). larson et al. (2019) suggested several strategies for early career faculty to be successful in the professoriate. some strategies included knowing the expectations for tenure and promotion and being proactive in areas of scholarship, especially research. however, expectations may vary by academic discipline, and clarifying expectations for those entering the professoriate could guide how we prepare those entering tenure-track lines. career advancement and educational development are often the primary purposes of obtaining a graduate degree in agricultural education settings (bowen & miller, 2010). it is the philosophy of many graduate programs that their overarching purpose is to produce scholars, and at the doctoral level, future faculty (shinn & baker, 2010). while the purpose of graduate education may remain consistent across programs, approaches may vary across contexts (gardner, 2008). with a potential looming faculty shortage in agricultural settings (national academies of sciences, engineering, and medicine [nasem], 2021), it is imperative that programs of agricultural education and related specializations (i.e., teacher education, agricultural communication, extension education, and agricultural leadership) produce graduates who meet the needs of the tenure-track faculty role. these four specializations make up one cohesive academic discipline (i.e., the agricultural education professorate), with the exception that agricultural communication differs most in its theories and philosophical paradigms (harder et al., 2021). therefore, a national study to determine the needs of those entering the agricultural education professorate, especially from the perspective of the profession’s hiring authorities, is warranted. theoretical and conceptual framework this study was framed with the theory of human capital (becker, 1964; schultz, 1971) and tyler’s (1949) four fundamental questions. human capital theory (hct) is the process of developing personal characteristics, such as specific knowledge, skills, and competencies. this process leads to individuals’ (often employees) increased motivation and productivity. investing in human capital through preparation programs (i.e., graduate education) or on-the-job training can lead to increased returns for employers and the larger social, economic, and environmental systems (schultz, 1971). tyler (1949) purported that when developing educational and training programming, it is important to consider four questions: (a) what is the overarching purpose of the program? (b) what experiences are necessary to achieve said purpose? (c) how should those experiences be organized or scaffolded? (d) how might we assess if we have achieved our purpose? these four questions can be used to guide programming across a spectrum of educational experiences, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 coleman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 16 which may range in time from an individual learning activity to an entire training or educational system (coleman et al., 2024). in this study, we were interested in identifying the human capital needs of tenure-track faculty across the system of the agricultural education and related specializations professorate. identifying such needs is well aligned with the first of tyler’s (1949) questions: what competencies and skills are needed when developing future tenuretrack faculty for the agricultural education professorate? we have intentionally included both terms, skills and competencies; because, while these terms are used interchangeably in the literature, some scholars have offered distinguishing definitions (boyatzis, 1982; claxton et al., 2016; marin-zapata et al., 2022; spencer & spencer, 1993). in this study, we adopted the definitions of the terms synthesized by marin-zapata et al. (2022, p. 974): “competence is the generic capability of a professional…[and] competency is one of the components of the individual’s competence.” whereas a skill can be defined as “the ability to perform a certain physical or mental task that is functionally related to attaining a performance goal” (marinzapata et al. 2022, p. 974). competence is inclusive of one’s skills, traits, and knowledge. kezar (2018) developed a framework which outlined four themes of a scholarly educator: (a) mission, goals, and roles; (b) responsiveness to external forces; (c) reprofessionalization; and (d) key values (see figure 1). figure 1 kezar’s (2018) model of a scholarly educator kezar’s (2018) framework was developed primarily as a call to action for academia, writ large, to expand our views of the roles and responsibilities of faculty – tenure-track and non-tenurehttps://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 coleman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 17 track. this framework is intentionally aligned with boyer’s (1990) definition of scholarship, which included (a) research, (b) synthesis of knowledge, (c) theory-informed practice, and (d) teaching and learning. while kezar’s (2018) framework, along with boyer’s (1990) definition, provides direction for developing scholars broadly, it does not address specific competencies needed by faculty, nor is it contextualized for the agricultural education professorate. research that has previously been conducted to address the needs of those entering the agricultural education professorate has been limited because (a) it focuses on a single university or regional context; (b) it is a decade or more old; (c) it is not exclusively focused on first-year, tenure-track faculty; and/or (d) it does not examine needs as perceived by hiring authorities (bowen & miller, 2010; goecker, 1992; rocca, 2010; shinn & baker, 2010; welton et al., 1981; williams, 1997). therefore, this research aims to address such gaps. purpose the purpose of this delphi study was to identify the competencies needed by first-year, tenuretrack faculty of agricultural education and its related specializations (i.e., teacher education, extension education, leadership development, and agricultural communication) as perceived by hiring authorities. the objectives were: 1. describe the comprehensive list of non-duplicated competency statements identified by the panel of hiring authorities. 2. describe the competencies that were endorsed by the panel of hiring experts. methods the delphi technique can be used to facilitate a group of individuals in prioritizing their values and goals (linstone & turoff, 1975; skulmoski et al., 2007). witkin and altschuld (1995) suggested three steps for conducting a delphi: (a) planning and panel formation, (b) carrying out the questionnaire rounds, and (c) summarization and dissemination. the expert panel was composed of individuals who were hiring authorities of tenure-track faculty of agricultural education and its related specializations. this included department chairs, heads, directors, program leaders, and deans of colleges. to obtain a comprehensive list of post-secondary institutions at which agricultural education faculty are employed, we used the electronic list of agricultural education institutions offered by the american association for agricultural education (aaae). this resulted in a total of 103 possible institutions with departments that included faculty of agricultural education. after reviewing the websites for each institution, it was determined that 90 of the 103 institutions had active departments or faculty of agricultural education. an initial email invitation was sent to the listed hiring authority (e.g., head, chair, etc.) at each of the 90 institutions or to a representative who connected us with the appropriate individual. in total, hiring authorities from 31 institutions across 25 states agreed to participate. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 coleman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 18 the first questionnaire round included open-ended questions (witkin & altschuld, 1995) regarding the competencies that were needed and lacking by first-year, tenure-track faculty members in their department at their point of entry to the profession (see instrument). in total, 490 competency statements were provided by the panel (n = 31). open, inductive coding via the constant comparative method (corbin & strauss, 2015; creswell, 2013) was used to analyze the statements by one researcher. a list of 90 condensed statements were presented to the research team, and a round of open code negotiation occurred, where the statements were compared again to the raw data. the team agreed to condense the data further to 67, nonduplicated, representative competency statements. these statements were situated into three overarching themes: (a) professional skills, (b) technical skills, and (c) personal attributes. the 67 statements were used to develop the round two questionnaire, and panelists were asked to indicate their level of agreement using a six-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = slightly disagree, 4 = slightly agree, 5 = agree, 6 = strongly agree). eighty-one percent (n = 25) of the panel participated in round two. the consensus level was established a priori at 75% of participants who indicated either agree or strongly agree. seventy-five percent is consistent with other research in the profession (lundry et al., 2015; ramsey & edwards, 2011; ramsey & edwards, 2012), but consensus levels for delphi studies can vary based on need (hsu & stanford, 2007). at the end of the round two questionaries, panelists were also asked if the 67 statements represented of their input from round one, and 96% of the respondents agreed. the third round included sharing with the panel the results of round two, which included the individual item means, item measures of spread, and the panelist’s own individual round two responses (witkin & altshuld, 1995). in this consensus-building round, panelists were asked to “examine the results and the degree to which their own responses [were] similar to or different from those of the group” (witkin & altschuld, 1995, p. 197). round three panelists (n = 24; 77%) then rerated each of the items. in some cases, a fourth round of a traditional delphi is recommended (linestone & turoff, 2002); however, others consider it to be optional (skulmoski et al., 2007; witkin & altshculd, 1995). in this study, there was a high level of consensus among the panel, so there was “little benefit in developing and sending [a fourth round]” (witkin & althschuld, 1995, p. 197). reminder emails were sent for each of the three rounds to increase response rates (dillman et al., 2014). findings three rounds of questionnaires were completed by the delphi panel to identify the competencies needed by first-year, tenure-track faculty of agricultural education and related specializations. the 67 non-duplicated competency statements, and their accompanying agreement ratings, are presented alphabetically by round in table 1. the results of the thirdround questionnaire were used to determine if each competency statement reached consensus (≤ 75% agree or strongly disagree). at the completion of the third round, there were a total of 52 competencies that reached consensus by the panel of hiring authorities. the 15 competencies that were eliminated after round three included: (a) advising and mentoring doctoral students, (b) advising student organizations, (c) extension and outreach program delivery, (d) extension and outreach program development, (e) extension and outreach https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 coleman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 19 program evaluation, (f) knowledge of broader disciplinary theory beyond one’s specialization, (g) knowledge of diverse research methodologies, (h) motivates and supervises direct reports, (i) participates in international programs, (j) provides service to the profession, (k) securing external funding to support their program, (l) securing internal funding to support their program, (m) supervises internships, (n) teaching in an online setting, and (o) understanding of the land-grant mission. table 1 agreement percentages for rounds two and three of the delphi questionnaire item round 2 (n = 25) round 3 (n = 24) endorse agree % strongly agree % agree % strongly agree % accept and implement feedback 44.0 48.0 41.7 58.3 yes advising and mentoring doctoral students 24.0 12.0 12.5 16.7 no advising and mentoring master’s students 48.0 20.0 50.0 25.0 yes advising and mentoring undergraduate students 32.0 44.0 45.8 41.7 yes advising students for career preparation* 36.0 36.0 41.7 50.0 yes advising student organizations 32.0 16.0 37.5 8.3 no analyze research data 40.0 40.0 50.0 41.7 yes assessing student learning 40.0 56.0 25.0 70.8 yes classroom management 48.0 44.0 70.8 29.2 yes collect research data 40.0 40.0 54.2 37.5 yes communicating one’s expertise* 32.0 40.0 50.0 45.8 yes composing timely and professional written correspondence 60.0 20.0 83.3 8.3 yes demonstrates empathy 60.0 20.0 87.5 8.3 yes demonstrates professionalism 20.0 76.0 4.2 95.8 yes departmental citizenship 48.0 40.0 54.2 37.5 yes develop a research program/agenda 28.0 56.0 12.5 83.3 yes developed teaching philosophy 40.0 44.0 45.8 45.8 yes disseminate research to practitioners* 44.0 28.0 62.5 16.7 yes disseminate research to scholarly audiences 28.0 48.0 29.2 58.3 yes encourages high levels of student performance 60.0 36.0 58.3 41.7 yes encourages student critical thinking 40.0 56.0 29.2 66.7 yes enthusiastic 52.0 36.0 70.8 29.2 yes extension and outreach program delivery 48.0 8.0 54.2 8.3 no https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 coleman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 20 item round 2 (n = 25) round 3 (n = 24) endorse agree % strongly agree % agree % strongly agree % extension and outreach program development 48.0 8.0 54.2 4.2 no extension and outreach program evaluation 36.0 8.0 29.2 8.3 no foundational knowledge of diverse teaching methodologies 40.0 40.0 58.3 37.5 yes grant and project management* 52.0 8.0 70.8 4.2 yes incorporate diversity and inclusion competencies* 48.0 24.0 79.2 16.7 yes innovative* 40.0 20.0 58.3 29.2 yes instructional delivery 40.0 56.0 12.5 83.3 yes instructional design 40.0 44.0 45.8 41.7 yes interpersonal communication 52.0 40.0 70.8 29.2 yes interpersonal skills (i.e., collegiality, tactfulness, approachable, etc.) 32.0 60.0 20.8 79.2 yes implementation of experiential learning 44.0 32.0 58.3 33.3 yes knowledge of appropriate specialization’s theory 56.0 28.0 70.8 20.8 yes knowledge of broader disciplinary theory beyond one’s specialization 40.0 4.0 37.5 4.2 no knowledge of diverse research methodologies 32.0 20.0 41.7 8.3 no motivates and supervises direct reports 36.0 20.0 54.2 8.3 no networking with stakeholders 52.0 36.0 66.7 25.0 yes organized 48.0 44.0 58.3 37.5 yes participates in international programs 24.0 8.0 4.2 4.2 no participates in professional societies* 32.0 40.0 50.0 29.2 yes personal resiliency 36.0 60.0 33.3 66.7 yes plan and design research 32.0 52.0 25.0 66.7 yes positive supervisor-subordinate relationship 36.0 48.0 50.0 41.7 yes possesses sound moral character 32.0 64.0 25.0 75.0 yes practices attentive and active listening 72.0 20.0 70.8 25.0 yes prioritize competing demands for attention 40.0 52.0 33.3 66.7 yes proactive and strategic relationship building with colleagues 28.0 68.0 29.2 70.8 yes produces journal publications 36.0 48.0 37.5 50.0 yes program and course assessment/evaluation 48.0 28.0 70.8 20.8 yes https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 coleman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 21 item round 2 (n = 25) round 3 (n = 24) endorse agree % strongly agree % agree % strongly agree % provides service to the profession 8.0 24.0 8.3 12.5 no provides timely and appropriate student feedback 44.0 52.0 25.0 70.8 yes recruit students* 44.0 24.0 54.2 20.8 yes scholarly writing abilities 24.0 64.0 12.5 83.3 yes securing external funding to support their program 32.0 16.0 29.2 12.5 no securing internal funding to support their program 32.0 16.0 33.3 12.5 no self-care 44.0 48.0 45.8 54.2 yes self-directed 44.0 56.0 20.8 79.2 yes specialization's specific skills (ag education, communication, extension, and/or leadership) 40.0 36.0 58.3 25.0 yes supervises internships 24.0 24.0 41.7 12.5 no teaching in an online setting 32.0 36.0 33.3 37.5 no teamwork and collaboration 40.0 52.0 20.8 75.0 yes time management 44.0 52.0 37.5 62.5 yes uses research to inform one's own practice* 44.0 28.0 58.3 25.0 yes understanding of student services and ethical responsibilities* 40.0 32.0 75.0 16.7 yes understanding of the land-grant mission 20.0 24.0 29.2 12.5 no note. *indicates item had a change in endorsement from round two to round three. the hiring-authority endorsed competencies were situated into three thematic categories: (a) professional skills (17 items), (b) technical skills (22 items), and (c) personal attributes (13 items). the endorsed competencies, situated into categories and subcategories, are presented as figure 2. professional skills were those employability skills that span multiple dimensions of an individual’s role as faculty. technical skills were those that best aligned with research, teaching, or extension and outreach. lastly, personal attributes, sometimes referred to employability skills, generic skills, soft skills, or non-technical skills, were the traits and skills that can be innate to one’s personality or disposition, but can also be learned behavior (claxton et al., 2016; marin-zapata et al., 2022). personal attributes are transferrable across multiple contexts. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 coleman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 22 figure 2 framework of competencies and skills needed by tenure-track faculty in agricultural education and related specializations https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 coleman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 23 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations bowen and miller (2010) suggested that graduate programs in agricultural education and related specializations should develop individuals’ career readiness and progression, their research experience, and the skills needed to be a productive member of society. the competencies that emerged through this study are in direct alignment with bowen and miller’s (2010) suggestions. we recognize that this panel’s emergent competencies may not be an exhaustive list of those needed to begin one’s role as a tenure-track faculty member in the agricultural education professorate. for example, the item specialization specific skills is encompassing of numerous skills that may be necessary for faculty of a specific programmatic focus (i.e., teacher education, agricultural communication, etc.). future research should examine the specialization specific skills needed by beginning faculty based on their programmatic focus. moreover, it is noteworthy that the subcategory, extension/outreach, only had one item emerge: networking with stakeholders. faculty specializing in extension education, and those who maintain an extension/outreach appointment, likely need additional competencies to fulfill their role. however, those may be competencies that are learned on the job, and this panel was asked to identify the competencies needed by tenure-track faculty at their point of entry to the profession. the panel also included representatives from non-land grant and regional institutions. such institutions may not prioritize formalized extension programming, which may also explain why multiple extension-specific competencies did not emerge. we recommend this list of competencies be used by graduate programs of agricultural education and related specializations as a potential framework for evaluating their programming. in line with tyler’s (1949) recommendations, it is important for educational programs to identify a purpose, then plan and organize appropriate experiences needed to obtain said purpose. therefore, this framework should serve as a tool to accomplish this. those who are seeking tenure-track faculty roles, or those who advise such students, should use this framework as an individual development tool for preparing the future workforce within the agricultural education professorate. in addition to using this model to evaluate university graduate programs and individual graduate student’s programs of study, we recommend a profession-wide conversation around the development and preparation of future faculty. this discussion should work to develop consensus around the profession’s role in this process. possible systems and programs should be identified to help develop a community of scholars in the field. these systems could include formalized programs within professional organizations but also informal commitments by members of the profession to intentionally focus on the development and preparation of new scholars in the discipline. as this study sought to identify the competencies needed by first-year tenure-track faculty, it is recommended that the farmwork (figure 2) presented in this research be reviewed for alignment with kezar’s (2018) model of a scholarly educator (figure 1). the ultimate goal of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 coleman et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 24 hiring authorities is not only to hire quality first-year faculty but also to support these faculty members in their professional growth to a fulfilling and successful career. a comprehensive career model may prove useful to early career faculty, and the administrators who support them, in the development of their personal career growth plans. developing such plans can equip faculty members with the competencies and skills needed for their position at various career stages. future research should be conducted to examine the best practices, such as mentorship and collaboration (larson et al., 2019), to sustain and support faculty over their career and how such practices may be effectively implemented across the agricultural education professorate. acknowledgments author contributions: b. coleman conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, writing – original draft, visualization; j.c. bunch conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, writing – review & editing; b. myers conceptualization, formal analysis, writing – original draft. references becker, g. s. 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(1995). planning and conducting needs assessments: a practical guide. sage publications. © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.517 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.1997.03028 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 1, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. t. grady roberts, university of florida, 220 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611 groberts@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-78502. 2. amy harder, university of connecticut, 1378 storrs rd., unit 4134, w.b. young building, room 233, storrs, ct 06269, amy.harder@uconn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-20283. 3. james r. lindner, auburn university, 5058 haley center, auburn, al 36849, jrl0039@auburn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-38464. 1 innovating the science of agricultural development: 2025 state of the journal report t. g. roberts1, editor-in-chief; a. harder2, senior editor; j. r. lindner3, senior editor article history received: january 7, 2025 accepted: january 7, 2025 published: january 8, 2025 keywords annual report introduction this is the annual state of the journal report for advancements in agricultural development. 2024 was another great year for aad. first, we formed a new partnership to elevate the digital presence of research published in aad. second, we published our first special issue. third, we refined several policies to provide greater clarity for our authors. we are fortunate that dr. jamie loizzo from the university of florida has joined our team as an editor. dr. loizzo is leading our digital dissemination efforts. we also partnered with streaming science (https://streamingscience.com/) to help get our research shared with people who can directly apply it. dr. loizzo also leads our efforts to test novel approaches like video abstracts and ai-enhanced social media. be sure to follow us on facebook, x, and linkedin to check out the innovations that dr. loizzo is trying. abstract this is the annual state of the journal report for advancements in agricultural development. 2024 was another great year for aad. first, we formed a new partnership to elevate the digital presence of research published in aad. second, we published our first special issue. third, we refined several policies to provide greater clarity for our authors. in this report, we also provide the journal statistics for 2024 and list all our reviewers for 2024. mailto:groberts@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-78502 mailto:amy.harder@uconn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-20283 mailto:jrl0039@auburn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-38464 https://streamingscience.com/ roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.577 2 we also published our first special issue, advancing methods of agricultural development research and practice (https://agdevresearch.org/index.php/aad/issue/view/31), which resulted from the symposium we hosted with the school of agriculture, policy and development at the university of reading in the uk in october of 2023. we have another additional special issue planned. dr. tom gill from the university of tennessee, knoxville, is leading the special issue: the role of agricultural development research in achieving sdg goal 2 (zero hunger) and goal 15 (life on land). our goal is to publish this special issue in june 2025. plans are also underway to host another symposium in october 2025 in partnership with university college dublin, focusing on applications of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in agricultural development research and practice. aad also continually monitors our policies and adjusts to meet changing conditions. recent changes include: • we have adjusted our policy on artificial intelligence technologies. the updated policy is: aad recognizes that artificial intelligence technologies are rapidly evolving. if authors use ai tools, they are still ultimately responsible for the accuracy and authenticity of submitted work. the specific ai tools used should be described in the methods section or in the acknowledgments section as appropriate. by submitting, you are acknowledging compliance with this policy. aad does not allow editors or reviewers to use ai technologies to review an article. • we also now ask that authors indicate if a submitted article has previously been presented at a conference or published in a thesis or dissertation. additionally, we require that authors indicate if a submitted article is a part of a larger study. we are also continually working to make research published in aad widely available and accessible. in 2024, we were accepted for listing in cab abstracts (https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/product/ca) and ebsco (https://www.ebsco.com/). we are also under review for consideration in scopus (https://www.scopus.com) and the web of science (https://mjl.clarivate.com/home). aad also met the threshold for generating journal metrics on google scholar (see statistics below). aad is also launching a new job board (https://agdevresearch.org/index.php/aad/jobs) to provide a platform for employers to post academic, government, ngo, and industry jobs that focus on education, extension, human capacity building, diffusion of innovations, leadership, and communication in the context of food, agriculture, and natural resources. we look forward to connecting employers with prospective employees. our team at aad is critical to providing the highest quality experiences for our authors and readers. as mentioned earlier, dr. jamie loizzo joined us as an editor. additionally, kwabena bayity from auburn university joined us as an editorial assistant. we also wish to acknowledge the contributions of caitlin lunzmann (university of florida) and jessie nichols (auburn university), who served as editorial assistants and have now transitioned on to other efforts. the success of aad is directly attributed to the editorial team and reviewers, all of whom are volunteers. we also wish to thank our editorial board members, who have provided excellent https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.577 https://agdevresearch.org/index.php/aad/issue/view/31 https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/product/ca https://www.ebsco.com/ https://www.scopus.com/ https://mjl.clarivate.com/home https://agdevresearch.org/index.php/aad/jobs roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.577 3 advice on managing the journal. we especially want to thank our reviewers from 2024, who are listed at the end of this report. journal statistics 2022 2023 2024 journal usage article views 20,515 29,098 49,197 article downloads 11,378 16,238 29,492 total 31,893 45,336 78,659 editorial processes total submissions received 44 58 58 overall acceptance rate 37% 46.5% 33% accepted on initial submission 4.5% 1.7% 4.4% accepted after revisions 32.5% 44.8% 28.6% days to first editorial decision 29 25 39 days to accept 139 87 130 days to reject 76 46 101 days from accept to publication 38 18 15 google scholar metrics h5 index 10 h5 median 13 most viewed article in 2024 ruth, t. k., colclasure, b., conner, n., holmes, a., & durham brooks, t. (2022). hemp on the horizon: understanding the influences on industrial hemp purchases. advancements in agricultural development, 3(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.189 most downloaded article in 2024 lindner, j. r., & lindner, n. (2024). interpreting likert type, summated, unidimensional, and attitudinal scales: i neither agree nor disagree, likert or not. advancements in agricultural development, 5(2), 152–163. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 most cited article from all years (based on total crossref citations) narine, l., & meier, c. (2020). responding in a time of crisis: assessing extension efforts during covid-19. advancements in agricultural development, 1(2), 12–23. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.577 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v3i3.189 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.351 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.35 roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.577 4 reviewers in 2024 again, we wish to thank and acknowledge the valuable contributions of the reviewers listed below. they play a critical role in the research process. if you are not currently a reviewer for aad and wish to become one, please contact the editor-in-chief. david ader, university of tennessee amanda ali, utah state university lauri baker, university of florida debra barry, university of florida amanda bowling, ohio state university gary briers, texas a&m university james bunch, university of florida megan cantrell, university of florida audie cherry, clemson university kellie claflin, ohio state university chris clemons, auburn university blake colclasure, university of tennessee bradley coleman, oklahoma state university nathan conner, university of nebraska john diaz, university of florida kim dooley, texas a&m university christopher eck, oklahoma state university craig edwards, oklahoma state university jillian ford, auburn university. usa tyler granberry, university of tennessee becky haddad, university of nebraska jay jayaratne, north carolina state university marianne judd-murray, utah state university kathleen kelsey, university of florida vikram koundinya, univ. of california, davis christine krebs, university of florida pablo lamino, university of florida rafael landaverde, texas a&m university amy leman, university of illinois adam marx, north dakota state university aaron mckim, michigan state university stephen mukembo, university of missouri brian myers, university of florida lendel narine, utah state university jason peake, university of georgia kristopher rankin, new mexico state university taylor ruth, university of tennessee scott scheer, ohio state university steven siegelin, montana state university scott smalley, iowa state university sarah sprayberry, university of kentucky christopher stripling, university of tennessee trent wells, murray state university, kentucky © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.577 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 3, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. rose judd-murray, assistant professor, utah state university, 6000 old main hill, logan, ut 84322-6000, rose.juddmurray@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2045-1015 2. brian k. warnick, department head and professor, utah state university, 6000 old main hill, logan, ut 84322-6000, brian.warnick@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8608-1897 3. daniel c. coster, professor, utah state university, 3900 old main hill, logan, ut 84322-3900, dan.coster@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4801-5637 4. max l. longhurst, professional practice associate professor, utah state university, old main hill, logan, ut 84322-2805, max.longhurst@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3227-800x2805 91 development and validation of a high school agricultural literacy assessment r. judd-murray1, b. k. warnick2, d. c. coster3, m. l. longhurst4 article history received: october 12, 2023 accepted: may 20, 2024 published: june 18, 2024 keywords national agricultural literacy outcomes; agricultural education; agricultural knowledge; high school; secondary education abstract the national agricultural literacy outcomes (nalos) are knowledge benchmarks for school-aged youth and are used to improve agricultural literacy (national agriculture in the classroom, 2014; national center for agricultural literacy, 2017). despite educational efforts, prior research indicated that high school populations remained at low or deficient literacy levels. additionally, no agricultural literacy assessment instruments using the nalos as a standardization benchmark have been developed for the 9-12th grades. the purpose of the study was to validate a summative nalo-centered assessment that could provide baseline data on agricultural literacy following the completion of secondary education (12th grade). the study followed the framework established by longhurst et al. (2020) for similar assessments in elementary grades. a delphi team produced 45 items for validation that were reviewed using a convenience sample of utah state university undergraduate students. those items were evaluated using factor, item, and discriminant analysis. results finalized two 15-item assessments and determined both had acceptable reliability, were adequate for model fit, and were valid for the nalos and the three proficiency levels. the instruments are critical tools for providing a standardized approach to evaluation efforts. researchers and educators should use these instruments to provide comparable agricultural literacy data across populations to better identify trends, program needs, and meaningful inferences. mailto:rose.juddmurray@usu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2045-1015 mailto:brian.warnick@usu.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8608-1897 mailto:dan.coster@usu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4801-5637 mailto:max.longhurst@usu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3227-800x2805 judd-murray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 92 introduction and problem statement agricultural literacy efforts prepare k-12 students to recognize and interpret information relevant for determining adult decisions regarding their health, global environment, public policy, and economic benefits (hess & trexler, 2011; lawson & weser, 1990; redmond & griffith, 2003). agricultural literacy also influences positive perceptions and attitudes about agriculture (specht et al., 2014). due to its importance, literacy assessments were developed using a variety of benchmarks and methods for k-12 students (frick, 1993; leising et al., 1998, 2000; powell et al., 2008). while these instruments provided relevant data, brandt (2016) and longhurst et al. (2020) noted that older frameworks and definitions did not meet current needs. the lack of consistency in instrumentation contributed to a lack of replication and the ability to compare results with other populations nationwide. both suggested that using the national agricultural literacy outcomes (nalos) (spielmaker & leising, 2013) k-12 grade-levelbanded benchmarks and the national agricultural literacy logic model (spielmaker et al., 2014), a validated educational framework, could provide the consistency and uniformity necessary for a benchmark-based agricultural literacy assessment instrument. moving toward uniformity can provide a pathway for agricultural literacy assessment that is more reliable, comparable, and applicable across different studies, disciplines, and contexts. the absence of a standardized tool to measure agricultural literacy during and after high school limits the understanding of agricultural literacy levels in different populations. without a consistent assessment, it is difficult to identify national knowledge gaps, design targeted education interventions, and track progress in educational efforts. consequently, this study aimed to develop a summative high school (12th grade) agricultural literacy assessment using the nalos as a foundational tool for future research. theoretical and conceptual framework the framework for this study is based on longhurst et al. (2020) who developed and validated a 3-5th grade nalo-based agricultural literacy assessment. their work provided a replication model for us; their success was centered upon two essential frameworks. national agricultural literacy outcomes framework cosby et al. (2022) stated that the nalos “provide the most comprehensive learning framework across the globe against which to measure student agricultural literacy…and they provide benchmarks to increase uniformity across the national education system in the usa” (p. 10). the nalo benchmarks were developed via delphi using a rigorous integration of national grade level benchmarks and national standards for science, social studies, and health— organized through the lens of agricultural literacy (spielmaker & leising, 2013). the nalos reflect prior research and five cross-disciplinary themes: (a) agriculture and the environment, (b) plants and animals for food, fiber & energy, (c) food, health & lifestyle, (d) stem, and (e) culture, society, economy & geography (national center for agricultural literacy [ncal], 2017). they were designed as a logic model component for k-20 assessment and program evaluation for national agriculture in the classroom programs and the national center for agricultural https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 judd-murray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 93 literacy (spielmaker et al., 2014). the nalos align with the aaae research values (american association for agricultural education [aaae], 2023), providing a measure for determining the impacts of educational outreach. within this study, the nalos guided instrument item development through the question: what must students know or be able to do with the information they have learned to be proficient in the nalo standards? programme for international student assessment (pisa) framework generally, summative assessments are cumulative to determine what students do or do not know. a significant limitation is determining only a pass or failing score, where a failing score may convey that the student lacks any understanding (boud & falchikov, 2006). the national research council (2009) suggested using assessments that showed a progression sequence because it identifies what a person can do within stages of development. therefore, the pisa framework served as a guide because it “assesses students and uses the outcomes of that assessment to produce estimates of students’ proficiency in relation to the skills and knowledge being assessed in each domain” (oecd: programme for international student assessment [oecd: pisa], 2016, p. 276). the pisa framework has well-defined parameters. the domains used within this framework were the five nalo themes. the domain skills (assessment items) were developed from very low levels of proficiency to very high levels. following the structure, the easiest items focused on content knowledge and the relation to agricultural phenomena. the most difficult items drew upon interrelated ideas and concepts that required “an understanding of events, consequences, or processes” (oecd: pisa, 2016, p. 282). within this context, a student’s agricultural literacy level determined their place on a sliding proficiency scale, ranked by how frequently they answered questions correctly. this premise followed the central dogma of the pisa assessment: “if a student’s proficiency level exceeds the item’s difficulty, the probability that the student can complete that item is high, and if the student’s proficiency is lower than what is required by the item, the probability for student success on that item is low” (oecd: pisa, 2016, p. 279). most importantly, the nalos were constructed in grade-banded levels that interrelated and overlapped, ensuring that students advanced from primary to advanced content, practice, and examples of complexities as they moved toward more sophisticated curricula. the integration of both frameworks established a well-defined model for (a) developing questions that represented an increase in skill and ability for better understanding student proficiency and (b) providing data that were representative of progression toward literacy. purpose guided by the conceptual frameworks, the study aimed to develop and validate a summative high school (12th grade) nalo-centered instrument that could assess proficiency levels of agricultural literacy. the study addressed the following research question: is the instrument a valid and reliable measure of the five grade 12 nalo themes and the proficiency stages of agricultural literacy (i.e., exposure, factual literacy, and applied proficiency)? https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 judd-murray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 94 methods there were three phases for defining the quantitative development and validation of the agricultural literacy assessment instrument. phase one: instrument construction longhurst et al. (2020) showed effectiveness in determining instrument items via a delphi model because of the complexity of the content. goodman (1987) noted that if the experts participating in the development process were representative of the area of knowledge, then content validity and reliability could be assumed. messick (1995) and sireci (1998) clarified that content validation added verification and critical mechanisms of construct validity. literature also indicated that committee selection was an essential part of the process because it determined the quality of the items (jacobs, 1996; judd, 1972; taylor & judd, 1989). therefore, the consideration of experts who participated in the delphi construction of items was paramount. individuals were direct experts in secondary agricultural education, curriculum development, agricultural policy, communications, cooperative extension and outreach, agribusiness, and stem education; they were selected from multiple states and possessed advanced degrees or teaching certificates. in all, twelve members participated in item construction. delbecq et al. (1975) suggested that ten to fifteen members were sufficient if the background of the delphi subjects were homogenous. we promoted homogeneity in the subject selection to best represent the processing capability. phase two: data collection the convenience sample population for validation was n = 600 utah state university students. convenience sampling of college students is a prevalent approach for data collection in educational research (hanel & vione, 2016). undergraduate student samples can be a legitimate solution when strongly justified, and problems can be minimized through conscientious research design and execution (bello et al., 2009; winton & sabol, 2022). to carefully address these parameters, we incentivized college students with extra credit because obtaining data from end-of-senior-year high school students was extremely difficult due to our state ethics review opt-in-only rules for minors and the willingness of that population to participate in a survey at that specific time. we prioritized recruiting first-year, first-semester students but allowed older students to participate to ensure that the sample size could accurately accommodate the factor analysis that comrey and lee (1992) estimated for factor analysis (n = 500+) to be very good or excellent. survey items were accessed via qualtrics. we monitored the survey for three weeks; email reminders were sent to students weekly throughout the collection period. phase three: instrument validation we analyzed the data following procedures and processes outlined by longhurst et al. (2020). first, data were organized, cleaned for non-response, and dummy coded. the highest and partial scores were calculated, and then an exploratory factor analysis (efa) was conducted in sas (version 9.4). the frequencies of the relationships between the proficiency stages determined the latent constructs. following efa, item analyses were conducted on items with https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 judd-murray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 95 varying frequencies. ultimately, the best items were identified and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (cfa) and discriminant analysis (da). we concluded our analysis by identifying the final items to construct two separate instruments. limitations college samples tend to exhibit homogeneity toward diversity, and students may fall within the higher spectrum of cognitive skills (stevens, 2011). we underscored the importance of lived experiences that could contribute to agricultural literacy proficiency over time. additionally, the survey items were directly associated with the nalo benchmarks, resulting in correlation, lack of independence, and multicollinearity risks. measures of covariance among the latent variables were analyzed, but cfa results should be treated with caution. finally, using da enabled determining whether differences existed between the proficiency stages. the use of da defined the degree to which the instrument differentiated between the constructs. findings phase one: instrument construction the delphi team developed survey items by integrating item content, relevance to the nalo demands, and effectiveness guidelines for summative assessment. each team member was asked to create between three and five questions (including answers) for each nalo theme. the questions had to be identified by one of the three proficiency levels. the first three rounds identified which of the 64 questions best represented the nalo theme and the appropriate proficiency level. table 1 shows an example of how a construct analysis clarified the requirements of the nalo benchmarks and the parameters for each proficiency level. it is an example of how the team combined the defined measures of the proficiency scale parameters from pisa, and the proficiency level descriptors. the process provided a point-by-point evaluation for each determinant factor required for a valid summative assessment of the 12thgrade nalos. from there, the fourth round eliminated questions with the lowest rankings and sent the remaining items to be refined by the group for the final two iterations. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 judd-murray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 96 table 1 construct analysis: examples of theme two items item number & proficiency level assessment item content nalo demands proficiency level identifiers 2.12 exposure level identify examples of organic nutrients. lifecycles of plants and animals; distinguish between renewable and non-renewable resources; the importance of soil nutrients; compare natural cycles in comparison to managed lifecycles within agriculture; how organic and inorganic nutrients affect plant growth and development. students can recognize terms; recall singular facts, especially ones that draw upon their personal or familiar experiences; recognize simple cause-and-effect relationships; select simple explanations with relevant or cueing support. 2.12 factual literacy level identify the factors (including cost, culture, convenience, access, and taste) that affect the population’s food choices. the variety of year-round food choices; food distribution and transportation systems; major factors in food choices for people and animals are cost, culture, convenience, and access; viewpoints on production methods and practices; impacts of transporting food due to location, climate, and geography; consumer demand influences production, processing, and marketing; consumer choices influence food production systems. students can order, sort, analyze, and move/transfer knowledge from one area of application to another; draw upon moderately complex facts and ideas to construct explanations; make simple predictions; identify the relevancy of facts in context. 2.12 applied proficiency level determine agricultural practices that balance production and conservation (e.g., using modern science and technology). importance and stewardship of natural resources in delivering agricultural products and maintaining the environment; understand the concept of stewardship for soil, water, plants, and animals; examine viewpoints on production methods and practices. students can recognize, articulate, and evaluate what they have learned; can use abstract ideas or concepts to explain a complex phenomenon; demonstrate competency in the information that may be unfamiliar or novel; draw on a range of inter-related ideas; can construct complex predictions; internalize the significance of facts about ‘real-world’ application. note. proficiency levels adapted from the works of joplin (1981), roberts (2006), and the pisa technical report (oecd: pisa, 2016). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 judd-murray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 97 thus, the team finalized 45 items (three questions for each proficiency level in each nalo theme). longhurst et al. (2020) showed that 15 questions were sufficient for the final instrument, but more questions were reviewed to increase the probability of a valid question in each theme and proficiency level. based on the commitment to high-quality delphi development, replication of successful methods established in prior research, and connection to the best practices for summative evaluation, we showed that the items summatively assessed the grade-12 nalo benchmarks and provided content and construct validity for each survey item. phase two: data collection the undergraduate sampling resulted in 71% of participants having completed less than one year of college and 89% less than two years (n = 468), with only 11% (n = 47) having completed three to four years but being younger than 23 years old. qualtrics reported that 580 students accessed the survey, n = 515 completed the survey, and 48 did not complete the survey (89% response rate). we proceeded toward validation based on comrey and lee (1992) and maccallum et al. (2001) who determined an acceptable level of n was dependent upon (a) the commonality of the variables, (b) the degree of overdetermination of the factor, (c) the size of the loading, and (d) model fit (f). these boundaries provided a conservative measure for our sample size, with priority given to the requirements of the factor analysis due to its importance in the study. phase three: instrument validation we coded 1 or 0 for correct or non-correct responses. each possible response option was also scored as correct (1) or non-correct (0) for items with more than one correct response. this allowed for the allocation of partial scores for each overall item based on the percentages of correct responses selected by a respondent. the 45 survey items were first measured for total correct response (max = 34, min = 4, m = 21.34, sd = 5.44, n = 515). a maximum score was used to determine initial participant proficiency stages based on pisa literature (oecd: pisa, 2016, pp. 280–281), testing parameters, and statistical best practices. partial total correct scoring was used to determine if a survey item was too difficult or if there were only poor or too difficult portions. an item analysis, difficulty index, and correct partial percentages were critical indicators for establishing the baseline measures before factor and item analysis. factor and item analysis we used a structural linear equation model for efa and cfa. three latent factors representing the proficiency stages were analyzed against the items from each nalo theme. the factor loadings determined the influence of the proficiency groups on the scores associated with each survey item. the efa measured the strength of the relationships between the proficiency stages (factors) and items using the percentage of correct and incorrect responses as indicator variables representing the nalo themes. items that targeted efa loading and frequency correct ranges were then examined with item analysis. this resulted in the construction of two 15-item assessment instruments. each instrument contained three questions for each of the five nalo themes. based on the allocated proficiency level, those three questions were staged from the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 judd-murray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 98 easiest to the most challenging item. following efa, we determined questions that were too easy, difficult, or poor and eliminated them based on frequency results. item analyses were then conducted on items with varying frequencies, which were also used to determine if the efa frequencies improved when specific poor answer choices were removed. we carefully ensured that option changes did not affect the question context. separately, we conducted a cfa for each of the two 15-item assessment instruments to determine if the model fit was adequate. for each instrument, each item was loaded on its assigned factor (proficiency level) to determine if the underlying correlational structure of the independent variables (the five nalo themes) represented each latent factor. table 2 shows that the linear structural equation estimation indicated that both instruments fit adequately. table 2 confirmatory factor analysis fit summary based on total correct items fit summary instrument 1 instrument 2 chi-square χ2 131.80 124.26 chi-square df 87 87 variance estimate χ2/df 1.51 1.43 adjusted goodness-of-fit (gfi) .95 .96 rmsea estimate .03 .03 rmsea lower 90% confidence limit .02 .02 rmsea upper 90% confidence limit .04 .04 bentler comparative fit index .94 .93 bentler-bonett non-normed index .93 .92 note. root mean square error of approximation (rmsea) additionally, the cfa analysis determined that indicator variables significantly loaded on their respective proficiency stage factor (all p-values below .001), indicating that differences between loadings and zero were significant. collectively, it identified an almost non-existent shared variance among the variables—or a considerable amount of unique variance was seen among them. the cronbach’s coefficient across proficiency stages was measured for instrument i (n = 515): exposure (total α = .46, partial α = .55); literacy (total α = .58; partial α = .62); proficiency (total α = .37; partial α = .65) and instrument ii (n = 515): exposure (total α = .48, partial α = .50); literacy (total α = .47; partial α = .54); proficiency (total α = .29; partial α = .38). the reliability coefficients are low; however, taber (2018) noted that alpha values vary greatly by discipline. additionally, high reliability may indicate that items are redundant, and the length of the instrument (less than 20 items) limits the alpha and complicates the process of unpacking internal reliability. the partial scores have higher alpha measures because they have a greater https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 judd-murray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 99 range of possible responses. they are relevant because they identify that when questions are not scored strictly right or wrong, they lead to a greater understanding of where respondent understanding is. the alpha numbers are likely low due to multiple themes for each factor. we corroborated these results with pearson’s product-moment correlation and difficulty indices. results indicated an acceptable internal consistency and reliability level for both instruments because our goal was to produce non-redundant instrument items that could discriminate skill levels. ultimately, the cfa showed enough evidence to substantiate the model as fitting adequately with a small or weak relationship between the proficiency stages. discriminant analysis & summary da was used to clarify the cfa results. table 3 indicates that the cross-validation percentages for both instruments were extremely accurate and well within the range of p < .05. equally strong re-substitution percentages were as good or better than the cross-validation results. the da was the most definitive conclusion that the items aligned correctly for the five nalo themes, indicating that users can accurately administer either assessment to determine students’ proficiency levels in agricultural literacy. users, however, should not “mix and match” questions between instruments because both have been independently validated in this study. we concluded our analysis by finalizing items to construct two separate assessment instruments. table 3 discriminant analysis: cross-validation summary using linear discriminant functions proficiency stage n cross-validation % cross-validation error estimation instrument 1 exposure 74 97.37 .03 factual literacy 261 98.86 .01 applicable proficiency 175 100.0 .00 total 515 100.0 .009* instrument 2 exposure 90 91.84 .08 factual literacy 317 97.24 .03 applicable proficiency 91 93.41 .00 total 515 100.0 .04** note. *p < .01, df = 514; **p < .05, df = 514 findings summary the findings showed that both instruments were valid and reliable for measuring the 12thgrade nalo theme benchmarks and determining an agricultural literacy proficiency level. future users need to understand how to use the instruments effectively. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 judd-murray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 100 using the instruments determining the proficiency level of a participant is an essential part of assessment analysis. practitioners can identify the proficiency stages of the two instruments by listing participants with a score ≥ 12 (out of 15) as applicably proficient, those with a score of 8 ≥ 11 as factually literate, and those ≤ 7 at the exposure level. scores can be interpreted individually or using a group's mean, median, or mode. total correct scores are as helpful as partial correct scores. partial correct scores can be obtained by examining individual assessments to determine which nalo items were incorrect, then using that information to identify gaps in thematic content, misinformation, or analysis related to experience or agricultural exposure. if the nalo themes are used for program achievement goals, and students do not show consistent growth across all five themes, the score can indicate curricula or instructional gaps. these instruments were designed to show cumulative assessment for k-12 agricultural literacy development. ideally, students who have been instructed throughout their primary and secondary education should be applicably proficient at the end of twelfth grade. proficiency levels that are less than ideal for high school graduates give educators and agricultural stakeholders information that can be used to understand where adult consumers may need additional information to make informed agricultural decisions. furthermore, although this study sought to provide summative assessment, educators' use of the tools as a formative measurement is encouraged. using the instruments formatively, in combination with a qualitative interview, could be the most exact way to determine how participants perceived or misperceived a correct answer. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study provided two standardized instruments that can measure agricultural literacy nationwide. there are now nalo-based assessments for elementary, middle, and high school students. by addressing the absence of a standardized tool for high school students and high school graduates, we fill a gap in existing literature and enhance the reliability, comparability, and applicability of future research in agricultural literacy. we recommend using these instruments to unify efforts to identify national knowledge gaps, better target educational initiatives, and increase study replication using consistent instrumentation. while not a comprehensive assessment, these instruments can impact how we implement and evaluate formal and nonformal agricultural education. additionally, program planners and evaluators should use data from these assessments to determine the efficacy of their programs, hopefully leading to initiatives driven by program impacts rather than program outputs. doerfert (2003) maintained that the true implications of agricultural literacy could only be seen as we study populations and programs over time. instrument use within the same or similar programs can provide a roadmap of program efficacy that showcases which areas of agricultural literacy have improved over time and through which methods of instruction. practitioners should work with researchers to identify populations beyond k-12 students or formal classroom settings (warnick, 2022). these instruments can improve learning opportunities for youth and adults in community-driven events associated with agritourism, 4https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 judd-murray et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 101 h, community gardening, farmer’s markets, and career awareness fairs. the length of the assessment makes it digitally accessible in a variety of environments via a smartphone and may open opportunities for greater discussions on agricultural topics with event participants. additionally, minkler and salvatore (2012) outlined that collaborative research and evaluation processes contributed to greater success within community-engaged programs. researchers working in tandem with communities can assess agricultural literacy and tailor interventions based on feedback and data from community members. land grant institutions and cooperative extension can fulfill pivotal roles in enhancing their communities by leveraging their resources, expertise, and outreach capabilities toward agricultural literacy assessment. using these tools at local levels provides data on knowledge and fosters relationships that can promote trust, limit misinformation about agriculture, and encourage informed consumer choices. by bridging the gap between research and communities, assessment data can contribute to the prosperity of agricultural sectors through programs that empower individuals to make informed decisions that positively impact their well-being and the broader community. acknowledgments r. judd-murray formal analysis, investigation, writingoriginal draft and editing; b. warnick investigation, writingreview and editing; d. coster formal analysis, investigation, writing review and editing; m. longhurst investigation, writingreview and editing. references american association for agricultural education (aaae). 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(2022). a multi-group analysis of convenience samples: free, cheap, friendly, and fancy sources. international journal of social research methodology, 25(6), 861–876. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2021.1961187 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.407 https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1006985528729 https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.1086 https://cdn.agclassroom.org/nat/data/get/nalobooklet.pdf https://www.agliteracy.org/research/logic/ https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-493x.2011.03233.x https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2 https://www.nimss.org/projects/view/mrp/outline/18611 https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2021.1961187 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 1, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. jessica r. spence, ictas doctoral scholar, virginia tech, 214 litton-reaves hall, blacksburg, va 24061, jessicaraespence@vt.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3789-3477 2. tobin redwine, executive director, montgomery country fair association, 9201 airport road conroe, tx 77303, tobin@mcfa.org, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9975-8169 69 factoring food security: a q methodology study with ghanaian educators j. spence1, t. redwine2 article history received: september 14, 2024 accepted: february 18, 2025 published: february 28, 2025 keywords agricultural development; agricultural education; ghana; sdg 2: zero hunger; sdg 4: quality education abstract food security remains a pressing issue across sub-saharan africa, including ghana. in response, education reform is essential for the country’s progress. this study unveils the perspectives of ghanaian educators, recognizing their vital role in shaping the development, mindset, and actions of ghanaian youth and contributing to sdgs 4 and 2, quality education and zero hunger. we employed q methodology with the research aim of discovering the priorities and viewpoints of teachers regarding food insecurity. a sample of 31 ghanaian educators, who previously or currently engaged with youth agricultural programming, participated in the q-sort, sorting statements related to food insecurity. the analysis yielded four factor groups: quality over quantity, waste not, sustainable sisters, and futurists, each representing unique perspectives on addressing food security challenges. the findings affirm the importance of aligning education strategies with educators’ perspectives. we recommend tailored professional development opportunities to enhance awareness and effectiveness in addressing food insecurity issues. the study calls for further exploration of educator groups in ghana, and the region, including qualitative investigations to inform targeted interventions and support the holistic development of youth engagement in addressing food security in ghana. mailto:jessicaraespence@vt.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3789-3477 mailto:tobin@mcfa.org https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9975-8169 spence and redwine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 70 introduction and problem statement food insecurity is identified as “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire food in socially acceptable ways” (hamilton et al., 1997, p. 50) remains an issue both globally and locally (asare-nuamah et al., 2023). despite relentless global growth in economic, technological, and cultural factors (asia society, 2018), 795 million people worldwide are unsure of where their next meal is coming from (fao, ifad, & wfp, 2015). in sub-saharan africa, the united nations’ food and agriculture organization reported the population of undernourished people and people experiencing food insecurity has increased, even more so in west africa, with ghana grappling with its own share of these issues (fao, ifad, unicef, wfp & who, 2024; mohammed, 2021). for ghana’s economy to move forward and prosper, education reform needs to occur (iddrisu, 2018; mensah-aggrey et al., 2022; osei, 2006). to effectively mitigate food insecurity globally, it is necessary to promote productive practices and develop a workforce equipped with the skills needed to address local, national, and global food security challenges (fao, ifad, & wfp, 2015). holistic education reform of any kind involves understanding relevant issues and educator beliefs towards those issues (newcomb et al., 2004). student motivation can be leveraged through authenticity of those beliefs (mendes, 2003; schraw & olafson, 2015). for education to drive such motivation and change, it is critical to understand educator beliefs and priorities as their perspectives shape the development and mindset of their students who will inevitably inherit these challenges. yet, the problem remains that despite the local need for students equipped to tackle challenges like food insecurity, many secondary educators struggle to integrate global competencies into their curricula (diano et al., 2023; tudball, 2005). therefore, the study team assessed teachers’ perspectives on food insecurity issues to better understand the population that is directly engaged with the ghanaian youth who have the potential to improve the economic and food insecurity status of the country. conceptual framework researchers anchored this study’s conceptual foundations from the concourse––a structured set of statements that encapsulate facets of an idea or issue (watts & stenner, 2012). within q methodology, the concourse is central to the study as it frames participant engagement and guides viewpoint prioritization on the issue: food insecurity. this study adopts the spence et al. (2023) concourse as a conceptual framework for capturing viewpoints and perspectives of food insecurity. although spence et al. (2023) characterized viewpoints of food insecurity with educators primarily in the u.s., the concourse draws upon global literature, the feed the future learning agenda, global hunger and food security initiative, un goals for sustainable, usaid global food security research agenda, and was reviewed by international food security. given the concourse’s expansive global lens and its foundation within universally applicable principles of food insecurity, it was appropriate to apply within a ghanian context. this https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 spence and redwine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 71 framework allowed for the exploration of ghanaian educator perspectives while also maintaining connections to global and local food security challenges. purpose and objectives the purpose of the study was to explain ghanaian teacher’s viewpoints in global food security issues by understanding their priorities via q methodology. the research objectives included: 1. analyze ghanaian educator perspectives on food security, and; 2. evaluate the alignment of educator priorities with global competency dimensions. methods texas a&m university’s institutional review board approved this research (#129757). researchers collected and analyzed this data in the spring of 2022. we employed q-method design to (watts & stenner, 2012) characterize educator priorities within food security. qmethod uses operant subjectivity to characterize viewpoints, perceptions, and opinions developed from individuals’ personal experiences (brown, 1996; leggette & redwine, 2016; parrella et al., 2021; watts, 2011). therefore, q method is an appropriate tool to characterize experiences and perceptions shaping teachers’ views about food security issues in ghana. the concourse and q-set the concourse is a set of ideas that are sorted on the q-sort board. the q-set is a subset of the concourse and consists of statements that are sorted by the participants (watts & stenner, 2012). statements are identified by condensing material from the concourse. this resulted in 36 items represented as the q-set related to the intersection of global learning, food security, and education, as shown in table 1 (spence et al., 2023). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 spence and redwine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 72 table 1 q-set items no. statement 1 access to nutritious 2 more hygienic household and communality environments 3 direct nutrition specific interventions and 4 relationships between policy systems and food 5 identifying the determinants of 6 identifying the determinants of stunting 7 using sound ag water management tech and practices 8 stakeholder incentives, constraints, capacity, preference 9 reducing reliance upon emergency food assistance 10 effective approaches to measuring nutritional gains 11 improved resilience of vulnerable populations 12 improved nutrition and dietary quality 13 improved research and development 14 improved agricultural productivity 15 collaboration between water users in a community 16 food systems being sustainable 17 zero loss of waste of food 18 zero children being stunted under the age of two 19 sustainably increasing agricultural production 20 access to safe food 21 improved gender integration and women’s empowerment 22 increasing scarcity of viable farmland 23 inadequate intakes of micronutrients by mothers and inf 24 ending rural poverty 25 empowering small farmers 26 increase in smallholder productivity and income 27 promoting natural resource conservation 28 implementation of drought resistant crops in arid area 29 improved irrigation systems and water storage technology 30 restoration of degraded farmlands 31 invest in long term research for food security innovation 32 promotion of diet diversification 33 education of populations about global food security 34 adding post-harvest value to agricultural products 35 increasing genetic yield of crops fish and livestock 36 reduce and manage impacts of abiotic and biotic stress the p-set the p-set are participants in a q-method study (watts & stenner, 2012). we used a convenience sample to select ghanaian teachers involved with 4-h ghana due to their existing https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 spence and redwine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 73 involvement in direct food security related programs within 4-h. the participants consisted of college degree holding ghanaian teachers (n = 31; 18 male and 13 female) ranging in age from 22 to 45 in the eastern and central regions of ghana. they teach from primary-secondary students, and one or more subjects including: english, ghanaian language, science, mathematics, and arts. due to their involvement in 4h–an after-school program for youth based on agricultural education–the p-set had an interest in agriculture, and agricultural education. in the q-study, the primary form of data collection is the q-sort, in which participants (the pset) sort items (the q-set) to articulate their preferences within the p-set (leggette & redwine, 2016). therefore, the participants in this study sorted the q-set statements from least important to most important, to them, on a board (leggette & redwine, 2016). we then analyzed the data using pq method software to determine emerging, statistically significant factor groups that determine personas defining groups of thought amongst the participants. in order to do this, we used varimax factor rotation to apply a non-orthogonal rotation to highlight similarities and differences between viewpoints (watts & stenner, 2012). each factor represented a distinct viewpoint, and by analyzing how individuals sorted the q set, we identified the best fit for each viewpoint. z scores determined statistically significant items, or distinguishing statements (watts & stenner, 2012). distinguishing statements are statements that participants within the factor group ranked significantly differently compared to others (watts & stenner, 2012). therefore, the statement reflects a unique or defining viewpoint for a specific group within the study, highlighting the divergence in perspectives between different factor groups. validity and reliability of q method it is critical to note q methodology does not fit paradigms of qualitative or quantitative research, therefore validity and reliability are appropriate psychometric properties, therefore q method studies are assessed differently (ramlo & newman, 2011; wratten et al., 2019). q sorts are recognized as valid representations of participants’ viewpoints, and, in q methodology, generalizations are based on theoretical implications and the validity of identified perspectives or concepts (valenta & wigger, 1997; wratten et al., 2019). to ensure the validity of research themes in the q set, investigator triangulation and intercoder reliability were employed, allowing for a level of generalization in the findings. however, rather than extrapolating from a sample to a broader population, q methodology emphasizes the transfer of perspectives on an idea (leggette & redwine, 2016). as a result, generalization is not always the primary aim of a q method study (wratten et al., 2019). for reliability in q methodology, the composite reliability of each factor should exceed 0.80 (watts & stenner, 2012). the four factors we examined met this threshold, confirming the study's reliability. findings this study resulted in four factor groups that explain 50% of the variance of the total population of the study. the four factor groups are primarily defined by their distinguishing statements. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 spence and redwine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 74 factor one: quality over quantity the quality over quantity factor group explains 17% of the variance and demonstrates a high composite reliability of 0.97, indicating a strong and consistent viewpoint among its members. this factor group places significant emphasis on “access to nutritious food” and “more hygienic household and community environments,” as shown in table 2, highlighting the importance of ensuring basic nutritional needs and improving sanitation as foundational to addressing food insecurity. conversely, members of this group rated “zero loss of waste of food” and “identifying the determinants of waste” as less important, suggesting a preference for addressing immediate and direct needs over long-term waste management strategies. this group is comprised of ten participants, equally divided between male and female teachers, representing a diverse range of subject areas. their collective focus on fundamental aspects of food security reflects a pragmatic approach to addressing urgent needs and improving overall quality of life in the community. table 2 distinguishing statements for factor one q-sort value statement + 5 access to nutritious food + 3 more hygienic household and community environments + 1 investing in sustained, long-term research -1 understanding and addressing stakeholder incentives -2 zero loss of waste of food -5 identifying the determinants of waste factor two: waste not the waste not factor group accounts for 9% of the variance with a composite reliability of 0.88. this group places high importance on “zero loss of waste of food” and “understanding and addressing stakeholder incentives, constraints, capacity, and preferences,” as shown in table 3. these priorities reflect a focus on reducing food waste and addressing the broader systemic factors that influence food security. in contrast, “implementing sound agriculture water management technologies” and “education of populations about global food security” were deemed less critical by this group, suggesting a preference for more immediate and practical interventions over broader educational or technological solutions. this factor group is defined by two male participants who are math and science teachers, indicating a potential correlation between their subject expertise and their prioritization of waste reduction and stakeholder engagement. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 spence and redwine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 75 table 3 distinguishing statements for factor two q-sort value statement + 5 zero loss of waste of food + 1 understanding and addressing stakeholder incentives 0 increasing scarcity of viable farm land -2 access to nutritious food -3 education of populations about global food security -4 implementing sound agriculture water management technologies factor three: sustainable sisters the sustainable sisters factor explains 14% of the variance and has a composite reliability of 0.92. this group prioritizes “improved nutrition and dietary quality” and “food systems being sustainable,” reflecting a commitment to enhancing overall nutritional standards and ensuring the sustainability of food systems. they rated “restoration of degraded farmlands” and “relationships between policy systems and food security,” as shown in table 4, as less significant, indicating a focus on direct improvements in nutrition and sustainability over policyrelated aspects. this group consists of three female english teachers from different schools, whose perspectives emphasize the integration of sustainable practices and improved nutrition as critical to addressing food security challenges. table 4 distinguishing statements for factor three q-sort value statement + 5 improved nutrition and dietary quality + 3 food systems being sustainable + 2 inadequate intake of micronutrients by mothers and infant + 1 implementation of drought-resistant crops in arid areas 0 identifying the determinants of stunting 0 restoration of degraded farm lands -4 relationships between policy systems and food security factor four: futurists the futurists factor group represents 10% of the variance with a composite reliability of 0.92. this group emphasizes “promoting natural resource conservation” and “investing in sustained, long-term research (towards food security innovations)” as key priorities, as shown in table 5. they view these factors as essential for long-term progress in food security. on the other hand, “adding post-harvest value to agricultural products” and “ending rural poverty” were https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 spence and redwine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 76 considered less critical, suggesting a focus on resource conservation and research over immediate economic improvements. this factor group includes three male participants who are math and economics teachers from different schools, indicating a preference for future-oriented strategies and innovations in addressing food security. table 5 distinguishing statements for factor four q-sort value statement + 5 promoting natural resource conservation + 4 investing in sustained, long-term research + 3 implementation of drought-resistant crops in arid areas -2 identifying the determinants of waste -2 ending rural poverty -4 adding post-harvest value to agricultural products consensus the analysis of consensus statements reveals areas of agreement among the participants. notably, “improved irrigation systems and water storage technologies” was rated as highly important with a q-sort value of +2.5, indicating a shared recognition of the need for better irrigation and water management practices. conversely, statements such as “reducing and managing the impacts of abiotic and biotic stress” and “direct, nutrition-specific interventions and services” received lower q-sort values, as shown in table 6, reflecting less emphasis on these aspects across the educator population. table 6 consensus statements average qsort value statement -1.5 reducing and managing the impacts of abiotic and biotic -1.25 direct, nutrition-specific interventions and services + 2.5 improved irrigation systems and water storage technologies -1 sustainably increasing agricultural production discussion, conclusions, and recommendations ghanaian educators prioritized global food security issues through four perspectives: quality over quantity, waste not, sustainable sisters, and futurists. these perspectives reflect the diverse priorities of ghanaian educators’ viewpoints on food security issues. the results can https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 spence and redwine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 77 guide further interventions within agricultural development, education, and further efforts to eliminate food security. understanding these perspectives is crucial for stakeholders involved in global and agricultural education. individuals and organizations involved in educational development should use this awareness of perspectives to enhance training and professional development offerings in global education that align with these perspectives. for instance, the emphasis on quality over quantity illustrated the importance of basic nutritional needs and sanitation. in ghana, nutrition security has increased since the implementation of the unsdgs in 2023, but it is still far from global averages––particularly in the northern region of the country (koryo-dabrah et al., 2022). food sanitation in ghana remains an issue, particularly with food vendors, and lack of education is a contributor to the problem (akparibo et al., 2021; christiana cudjoe et al., 2022). the waste not factor highlighted the need for practical interventions focused on food waste reduction. this issue remains pertinent in the region where roughly 37% of food is wasted postharvest (boon & anuga, 2020). these perspectives offer valuable insights on issues currently impacting ghana for practitioners to craft more effective educational programs that resonate with local priorities. the consensus statements identified within this study highlight critical implications for advancing food security in the country. we recommend implementers consider these priority areas when developing training or educational programs and materials. for example, the emphasis on irrigation system improvement highlights the need to consider and incorporate water management, storing, or sourcing strategies within agricultural education. this topic’s importance is paramount considering climate change in ghana that continues to alter weather cycles and elongate dry seasons proving challenging for the rainwater-reliant agricultural system (antwi et al., 2024; armah et al., 2010; balana et al., 2020). by aligning educational efforts with these priorities, educators can foster a generation of learners equipped to implement innovative, context-specific solutions to food security challenges. ghanaian educators should be aware of their perspectives and tailor instructional methods accordingly to address potential gaps in education strategies, thereby equipping students to make an impact on ghana’s food insecurity issues. in addition to personal awareness, groups such as peacecorps, the usda-fas international agricultural education fellowship program, or usaid farmer-to-farmer should curate specific professional development opportunities to complement these perspectives. we recommend further investigation into other educator groups that also play a role in youth engagement in food security. we recommend qualitative studies focused on collecting contextualized and rich data on both challenges unique to specific regions and successful strategies being implemented currently to help frame future work with youth. finally, we recommend following up with participating ghanaian educators to understand how enhanced awareness supports their teaching strategies and scales up application to other educators. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 spence and redwine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 78 acknowledgments authorship contributions: j. spence conceptualization, investigation, formal analysis, writing; t. redwine conceptualization, formal analysis, editing references akparibo, r., aryeetey, r. n. o., asamane, e. a., osei-kwasi, h. a., ioannou, e., infield solar, g., cormie, v., pereko, k. k., amagloh, f. k., caton, s. j., & cecil, j. e. 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(2019). perceptions of gendered and ungendered pain relief norms and stereotypes using q-methodology. pain, 160(2), 395–406. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001409 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.545 https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001409 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 2, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. mary t. rodriguez, associate professor, ohio state university, 2120 fyffe rd, 200e ag administration bldg, columbus, ohio 43210, rodriguez.746@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8716-2787 2. rebecca j. williams, assistant professor, brooks college of interdisciplinary studies, grand valley state university, 213 lake ontario hall, 1 campus drive, allendale, michigan 49401, williarj@gvsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3849-9348 3. jera e. niewoehner-green, assistant professor, ohio state university, 2120 fyffe rd, 200g ag administration bldg, columbus, ohio 43210, niewoehner-green.1@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0340-1956 4. sarahi morales, directora departamento de currículo general, zamorano pan-american agricultural school, po box 93, km 30 highway from tegucigalpa to danlí, valle de yeguare, municipality of san antonio de oriente, francisco morazan, honduras, ca, morales@zamorano.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1331-2375 27 integrating gender in research and development: a case study of how organizations working in honduras approach participatory gender analyses in agrifood systems m. t. rodriguez1, r. j. williams2, j. e. niewoehner-green3, s. morales4 article history received: june 1, 2023 accepted: august 14, 2023 published: january 31, 2024 keywords gender analysis; honduras; participation; empowerment; masculinity; systems approach abstract gender assessments are often used to inform gender mainstreaming in agriculture for development programming and practices. however, they often lack true community engagement, integration of critical perspectives for structural transformation, and a systems approach to support gender equality. in our qualitative case study, we conducted a content analysis of gender policies and approaches for the largest funding and implementing organizations working in honduras. our findings indicate that some organizations address the known gaps in the effectiveness of gender analyses such as inclusion of masculinities and moving beyond economic empowerment to address other important domains for women’s empowerment. however, the majority of organizations continued to approach participation as extractive rather than transformative, over-relied on the economic domain as the sole indicator of empowerment, failed to integrate critical contemporary theories such as intersectionality and masculinities, and inadequately addressed the fundamental structural inequalities in the systems that reinforce normative gender roles. improving practices for participatory gender assessments and addressing dominant social norms during research is necessary to have significant gender transformative and sustainable impacts on agrifood systems. mailto:rodriguez.746@osu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8716-2787 mailto:williarj@gvsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 mailto:niewoehner-green.1@osu.edu https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 mailto:morales@zamorano.edu https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 28 introduction and problem statement gender relations in honduras are shaped by socioeconomic and cultural context of the country. as the second poorest country in the region, an estimated 62% of the honduran population lived below the poverty line in 2020 (united nations development program [undp], 2020). over the years, honduras has been characterized as a predominantly patriarchal society, where men have decision-making authority at the household and community levels (humphries et al., 2012). the honduran government has made international commitments to gender mainstreaming in policy including those in sectoral levels such as agriculture, but implementation is lagging (howland et al., 2021). however, the reality of poverty, outmigration of men, and the demands of building sustainable food systems, requires development organizations to adopt approaches that effectively promote women’s empowerment and address gender dynamics in implementation. according to njuki et al. (2022), agri-food systems have structural inequalities directly linked to gender, such as access to knowledge and information as well as technological, financial, and natural resources, reinforcing social gender norms and impacting livelihoods. a holistic view of agrifood systems provides a pathway for sustainable agricultural intensification to ensure food security and nutrition in an equitable and resilient manner (campanhola & pandey, 2018). gender analyses are a key component of agrifood systems projects due to the work of feminist scholars and development practitioners who brought attention to the importance of analyzing gender roles and norms to understand the social constructs that influence agrifood projects (connelly et al., 2000). at their simplest, gender analyses are conducted to understand the normative roles and responsibilities of men and women to ensure that agricultural development initiatives are appropriately targeted (connelly et al., 2000). at their most complex, gender analyses can support understanding the values, norms, and systems that oppress women. the latter approaches aim to transform systems to empower women to live the lives they desire (kabeer, 1999). since gender analyses are essential to highlight gender dynamics of different contexts and programmatic areas, we sought to explore how major organizations integrate these perspectives into their work. in this study, our objective is to examine gender policies and frameworks of development organizations in honduras, specifically focusing on definitions and measurements of empowerment, levels of analysis, incorporation of critical perspectives, and community participation. theoretical and conceptual framework critiques of gender analyses in development practice are rooted in part in the lack of clarity in theoretical underpinning and the complexity of incorporating a gender lens in a meaningful way (tavenner & crane, 2022; warren, 2007). approaches to gender analyses range in purpose from addressing women’s practical needs to addressing women’s strategic needs or women’s ability to make the life decisions that were previously denied to them (mayoux, 1995; warren, 2007). this is also termed transformational empowerment. the theoretical underpinnings of these analyses can differ significantly resulting in different strategies for change (chilisa & ntseane, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 29 2010; connelly et al., 2000). understanding theoretical underpinnings of gender analysis frameworks is important to appraise approach, assumptions, and how women’s roles and norms versus women’s subordination are understood. a primary concept underlying gender analysis approaches is that of empowerment. however, understandings of empowerment are often grounded in institutionalized terminology that ignore local agency and context, resulting in an oversimplification of local gender relations (batliwala, 2007; cornwall et al., 2004; jupp et al., 2010; mcomber, 2021; tavenner & crane, 2022), as well as an overreliance on economic factors in the determination of an empowered woman (mcomber, 2021; tavenner & crane, 2022; warren, 2007). critiques of empowerment approaches point out a lack of focus on how social interactions mediate gender, particularly in terms of masculinized household leadership responsibilities and the role of men and masculinities in women’s empowerment efforts (tavenner & crane, 2019; tavenner & crane, 2022). additionally, in keeping with contemporary understandings of gender, taking an intersectional approach to gender analyses is needed to understand the relationship between gender and other identities including race, ethnicity, class, and sexual identity (bojin, 2013; crenshaw, 1989; das & singh, 2014; de mel et al., 2013; tavenner et al., 2022). for example, honduras boasts nine indigenous groups, including two afro-indigenous groups, all of whom experience high levels of poverty (tauli-corpuz, 2016). in addition, it is well documented that the lgbtq+ community in honduras face high levels of discrimination (villeda, 2012). how issues such as indigeneity, poverty, and sexual identity intersect with gender dynamics is not well studied in terms of gender analyses in the global south (fundación etea, 2022). another important aspect of gender analysis approaches are participatory processes (e.g. participatory rural appraisal and participatory action research). participatory gender analysis processes began in the 1990’s in part due to the need to unpack the relationship between men’s and women’s normative roles (guijt & kaul shah, 1998; mayoux, 1995). the work of arnstein (1969) and biggs and farrington (1991) demonstrate the challenges of participatory process by categorizing participation from lack of farmer participation to collective decision making and collaborative communication. although participatory processes are rooted in critical and later feminist theory, like gender analyses, the practical application of participatory processes do not always reflect these theoretical underpinnings. similarly, not all gender analysis processes use participatory methodologies, resulting in a lack of understanding of the role of power dynamics, responsiveness, and understanding of cultural contexts in these approaches (thomas et al., 2022). negative impacts to the agrifood system in honduras can disproportionately impact women (care honduras & un women, 2020), thus participatory methodologies would center women’s lived experiences and allow for nuanced programming and research. finally, a major critique of participatory processes is that they can neglect the complexity of communities and divert attention from the broader systems that are affecting them (cornwall, 1998; lilja & dixon, 2008). systems approaches consider the interconnected and dynamic nature of various systems affecting a specific problem or phenomenon (meadows, 2008; rosas, 2017) and in practice can be a useful tool to explore the level of power that people have in https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 30 issues related to their own food systems (washington, 2016). applying a systems approach to agrifood systems pushes back against reductionist considerations of agricultural issues and instead includes food systems activities, cultural, economic, and social, drivers, and environmental effects (borman, et al., 2022; ericksen, 2008). further, food sovereignty or agroecology movements emphasize the world’s relational aspects, acknowledging the interconnections among local knowledge, human culture, and nature while centering gender equality (portman, 2018). purpose gender analysis frameworks vary in their theoretical underpinnings; therefore, we employed a feminist lens to critically analyze them, focusing on definitions and measurements of empowerment, community involvement in the process, levels of analysis from utilitarian to transformational, and evidence of systems informed interventions. drawing on feminist approaches that aim to question the dominant discourse, we purposefully moved beyond considering gender analysis as a means to just include women by applying contemporary approaches to analyzing gendered contexts such as the role of masculinities, intersectionality and systems approaches, and the integration of women and men, girls and boys, in agrifood system development efforts. as previously mentioned, gender assessments are often used for the benefit of the funder as opposed to being a participatory tool used by and for the community. therefore, we sought to understand how organizations are approaching the measurement of gender constructs such as empowerment, participation, equality, and powersharing as well as how they engage the community through participatory processes and understanding of social, political, and cultural systems. we identified honduras as the context of interest for this case study as authors have done extensive gender research in the country. in addition, despite multiple organizations working for decades on gender issues, the country’s inequality in development continues to deepen the feminization of poverty and limit women’s access to basic services, resources, and economic opportunities as well as participation at political and organizational levels (care honduras & un women, 2020). further, honduras has the highest femicide rate in latin america (economic commission for latin america and the caribbean [eclac], 2021), indicating that substantive gender equity work is imperative. methods research design a collective case study research strategy was employed wherein we explored multiple gender analysis processes from development organizations to understand the approach and intended outcomes (stake, 1995). we utilized qualitative content analysis as the method of data collection and analysis, defining our case or bounded system as the process of conducting a gender analysis in the context of honduras (creswell, 2018). a directed content analysis of development agencies’ gender inclusion strategy documents focused on establishing an integrated view of text and their contexts through a systematic classification process of coding and identifying patterns (hsieh & shannon, 2005; zhang & wildemuth, 2005). therefore, our https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 31 analysis sought to use a feminist lens to identify and name the predominant concepts around gender and development in agriculture that guide data collection, outreach, and extension practices. data collection our sampling frame was identified through a list of registered development organizations working in honduras (n=82). we sampled the larger organizations working in the agricultural sector that influence the processes of smaller funders and implementers (n=19), then searched for publicly available gender analysis documents in agricultural development. larger organizations were categorized as those who were recognized worldwide implementers and who were registered or funding projects in honduras. from the sample, 14 organizations had published documents that described their approach to addressing gender through assessments and evaluations (see table 1). table 1 sample of funding and implementing organizations operating in honduras type of organization organization name organization acronym funders bill & melinda gates foundation* canada aid* united kingdom foreign, commonwealth & development office (formerly termed the department for international development) * food & agricultural organization of the united nations* japan international cooperation agency * united nations population fund united states agency for international development* world food program* bmgf ca fcdo (dfid) fao jica unfp usaid wfp implementers action against hunger* care international* catholic relief services* etea foundation of loyola university lutheran world relief* plan international* save the children* world relief world vision* aah care crs lwr plan stc wr wv both heifer international oxfam international* oxfam note. *denotes the organizational documents were included in the data analysis https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 32 data analysis deductive coding was employed utilizing nvivo v.12. the use of this software allowed for coding schemes to be tracked and to conduct searches for key terms when revisiting the data. provisional coding was employed to establish the code list. provisional coding begins with a predetermined “start list” of codes based on what previous investigation suggests might appear in the data (saldaña, 2021). our code list was derived from the review of the literature on gender assessments and researcher’s experience in gender and development research; however, as data are collected, coded, and analyzed, codes can be revised or expanded to include new codes (saldaña, 2021). the practices, policies, and guidance that influence gender analysis were coded, while background information (e.g. demographics) were not coded. the original codebook consisted of 15 a priori codes derived from the literature and our conceptual framework. during data analysis, seven more codes arose. codes were then placed into categories and then themes to create consolidated meaning of how organizations engage in gender and development work. evaluating the rigor and trustworthiness of the research was done throughout the process. credibility was upheld through the transparent development of the data collection and coding process (lincoln & guba, 1985). research team members collaborated throughout to review and interpret the data. further, to improve dependability, researchers kept an audit trail during the data analysis through nvivo and shared documents which included theoretical and process notes. the findings should not be considered generalizable due to the focus on organizations working within honduras; however, the broad influence of these organizations allow the findings to be transferable to gender and development work in other contexts (lincoln & guba, 1985). the provisional coding process supported confirmability by documenting the codes that were first established and tracking additional codes that arose through the analysis. finally, conducting a document analysis subverted some threats to trustworthiness such as reactivity, researcher bias, and respondent bias (bowen, 2009). subjectivity statement all four authors have engaged in gender and development work for 48 years, collectively. prominent themes in our research have been food security, gender and leadership, community and household resilience, masculinities, youth leadership, irregular migration, and youth and gender-based violence. we all seek to transform communities and livelihoods of marginalized people through the integration of critical perspectives and sustainable, community driven approaches and practices. the authors addressed potential biases through memoing, audit trails, and ensuring that all four authors agreed on the analysis and findings (flick, 2009). findings four main themes emerged from the data analysis: 1. approaches to empowerment; 2. practical application of gender in development work; 3. incorporation of contemporary critical perspectives; and 4. transformation of structure and systems (see table 2). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 33 table 2 data themes and subthemes theme 1: empowerment defining empowerment measuring empowerment leadership decision making theme 2: practical application of gender in development work gender mainstreaming gender assessment/analysis/eval supporting frameworks assessment/ gender inclusion methods participatory engagement theme 3: incorporation of contemporary critical perspectives intersectionality men & boys masculinity power theme 4: transformation of structure and systems transformation [cultural] systems systems approaches theme 1: approaches to empowerment subthemes: defining empowerment; measuring empowerment; leadership; and decision making every organization mentioned the needs for women’s empowerment. however, the way they defined it, measured it, or tied in concepts such as leadership or decision-making differed amongst the organizations. empowerment was defined similarly amongst the majority (12 of 14) of participants. aah stated, “empowerment is about women, men, girls and boys taking control over their lives: setting their own agendas, developing skills (including life skills), building self-confidence, solving problems and developing self-reliance” (p. 16). interestingly, none of the organizations co-define empowerment in collaboration with the local people. rather, empowerment is defined by the organization and informed by the local context. all organizations mentioned empowerment in their documents, with nine including direct reference to men and boys. crs mentioned that “improvement of [women’s] political, social, economic status is a highly important end in itself but also essential for sustainable development.” this sentiment was echoed by lwr, where they added that investing in women’s empowerment by increasing their “productive economic activity and decision-making at the household, community and government level, their contributions have the potential to grow their local economies exponentially” (p. 1). the majority (8 of 14) used the domain of economic empowerment as a way to define and measure women’s empowerment. wfp stated, “economic empowerment is a cornerstone of gender equality that refers to both women’s ability to succeed and advance economically and to their power to make and act on economic decisions” (p. 20). the focus on control of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 34 resources was prominent in the measurement of empowerment, even as it relates to disempowerment of women: globally, women tend to have far more roles and responsibilities than men particularly with regard to household and reproductive work. this imbalance disempowers women and girls from participating fully in economic, education, and governance opportunities, further contributing to their marginalization and subordinate status (crs). (p. 5) furthermore, leadership and decision-making emerged as subthemes. they were often tied together when described as a component of empowerment or failing to empower. leadership was most consistently described as positional leadership such as community leadership and governmental representation. as one organization reported, “women and girls generally face inequality in participation and leadership, particularly in terms of decision-making or leadership roles in public fora and governance entities” (p. 5). (crs). similarly, dfid mentioned that women also lack leadership opportunities “at every administrative level, and in leadership positions in business” (p. 7). finally, every organization discussed the need to improve women’s decision-making power as an essential part of empowerment. most organizations did not discuss decision-making in terms of specific domains. however, the few that did typically framed decision-making in the economic domain (crs, fao, wfp, wv), or in terms participation and leadership in the community through the political domain (dfid, wfp, jica, usaid). fao stated: participation alone, however, might not be sufficient to ensure that women’s needs and demands are effectively addressed and translated into action. [we must] enhance women’s leadership and decision-making power within institutions and governance mechanisms at all levels and increase their involvement in the formulation of legal frameworks, policies and programmes. (p. 6) similarly, wfp centers decision-making capacity as central to their work stating they “support self-determination such that all people have increased power to take up leadership roles and make decisions about their personal, household, community and societal food system, food security and nutrition needs and experiences” (p.12). ultimately, no matter the organization, women’s empowerment was at the core of their analysis approaches although it differed greatly in practice. theme 2: practical application of gender in development work subthemes: gender mainstreaming; gender assessments; supporting frameworks; assessment/gender inclusion methods; and participatory engagement the concept of gender can be integrated into an organization’s practices ubiquitously or minimally. we explored how gender was practically applied throughout the organizations’ work. gender mainstreaming was described as a strategy to ensure “the needs and interests of all genders are an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of any planned action or procedure, so that everyone has the opportunity to benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated” (bmgf, p. 3). several organizations (5 of 14) stated that this purposeful integration of gender is necessary to ensure progress towards gender equality. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 35 every document mentioned the need to begin with a gender assessment/analysis. a gender analysis was described as a method to “understand the relationships between men and women, their access to resources, their activities, and the constraints they face relative to each other” (ca, p. 1). organizations such as stc stated that these assessments/analyses “generate evidence that enables the design of programmes that contribute to advancing gender equality and social justice” (p. 3). some documents gave specific details for how they should be planned, conducted, and used; however, most did not go into this level of detail. multiple frameworks were mentioned to provide guidance for how to integrate gender into development efforts: the socio-ecological model (crs, stc), crs’s integral human development (ihd) framework, harvard analytical framework (ca), and the six domains of gender analysis (usaid). wv stated that these types of assessments go beyond just providing a superficial view of the realities of men and women/boys and girls, recognizing the potential of analyses to create a broader picture of people’s realities. as wv states: [gender analyses can] identify the root causes upholding negative gender and social norms and practices (social relations, institutions, and structures)... [and] uncover potential positive and negative consequences of program activities on men, women, boys, girls, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. (p. 17) methods described to conduct assessments and integrate gender into their work varied amongst the organizations. usaid encourages beginning by “consult[ing] with gender experts at ngos, donors, and other organizations who may be able to outline key gender issues in the countries and the sector that will be the focus of your project” (p. 3). others mentioned the purposeful inclusion of gender must include a thorough literature/desktop review, preceding quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. when it came to data collection, jica stated the best method was to conduct a survey to “collect and analyze gender-disaggregated data and related information in the target countries and areas to understand the current situation and issues of each gender” (p. 15). however, most supported the use of mixed data collection methods. in addition to the literature review and the primary data collection from key stakeholders, stc included the importance of “[examining] laws, policies, regulations, and institutional practices to determine if direct or indirect biases exist, how they may reproduce inequitable power relations, and how they impact different populations” (p. 30). this view would provide a critical look at the reality of participant livelihoods. finally, community participation was stated to be an important component of integrating gender into the organization’s work. for example, aah stated “[aah] recognizes that community driven approaches, collaboration and long-term partnerships are critical in the journey to empower women and girls, transform gender relations and build gender equitable systems” (p. 9). furthermore, several organizations state that engagement is essential for sustainability of their efforts. stc specifically speaks about the importance of youth engagement through their child-centered approach saying “[this approach] puts children’s safe, meaningful, and equitable participation at the centre and enables us to examine how age discrimination intersects with gender inequality and other forms of oppression” (p. 10). it is important to note that although the majority of organizations recognize and state the importance of participatory methods or integration of community voice, participation was https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 36 relegated to their inclusion as participants in the research and not in active decision making of programming efforts. participation is an essential approach to challenge the way gender has been integrated into programming leading to our exploration of how other contemporary critical perspectives are integrated into this work. theme 3: incorporation of contemporary critical perspectives subthemes: intersectionality; masculinity; men & boys; and power incorporating critical perspectives is essential for the transformative changes needed to make a difference in gender dynamics in honduras. here we explored an organization’s expressed integration of feminist perspectives. only half of the organizations (7 of 14) articulated the need to adopt the critical perspective of intersectionality. aah gives the most in-depth definition: [intersectionality] describes the complex ways that different aspects of identity overlap and intersect with structures and systems of power and oppression. it recognizes that our identities are made up of multiple interrelated attributes (such as race, gender, ability, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, sexual identity, socio-economic status and a history of colonialism and dispossession)... [exposing] people to multiple forms of discrimination, disadvantage, cultural and structural oppression, and violence. (p. 17) the organizations that mention the need for this critical perspective, also mention how incorporating intersectionality can challenge power structures (wv), systems of oppression (stc), and injustices that create “deep rooted barriers to equality and justice…” (aah, p. 17). masculinity is another critical perspective mentioned in the data. half of the organizations (7 of 14) mentioned the need to engage men and boys, in addition to women and girls, into gender mainstreaming efforts. men and boys play key roles in ensuring that women and girls have access to the resources they need (lwr). they must be included to address gender inequality, leading to changes in societal norms and transformation of unequal power dynamics (aah, bmgf, plan, wfp). however, when it came to addressing the social construct of masculinity, only half of the organizations specifically mention men and masculinity. these organizations range in approach including focusing on raising men’s awareness of women’s roles (fao), changing men’s attitudes about and participation in household responsibilities (crs, fao), engaging men as allies (bmgf, crs, fao wfp), and working to fundamentally shift the performance of masculinity including men’s roles and responsibilities, power, social relationships, and structures (bmgf, crs, plan, stc). several organizations (5 of 14) state that masculinity and gendered norms of manhood can have significant effects in how societies treat and relate to women (crs, fao, plan). however, if gender-equitable masculinities could be adopted, it could “transform gender norms and unequal power dynamics” (crs, p. 8). aah went as far as to mention patriarchy as the root of inequality and leads to harmful perspectives “based on stereotypes … and underlies many kinds of gender-based discrimination that impact the way women and men engage in society” (p. 17). finally, the construct of power is mentioned by the majority of organizations (10 of 14) as related to either the empowerment of women or the aforementioned critical perspectives. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 37 women’s power was often associated with economic decision-making: “women and girls lack decision-making power relative to men (and boys) in several areas…from how to spend income earned by women or the family to what a family should produce, sell or buy” (crs, p. 5). fao states that “enhancing women’s control over resources is essential to ensure that they can reap the benefits of their work in agriculture and have more control over household resources” (p. 7). this focus on control or decision-making reduces a woman’s power to the role she plays in the household. bmgf brings a shift in focus “from seeing women and girls as beneficiaries to viewing them as active agents of change” (p. 9). acknowledging women’s important role in decision-making combined with the integration of masculinity, men and boys, and intersectionality, moves toward theoretical underpinnings for sustainable, transformative change. theme 4: transformation of structure and systems subthemes: transformation; [cultural] systems; and systems approaches this final theme incorporates perspectives geared to create structural and systemic change. the majority of organizations (9 of 14) recognize the need for gender transformation. wfp states: “a gender transformative approach focuses on transforming (e.g. changing) unequal gender relations by challenging deeply entrenched gender norms, biases and stereotypes in order to promote shared power, control of resources, decision-making and support for women’s empowerment” (p. 19). to create this type of change, organizations must work closely with all stakeholders across multiple dimensions. fao states: discriminatory sociocultural norms affect how policies and legal frameworks are formulated and implemented; who participates in decision-making processes and governance mechanisms; how rural institutions are managed; how service providers target their clients and prioritize their needs; and, ultimately, how resources are allocated and decisions are taken within households and communities. (p. 3) the influence of sociocultural norms on women’s empowerment calls for addressing the root causes of inequality: unequal power relations, discrimination, policies, and practices (lwr, stc, wfp, wv). crs demonstrates that to have fair and just structures and systems, we must create an enabling environment including laws and policies, culture and norms, and institutions that “respect and promote equality, freedom and the dignity of all people” (p. 5). some organizations recognize the need for a significant shift in their approaches. dfid claims they will “[take] an even more consistent and systematic approach…[tackling] the discrimination and barriers that prevent individuals from reaching their potential, and that further entrench gender inequalities” (p. 13). furthermore, organizations can use gender analyses to shed light on gender and intersectional realities and lay the groundwork to “address disparities, challenge systemic inequalities…and build efficient and equitable solutions” (ca, p. 2). all efforts will require broader perspectives and impact. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 38 despite the need for a broader perspective, systems approaches were only implicitly mentioned. a few organizations (3 of 14) described how programming for women and girls could have significant effects in many areas of their lives. for example, dfid stated: when [a girl] is not empowered to finish school or to get a job; to decide who to marry, who to have sex with and when, and how many children to have; and when she is not safe at home, in school, outside or at work, she cannot participate fully in society, or realise her potential.... evidence shows that combinations of interventions are needed to respond to these interlinked challenges. (p. 7) to achieve gender equality, more integrated and inclusive approaches aimed at changing the reality of marginalized groups on multiple levels are needed. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations gender transformation requires pushing the envelope in how we challenge systems for sustainable, impactful change. this includes the integration of critical perspectives, participatory engagement, and systems thinking. the evidence found in our content analysis suggests that greater efforts are needed to achieve a sustainable, gender-responsive food system. first, most organizations focus on economic empowerment at the household level as the primary domain, or area, of women’s empowerment, using decision-making as an indicator. although economic empowerment is important, the hyperfocus on this domain ignores the cultural context and local views of empowerment (cornwall & anyidoho, 2010; doss & meinzen-dick, 2015), potentially sidelining more holistic, culturally nuanced gender empowerment strategies. for example, the indigenous lenca of honduras, place a high value on collective action, decision-making, and leadership at the community level as a route to women’s empowerment (accerenzi & duke, 2023; fundación etea , 2023; niewoehner-green et al., 2019). however, gender norms around domestic roles, lack of self-esteem, mobility, and participation, remain as limitations to women’s leadership (niewoehner-green et al., 2019). a narrow economic perspective of empowerment undermines the capacity for transformative change, underscoring the need to address local understandings of empowerment, as well as the cultural, psychological, and social domains of empowerment (costa et al., 2023). additionally, we found the participatory approaches used by most organizations were extractive in nature rather than integrative and empowering. the organizations included women and girls’ voices in their data collection but then would not include them in codevelopment of programs and interventions. this extraction of women’s and girls’ voices flies in the face of the spirit and purpose of participatory approaches, resulting in colonial-minded and organizationally driven agendas embedded in gender interventions. furthermore, although many organizations discuss the importance of addressing structures and systems, their interventions use a top-down approach simply informed by participants rather than meaningful engagement throughout all project aspects. classen et al. (2008) demonstrates the potential of integrated participatory processes in honduras, finding that intentionally building capacity, promoting inclusiveness, building social capital, and taking a long-term approach with https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 39 communities both results in positive project outcomes and empowers participants. the intentionality and integration of meaningful participation throughout a project cycle can have significant transformative results for communities. another major gap area in the gender analyses was the lack of critical perspectives including intersectionality and masculinities. although all organizations recognize the need to understand both men and women’s gender norms, roles, and responsibilities, few organizations are working towards transformation. intersectionality encourages organizations to address multiple systems of oppression linked to a person’s various cultural and social identities rather than treating them as one-dimensional (crenshaw, 1989). without this perspective, organizations risk narrowly addressing the realities of gender dynamics. additionally, a growing body of evidence suggests that masculinities must be addressed as part of gender justice for women (bojin, 2013; das, 2014; de mel, et al., 2013; howland et al., 2021). this is particularly true in honduras, where masculinity can result in gender-based violence including backlash for economic empowerment initiatives (sanín, 2023; vonderlack-navarro, 2010) and control over women’s mobility, reproductive decisions, and assets (speizer et al., 2005). we must also acknowledge how masculinity affects men and reinforces gender norms, as demonstrated in the high levels of male-on-male violence in honduras (williams & castellanos, 2019). organizations working on gender in honduras continue to highlight the need to transform systems but only express this implicitly. for example, howland et al. (2021) critiqued gender mainstreaming approaches in honduran agriculture, finding gaps in transforming gender systems such as poor translation of policy from the international to national levels, lack of knowledge and capacity, lack of solutions addressing structural racism and machismo, and censorship of civil society. further, pastran (2017) found many of these systemic barriers negatively influenced women’s ability to fully participate in agricultural cooperatives. arguably, systems are difficult to shift within the life of a project cycle but organizations must do more than simply building capacity and providing financial support to address the systemic barriers. finally, our analysis shows that there have been advancements in organizational approaches to gender. several are addressing the major critiques of gender mainstreaming through their analysis approaches, including a few organizations who are integrating intersectionality and masculinities such as bmgf, crs, plan, and stc. similarly, some organizations are moving beyond the economic domain to address other important domains of women’s empowerment such as wfp and stc. these efforts must be scaled across organizations and expanded to focus on participatory approaches that empower women and communities throughout the life of a project to fundamentally address their needs. in addition, organizations should use systems approaches to understand the interconnections of factors that influence gender equality such as food systems activities, social and cultural practices and broader environmental and institutional influences. researchers also have the opportunity to further integrate critical perspectives, participatory methods, and systems thinking into their work in transforming agrifood systems. research with a gender lens must include women’s voices throughout the process more so than just as passive https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 rodriguez et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 40 participants in the research. this helps the community to feel ownership over the process and the data, enhancing the potential for the research to benefit the community. researchers must recognize the importance of understanding masculinity as a key component of gendered cultural systems, how masculinity influences men and women’s agency and participation, and how men and masculinity must be addressed as part of gender equity and women’s empowerment goals. finally, researchers must consider the intersectional nature of social systems and power dynamics that affect how women navigate systems of access and decision making. acknowledgements author contributions: m. t. rodriguez – idea generation, data analysis, writing, review and editing; r. j. williams – idea contribution, literature review, writing, editing; j. e. niewoehnergreen – methods design, data validation, writing, editing; s. morales – writing, review and editing. references accerenzi, m., & duke, k. 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(2005). qualitative analysis of content. university of texas. https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~yanz/content_analysis.pdf © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.355 https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109910364356 https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109910364356 https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109910364356 https://doi.org/10.1080/13552070701391847 https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2019.1672528 https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~yanz/content_analysis.pdf advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 1, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. t. grady roberts, university of florida, 220 rolfs hall, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611 groberts@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-78502. 2. amy harder, associate dean for extension, 1378 storrs rd., unit 4134, w.b. young building, room 233, storrs, ct 06269, amy.harder@uconn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-20283. 3. james r. lindner, auburn university, 5058 haley center, auburn, al 36849, jrl0039@auburn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-38464. 1 2024 state of the journal report t. g. roberts1, editor-in-chief; a. harder2, senior editor; j. lindner3, senior editor article history received: january 3, 2024 accepted: january 3, 2024 published: january 4, 2024 keywords annual report abstract this is the annual state of the journal report for advancements in agricultural development. this report: (a) highlights key accomplishments from 2023, (b) discusses changes beginning in 2024, (c) shares journal statistics from 2023, (d) presents goals for 2024, and (e) lists reviewers for the year. 2023 (volume 4) was a banner year for advancements in agricultural development (aad), with several milestones reached. first, we published our 100th article in august. second, aad was accepted for inclusion in agricola, the national library of the u.s. department of agriculture (https://www.nal.usda.gov/agricola). third, aad was also selected for inclusion in the cabells directory (https://cabells.com/), which will allow for generating journal analytics for citations and mentions. we also introduced a new style sheet for published articles, adding the submitted, accepted, and published dates for transparency. mailto:groberts@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-78502 mailto:amy.harder@uconn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-20283 mailto:jrl0039@auburn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-38464 https://www.nal.usda.gov/agricola https://cabells.com/ roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.463 2 introduction 2023 (volume 4) was a banner year for advancements in agricultural development (aad), with several milestones reached. first, we published our 100th article in august. second, aad was accepted for inclusion in agricola, the national library of the u.s. department of agriculture (https://www.nal.usda.gov/agricola). third, aad was also selected for inclusion in the cabells directory (https://cabells.com/), which will allow for generating journal analytics for citations and mentions. we also introduced a new style sheet for published articles, adding the submitted, accepted, and published dates for transparency. 2023 also marked some changes in our aad staff. first, dr. robert strong has left his position as a senior editor to focus his efforts on other scholarly pursuits. we wish to thank dr. strong for his contributions to aad. second, we welcomed dr. michael martin from iowa state university as an editor. dr. martin is working with our other editors to manage the review process for submitted articles. we also welcomed ms. jessie nichols from auburn university as an editorial assistant. the success of aad is directly attributed to the editorial team and reviewers, all of whom are volunteers. we especially wish to thank our reviewers from 2023, who are listed at the end of this report. symposium in october, aad partnered with the school of agriculture, policy and development at the university of reading in the united kingdom to host a symposium on advancing methods of agricultural development research and practice. over the two-day event, invited authors presented 10 papers outlining innovative approaches to both research and practice. attendees represented 13 universities/research institutes from five countries. the papers presented will appear in a forthcoming special issue of aad. discussions are underway to plan the next aad symposium in 2025. changes coming in 2024 aad is always looking to refine its policies and practices to better meet the needs of researchers and readers. to that end, we are making several changes that will go into effect in 2024. 1. we are now requiring authors to include one or more un sustainable development goals in their keywords to better connect research published in aad with the broader development community. 2. we have adopted the following policy in recognition of the potential impacts of artificial intelligence and will reevaluate as necessary as conditions change. aad only allows authors to use generative ai technologies to improve the writing quality and readability of submitted manuscripts. by submitting, you are acknowledging compliance with this policy. aad does not allow editors or reviewers to use ai technologies in the review of an article. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.463 https://www.nal.usda.gov/agricola https://cabells.com/ roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.463 3 3. we have adopted a data age policy given aad’s focus on rapid dissemination of research to inform practice. authors must also indicate when data were collected. given aad's focus on research which informs practice, we typically do not accept research with data over three years old. 4. we have changed our publication fee to $395 usd to account for increases in operating expenses. journal statistics for 2023 acceptance rate accept on initial submission: 1.7% accept after revisions: 44.8% overall acceptance rate: 46.5% editorial timeliness days to initial editorial decision: 25 days from accept to publication: 18 journal usage in 2023 (based on 109 published articles) abstract views: 29,098 file downloads: 16,238 total interactions: 45,336 most viewed article in 2023 easterly iii, r. g., humphrey, k., & roberts, t. g. (2021). the impacts of covid-19 on school-based agricultural education teachers in the u.s. advancements in agricultural development, 2(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 most downloaded article in 2023 narine, l., & harder, a. (2021). comparing the borich model with the ranked discrepancy model for competency assessment: a novel approach. advancements in agricultural development, 2(3), 96–111. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 most cited article from all years (based on total crossref citations) lindner, j., clemons, c., thoron, a., & lindner, n. (2020). remote instruction and distance education: a response to covid-19. advancements in agricultural development, 1(2), 53–64. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.39 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.463 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i1.79 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.39 roberts et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.463 4 looking ahead to 2024 we are continually looking for ways to improve the experience of researchers and readers. looking ahead to 2024, we will: 1. submit aad for inclusion in web of science. 2. submit aad for inclusion in scopus. 3. test social media and digital media approaches to help disseminate published articles to larger and broader audiences. reviewers in 2023 again, we wish to thank and acknowledge the valuable contributions of the reviewers listed below. they play a critical role in the research process. if you are not currently a reviewer for aad and wish to become one, please contact the editor-in-chief. sidiqat aderinoye-abdulwahab (university of ilorin, nigeria) amanda ali (utah state university, usa) lauri baker (university of florida, usa) debra barry (university of florida, usa) amy boren alpizar (texas tech university, usa) christopher boyer (university of tennessee-knoxville, usa) james bunch (university of florida, usa) sarah bush (university of florida, usa) sarah cardey (university of reading, united kingdom) ataharul chowdhury (university of guelph, canada) chris clemons (auburn university, usa) lauren cline (oklahoma state university, usa) blake colclasure (university of tennessee-knoxville, usa) bradley coleman (oklahoma state university, usa) nathan conner (university of nebraska-lincoln, usa) john diaz (university of florida, usa) joseph donaldson (north carolina state university, usa) allison dunn (texas a&m university, usa) r. g. (tre) easterly (university of florida, usa) craig edwards (oklahoma state university, usa) jeremy elliott-engel (university of hawaii-manoa, usa) nick fuhrman (university of georgia, usa) raphael gikunda (chuka university, kenya) monica gorman (university college dublin, ireland) jamie greig (university of tennessee-knoxville, usa) katherine hartmann (iowa state university, usa) carla jagger (university of florida, usa) jay jayaratne (north carolina state university, usa) marianne judd-murray (utah state university, usa) kathleen kelsey (university of florida, usa) james kinsella (university college dublin, ireland) rafael landaverde (texas a&m university, usa) sarah larose (purdue university, usa) david lawver (texas tech university, usa) james lindner (auburn university, usa) michael martin (iowa state university, usa) jason mckibben (auburn university, usa) aaron mckim (michigan state university, usa) sarahi morales (zamorano university, honduras) stephen mukembo (university of missouri, usa) lendel narine (utah state university, usa) summer odom (texas a&m university, usa) rosa raudales (university of connecticut, usa) matt raven (michigan state university, usa) nicole ray (fresno state university, usa) richie roberts (louisiana state university, usa) mary rodriguez (the ohio state university, usa) matthew sowcik (university of florida, usa) nicole stedman (university of florida, usa) christopher stripling (the university of tennessee, usa) jennifer strong (texas a&m university, usa) andrew thoron (abraham baldwin agricultural college, usa) © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i1.463 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 4, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. amy harder, associate dean for extension, university of connecticut, 1376 storrs rd., unit 4134, w.b. young building, room 233, storrs, ct 06269, amy.harder@uconn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-20283 2. lendel kade narine, extension associate professor, utah state university, old main hill logan, utah 84322, lendel.narine@usu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-2770 53 best practices in the application of the ranked discrepancy model a. harder1, l. k. narine2 article history received: october 18, 2024 accepted: november 4, 2024 published: november 6, 2024 keywords needs assessment; borich model; ranked discrepancy scores; sdg 4: quality education abstract in this brief article, we discuss the rationale for the ranked discrepancy model (rdm) and best practices. an overview of the history of the rdm and its appropriate usages is offered to create clarity for researchers. we then provide an explanation of the role of tied ranks in determining ranked discrepancy scores (rds), guidance on the interpretation of rds for planning, and recommendations for comparing the rdm with the borich model. a summary of prior research comparing the rdm to the borich model is included. we conclude by encouraging researchers to use needs assessment models appropriate for the problem, population, and context. mailto:amy.harder@uconn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7042-20283 mailto:lendel.narine@usu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-2770 harder and narine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.559 54 introduction in 2021, we introduced the ranked discrepancy model (rdm) as an alternative to borich’s (1980) model of needs assessment. we have been encouraged by the interest in the rdm and have welcomed feedback from researchers and practitioners around the world which has allowed us to revisit and strengthen the original concept to make it a more effective and efficient approach (narine & harder, 2024). a recent article from johnson et al. (2024) provided another chance to review our work and assess a critique of it. we appreciate the opportunity provided by advancements in agricultural development to respond and the willingness of johnson et al. to allow such a response. we offer the following discussion on the rationale for the rdm and best practices in its usage in the spirit of collegiality and a desire to promote the advancement of agriculture and extension education research methods. rationale for rdm development and appropriate usages the impetus for developing the rdm arose from the longstanding debate regarding the use of means for ordinally scaled items, a central component in the use of the borich model. rather than enter the fray, we advocated for the pursuit of a solution which could avoid the argument entirely “while preserving the underlying rationale of the borich model” (narine & harder, 2021, p. 97). the debate over using means for ordinal and interval variables will continue, so the rdm was presented as an alternative that moves away from the controversy. we initially presented the rdm as a novel approach to analyze professional development needs. like the borich model, the emphasis was on identifying which needs were most urgent by examining gaps between respondents’ perceptions of a competency’s importance and perceptions of their knowledge or ability. unlike the borich model, the rdm allows researchers to make these determinations by comparing positive ranks, tied ranks, and negative ranks within pairs of observations, a nonparametric approach to needs identification (for more details, see narine & harder, 2021). later, we provided detailed steps as to how to use the same underlying logic of the rdm to analyze needs assessments with repeated measures data (narine & harder, 2024). the rdm has been applied, peer reviewed, and published in the professional development literature several times (e.g., choi & park, 2022; flanagan et al., 2023; seitz et al., 2022; zickafoose et al., 2023). by 2024, we recognized and were forthcoming about a limitation of the rdm. the ranked discrepancy scores (rds) produced by the rdm are sensitive to the size of the sample, as we illustrated in narine and harder (2024) using three sample sizes of 1,000, 500, and 100 across two populations. as a result, we recommended and continue to recommend that “researchers should be aware of this consideration if they intend to use the rdm for analysis” (narine & harder, 2024, p. 115). we note increasing the sample size is always going to affect data distribution and subsequent results from that data regardless of the parametric or nonparametric procedures adopted in the study (serdar et al., 2021). to our knowledge, no research exists which has examined the validity or reliability of mean weighted discrepancy https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.559 harder and narine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.559 55 score (mwds) from the borich model across sample sizes, so caution should also be applied before assuming the mwds of a small sample are stable and representative of the target population. best practices in rdm application tied ranks as mentioned, the rdm relies upon the frequency with which positive ranks, tied ranks, and negative ranks occur within paired data for a single item, such as a competency. the use of ranks is common in nonparametric procedures such wilcoxon rank-sum and mann-whitney u (krzywinski & altman, 2014; nahm, 2016; schober & vetter, 2020). tied ranks are particularly important in the rdm because they represent equilibrium between two conditions, which is theoretically consistent with lewin (1939). in the rdm, tied ranks substantially influence the rds. when fewer negative or positive ranks are observed within pairs, and more tied ranks exist, the rds moves closer to zero (or equilibrium) because of tied ranks. note that assigning a score of zero does not cause tied ranks to be ignored. their existence decreases the available percentages which can be assigned to positive or negative ranks when the rank counts are converted for the calculation of the rds (narine & harder, 2021). interpreting the rds for planning johnson et al. (2024) rightly expressed concerns about investing organizational resources wisely and the need for clear data to drive those decisions. we agree. we offer these recommendations for interpreting rds: 1. any negative rds indicates there is a negative discrepancy between the two variables (or conditions) being measured, meaning the situation is below a desired state of equilibrium. 2. rds represent higher priorities for intervention as they trend towards -100. a negative score represents a deficit in an ideal condition. 3. the rds should be used to determine what (if any) resources should be applied to addressing a gap. 4. relative rankings (e.g., 1st, tied for 3rd, 16th) should not be exclusively relied upon when interpreting rds. the use of relative rankings neglects the actual magnitude of the need based on contextual factors and only provides an ordinal interpretation as one source of evidence. two items with remarkably similar scores may be many rankings apart when there is limited variation in the results across the group, which could lead to errors in interpretation. 5. examining the distribution of positive ranks, tied ranks, and negative ranks can provide additional insight for decision-making when items share the same rds. while this feature is not built into the formulas provided in the spreadsheet linked to in the appendix in narine and harder (2024), using the countif option in excel allows such exploration. 6. use good judgment. this is a practical solution which requires the individuals conducting needs assessments to themselves have a sufficient level of professional competency to interpret the results. in the absence of that, an alternative could be to triangulate the results with qualitative methods. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.559 harder and narine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.559 56 comparing rds to mwds researchers may wish to continue their exploration of rdm and how it performs when compared to the borich model. we recommend a standard procedure for doing so to ensure transparency in such analyses. first, researchers should include frequency tables in their findings as a precursor to calculating mwds or rds, so that readers can better understand the data distribution and how that led to the reported mwds or rds. second, we encourage researchers to use z-scores when examining relationships between mwds and rds as they do not share the same properties. standardization is recommended to reduce error when comparing raw scores with different ranges (hopkins & rowlands, 2024). what others are saying to our knowledge, the rdm has been examined twice in comparison to the borich model in addition to johnson et al. (2024). the first and most comprehensive examination was published in 2023 by choi and park. they assessed the needs of 75 school guidance teachers in south korea using four analysis methods: (a) descriptive statistics, (b) the rdm, (c) the weighted total index (wti), and (d) the borich model. following analysis, choi and park (2023) noted the priorities identified through the rdm and wti approaches had few differences and concluded: “this indicates that the rdm has achieved concurrent validity, as the rdm results were almost the same as those from the wti, which has already been tested and validated” (p. 11). further, they found similarities between the rdm and borich results, recommending: “it might be more appropriate to adopt the rdm as an alternative quantitative method for needs assessment relative to the borich model in cases involving ordinal items, cross-sectional data, or nonnormally distributed data” (choi & park, 2023, p. 12). another comparison of rdm and the borich model was presented by eze and siegmund (2024) in their study of the competency gaps of 141 unesco site actors. they did not explicitly seek to test the relationships between rds and mwds but presented both in their findings and noted the tendency for the two scores to provide similar results for the highest priority needs. some variation existed when comparing relative rankings for the less pressing needs. eze and siegmund (2024) noted “expanding the sample sizes in future research facilitates more rigorous and robust statistical analyses, increased reliability of outcomes, higher accuracy in findings and generalizability” (p. 7). conclusions regardless of the model selected to analyze needs, researchers must be cognizant of its limitations and do their best to mitigate those limitations through informed methodological decisions. we encourage researchers to use needs assessment models appropriate for the problem, population, and context. we appreciate the contributions of johnson et al. (2024) in advancing the discussion about how best to identify professional development needs given the importance of this task to advancing agricultural development and look forward to continuing to refine the rdm as an option to serve the needs of our discipline (and beyond). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.559 harder and narine advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.559 57 acknowledgments author contributions: a. harder – conceptualization, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing; l. narine – conceptualization, writing – review & editing references choi, h., & park, j. 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(2021). sample size, power and effect size revisited: simplified and practical approaches in pre-clinical, clinical and laboratory studies. biochemia medica, 31(1), 010502. https://doi.org/10.11613/bm.2021.010502 zickafoose, a., wingenbach, g., baker, m., & price, e., (2023). developing youth agricultural entrepreneurship in latin america and the caribbean. sustainability, 15(22), 15983. https://doi.org/10.3390/su1522115983 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.559 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i3.169 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.321 https://doi.org/10.1213/ane.0000000000005101 https://doi.org/10.3390/land11112075 https://doi.org/10.11613/bm.2021.010502 https://doi.org/10.3390/su1522115983 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 4, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. k. s. u. jayaratne, professor and state leader for extension evaluation, department of agricultural and human sciences, north carolina state university, 240 ricks hall, campus box 7607, raleigh, nc 27695, usa, jay_jayaratne@ncsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 2. anil kumar chaudhary, associate professor, department of agricultural economics, sociology, and education, pennsylvania state university, university park, pa, 16802, usa. auk259@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5809-8854 3. john m. diaz, associate professor and extension specialist, department of agricultural education and communication, university of florida, plant city, fl 33563, usa, john.diaz@ufl.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-8759 64 knowledge testing options in pre-test post-test evaluation design: implications for extension program evaluation k. s. u. jayaratne1, a. kumar chaudhary2, j. m. diaz3 article history received: august 15, 2025 accepted: october 28, 2025 published: november 17, 2025 keywords knowledge testing; objective knowledge test; subjective knowledge test; retrospective pre-test; extension evaluation; sdg 3: good health and well-being abstract knowledge gained is an important outcome indicator used in the evaluation of extension education programs. three evaluation designs commonly used to document extension program participants’ knowledge change are: (a) objective knowledge pre-test, post-test design, (b) subjective knowledge pre-test, post-test design, and (c) subjective knowledge retrospective pre-test, post-test design. this study was designed to examine the relationship between measuring variables of objective knowledge pre-test, post-test, and subjective knowledge pretest, post-test designs, and to examine the validity of subjective knowledge pre-test and post-test designs in assessing the knowledge gained by the cook smart eat smart extension participants. the researchers developed the survey instrument to document objective knowledge and subjective knowledge. the survey was administered before and after completing the training. the study received 71 responses. paired sample t-test and correlation analysis were used to achieve research objectives. the findings indicate that all three designs are effective in documenting the changes in participants’ knowledge. findings also verified the accuracy and validity of the subjective knowledge retrospective pre-test and post-test design. the evaluation of extension programs is strengthened by evidence demonstrating the validity of both objective and subjective measures for assessing knowledge gain, a key outcome indicator in extension education. mailto:jay_jayaratne@ncsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5591-3905 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5591-3905 mailto:auk259@psu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5809-8854 mailto:john.diaz@ufl.edu http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-8759 jayaratne et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 65 introduction and problem statement documenting knowledge change is central to evaluating extension programs because learning often influences behavior and long-term outcomes (bennett, 1975). extension professionals, therefore, must consider how to best measure knowledge improvement when assessing program effectiveness (diaz et al., 2021). objective pre-test and post-test designs are often considered the most rigorous approach. objective knowledge reflects what participants actually know, measured through factual tests (brucks, 1985). capturing changes between two points provides strong evidence of learning (ary et al., 2006; o’leary & israel, 2019). however, these instruments require considerable time to develop and administer. in shorter programs, testing may also reduce instructional time and create participant fatigue, especially when surveys are lengthy. to address these challenges, many extension professionals employ subjective pre-test and post-test measures, which assess what participants believe they know (brucks, 1985). findings regarding how subjective and objective knowledge align are inconsistent. several studies report moderate to strong positive correlations (brucks, 1985; raju et al., 1995), while others report weak or no correlation (carlson et al., 2009; ellen, 1994; farrell et al., 2010). this inconsistency raises concerns about validity (joshi et al., 2024). the lack of consensus creates a problem for extension evaluation: subjective measures are practical but may not accurately reflect actual knowledge change. this uncertainty limits professionals’ ability to select designs that balance feasibility with validity. in response to this gap, the current investigation evaluates the effectiveness of subjective pre-test and post-test designs relative to objective testing for measuring knowledge gains in the cook smart, eat smart extension program. conceptual framework with knowledge as a construct defined as “the information stored within memory” (engel et al., 1993, p. 281), the subjective knowledge assessments are designed to record training participants’ perceived knowledge about the subject (spreng & olshavsky, 1990). the subjective knowledge testing instruments are designed with some statements related to the testing of knowledge and recording participants’ level of responses on a likert scale. this design requires developing a knowledge baseline through the administration of a pre-test at the beginning of the training and a post-test at the end of the training to assess knowledge gains, which creates an additional onus of time on participants to complete the evaluation. therefore, this design may be time-intensive and not suitable for the assessment of short training programs. another limitation of this subjective pre-test and post-test design is its possible measurement errors due to response-shift bias of participants (chasteen & chattergoon, 2019; moore & tananis, 2009; thomas et al., 2018). a response-shift bias occurs when individuals inaccurately rate their own knowledge on a pre-test because they lack sufficient understanding of the subject to provide an https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 jayaratne et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 66 informed assessment (nielsen, 2011). this is a serious issue when extension agents deliver programs on unfamiliar topics because participants often lack the necessary context to accurately gauge their prior knowledge, which can lead them to rate their perceived knowledge as high at the outset before being exposed to the content. after completing the training, they realized that they knew only a little about the subject and rated relatively low on the post-test. this shifting of response bias may fail to capture changes in knowledge that occur between pretest and post-test assessments. it is a problem with the design due to the shifting response bias of participants (chasteen & chattergoon, 2019; nielsen, 2011). extension professionals use the subjective knowledge retrospective pre-test and post-test design as an alternative to overcome the above-discussed response-shift bias of subjective knowledge testing pre-test and post-test design. retrospective pre-test post-test design, also known as the then-test design, provides the same frame of reference to measuring variables and controls the response shifting bias (drennan & hyde, 2008; nielsen, 2011; taminiau-bloem et al., 2015). providing the same frame of reference is a requirement to consider that pre-test and post-test comparisons are valid (howard, 1980). additionally, retrospective pre-test and post-test evaluation design is more sensitive to changes in respondents than traditional pre-test and post-test evaluations (skeff et al., 1992). the retrospective subjective pre-test/post-test design is becoming an increasingly popular option for evaluating extension programs, particularly because it only requires administration once at the end of the training. this approach is considered more accurate for capturing self-reported knowledge gains, as participants can reflect on both their baseline knowledge and what they learned after completing the program. researchers have recommended this method for assessing short-term training programs, as it avoids the need for pre-program administration and preserves more time for instruction (nielsen, 2011). retrospective pre-test documents self-reported data, leading to generate an estimated evaluation report (pratt et al., 2000), which is different from an actual (objective) knowledge test report. the available literature (chasteen & chattergoon, 2019; taminiau-bloem et al., 2015; thomas et al., 2018) is inconsistent in the validity of these subjective knowledge pre-test and post-test designs compared to the objective knowledge pre-test and post-test design. this study aims to test the validity of the subjective knowledge pre-test and post-test design, and the subjective knowledge retrospective pre-test and post-test design compared to the objective knowledge pre-test and post-test design. figure 1 provides the conceptual frame of comparing three designs of knowledge testing, i.e., 1) objective knowledge pre-test post-test design, 2) subjective knowledge pre-test post-test design, and 3) subjective knowledge retrospective pretest post-test design. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 jayaratne et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 67 figure 1 comparison of the effectiveness of three designs of evaluations for assessing participants’ knowledge gained purpose the present research aimed to compare the validity of three knowledge testing evaluation designs in the context of the cook smart, eat smart extension program. by examining the strengths and limitations of each design, this study provides insights that can guide practitioners in selecting evaluation approaches that balance rigor with feasibility in program settings. more precisely, this research sought to address these objectives: 1. to compare the validity of the objective knowledge pre-test and post-test design, the subjective knowledge pre-test and post-test design, and the subjective retrospective pretest and post-test design in evaluating knowledge gains as a result of the cook smart eat smart extension program. 2. to determine the correlation between objective knowledge measurements and subjective knowledge measurements at pre-tests, post-tests, and retrospective pre-tests. 3. determine the correlation between objective knowledge gained, subjective knowledge gained, and the retrospectively assessed subjective knowledge gained of cook smart eat smart participants. objective pretest objective posttest 3. subjective (retrospective pretest) testing of knowledge gained 2. subjective testing of knowledge gained 1. objective testing of knowledge gained subjective (retrospective) pretest subjective posttest subjective posttest subjective pretest controlled response shift bias correlation correlation correlation correlation response shifting bias https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 jayaratne et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 68 4. to assess the relative accuracy of the subjective (perceived) pre-test and post-test knowledge assessment design and the retrospective pre-test and post-test design in evaluating an extension program. methods this evaluation study was conducted using the cook smart, eat smart extension program. three family and consumer sciences (fcs) county extension agents were selected based on recommendations from the state fcs program leader. each of the selected agents had prior experience delivering the cook smart, eat smart curriculum. this multi-session program is designed to help participants build practical cooking knowledge and skills that can be applied at home. the first author reached out to the agents in north carolina state to explain the purpose of the study, outline the key data collection points, and emphasize the importance of collecting complete and accurate data. researchers developed the required evaluation instruments by reviewing the cook smart eat smart curriculum and relevant literature to collect research data. the preand post-survey instruments were pilot tested with a similar group of training participants to establish face validity. a panel of extension and evaluation experts reviewed the instrument and established content validity. the data collection instruments included the pre-test instrument and the posttest instrument. the pre-test instrument included two components: a 25-item objective knowledge test using true/false/don’t know questions based on the curriculum, and a 15-item subjective knowledge assessment using a 5-point likert scale. the likert scale ranged from 1 = very low to 5 = very high knowledge. the post-test survey consisted of three sections: an objective knowledge testing post-test, a subjective knowledge testing post-test, and a subjective knowledge testing retrospective pre-test and post-test. these are the same questions used in the subjective knowledge testing pre-test and the post-test. the score on the objective knowledge testing 25-factual-question tests can range from 0 = very low to 25 = very high. the subjective knowledge testing score recording on the 15-item scale can range from 15 = very low to 75 = very high. cronbach’s reliability alpha of the subjective knowledge testing scale was .91. the three selected extension agents were responsible for scheduling, advertising, and recruiting participants for the program. one agent conducted two training programs, enrolling 16 participants in one and 18 in the other, for a total of 34 individuals. the other two agents recruited 16 and 21 participants, respectively, for their programs. each agent delivered the cook smart, eat smart curriculum across multiple sessions. the consent form and the pre-test were given at the beginning of the training program, and the post-test was administered at the end of the training. the study received 71 responses. data were analyzed using ibm spss 26®. we used paired sample t-test analysis and the pearson product-moment correlation coefficient to accomplish objectives. we used meghanathan’s (2016) classification of correlation coefficients to describe our findings (see table 1). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 jayaratne et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 69 table 1 range of correlation coefficient values and the corresponding descriptors range of correlation coefficient values description +/.80 1.00 very strong .60 .79 strong .40 .59 moderate .20 .39 weak .19 very weak findings findings are structured according to four primary objectives. objective 1: the comparison of the validity of three designs in evaluating the change in knowledge of cook smart eat smart participants paired-samples t tests were conducted to analyze data related to the first research objective. the paired-samples t-test findings in table 2 indicate that the objective knowledge pre-test and post-test design, the subjective knowledge pre-test and post-test design, and the subjective knowledge test with retrospective pre-test and subjective knowledge post-test design are effective evaluation designs for measuring knowledge change (i.e., gain) among the cook smart, eat smart program participants. all three evaluation designs recorded a significant knowledge gain by participants from pre-test to post-test. participants’ knowledge gain was highly visible in the subjective knowledge retrospective pre-test and post-test design compared to the other two designs (see table 2). the mean value of the subjective knowledge pre-test (45.1) was higher than the mean value of the subjective knowledge retrospective pre-test (43.4). this may be due to response shift bias (chasteen & chattergoon, 2019; moore & tananis, 2009; thomas et al., 2018) in the subjective knowledge pre-test. table 2 the comparison of objective and subjective assessment of knowledge before and after completing the training n m t p type of knowledge testing design pre-test post-test objective knowledge pre-test and post-test 69 16.1 18.9 6.03 .001** subjective knowledge pre-test and post-test 58 45.1 59.0 7.86 .001** subjective knowledge test with retrospective pre-test and subjective post-test 52 43.4 59.0 11.34 .001** note. p**<.001 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 jayaratne et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 70 objective 2: the correlation between knowledge test scores of three designs a moderate positive correlation was found between the objective pre-test and post-test scores, r = .43, p < .05 (see table 3). in contrast, the correlation between subjective and objective pretest scores was not significant, suggesting that the subjective pre-test did not reliably reflect participants’ actual baseline knowledge. a weak but significant positive correlation was observed between subjective and objective post-test scores, r(n-2) = .32, p < .05. table 3 pearson’s correlation between objective assessment and subjective assessment of knowledge testing scores variable n m sd 1 2 3 4 5 objective knowledge pre-test score 71 15.9 4.13 objective knowledge post-test score 69 18.9 2.91 .43** subjective knowledge pre-test score 62 45.2 11.0 .12 .02 subjective knowledge post-test score 63 59.1 8.55 .43** .32* .119 subjective knowledge retrospective pre-test score 58 43.7 9.20 .40** .26* .45** .41** note. p*<.05, p**<.001 a significant moderate positive correlation was found between the retrospective subjective pre-test score and the objective pre-test score, r(n – 2) = .40, p < .001. the retrospective subjective pre-test score was also weakly but positively correlated with the objective post-test score, r(n – 2) = .26, p < .05. in addition, moderate positive correlations emerged between the retrospective subjective pre-test score and the subjective pre-test score, r(n – 2) = .45, p < .001, as well as between the retrospective subjective pre-test score and the subjective post-test score, r(n – 2) = .41, p < .001. objective 3: the correlation between participants’ knowledge gains in three evaluation designs knowledge gain was calculated by subtracting pre-test scores from post-test scores for each evaluation design. this produced gain scores for the objective pre-test–post-test, the subjective pre-test–post-test, and the retrospective subjective pre-test–post-test designs. correlation analyses were then conducted to examine the relationships among these three gain measures (see table 4). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 jayaratne et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 71 table 4 pearson correlations of objective and subjective knowledge measures variable n m sd 1 2 3 objective knowledge change between pretest and post-test 69 2.8 3.87 subjective knowledge change between post-test and pre-test 58 13.8 13.46 .04 subjective knowledge change between the retrospective pre-test and the post-test 52 15.5 9.88 .04 .59** note. p**<.001 table 4 shows that objective knowledge change was not significantly correlated with subjective knowledge change, including knowledge gains measured through the retrospective pre-test– post-test design. however, moderate positive correlations were observed among subjective knowledge gains across the traditional pre-test–post-test and retrospective pre-test–post-test measures. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study examined the validity of three evaluation designs—objective pre-test/post-test, subjective pre-test/post-test, and subjective retrospective pre-test/post-test—in measuring change in knowledge among participants in the cook smart, eat smart extension program. the findings confirm that all three designs were effective in documenting statistically significant knowledge gains, but their accuracy, practicality, and alignment with one another varied. the objective knowledge pre-test/post-test design, often considered the most rigorous method for evaluating learning outcomes, directly measured factual knowledge using a set of 25 true/false questions with a “don’t know” option to reduce guessing error. this approach clearly demonstrated significant improvement in knowledge. however, its practical limitations, including the time required to develop the instrument, administer preand post-tests, and engage participants, make it less feasible for short programs or time-constrained settings. participants’ reluctance to complete lengthy objective assessments is another drawback that may impact data quality and response rates. the subjective knowledge pre-test/post-test design also showed significant increases in perceived knowledge. however, its accuracy is questionable. the absence of a significant correlation between subjective and objective pre-test scores raises concerns about participants’ ability to accurately assess their baseline knowledge before exposure to the content. this misalignment is likely due to response shift bias, where participants overestimate their knowledge at the outset because they are unaware of what they do not yet know (chasteen & chattergoon, 2019; moore & tananis, 2009; thomas et al., 2018). although there was a weak but statistically significant correlation between subjective and objective post-test scores, the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 jayaratne et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 72 inconsistency between preand post-test measures undermines the credibility of this design when used alone. in contrast, the subjective retrospective pre-test/post-test design not only recorded significant knowledge gains but also demonstrated more consistent alignment with objective knowledge measures. a moderate positive correlation was observed between the retrospective pre-test and objective pre-test scores (.40), and a weak correlation between the objective post-test and subjective post-test scores (.32), indicating participants' pre and post-program reflections were reasonably accurate compared to their actual prior knowledge and perceptions. similarly, the moderate correlation between the retrospective pre-test and the subjective post-test (.41) further supports the internal consistency of this design. although the correlation between subjective post-test and objective post-test scores was weak (.32), it still suggests some alignment between perceived and actual knowledge after the program. these results provide strong support for the retrospective design as a practical and valid alternative, especially in settings where administering traditional pre-tests is not practical. the design effectively avoids the response shift bias common in standard subjective pre-test/posttest option (drennan & hyde, 2008; nielsen, 2011; taminiau-bloem et al., 2015) and is easier to develop and administer. its weak to moderate alignment with objective measures strengthens its credibility as a practical design in extension program evaluation. importantly, the analysis revealed no significant correlation between objective knowledge change and either form of subjective knowledge change. this disconnect reinforces concerns about the credibility of self-reported data in capturing actual learning gains. participants may misjudge the extent of their improvement, either underestimating or overestimating their learning. despite this, the moderate correlation between changes recorded by the subjective pre-test/post-test and retrospective pre-test/post-test designs suggests consistency in participants' perceptions of knowledge gain across both methods. taken together, these findings suggest that while objective evaluations remain the gold standard in terms of accuracy, the subjective knowledge retrospective pre-test and post-test design offers a highly practical and sufficiently credible alternative. when time, resources, or participant burden limit the use of objective methods, the retrospective design can provide meaningful insights into program effectiveness. it is especially well-suited for short-duration or introductory programs where participants lack the baseline knowledge needed to accurately assess themselves at the outset. recommendations and implications when conditions allow, the objective pre-test/post-test design should be used for its accuracy in capturing factual knowledge gain. however, in programs with time constraints or limited participant engagement, the retrospective pre-test/post-test design offers a more practical and credible alternative. the traditional subjective pre-test/post-test design may be used cautiously, keeping in mind the potential for response shift bias (chasteen & chattergoon, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 jayaratne et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 73 2019; moore & tananis, 2009; thomas et al., 2018) and the challenges participants face in evaluating their knowledge before exposure to new content. the most significant implication of this study is that it affirms the validity and practicality of the subjective knowledge retrospective pre-test and post-test design as an effective evaluation tool for extension programs. this design strikes a balance between accuracy and feasibility and can improve the consistency and credibility of evaluation results across various program formats and audiences. limitations and future research the research was conducted with a relatively small sample of participants from a single extension program in one state, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other programming contexts. future research should replicate this study across multiple program areas, such as agriculture and 4-h, and in different states or regions to assess the broader applicability of these evaluation designs. additional work is also needed to explore how factors such as audience characteristics, program duration, and content complexity influence the alignment between perceived and actual knowledge gains. acknowledgments funding information: the second author secured funding for this research from pennsylvania state university’s penn state extension through its multistate and integrated program grants. conflict of interest: there are no conflicts of interests. previous dissemination: any portion of this article or research was not previously included in a thesis, dissertation, conference paper, and/or abstract. artificial intelligence: artificial intelligence tools were not used in this study. author contribution statement: k. s. u. jayaratne – contributed to conceptualization of the study, methodology, instrumentation, investigation, analysis of data, writing original draft, and review editing; a. k. chaudhary – contributed to funding acquisition, 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(2018). comparing traditional versus retrospective pre-/post-assessment in an interdisciplinary leadership training program. maternal and child health journal 23, 191–200. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-2615-x © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.659 https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214009334506 https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.49.01.04 https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-wc135-2013 https://doi.org/10.1177/109821400002100305 https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327663jcp0402_04 https://doi.org/10.1177/016327879201500307 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-015-1175-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-2615-x advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 2, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. diana giraldo mendez, phd, university of reading, school of agriculture, policy and development, united kingdom and international center for tropical agriculture (ciat), cali, colombia, d.giraldo@cgiar.org, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9200-3916 2. graham clarkson, phd, university of reading, school of agriculture, policy and development, united kingdom, g.clarkson@reading.ac.uk. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4342-4773 3. peter dorward, phd, university of reading, school of agriculture, policy and development, united kingdom, p.t.dorward@reading.ac.uk, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2831-3693 4. diego obando, msc, international center for tropical agriculture (ciat), tegucigalpa, honduras, d.obando@cgiar.org, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5159-7391 6 first experiences with participatory climate services for farmers in central america: a case study in honduras diana giraldo1, graham clarkson2, peter dorward3, diego obando4 article history received: june 13, 2023 accepted: july 31, 2023 published: january 31, 2024 keywords small-scale farmers; decision-making; climate forecast; dry corridor; picsa abstract while climate services for small-scale farmers are gaining recognition for contributing to adaptation and resilience to climate variability and change, their provision in developing countries remains a critical challenge. effective climate services consider why and how farmers of varied socioeconomic background make relevant decisions avoiding the traditional prescriptive forms of transfer that merely focus on delivering climate information. evidence from sub-saharan africa shows that climate services for agriculture generates transformations in how farmers access and use climate information, as well as changes in farmer decision-making. in this paper, we address the question of whether the same effect is also seen in latin america, where farming systems, farming decisions, socioeconomic contexts and non-climate constraints are very different to those of africa. a group of 209 farmers in the dry corridor in honduras was studied. we find that 98% of the trained farmers did uptake and use the climate information, and some 73% expressed that the agroclimatic information was key to the success of their harvest despite the challenging 2019 season. some 43% of the farmers made changes in farming practices. in particular, farmers changed the crop they grew, the crop and land management, the planting dates, inputs and crop varieties. these changes reportedly had positive effects on their food security, and income. these findings support the hypothesis that participatory integrated climate services for agriculture (picsa) plays a positive role in providing effective climate services in central america, improving decision-making, and enabling farmers to make their own decisions based on the analysis of information and their demands regardless of their level of literacy. we pose that participatory climate services in agriculture can catalyse processes of long-term transformation in farming systems, notably through lifting farmers out of poverty and food insecurity and providing an integrated approach to make informed decisions in the face of climatic variation. mailto:d.giraldo@cgiar.org https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9200-3916 mailto:g.clarkson@reading.ac.uk https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4342-4773 mailto:p.t.dorward@reading.ac.uk https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2831-3693 mailto:d.obando@cgiar.org https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5159-7391 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 7 introduction farmers must be considered as active recipients of weather and climate information, products, or derived services. they express needs, discuss and share ideas with their family and peers, and then use or apply such services in their decision-making on their farms. they also provide feedback on the usefulness of services within their environmental and social contexts. climate services in the agriculture sector are gaining recognition due to the need to support communities’ adaptation planning for, and resilience to, the adverse impacts of climate conditions (fao, 2021). across latin america, as a region with substantial exposure and vulnerability to climate variability and extremes, there is a solid commitment (through policies, development and research projects) to developing and providing climate services (vaughan et al., 2019). despite progress, many climate services implementations lack or have limited consideration of user capacities, decision-making dynamics and constraints, as well as of the existing networks of cooperation and information flow within and between farmer communities (born et al., 2021; kolstad et al., 2019). furthermore, climate services must “fit” the information needs of farmers, enable the use of shared knowledge, and build on existing institutional arrangements. with these considerations in mind, effective climate services for agriculture therefore allow farmers to make decisions that improve their resilience to climate variability and change while considering the complexity of the socioeconomic context and heterogeneous household dynamics. a challenge is that the main goal of climate services is considered by many providers to be the delivery of higher-quality data (e.g., information and products) rather than to provide an integrated process for improved decision-making (findlater et al., 2021; lourenço et al., 2015), involving and encouraging farmers to make their own decisions based on the analysis of information and their demands. addressing this challenge requires climate services to emphasise which decision-making processes demand what information or why farmers need it and the factors influencing these decisions at the ground level (singh et al., 2016). participatory integrated climate services for agriculture (picsa) is an agricultural extension and climate services approach that supports farmers in making plans and decisions tailored to each farmer’s own “context” in their production systems (dorward et al., 2015). it highlights the importance of prior knowledge, trust building, innovative learning spaces for collaboration, opportunities for networking, and active participation for experimentation and reflection regardless of their level of literacy. picsa is implemented by facilitators (e.g., extension officers, nongovernmental organisation field staff, community volunteers, and researchers) through a series of meetings with groups of farmers that integrate a set of structured information and participatory tools, as described by dorward et al. (2015) and summarized in figure 1. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 8 figure 1 flow chart of the picsa process (adapted from clarkson et al., 2022) most picsa implementations have been carried out in africa (e.g., clarkson et al., 2019; dayamba et al., 2018). rwanda was the first country to demonstrate the feasibility of scaling up the delivery of rural climate services through a participatory process of picsa at the national level (grossi & dinku, 2022). in this paper, we document one of the first experiences with picsa in latin america—the dry corridor of honduras. various studies have provided evidence of the potential of weather and climate information to support farmers’ decision-making in honduras. examples include the use of climate information for identifying the factors and strategies that households use to cope with seasonal food insecurity (alpízar et al., 2020), and the identification of climate smart agriculture projects about farm technologies/practices together with incentives to make changes (bonilla findji et al., 2016). however, these projects took a “one-size-fits-all” approach which is unlikely to benefit all farmers because decision-making processes are complex and involve a series of factors including (a) the type of decision required; (b) the relevant information available; (c) the type of farmers; and (d) the timescale for making the decision (singh et al., 2016; stringer et al., 2020). using the dry corridor of honduras as a case study, this research seeks to address the question of whether participatory climate services, as established through picsa, have positive effects on farmer decisions and therefore benefit farmers. to answer this question, we evaluate (a) whether farmers found the approach useful in their planning and decision-making (why and how decisions are made and by whom); (b) how those decisions affected households (their food security or income), and (c) limitations and opportunities for picsa in central america (for effective and practical implementation at large scale). addressing this question is crucial in advancing farmer climate risk management and adaptation in honduras and more broadly in latin america because it counters the traditional top-down and information/technologytransfer approaches that limit farmers’ participation that currently prevail in these contexts. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 9 methods study area to explore the effects of picsa on small-scale farmers in a rainfed context, this study was conducted in the villages of hato viejo, la anona, baldoquin, and santa isabel (13°17ʹn 87°2ʹw, average 712 m above sea level) in the choluteca department and los naranjos, buenos aires, cataulaca, zarzal, la ceibita, and brisas de azacualpa (14°19ʹn 88°11ʹw, average 1224 m above sea level) in the intibucá department of honduras. figure 2 presents the bimodal rainfall distribution in the two departments, which coincides with the two main growing seasons— primera (may–july) and postrera (august–october). figure 2 study area in honduras and the bimodal rainfall distribution note. map of honduras showing picsa sites (red triangles) and monthly box plots of rainfall for the 1981–2018 period for (a) la esperanza station in intibucá and (b) san marcos de colon station in choluteca. the dry season extends from november to april and the rainy season extends from the middle of may to october, altered by the midsummer drought, locally known as the canícula; specifically, a decrease in rainfall occurs between early july and late august, which significantly influences planting dates and crop yields (magaña et al., 1999). the climate of the choluteca is characteristic of the pacific coast of central america, with an annual average rainfall of 1,100 mm and average temperature of 27 ºc (minimum = 23 ºc, maximum = 34 ºc). by contrast, intibucá receives an annual average rainfall of 1,400 mm and has an average temperature of 20 ºc (minimum = 13 ºc, maximum = 24 ºc). according to duron et al. (2021) and paz delgado (2016), prolonged droughts, high temperatures, and heavy rainfall are the climatic threats most reported by the inhabitants of intibucá and choluteca. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 10 picsa field implementation in choluteca, picsa was performed with 92 small-scale farmers (40% men, 60% women) from march to may 2019 before the primera season, and in intibucá it was performed with 117 small-scale farmers (29% men, 71% women) from july to september 2019 before the postrera season. picsa was implemented with a total of 209 farmers in the two departments. four meetings were carried out in each village to complete the picsa process with a clear, logical flow (figure 1). each meeting had a duration of three to four hours. the first meeting focused on step (a), where the farmers individually or with their families drew a map of their resources (e.g., crops, livestock, and water sources) and how they allocated them to their farm using a resource allocation map (ram) tool. in addition, the farmers drew a “dream farm,” which contained the objectives, goals, and plans that each farmer had for their farm over next few years; the consensus was for basic grains over two to three years and coffee over four to five years in the planning. another activity in step (a) aimed to capture farmers’ perceptions and local knowledge of the climate in each month. using this, farmers then identified the specific activities performed on their main crops and how these have been affected by the weather and climate using an agroclimatic calendar tool. the second meeting focused on steps (b) and (c). to ensure that the farmers understood how the historical climate information is collected at the meteorological stations, a demonstration was conducted to measure a millimetre of water and how to build the average climatology graphs. then, the farmers analysed the historical climate records and compared them with their perceptions, which were reflected in their agroclimatic calendar through a participatory discussion. the aim of this activity was to build farmers’ confidence in the information collected from meteorological stations to enable them to use it in their decision-making processes. once the farmers understood historical graphs to reinforce their perceptions regarding how climate is changing—awareness of climatic events and trends (dorward et al., 2019; osbahr et al., 2011), probabilities for specific climate events (dry or wet years) were calculated to understand the likelihood of such events occurring in their area. the third meeting focused on step (d) using an options matrix tool. specifically, farmers created a matrix of crop and livestock practices by time to identify options for their own individual context that could help them to achieve their “dream farm” and to respond to the climate challenges identified in the agroclimatic calendar. once the matrices were completed, a group discussion was held involving questions such as who participates in the implementation of the practice; the potential benefits of the practice; and risks and disadvantages. next, farmers analysed the time, the resources used and received (labour, cash, and food stocks) to implement the options identified in the matrix using the participatory budget tool. in some villages, developing a budget with family members and sharing it with peers in the next meeting was set as homework. the fourth meeting focused on steps (f) to (i). building on the understanding of probability achieved during steps (b) and (c), the farmers explored and interpreted terciles and forecasts. various activities were performed with coloured balls, coins, bean grains, and soccer games to https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 11 explain that a forecast is not a “divination process,” but that it is necessary to have clues or historical data. in honduras, the climate and short-term forecasts were provided by meteorological service of honduras (smhn) – cenaos-copeco (centro de estudios atmosféricos, oceanográficos y sismológicos – comisión permanente de contingencias). the forecasts were disseminated just before and throughout the growing seasons using agroclimatic bulletins and channels such as whatsapp, radio, and workshops. during the meetings, the forecasts were explained and discussed with the farmers, who then identified and selected possible responses. the selection of responses emphasised that each farmers’ situation and context is different, which enabled them to adjust their plans (i.e., the agroclimatic calendar, option matrix, and participatory budgets) in the lead-up to the growing season. data collection and analysis this study employed a mixed-methods approach (clarkson et al., 2019; staub & clarkson, 2021), combining a quantitative survey with qualitative case studies. this approach enabled complementary analyses to identify changes and decisions that the farmers made following their participation in the picsa meetings, understanding of the process of information use, and the evaluation of the farmers’ lessons, successes, and challenges. we used local independent enumerators in each department. the enumerators were provided with an in-depth explanation of and training on picsa. the survey and case study protocols were approved by the university of reading’s research ethics committee. for the data collection, each farmer was linked to a unique farmer survey id, of which the first letter corresponds to (c) choluteca or (i) intibucá (e.g., c52716764f). the eight numbers were assigned in the open data kit (odk) software. lastly, the second letter at the end indicates the farmer’s gender—(f) female or (m) male. quantitative surveys all 209 farmers who participated in the picsa meetings in 2019 were surveyed individually, five weeks (in intibucá) and ten weeks (in choluteca) after the meetings concluded. the surveys were held in villages in choluteca from july to september 2019 and in those in intibucá from november 2019 to february 2020. the quantitative survey was designed to understand whether farmers engaged with, understood, and used the tools and information from picsa in their planning and decision-making process. questions included whether farmers had made changes due to the picsa meetings and, if so, what those changes were and what the effects of those changes had been. data were collected using odk, and the results were plotted using tableau. in order to test for independence, statements that were measured on a five-point likert scale were combined into two categories. more specifically, “agree” and “strongly agree” were combined into “agree”; whereas “disagree” and “strongly disagree” were combined into “disagree.” the mann–whitney u test was run to assess the significance of the differences (𝛼 = 0.05) in the two departments for women and men to understand whether picsa effects differed based on gender. qualitative case studies for the case studies, 19 households that had received picsa training were randomly selected based on the quantitative survey to ensure equal representation in choluteca (women = 6, men https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 12 = 4) and intibucá (women = 5, men= 4). the case studies were documented in october 2020 in the two departments using semi-structured interviews (taking approximately two hours) to explore the how and why of changes and effects reported in the surveys resulting from picsa. the qualitative case studies involved open-ended questions to capture the farmers’ reflections and experiences and participatory activities using budgets and effects diagrams (clarkson et al., 2019) to understand the perceived benefits (e.g., yields, food security and income) that they had made as a result picsa. the case study responses were recorded and transcribed. content analysis was conducted to identify key themes and illustrative farmer quotes, to complement quantitative analyses and to triangulate findings. findings farmer demographic and socioeconomic context table 1 presents a summary of the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers in the two departments of honduras. in intibucá, a large proportion of the survey respondents who participated in the picsa approach were women. by contrast, in choluteca there was more balance in the number of men and women participating in the picsa process. in terms of size, some farmers in intibucá (<10%) reported having farms larger than 3 ha. most (83–92%) survey respondents in choluteca had some level of primary education, whereas only half of the respondents had primary education in intibucá. table 1 socio-economic characteristics of survey respondents by department and gender socio-economic variable choluteca (n = 92) intibucá (n = 117) household size (mean) 5 5 farm size (ha) 1.0 1.5 – 2.0 migration (%) 21.7% 36.7% gender female (n = 55) male (n = 37) female (n = 83) male (n = 34) gender (%) 59.8% 40.2% 70.9% 29.1% mean age (years) 41.9 47.4 42.6 46.8 farming history (years) 19.3 29.4 14.4 26.1 primary education (%) 92.7% 83.7% 56.6% 50% intibucá, where institutions have promoted spaces for the participation of women, has the highest number of women who are independent workers (muller & sousa, 2020). many organizations are represented by women who have experienced mass migration of their husbands and sons, leaving them in charge of agricultural production (jaramillo et al., 2021). accordingly, the data revealed a high percentage of migration (37%) in intibucá. when farmers were asked about the main reasons that led family members to migrate, 52.1% mentioned job opportunities and 25% mentioned escaping poverty. less than 2% gave violence, drought, or crop failure as the main reasons. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 13 the picsa approach was useful to most farmers overwhelmingly, the respondents stated that the training they received (98%) had made them more confident in planning and making decisions about their farming and livelihood. furthermore, there were no significant differences based on gender. table 2 presents the proportion of farmers trained in each of the picsa tools who agreed that they found those steps useful for their planning and decision-making. all tools were found useful by most (75– 100%) farmers in both localities, except for the short-term forecast in choluteca (46.7%). the most valued tools were the resource allocation maps, crop information and option matrix, and seasonal forecast. a significant difference existed between intibucá (98%) and choluteca (47%) in the use of short-term forecasts for planning and decision-making as well as the participatory budget tool (72% in choluteca vs. 100% in intibucá). table 2 proportion and numbers of farmers trained in each of the picsa tools and their usefulness in their planning and decision-making by department and gender picsa tool trained (%) planning and decision-making (%)* choluteca (n = 92) intibucá (n = 117) choluteca (n = 92) intibucá (n = 117) women (n = 55) men (n = 37) women (n = 83) men (n = 34) resource allocation map 97.8% 98.2% 89.0% 97.3% 86.7% 82.3% historical climate info 97.8% 100% 78.1% 81.0% 75.9% 91.1% probabilities and risk 90.2% 98.2% 78.1% 64.8% 77.1% 85.2% crops information 94.5% 99.1% 85.4% 91.8% 96.3% 97.0% option matrix tool 96.7% 99.1% 83.6% 83.7% 87.9% 97.0% participatory budgets** 78.2% 100% 72.7% 67.5% 85.5% 91.1% seasonal forecast 97.8% 99.1% 92.7% 89.1% 89.1% 94.2% short-term forecast** 46.7% 98.2% 47.2% 40.5% 89.1% 97.0% note. * the n is different for each tool and corresponds to the number of people that reported that they had been trained and found those steps useful for their planning and decision-making **p values were calculated using the mann-whitney u test (𝛼 = 0.05) overall, case study results indicate that the design of the tools does address the range of needs and expectations from farmers in the study region, and that several of these tools aid farmer decision-making processes. consistent with the overall perceived usefulness of the individual tools, the ram, the option matrix tool, and participatory budget, and the seasonal forecast were highlighted by farmers. the farmers mentioned that the option matrix tool helped them (a) to know what practices to implement and to plan them using the resources available on the farm (c52722694f); (b) to learn to integrate soil protection, care for the environment, and family work (c52722688f); and (c) to have a portfolio of practices that help increase economic income (i53522042m). with regards to the participatory budget tool, farmers mentioned that it was helpful for (a) planning a budget, which is required to understand all the expenses, ultimately enabling one to determine whether it will be profitable (c52688472m); (b) planning https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 14 and having an estimate of what they can invest (i55876919f); and (c) keeping track of what they spend, which it is not easy (i55806058m). the seasonal forecast is a crucial component in the picsa approach, because if well understood, it allows farmers to foresee climate conditions during the rainy or cropping seasons and use that information to make tactical and strategic management decisions (dayamba et al., 2018). at the time of the implementation of picsa in 2019 (march–may), the honduran government had issued alerts due to the el niño event, expected to affect the primera season. these conditions are conducive to drought, which added to an already ongoing dry period. overall, the seasonal forecast improved farmers’ understanding of the risks for the upcoming season, boosting their confidence during planting time and harvest planning, as reported through surveys and case studies. seasonal forecasts, as well as the short-term forecasts were deemed critical to the success of the harvest and allowed farmers to better understand the amount of water that falls and determine suitable crop and varieties, and planting times (c46944052f). additionally, farmers reported an improved comprehension of the forecast generation process and how to interpret the results. in choluteca, the cenaos-copeco seasonal forecast for the first rainy season of 2019 was presented (rodríguez, 2020) and then communicated through picsa to the farmers; 73% of the farmers considered the climate forecast valid and helpful to integrate into the decision process (women = 80%, men = 62%). although the forecast was fulfilled and there were significant losses in basic grain crops in honduras (fews net, 2019; wfp, 2019), the farmers who participated in picsa were able to use the information provided in the meetings to plan their sowing and reduce the risk of crop loss. in general, the farmers adopted the optimal sowing dates that were presented at the beginning of the season. those who sowed early did well on their crops. the farmers expressed in the surveys and case studies that the agroclimatic information was key to the success of their harvest. the various case studies showed that the farmers who participated in picsa were able to use the information provided in the meetings to plan their sowing. for example, a farmer c51619585f said the following: “the [primera] rains ended much earlier than expected. maize could not be harvested. however, picsa was very useful to me because the bean harvest was excellent.” in intibucá, farmers who participated in picsa mentioned that the 2019 postrera season was normal. for example, farmer i53522037f stated the following: “the postrera season 2019 was normal. the forecasts were used, maize and beans were planted, and there were good yields. in coffee, there will also be a good production.” it is noteworthy that while farmers found the provided climate information very useful, they also reported other information related to weather and climate that they would like to have received from picsa meetings. in intibucá, a large proportion of farmers (50%) wanted to receive information on the moon’s phases, which contrasted with choluteca, where only 8% stated that they wanted such information. furthermore, in both departments, the farmers wanted to receive information about the mid-summer drought or canícula (34%), followed by https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 15 information about wet spells (30% in choluteca and 9% in intibucá). temperature and winds were other types of information that the farmers wanted to receive from the picsa. farmers made changes in their farms based on the picsa approach in general, farmers stated that following the picsa meetings (80%), felt better able to cope with bad years caused by weather and climate. yet it is important for us to learn what changes farmers made in their crop, livestock, or farm as a result of picsa meetings and tools (figure 3). farmers were thus asked in the surveys and case studies whether they had made any changes in their crops, livestock, and livelihood enterprises as a result of the picsa meetings received. despite the challenging 2019 season, 43% (n = 90) of the farmers said that they had made changes, with a large difference existing between departments. most of the farmers (81%, n = 75) in choluteca had made at least one change in their farming. on the contrary, only 18% (n = 21) had made changes in intibucá. farmers who did not implement practices indicated that picsa should have been conducted earlier in the season to allow more time for planning and making changes before the start of the season. farmers made changes in their crops (84%), followed by changes in livestock (14%). only women in choluteca (2%) reported changes in other livelihoods. figure 3 the changes (%) that farmers made to their crops as a result of the picsa approach. note. the grey bars indicate the percentages of total respondents (men + women) in each category (n = 135). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 16 a total of 135 changes were made to crops with some significant differences when gender is considered. the most frequent change was the growing of a different crop, followed by changes in crop or land management, changes in planting dates, inputs, varieties, adjustments in land distribution, and others (figure 3). this order changed depending on gender, with women prioritizing changes in crop type, followed by changes in crop variety, and changes how land or crop management. for men, changes in crop type and crop management were equally frequent (27%), followed by changes in planting dates and inputs. choice of crop was a very frequent change. farmers reported planting beans and maize outside of the regular growing season, followed by cassava and sorghum. women in choluteca (66%) reported planting a new crop and were more likely to diversify (e.g., sweet potato, garlic, or tomato). farmers in choluteca also planted an improve varieties of maize. in intibucá, farmers grew a new bean variety under the government bonus program. it would therefore appear that removing constraints regarding access to seeds of crops that are suitable in the region, would enable farmers to adapt in response to seasonal climate variations. the case study analysis helped explore in more detail how picsa influenced and supported the farmers’ decision-making process and how the changes they made affected their households. figure 4 summarises the farmers’ changes and their effects—food security, income, social standing, yield and environment—influenced by picsa approach in both departments, the farmers’ changes are grouped by (a) grew a new or different crop; (b) grew a new or different variety; (c) changed the way they managed the land/crop; (d) changed the planting date; or (e) changed the type of inputs used in the crop. the changes reported in the surveys and case studies came from the options matrix tool and from farmers ideas (e.g., reducing chemical use, reducing deforestation). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 17 figure 4 diagram of farmers’ changes and their effects influenced by picsa in both departments, case studies = 19. a smaller number of farmers made changes to their livestock (14%), the majority in choluteca; women (71%) were significantly more likely to make changes to livestock than men (29%). the most prevalent change for all those who changed in livestock concerned the way the households manage their livestock (57%) due to the information they learned during the picsa. some farmers also started a new livestock enterprise (28%). the women explained how the process behind the picsa had encouraged them to diversify their sources of income. farmer c51619584f stated the following: thanks to picsa, i implemented poultry farming [march 2020] and bought a pig to raise and sell [august 2020] to improve food security and household income. i feed them with homemade concentrate. the income generated by the pig will be for my son's graduation and studies expenses […] i built a barn for my chickens; those are only for reproduction. furthermore, farmer c51619585f stated the following: with a farmers group, we carried out the participatory community budget, and it was there that we realised that it was feasible to have poultry […] i spoke with a neighbour about improving the corral and the production of eggs with better feeding and hydration for my chickens. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 18 limitations on making changes overwhelmingly, the farmers reported that they would have liked to have made more changes on the back of the picsa meetings that they received. in the surveys, intibucá farmers and enumerators identified several factors contributing to the low percentage of farmers (18%) who made changes due to their participation in picsa. these factors included (a) the farmers were highly uncertain about planting in postrera season, stemming from losses in the primera season; (b) picsa focused more on annual crops, whereas their primary source of income is coffee; and (c) the gender balance (more women participated), where decision-making often involves the entire family. however, male migration, such as during the 2019 migratory caravan (phillips, 2019), can lead to a shift in responsibilities within the household. in the case studies, overall, the farmers in intibucá mentioned that they would have liked to make changes as a result of the picsa meetings but were unable to due to a lack of financial resources. in choluteca, farmers in the case studies mentioned, for example, that they want to have vegetable gardens and to plant fruit trees, but due to their family’s economic situation they have not been able to do so (c51783783f and c51619585f). moreover, farmer c51619584m stated the following: “i have not yet been able to build a tank to store water because i do not have the necessary resources, and it is one of my projects drawn on the dream farm.” picsa benefitted farmers in terms of household income and food security a combination of likert statements was used in the surveys, and participatory budgets and effects diagrams in the case studies, to understand if and how the changes the farmers made to their enterprises had affected their household income and food security (figure 3.) the farmers indicated that using the picsa approach had improved their household food security, with 91% in intibucá and 74% in choluteca responding with “agree.” in choluteca, 80% of the women reported that using the picsa approach had improved their household food security. these women farmers had specifically decided to plant a new crop, have a garden, and diversify. examples included sowing sweet potato. farmer c51619585f stated the following: “i made this change to vary my children's diet and provide them with more nutrients.” farmer c51783832m mentioned the following: “i obtained higher yields planting improved maize, and it is resistant to pests and diseases as well as drought. also, i ensured my family’s food for a few months and obtained the seed to sow in the next cycle.” in intibucá, the farmers were very uncertain about planting due to the losses in the primera season. however, the government promoted the planting of beans by providing a bonus (seed and fertilizers) to farmers (el heraldo, 2019; el mundo, 2019), which coincided with a good rainy season that favoured a good harvest in the postrera season. the government bonus was one of the reasons for the low percentage of farmers in intibucá who made changes due to picsa, since the government (not picsa) triggered the changes. choluteca farmers (70%) agreed that they perceived tangible benefits (in yields and income) where the picsa had encouraged them to diversify their sources of income—new crops and new livestock enterprises (i.e., poultry farm and pigs) —through using the participatory budget and rams. by contrast, intibucá farmers stated that they did not improve their income due to the picsa (73% disagreed). the latter was because the survey, which was applied slightly early (starting in november), was unable to capture changes in income, especially for those whose main source https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 19 of income was coffee. however, the case studies in intibucá indicated that where farmers had been able to make changes, they also had improved their income and yields. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations effective climate services for farmers in central america, decision-makers recognize the relevance of climate services in supporting adaptation plans of smallholder farmers (donatti et al., 2017). however, top-down one-size-fitsall climate services are not appropriate for meeting the diverse needs and contexts of farmers in honduras and have not been successful to date (müller et al., 2020). our findings demonstrate that the picsa approach played an important role in honduran farmers’ planning and decision-making, generating income and food security benefits. the surveys and case studies reported here revealed that (a) most farmers were able to integrate information (e.g., climate and crop) and participatory tools into their planning and decision-making; (b) in choluteca, with a high percentage of primary education level and lower migration rates compared with intibucá, most farmers made changes in their crops and livestock with effects on their food security and income; (c) picsa motivated the farmers to discuss and share ideas with their families and fellows, made them more curious to seek help through social networking with their field officers and other sources for improving their agricultural practices; and (d) bringing together farmers, field officers, national meteorological services, and other stakeholders within the picsa process, contributed to farmers becoming more aware of their demands and that establishing new decision-making processes. these results reinforce previous findings (findlater et al., 2021; lourenço et al., 2015) and have important implications for the provision of climate services in honduras and latin america. these are discussed below. first, our results highlight that a new era of climate services is needed to integrate climate information with other information (such as budgets and resource endowment, constraints to decisions, access to market) driven by demand. specifically, results reveal that farmers considered different time scales, including a long-term “vision” through the use of the dream maps and shorter-term seasonal and short-term views, connecting their local knowledge through participatory tools (e.g., agroclimatic calendar and option matrix). at the same time, picsa helped farmers think logically through considering their farm as an integrated and dynamic system in the context of weather and climate, and other factors, and identify and plan what they consider best for their individual contexts (farm, socioeconomic situation, and beliefs). second, understanding farmers’ perceptions of climate risk was an integral part of the picsa process of how to provide and connect relevant weather and climate information to their decision-making dynamics (osbahr et al., 2011). in line with previous studies (clarkson et al., 2022; dorward et al., 2019; loboguerrero et al., 2018), the historical climate information plotted and analyzed by farmers built their confidence in the climate science data to enable them to use it in their decision-making processes. this confidence then allowed identifying and selecting possible responses on the basis of the forecast, which in turn helped farmers reduce risk from the forecasted drought stemming from a negative enso phase. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 20 finally, it is well recognized that providing effective climate services is a substantial challenge where most farmers in latin america are older people (particularly regarding production of staple crops) with low literacy levels and little motivation to change their current practices (fao, 2021). despite the challenging 2019 season, this study revealed that most of the farmers, especially in choluteca, used the picsa tools and information to make a great variety of changes in their practices regardless of their literacy level. it is noteworthy, however, that changes in practices in intibucá, where literacy levels are lower, occurred much less often across the group of farmers. our results demonstrated not only that literacy challenges can be overcome by discussion and training, but also that farmers were appreciative of the bottom-up participatory approach that enabled them to be at the centre of the decision-making process. at the same time, farmers need time to experiment with different practices, validate some of them, and adapt them to local conditions, as well as receiving technical assistance, to ensure the correct use of inputs at the optimal time (chiputwa et al., 2022; loboguerrero et al., 2018). climate services for drought-related food security management in central america need to move from reactive crisis response to proactive planning and decision-making (keller et al., 2018; müller et al., 2020). during a challenging 2019 season, the farmers expressed that the agroclimatic information was key to the success of their harvest. we showed that in honduras, the changes made by the farmers reportedly led to positive effects on food security and income and increased their confidence in their abilities to plan and deal with climate variability and change in the short and long-term. these findings are promising in the context of socioeconomic development in honduras and latin america to manage agricultural risk, forecast seasonal changes and transform their agricultural systems by creating the conditions so that farmers can choose their own development path. for this potential to be realized, work needs to be done to address farmer constraints to changing their practices. however, climate services for better decision-making should go closely together with supporting institutional and governance processes for effective and sustainable implementation (müller et al., 2020). notably, the findings suggest that access to finance would enable farmers to make changes in their practices if such finance were coupled with extension and advisory involving a picsa-like approach. we highlight that the picsa process in honduras achieved an improved integration of existing weather and climate information into agricultural extension structures and approaches, which helped stakeholders and farmers to learn from each other’s experiences and expertise, understand challenges in information use, create innovative learning spaces, build trust, and provide networking opportunities. scaling up the picsa approach by adapting it to local and knowledge contexts requires time and financial investment for the capacity development of staff in institutions but can then fit within the operations of existing structures. a relevant result was the inclusion of the picsa approach within the climate resilience plan of the national bean chain in honduras (obando et al., 2021) and the exploration of gender dynamics in the rural sector of guatemala (mosso et al., 2022). furthermore, the picsa implementation herein described led to spillover effects whereby farmers shared their ideas more broadly with their community and field workers. while this emphasized the need of further investigating the role of farmers and organisational networks in climate information flows and communication, it also shows that a network of indirect https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 21 beneficiaries can arise from a picsa implementation. this information seeking and sharing, ideas, and lessons among farmers and local stakeholders is particularly critical in latin america, where the extension system is limited and the national level organizations have not been effective in addressing local agroclimatic challenges. the picsa approach and its tools can be part of a broader transformation of the institutional, knowledge, and innovation networks in the region. limitations and future research and action although the implementation of picsa (in number, time, and content of the meetings) in both departments was the same, the number of farmers in intibucá who made changes was much lower than in choluteca. the survey in intibucá was applied early (five weeks), before the farmers may have seen the benefits of the changes, which may have reduced the number of changes reported. practical constraints can influence implementation in development initiatives and unpredictable environments, including a nationwide shutdown of economic and transport activities leading to a delay in the process (phillips, 2019). the lower number of changes in intibucá could also be associated with sociodemographic factors—lower education levels and higher migration rates in intibucá than in choluteca. for example, the intibucá respondents mentioned that they had a household member who had migrated, mainly men, leaving women in charge of agricultural production and decision-making (jaramillo et al., 2021) which explains the high proportion of women participants (71%) in the picsa meetings. more research is needed to better understand the farmers’ decision-making processes regarding the intersection of climate, food security, and migration, as well as the linking of climate services with off-farm livelihoods and the role of remittances in households’ decision-making. looking at wider opportunities, the results of this study have the potential to be applied to the national scale and contribute to the commitments of honduras including the nationally determined contribution (ndc) to the united nations framework convention on climate change. this is especially significant with regard to the social inclusion component by 2030— contingency and risk management plans with a gender approach to climate risks built in a participatory manner—and the adaptation component by 2025—that is, innovation, research, technology, and agriculture adapted to the climate. furthermore, a large step in long-term sustainability is to build capacity within the national government to help them achieve the ndc, including incorporating this approach into the national plan and policies. the covid-19 pandemic forced a massive increase in online engagement and delivery in the climate service arena, with large constrains in participatory approaches. however, this also opened an opportunity to transition from face-to-face to online training beyond these “intermediaries”—i.e., the extension service, ngo staff or farmers’ associations who are already working directly with farmers— and had restrictions carrying out their work in the field. an important learning from honduras, which is applicable to many rural areas of latin america is that icts can also, with less digitally connected farmers play a supporting and complementary role after the picsa implementation (e.g., farmer and extension whatsapp groups). however, creating opportunities for young farmers using climate services (giraldo et al., 2021) provides a strong starting point for discussion and further research into icts, which will encourage young https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 giraldo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 22 people to become a bridge between farmers and intermediaries in facilitating picsa implementation in the field and will enable more farmers to access and use icts without the need for facilitators as a complementary approach to a picsa field implementation in a scalable manner. conclusion the main conclusion is that the picsa approach supported farmers in making their own decisions by incorporating tools, weather and climate information with their knowledge, and supported them to make changes in their livelihoods with positive effects on their food security and income. further, the approach fuelled farmers’ longer-term vision development and motivation to enhance their farming systems. our study aims to help fill the knowledge gap on the participation of the farmers in climate services development, making the information more transparent to the farmers, enabling them to gain ownership over the process, integrating various aspects of the decision-making process (e.g., budgeting, farm dynamics, socioeconomic conditions), and creating relationships between science and decision-making. transforming climate services that better account for why and how farmers make relevant decisions could represent a new era in the climate action for agriculture with important implications for future adaptations in latin america, building capacity and expertise in local communities to manage their resources and implement measures for climate adaptation in a systematic and effective way. acknowledgements this work was supported by the resilient central america (resca) project, led by the nature 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(2019). evaluation of regional climate services: learning from seasonal-scale examples across the americas. climate services, 15, 100104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2019.100104 wfp (2019). mvam monitoring university observatory on food and nutritional security. https://obsan.unah.edu.hn/monitoreo-mvam/ © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i2.363 https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/113044 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.06.041 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.029 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.10.007 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2019.100104 https://obsan.unah.edu.hn/monitoreo-mvam/ advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 1, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. hillary miller, graduate student, auburn university, haley center, auburn, al 36849, hzm0071@auburn.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6447-5445 2. christopher a. clemons, associate professor of agricultural education, auburn university, 5040 haley center, auburn, al 36849, cac0132@auburn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9879-0888 3. jason d. mckibben, assistant professor of agricultural education, auburn university, haley center, auburn, al 36849, jdm0184@auburn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2080-202x 4. d. adam cletzer, professor of practice in agricultural communications and leadership, 101a comer hall, auburn, al 36849, adam.cletzer@auburn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6664-8454 5. james r. lindner, professor of agricultural education, auburn university, 5058 haley center, auburn, al 36849, jrl0039@auburn.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-3846 31 assessing the readiness of central california agricultural educators to teach multilingual learners h. miller1, c. a. clemons2, j. d. mckibben3, d. a. cletzer4, j. r. lindner5 article history received: october 29, 2024 accepted: february 1, 2025 published: february 7, 2025 keywords multilingual learners; culturally responsive teaching; language proficiency; sdg 4: quality education; sdg 10: reduced inequalities abstract this study investigated the pedagogical readiness of united states secondary school-based agricultural education (sbae) teachers to educate multilingual learners (mls) in california's central region. the focus of this study addressed sbae teacher qualifications, language proficiency, professional development experiences, and perceived competence to teach mls. the theoretical frameworks for this study included culturally responsive teaching and andragogy as the lens when assessing sbae teacher preparedness. the participants were licensed to teach sbae with ml, but most needed more specific training and experience. participants reported limited professional development related to multilingual learners. findings also indicated that teachers feel most confident addressing the needs of fluent english speakers but need help with beginning-level ml students. improving opportunities for professional development addressing culturally responsive teaching, academic vocabulary development, and ongoing training for sbae teachers would help improve sbae teachers' classroom pedagogy and enhance learning opportunities for mls. future research should explore the effectiveness of specific professional development programs and the impact of teacher preparedness on student outcomes for mls. mailto:hzm0071@auburn.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6447-5445 mailto:cac0132@auburn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9879-0888 mailto:jdm0184@auburn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2080-202x mailto:adam.cletzer@auburn.edu https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2forcid.org%2f0000-0002-6664-8454&data=05%7c02%7ccac0132%40auburn.edu%7c787208b2668e40b953c508dcac1013c5%7cccb6deedbd294b388979d72780f62d3b%7c0%7c0%7c638574432263043821%7cunknown%7ctwfpbgzsb3d8eyjwijoimc4wljawmdailcjqijoiv2lumziilcjbtii6ik1hawwilcjxvci6mn0%3d%7c0%7c%7c%7c&sdata=e%2bj1wsauqc1myvrrryewf1ipbawb%2f4pckrodvjlp2ng%3d&reserved=0 mailto:jrl0039@auburn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-3846 miller et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 32 introduction and problem statement academic achievement disparities persist in u.s. classrooms, with multilingual learners (mls) often academically behind their english-proficient peers (echevarria et al., 2024). to bridge this gap, educators need tailored instructional approaches to support mls' language development by ensuring access to quality curricula (echevarria et al., 2024; zacarian, 2023). improving instructional delivery methods from teacher-centered direct instruction to more interactive, student-centered methods (collaborative projects, peer teaching, and problem-based learning) can help improve student engagement and learning. to better prepare teachers engaged with ml learners, pre-service secondary school-based agricultural education (sbae) teacher educators should specifically address active learning methods with diverse learners, including mls (crunkilton, 1976; howerton et al., 2019; vommi & lavergne, 2016). as teachers matriculate from pre-service to practicing educators, many u.s. teachers feel inadequately trained to meet ml learning needs (barajas et al., 2020; heineke & vera, 2022). the outcome of lowered teacher confidence significantly impacts their ability to address diverse student needs effectively (ray et al., 2022; hendrix et al., 2024). when teachers lack confidence in implementing active learning strategies with mls, it can exacerbate existing achievement gaps. improving teacher confidence could increase students' academic performance and enhance post-secondary opportunities for these students (garcía & kleifgen, 2018; zacarian, 2023). failing to address the unique needs of ml learners may have profound consequences, including diminished engagement/motivation, higher dropout rates, and reduced educational success (hammond, 2015). recognizing and responding to individual student needs is paramount to achieving educational equity (gay, 2018). theoretical frameworks culturally responsive teaching (gay, 2018) and andragogy (knowles, 1980) served as the theoretical frameworks for this investigation. this study specifically examined how these frameworks inform the assessment of teacher preparedness in agricultural education, focusing on acquiring essential instructional skills and strategies needed to effectively meet the needs of ml students. culturally responsive teaching emphasizes recognizing and valuing students' cultural backgrounds and experiences. this framework is particularly relevant to the study's objective of understanding how sbae teachers can best support mls in developing language proficiency and accessing a quality curriculum. andragogy, the art and science of teaching adults, provides a complementary lens for understanding the professional development needs of sbae teachers. knowles' (1980) assumptions and principles of learning specifically address adult learners' unique characteristics and motivations, emphasizing self-direction, experience-based learning, and problem-centered https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 miller et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 33 approaches. this framework is particularly relevant to the study's focus on teacher confidence and developing effective instructional strategies for mls. integrating culturally responsive teaching with andragogy underscores the importance of culturally responsive professional development that acknowledges students' cultural diversity and leverages educators' experiential learning and self-directed growth. this integrated approach fosters teacher confidence and promotes effective pedagogical practices in agricultural education. combining culturally responsive teaching and andragogy offers a comprehensive lens for assessing the readiness of secondary sbae teachers to educate mls. these frameworks highlight the importance of culturally relevant pedagogy, ongoing professional development, and teacher confidence in creating an inclusive and effective learning environment for all students. objectives and purpose this study investigated the qualifications, language proficiency, professional development experiences, and future needs of california's central region agricultural educators, offering insights into their specific challenges in serving mls. to better understand the educational disparities between mls and improve the pedagogical preparation of sbae teachers, four objectives were investigated: (a) identify the proportion of high school agricultural teachers with specific qualifications or training to teach students who are not fully proficient in english, (b) identify participant characteristics for teachers and students. (c) identify and describe the professional development in which agricultural educators in the central region of california are engaged, and (d) describe the perceived level of instructor competence to teach students at various english proficiency levels. methods we used a cross-sectional research design to address the study's objectives and collect participant data in may 2024 as defined by de vaus (2013): not incorporating an element of time or longitude, dependence on pre-existing characteristic differences rather than implementing an intervention, and utilizing standing groups based on those pre-existing characteristics. the researchers developed a new instrument addressing professional development needs and multilingual learners. the study's objectives were addressed by providing participants with positively worded statements addressing sbae teacher preparedness to meet the instructional needs of ml students. participant responses were collected using a likert-type five-point interval measurement scale including (a) strongly disagree, (b) disagree, (c) neither agree or disagree, (d) agree, and (e) strongly agree (lindner & lindner, 2024). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 miller et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 34 participants reported their personal characteristics, teaching experience, and professional development history. they also noted the percentage of students in their classes who speak languages other than english and those identified as mls. teachers can access this information through school records, enrollment forms, english language proficiency assessments, direct communication with students and families, and classroom observations. content and face validity were assessed (creswell, 2014), and content validity was evaluated by sbae and special education faculty at auburn university, leading to minor revisions in the instrument's wording and formatting. these changes included grouping similar questions and aligning response options with standard practices. researchers conducted a pilot study with sbae teachers in southern california (n = 15), and participants provided feedback through an open comment section at the end of the research instrument. researchers made minor adjustments for clarity based on the pilot participant's feedback. cronbach's alpha for internal consistency (α = .88) exceeded the minimum reliability threshold (privitera, 2017), confirming the instrument's usability. the instrument was electronically distributed using qualtrics and followed the tailored design method to encourage participant responses (dillman et al., 2014). the researchers provided a preannouncement email detailing the study's relevance to the potential participants. potential participants received three follow-up reminders at sevenand ten-day intervals as response rates declined (dillman et al., 2014). potential participant contact information was obtained through a publicly available database containing sbae teachers in california, including their names and email addresses. the survey was distributed to a sample of high school agricultural educators in the central region of california (n = 266), yielding 62 responses (23.3%). after excluding incomplete responses (f = 6), we retained 56 fully completed instruments (21%) for analysis. due to the low response rate, caution is warranted about generalizing the findings beyond the response sample (lindner et al., 2001; lindner, 2002) findings this study objectively analyzed sbae teachers' qualifications, language proficiency, and professional development experiences in california's central region instrument, including 19 questions and statements organized into constructs based on the research objectives. these findings are explained in detail based on the data collected. objective one: identify the proportion of high school agricultural teachers with specific qualifications or training to teach students who are not fully proficient in english. california mandates additional certification for educators (california department of education, 2023), requiring that all ml services "be provided by teachers authorized for such instruction until students are reclassified as fluent in english." participants (f = 56) reported 100% hold credentials to teach sbae courses in california. because of this, all respondents have certification to teach mls. the authorization requirements vary by year acquired and type of certification, meaning that the professional development and experience teaching mls varies for each respondent. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 miller et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 35 objective two: identify participant characteristics for teachers and students. the second objective focused on the characteristics of sbae educators and their students, as reported by the teachers who completed the survey. respondents provided self-reported information on years of teaching, race, ethnicity, languages spoken, and fluency in those languages. they also shared the languages their students speak, the percentage of multilingual learners in their classes, and the percentage of students they teach who speak languages other than english. among the 56 valid responses, all questions received a 100% response rate, except for the question about years of teaching and the languages their students speak, which had 54 responses each. sbae teacher characteristics participants self-reported their personal and professional characteristics (table 1) when completing the research instrument. most participants were relatively new to the teaching profession, self-identified as white, and did not speak any language beyond english. table 1 secondary sbae teacher characteristics description f % years teaching 0-5 19 35.18 6-10 12 22.22 11-20 15 27.78 >20 8 14.81 teacher race white 44 78.57 hispanic/latinx 4 7.14 multiple 3 5.35 asian 2 3.57 prefer not to answer 3 5.35 teacher ethnicity not hispanic / latinx 47 83.93 hispanic/latinx 5 8.92 prefer not to answer 4 7.14 teacher languages spoken english only 42 75.00 conversational spanish 12 21.43 fluent spanish 1 1.79 conversational mien 1 1.79 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 miller et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 36 sbae student characteristics in addition to reporting their characteristics, secondary sbae teachers in california's central region reported (table 2) language information about their students. teachers reported that spanish is their predominant language, in addition to english, in their classes. table 2 percent of ml students percent of mls f % 1-10 15 26.76 11-20 14 25.00 21-30 12 21.40 31-40 6 10.70 41-50 2 3.60 51-60 1 1.80 61-70 4 7.10 71-80 2 3.60 81-90 0 0.00 91-100 0 0.00 note. n = 56 not all students who speak a language other than english (table 3) are classified as mls. some may have received language support earlier in their education, while others may have been designated fluent in english since primary school. students who have been redesignated as "fluent english proficient" still need ongoing support in language development (echevarria et al., 2024; zacarian, 2023). table 3 percent of secondary sbae students who speak a language other than english students speaking other language f % 1-20 10 17.88 21-40 16 28.57 41-60 19 33.93 61-80 6 10.71 81-100 5 8.93 note. n = 56 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 miller et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 37 objective three: identify and describe the professional development in which agricultural educators in the central region of california are engaged. participants were asked to identify and report the most common types of content-based and pedagogical training (table 4) in which they have participated: animal science, plant systems/horticulture, and agricultural mechanics. table 4 professional learning participation of secondary sbae teachers in the last 5 years pd type pd specific f % sbae ffa related 34 62.96 sae related 31 57.41 other tech skills related to sbae 39 72.22 plant systems/horticulture 25 46.30 introduction to agriculture 22 40.74 animal science 20 37.04 agricultural mechanics 22 40.74 environmental sciences / natural resources 24 44.44 agribusiness 11 20.37 food products 9 16.67 engineering 4 7.41 biotechnology 3 5.56 pedagogical instructional practices 34 62.96 classroom management 28 51.85 meeting the needs of mls 28 51.85 meeting the needs of students with disabilities 24 44.44 note. n = 54, 2 participants did not complete the instrument participants reported their professional development experiences beyond content-based development, including instructional strategies, classroom management, and meeting the needs of mls and students with disabilities. we categorized participant responses into sbaespecific content and general pedagogical practices. the results indicate that sbae teachers engage in various professional learning experiences. notably, while much of the training focused on ffa (f = 34/54) and sae (f = 31/54), an equal number of respondents reported participating in professional development related to pedagogical practices (f = 34/54) within the last five years. when we asked an open-ended question about participants' professional learning related to mls throughout their entire careers, 16 out of 52 respondents reported engaging in any such training beyond their credentialing program. additionally, fewer than half of the respondents recalled receiving any ml-specific training during their credentialing process. despite the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 miller et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 38 requirement for certification to teach mls in the state, most participants did not recall receiving adequate preparation. objective four: describe the perceived level of instructor competence to teach students at various english proficiency levels. of the 56 respondents, 52 rated their confidence in meeting students' instructional needs at different levels of english proficiency (table 5). secondary sbae teachers feel most confident addressing the needs of students with higher english proficiency. table 5 ml levels and teacher confidence m sd qualifier beginning 3.08 1.33 neither agree nor disagree intermediate 3.65 1.01 agree advanced 4.25 0.88 agree recently redesignated 4.58 0.73 strongly agree fluent english speakers 4.88 0.43 strongly agree specifically, 50 out of 52 teachers "strongly agree" (lindner & lindner, 2024) that they are prepared to meet the needs of fluent english speakers (m = 4.88, sd = 0.43) and the students who were recently redesignated (m = 4.58, sd = 0.73). the same teachers report "neither agree nor disagree" when asked about their confidence in meeting the instructional needs of beginning-level students. (m = 3.08, sd = 1.33). the "beginning level" ml students possessed the least fluency and required the most assistance. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study highlights the critical need for ongoing and targeted professional development for sbae teachers (clemons, heidenreich, et al., 2018) to effectively support mls. as u.s. classroom demographics shift, teachers need the skills and confidence to address diverse student needs, which can influence their retention (coleman et al., 2020; hansen-thomas et al., 2014; clemons & lindner, 2019). failing to address the unique needs of mls can have farreaching consequences, including diminished engagement, higher dropout rates, and reduced educational success (hammond, 2015). professional development is crucial for preparing teachers to work with mls, regardless of experience, as teacher confidence improves with professional learning opportunities (hansenthomas et al., 2014). inconsistent access to continued professional education exacerbates the challenges in meeting the needs of mls, particularly those with lower english proficiency. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 miller et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 39 teacher education programs and school systems should prioritize culturally responsive teaching, integrating students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds into instruction (gay, 2018). ongoing and focused training is crucial given the predominantly white, english-speaking respondents and the increasing diversity of student populations in this study. opportunities for professional growth should address instructional strategies for developing academic vocabulary, essential for making content accessible, particularly in agricultural education with its prevalent technical language (clemons et al., 2024; echevarría et al., 2024). for many mls, academic vocabulary is a barrier to understanding content and broader academic concepts (lindner et al., 2016). teachers should employ strategies to help students acquire specialized language through meaningful activities. fostering vocabulary development helps mls navigate complex texts and discussions, improving comprehension and preparing them for academic success (hansenthomas et al., 2014). building literacy skills using familiar terms can facilitate more meaningful professional development (clemons, lindner, et al., 2018). longitudinal studies should track the impact of professional development on teacher confidence and competence. future research should explore the most effective types of professional development for serving mls. comparative studies across states or regions could illuminate best practices and guide the development of more effective programs. further research is needed to address how race, ethnicity, and language proficiency could improve teacher preparation and student academic performance. addressing these professional development needs is essential to cultivate a more equitable educational landscape where all students, regardless of language background, can thrive (zacarian, 2023). additionally, potential studies should investigate the long-term impact of professional development on teacher competence and student outcomes, explore the most effective types of training for serving mls, and examine how teacher demographics and language proficiency influence student academic performance. acknowledgments this manuscript is a component of a successfully completed and defended research dissertation by hillary miller. the entire dissertation may be accessed at: https://etd.auburn.edu//handle/10415/9485 no llm or multimodal ai systems were used in the development of this manuscript. grammarly was employed to improve punctuation and adherence to established writing and grammar rules. author contributions: h. miller initial document development, c. clemons manuscript writing, preparation, submission, and publishing, j. mckibben data analysis, d. a. cletzer pre submission editing, j. lindner post submission review considerations and advising. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 https://etd.auburn.edu//handle/10415/9485 miller et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 40 references barajas, g., crump, m. k., vincent, s. k., & mccubbins, o. p. 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(2023). transforming schools for multilingual learners: a comprehensive guide for educators (2nd ed.). corwin press. © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.563 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2022.03149 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 2, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. jera e. niewoehner-green, associate professor, the ohio state university 2120 fyffe rd., columbus, oh 43210, niewoehner-green.1@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0340-1956 2. amanda m. bowling, associate professor, the ohio state university 2120 fyffe rd., columbus, oh 43210, bowling.175@osu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2526-725x 3. kameron rinehart, assistant professor, austin peay state university henry st. clarksville, tn 37040, rinehartk@apsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4510-6306 28 engaging youth in food systems issues: approaches to youth development and empowerment j. e. niewoehner-green1, a. m. bowling2, k. rinehart3 article history received: september 9, 2024 accepted: april 9, 2025 published: april 30, 2025 keywords food security; youth community engagement; sdg 2: zero hunger abstract food systems are considered social-ecological systems, wherein people are interconnected to the social and natural environment. issues that arise in food systems are inherently complex and require critical awareness of production, access, consumption, and nutrition. everyone is an actor in the food system, including youth, and encouraging them to become problem-solvers, change agents, and leaders can support a more sustainable food system. to explore how youth are engaging in food systems issues, we interviewed program leaders who include food system topics in their curricula to understand if and how they are empowering youth to engage and address related challenges. through a collective case study, we identified one convergent theme related to the role of pyd in programming. however, there was more case divergence wherein three themes describe how intentional empowerment approaches support youth development, how youth are viewed and supported as leaders, and in what ways programs are educating about food systems issues. recommendations include moving past community service to community engagement in food systems issues and conducting research on youth’s perceived ability to address these issues. mailto:niewoehner-green.1@osu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0340-1956 mailto:bowling.175@osu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2526-725x mailto:rinehartk@apsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4510-6306 niewoehner-green et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 29 introduction food systems are considered a social-ecological system that are comprised of activities such as agricultural and food production, processing and packaging, distribution and retail, and consumption (berkes et al., 2003; ericksen, 2008). issues relating to this system include the governance and economics of food production, food waste, sustainability, and the impact of food on health (university of oxford, n.d.). everyone regardless of their connection to agriculture is an actor in the food system, whether they are a producer or consumer, including youth. some youth practitioners consider that youth becoming problem-solvers, change agents, and leaders is critical for bringing forth food system changes (kwan, 2014; usaid, n.d; yeboah, 2018). despite students in the u.s., receiving less than eight hours of nutrition education per year (cdc, 2023), other forms of food education are increasing during school hours such as school gardening, cooking classes, and agricultural education. nonformal education programs (e.g. 4-h, after school programs, community non-profits) may also promote healthy living and food literacy (renwick & powell, 2019; smelkova, 2015). more recently, the united states department of agriculture (usda) hosted a dialogue with youth on sustainable u.s. food systems wherein participants emphasized the need for early childhood nutrition education, agricultural education, policies that helped achieve food equity, and technologies to improve food distribution (usda, 2021). this dialogue indicates youth are aware of food systems issues and have ideas to address them. community-based organizations and youth programs such as 4-h can offer programming to educate and engage youth on food system issues but there is a dearth of literature on how such programs are doing so. the focus on food and nutrition is contextually important for our research because ohio ranked 44th out of 50 states in 2023 for health value, indicating that residents are less healthy and spend more on healthcare than in most other states (akah et al., 2023). further, while ohio is near the national average (11.8%) of food insecurity (usda, 2023) this translates to 1,391,290 of residents, of which 386,430 are children (hunger network in ohio n.d.). this investigation could help identify and disseminate key strategies which program leaders are using to engage and empower youth in food system issues. conceptual/theoretical lens we utilized a conceptual and a theoretical lens which allowed us to contextualize the youth experience through positive youth development approaches and youth empowerment, while allowing for emergence of data through the perspective of youth program leaders. positive youth development positive youth development (pyd) is a prosocial approach that focuses on youth’s strengths and promotes positive outcomes through building positive relationships, providing opportunities to engage with their peers, families, organizations, and communities, and supporting psychological, emotional physical, and emotional development (hamilton et al., 2004). pyd programs strive to develop youth’s healthy habits such as engaging in physical https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 niewoehner-green et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 30 activity and maintaining mental health (roth & brooks-gunn, 2003). pyd programming can also positively influence youths’ willingness to engage in their community and complex issues. christens and zeldin (2018) assert youth community engagement can promote positive youth development as well as strengthen community leadership and create a self-sustaining cycle of participation. additionally, pyd programs can be catalysts for youth environmental action where they create local changes related to food systems, community gardens, water quality, and urban development (schusler, 2013). youth empowerment empowerment can be understood as a value orientation for practical application, such as youth programming, as well as a theoretical model for understanding how individuals exert control and influence over decisions that affect their lives (perkins & zimmerman, 1995; rappaport, 1987; zimmerman, 2000). for youth, empowerment theory, like pyd, views them as assets and resources for their community rather than community problems (holden et al., 2005). thus, empowering youth through engagement in decision making and problem solving allows them to play meaningful roles in their communities (charbonneau et al., 2014). further, empowerment can be an important element in human development (christens & peterson, 2012). particularly, when youth perceive having influence over policies and practices in their social sphere and community, this can act as an important indicator for behavioral and developmental outcomes (chiessi et al., 2010; peterson et al., 2011). empowerment is best operationalized within a context to understand the process by which youth become active participants around an issue. youth empowerment research related to food systems and health is limited but has indicated that youth empowerment approaches for obesity prevention can influence attitudes and perceptions for healthy eating and food choices (lewis et al., 2018; muturi, et al., 2018). and through community gardening, supporting youth empowerment can improve self-esteem, sense of belonging, nutrition, food security, and environmental awareness (fulford & thompson, 2013). thus, empowerment approaches connected to food system issues impacting youth can shape attitudes and influence action. purpose and research questions we aimed to learn how ohio pyd programs engage youth in activities related to the food system. our central research question was: in what ways are adult practitioners empowering youth to address food systems issues? one sub research question refined our investigation: what are the opportunities and challenges for engaging youth participants in food system issues? methods for this qualitative study we used a collective case design (stake, 1995; yin, 2018) that employed purposive sampling with the bounded system of out-of-school time ohio pyd programs. we began this study following stake’s (1995) more emergent approach to collective https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 niewoehner-green et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 31 cases, however after the initial data analysis round we shifted to follow a more prescriptive approach to align our theoretical lens with the data analysis (yin, 2018). we approached the research through a constructivist lens, where we believed people construct their own understanding of reality (lincoln & guba, 1985). additionally, we bracketed our biases to allow for data emergence. as former pyd practitioners and participants, it was necessary to acknowledge how these experiences could influence our perceptions. to aid in purposively sampling youth programs, we sent a questionnaire to youth programs throughout ohio. the questionnaire gathered information on the inclusion of food security, healthy living, and/or gardening/urban farming in their curricula, program leader information, and youth demographics. from the questionnaire data, we identified four types of programs: (a) general pyd program, (b) food security, and (c) healthy living (d) and/or gardening/urban farming. we purposely sampled a total of nine programs which represented multiple program types, youth age ranges including a collegiate organization (as the participants are considered to still be developing), population density areas, and program sizes and scopes (see table 1). table 1 description of sampled pyd programs (n = 9) program type program category populatio n density annual organizational reach 4-h healthy living urban 6,000 – 12,000 youth 4-h gardening/urban agriculture urban 2,000 – 3,500 youth ffa healthy living rural 400 – 500 youth college organization gardening/urban agriculture rural 10 – 60 youth/community members community based non-profit food insecurity urban 40 – 500 youth community based non-profit positive youth development urban 20,000 – 30,000 youth community based non-profit food insecurity rural 500 – 1,000 youth community based non-profit food insecurity rural 1,000 – 1,500 youth community based non-profit positive youth development urban 30 – 70 youth data were collected through one-on-one, virtual, semi-structured interviews with program leaders. we developed an interview protocol guided by conceptual and theoretical lenses. an example interview question was, “do your programs help engage youth and address food insecurity issues within the community?” the interviews lasted between 34 and 79 minutes, were recorded, and transcribed verbatim. interview field notes were also gathered. the interview data served as the primary data source and field note data served as an ancillary data source. additionally, two member checking interviews which followed a different interview protocol were conducted following an initial review of the emerging data. data were analyzed using a three-stage coding process (stake, 1995). we initially approached the data utilizing in vivo coding, taking words and phrases from the interview transcripts (saldaña, 2021). these codes were then organized by program into emerging categories. the categories were examined across youth programs, then grouped into emerging themes which https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 niewoehner-green et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 32 captured the various ways in which food systems topics were integrated into programs. although this provided some insights into program structure and topics, it did not appear to reveal the program leader’s perspectives or approaches to youth development and empowerment. we undertook a second round of coding, first by reviewing the initial codes, then revisiting the transcripts and zoom recordings as needed. for this round of coding, we intentionally used the theoretical lens and employed process coding. this approach to coding reflects the action-interaction occurring when persons act in pursuit of a goal or addressing a problem (corbin & strauss, 2015; saldaña, 2021). coding in this way identified the pyd and empowerment activities that supported youth’s understanding and engagement in food systems and their community. to validate the findings, we triangulated the semi-structured interviews, field notes, and member checking interviews, used thick, rich descriptions, audit trail, peer reviews, member checks, negative case analysis, and researcher positionality (creswell & poth, 2018). findings within the sampled cases, case convergence emerged related to the use of pyd principles and practices as foundations for the youth programs. however, much of the emerging findings focused on how the cases diverged from each other. cases differed in how they approached empowerment, engaged youth as leaders, and how their programs addressed food system issues. case convergence findings indicated programs shared a similar underlying focus which guided the programmatic strategies and offered programming. the underlying focus centered upon the integration of pyd principles and practices into their programs. program foundation built on pyd principles and practices regardless of program focus, participants, or how they addressed food system issues, the program leaders discussed the practices they used as foundational aspects of their programs. while not always specifically identified by participants as such, these foundational practices align with pyd principles and practices. to begin, program leaders spoke of youth as assets and how they were valuable members of their community. as one program leader said “i truly believe these kids are born with everything they need from the get-go. i think it's just a matter of finding, you know, giving them the tools to lead and giving them the opportunities to lead and problem solve.” some of the approaches used by participants to support youth development included age specific programming, maintaining appropriate youth to adult ratio, creating a safe place for youth to feel engaged and welcomed, and building trust between youth and adult leaders. through pyd practices and education, program leaders hoped to inspire youth participants to become engaged to make a difference. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 niewoehner-green et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 33 case divergence although all programs incorporated pyd into their programming, the approaches to teaching about and engaging in the food system diverged. the following themes describe how programs included food system education for youth and to what extent they viewed youth as actors in their local food system. intentional empowerment approaches four of the nine youth programs intentionally engaged in empowerment approaches related to food systems issues. these approaches included engaging youth in decision-making and problem-solving, promoting reflection on their influence on policies and procedures (within the program and the community), creating space to learn about and reflect on critical issues in their community, and equitable power sharing within programming. program leaders supported youth’s civic engagement and aimed for active participation in understanding community issues, dynamics, and political processes. as one leader from a community-based program that served low-income urban youth said: if our students aren't engaged in the political process now, they're not exposed to it and they will not be our future congressmen our future school board leaders...they need to make their voices heard, so that it’s not just people who are affluent making decisions. but it's someone who understands the perils of their community being engaged in those decision-making capacities. this program utilized participatory methods with their youth such as creating asset maps of the communities and discussing community issues and incidents and teaching about different ways to engage in collective action. another urban community-based youth program in a different city was intentional about equitable power sharing. they see youth as members of their team and felt that it was important to work on solving problems relevant to their youth. the program leader shared that when working with students and their classroom teachers during the summer: we do not train teachers to stand over children and get them to do things. we train teachers and children to work together to solve problems that are relevant to the student and [it’s] important to the educator that they have outcomes tied to them. the whole power dynamic shifts and that’s why we have teachers in with students during our summer institutes and teachers in with students during our summer programs, because teachers need to learn in this world. this program challenged the traditional ‘teacher as expert’ model by creating spaces where students could be co-investigators on issues and were not given answers, rather they were empowered to seek them. a final example of intentional empowerment approaches was shared by an urban/peri-urban 4h program. through both critical reflection and exploring youth’s perceptions of their influence on policy, the program aimed to support their development as problem-solvers and advocates, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 niewoehner-green et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 34 especially around issues related to food and agriculture. the program leader shared that when participating in 4-h: ...they may learn about a community garden or a farmers' market or they may learn about a community that does not have access to fresh food and hopefully to take action.... a plan of action to advocate for to, to write letters for to address county councils and city councils. [we've] taken them down to the statehouse to advocate on issues that are important to them. and really getting them to understand why this should be important to them. overall, these four programs created spaces for youth to learn about: issues occurring in their communities, how those issues were impacting them and their families, and skills that would help them to address them on the community level. the five programs not discussed above did encourage community engagement through service projects but lacked the intentional incorporating of empowerment practices to allow youth to feel like actors and change agents within their community to address food security issues. youth as leaders another case divergence was how program leaders saw youth as leaders or were intentionally developing their leadership skills. leadership can be an outcome of both pyd and empowerment approaches. five of the 9 program leaders discussed youth as leaders and approached programming with leadership development in mind. a program leader stated, "we all view them as leaders… kind of constantly encouraging an environment of, like, we believe in you, whatever it is that you know, you think and you feel and want to do, you have our full support." another participant stated that “we see our youth as being tomorrow’s leaders. we often tell our kids that they need to get involved, that they can make a difference.” both statements are reflected in the empowerment approaches that these programs utilized to increase civic engagement. other programs explicitly cite how they were developing leadership skills. for some, it was getting the adults to step back and let youth take the lead. as one 4-h educator explained, “junior fair board is another where the youth are leaders...it’s kind of a youth led organization.” the ffa advisor also described how: we work really hard to never be the sage on the stage, we’re the guide on the side. that’s not our job; our job is to grow leaders to understand how to put together programming to empower others and advocate for agriculture and for hunger and for all aspects of leadership. another program leader discussed not only how to support leadership, but also followership: find your collaboration style. we identify and they self-identify the leaders. if you are a leader, great, then we are going to give you the skills to lead. if you’re a follower, great, we’re going to give you critical thinking skills. it should be noted that not all the programs that used intentional empowerment approaches were the same that cited youth as leaders and focused on leadership development explicitly. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 niewoehner-green et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 35 this indicates that there can be an overlap in empowerment and leadership, but they are not necessarily synonymous. the divergent cases did not have a lack of youth leader positions, as most of them had leadership teams and/or committee systems. where they differed was the absence of describing youth as having leadership capacity and the discussing intentional development of leadership skills. engagement in food systems issues all programs had some type of food and/or nutrition programming and many program leaders mentioned the use of hands-on and project-based learning, including raised garden beds, community gardens, and cooking classes. through these experiences, youth learned about food production, how they could produce food, and proper methods to prepare fruits and vegetables. however, not all programs had direct links to food security, a problem that affects most of the communities in which they worked. four programs did not include specific food security curriculum but the reasoning behind that varied across the sample. one program leader shared the perspective that youth of certain ages were not mature enough to discuss food systems issues. another program leader told us "we haven't had any direct or, i should say like outright conversations about food access and addressing it as an issue." thia program leader informed us they like to leave food insecurity and community issues "open to interpretation" for youth instead of having a direct conversation. for one organization it was due to their capacity for teaching the topic and for another it was not a topic they felt comfortable discussing. for those that did include food security, it was incorporated into their programming in various ways. it may be providing education on hunger both locally or globally or teaching curriculum about food security specifically. one urban program emphasized the interdisciplinary and interconnected nature of food systems issues by describing curriculum they had developed with a local high school: we helped develop curriculum around design challenges that deal with food scarcity, food security, food science and water scarcity because all four of those belong together. those interact with the other learning labs [human health and development, engineering and problem analysis, energy, and digital] ...because all of those had something to do with either the logistics, the growing, the technology, or the sense of socio economic and legal components of food justice and food security. within a rural high school classroom, the agricultural educator and ffa advisor has continued efforts to include food systems issues in her curriculum and has partnered with elementary educators local food banks and extension educators in her community. the educator’s projectbased learning approach incorporates local needs so that students can describe food insecurity and develop strategies to address it. this participant expressed that “...as we continue to move forward, i think food insecurity, food deserts, and food production. all of that has to be at the core of who we are, because that is what keeps peace in this world, in our country.” https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 niewoehner-green et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 36 discussion and recommendations to begin, we would like to acknowledge the transferability of the study’s findings. while not generalizable, the findings can be transferred to similar situations as we purposively sampled a variety of programs which represent different urban and rural locations, after school, community based or extracurricular programs, and food and/or health-based programming. we concluded that regardless of program type or location, all the adult practitioners were intentional about incorporating a foundation of pyd. it was clear that pyd practices were central to the functioning of the programs, as an intentional approach is crucial for supporting the development of a youth participant (hamilton et al., 2004). the use of pyd practices and principles within these programs can help support positive outcomes for the youth participants (hamilton et al., 2004). while the programs shared the use of pyd practices and principles, they differed in how they approached empowerment, youth leadership, and food system issues. just under half of the adult practitioners incorporated empowerment approaches within their programming. while the participants did not specifically reference empowerment related literature, research, or theory they were intentional in acknowledging and letting youth voices drive program decisions. their efforts reflect several dimensions from jennings et al.’s (2006) youth empowerment theory such as critical reflection on interpersonal and sociopolitical processes, equitable power-sharing between youth and adults, and engaging youth in decision-making and problem-solving. utilizing these approaches can aid in increasing youth’s understanding of issues in the food system, shape their attitudes with food and influence action to support change in systems (fulford & thompson, 2013; lewis et al., 2018; muturi, et al., 2018; zimmerman, 2000). further, over half of the adult practitioners viewed youth as leaders and intentionally developed their leadership skills. youth leadership has been described as an empowermentbased conception that incorporates youth inspiration and mobilization of people to address societal issues (kahn et al., 2009) and effect positive change (harris & beckert, 2019). however, much of the literature focuses on youth leadership development, that is, what adults can do to develop youth as leaders, rather than seeing them as agents of change. this is an important tension as our findings also indicated that programs may see leadership development as more of specific skill-building rather than also including aspirational aspects of how to engage in broader change processes. we concluded that all programs had some type of food and/or nutrition programming with many focusing on food production and preparation. just under half of the programming did not focus on food security due to a belief that their participants were too young to engage in the topic, a lack of time to address these types of issues, and a lack of efficacy in the adult practitioner to teach it. those who did teach food security acknowledged and built programming to allow for youth to explore the complex, interdisciplinary nature of food system issues (berkes et al., 2003). both rural and urban communities in ohio experience food https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 niewoehner-green et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 37 insecurity, which was apparent in our findings with several programs citing that they were situated in food insecure areas. considering this is a pervasive issue that will require action and local and state levels and that it is a systemic issue requiring understanding of cause and effect, educating and involving youth about food security and nutrition can encourage civic engagement, activism, and informed dialogue within their communities. several recommendations for practice can be made from the findings and youth empowerment literature. to begin, it is recommended that regardless of program type or focus to build a foundation on pyd to create a culture focused on viewing youth as assets and meeting the basic needs of youth. next, adult practitioners should intentionally incorporate both youth leadership development and empowerment practices broadly to increase awareness of systemic issues and prepare youth to engage in them. programs in this study incorporated various methods that may lead to youth empowerment. models can present questions to assess levels of youth participation within a program and determine the levels of control youth and adults have in decision-making, program planning, and issue identification (shier, 2001). the type pyramid from wong et al. (2010) takes the idea of shared youth-adult control further by presenting how intergenerational linkages might be considered on a continuum from adult control to youth control, with pluralistic shared control considered optimal for youth empowerment. by intentionally considering and incorporating a youth empowerment model within their program planning, program leaders could further impact youth’s motivation and ability to address complex issues within the food system. further, activities that address food systems issues can go beyond community service and extend to community engagement. although canned food drives are an important part of addressing community needs, this activity does not push youth to consider the systemic issues that drive community needs. for example, canned food drives may not address what foods might be culturally appropriate, nutrient dense, and/or sustainable for recipients. one-time volunteer or service activities also may not connect youth meaningfully to policy makers or community organizations working on systemic change. programs in this study that engaged in empowerment approaches uplifted youth voices in community by partnering with other community organizations, participating in service-learning or project-based learning and attending community meetings. future research in this area should continue to investigate how youth programming is engaging and empowering youth to act on food system issues by measuring youths’ perceived level of ability to address these issues. instead of being viewed as a program participant, youth can be seen as problem solvers, volunteers, and change-makers in their communities. additionally, future research can evaluate program leaders' knowledge levels of youth empowerment frameworks and models and their ability to incorporate them into their programs. finally, community and/or youth led action research allows youth to have a voice in exploring the food systems issues in their community as well as providing actionable outcomes driven by community need. this process can include community mapping of the food system and outreach activities such as podcasts and community-shared infographics on food security and nutrition. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 niewoehner-green et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 38 acknowledgments this research was supported by the college of food, agricultural and environmental sciences seeds research program at the ohio state university. portions of this research were presented at the 2021 north central american association for agricultural education conference in columbus, oh. https://aaea.wildapricot.org/resources/documents/north%20central/2021conference/2021no rthcentralresearchproceedings.pdf author contributions: j. e. niewoehner-green – formulation of overarching research goals, design of methodology, qualitative data, analysis, writing of manuscript including revisions and final publication draft. a. b. bowling formulation of overarching research goals, design of methodology, qualitative data, analysis, writing of manuscript including revisions. k. rinehart – data collection, data analysis, writing of draft manuscript. references akah,h., wiselogel, n., almasi, c., & bush stevens, a. 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(2000). empowerment theory. in j. rappaport j., & e. seidman (eds.), handbook of community psychology (pp. 43–63). springer. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1007/978-1-4615-4193-6_2 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543 https://kiesel.ucdavis.edu/food_education_report_dec2015.pdf https://www.youthpower.org/what-works-youth-and-agriculture-food-security-and-nutrition https://www.youthpower.org/what-works-youth-and-agriculture-food-security-and-nutrition https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/youth-dialogue-summary-usda.pdf https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/youth-dialogue-summary-usda.pdf https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/key-statistics-graphics/#map https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/key-statistics-graphics/#map https://www.futureoffood.ox.ac.uk/what-food-system https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9330-0 https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/sites/default/files/report_youth-for-growth_20180322.pdf https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/sites/default/files/report_youth-for-growth_20180322.pdf https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1007/978-1-4615-4193-6_2 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 3, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. rachel hendrix, assistant professor of agricultural and extension education, west virginia university, 4424 agricultural sciences building 1195 evansdale dr. morgantown, wv 26506, rachel.hendrix@mail.wvu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1693-2019 2. travis veach, agricultural educator at washington high school, washington high school 300 patriot drive, charles town, wv 25414, travis.veach@k12.wv.us 3. emily perdue – former assistant professor of agricultural and extension education, west virginia university, https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8340-9118 79 west virginia agricultural educators’ usage of internet-based instructional technology r. hendrix1, t. veach2, e. perdue3 article history received: november 29, 2023 accepted: april 25, 2024 published: may 14, 2024 keywords diffusion of innovations; events of learning; broadband access; remote instruction; classroom technology abstract technology is vital to american education. each year schools spend millions of dollars on various technologies intended for use in classrooms, but research shows over a third of this equipment goes unused. this study explores how west virginia agricultural educators make decisions about adopting and integrating internet-based technology into their classrooms. results showed educators were most likely to use learning management systems and search engines, and least likely to use websites, apps, games, and the online curriculum platform icev. educators integrated technology into their classrooms primarily by using it to provide and review lesson content with classes. less common uses included introducing, activating, and assessing learning. mailto:rachel.hendrix@mail.wvu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1693-2019 mailto:travis.veach@k12.wv.us https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8340-9118 hendrix et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 80 introduction and problem statement modern agricultural practices rely on technology to assist in the production food and fiber. technological advances allow agriculturists to improve the output, profitability, efficiency, and safety of their operations while reducing environmental impact (united states department of agriculture national institute of food and agriculture [usda nifa], 2023). if agricultural education programs are to prepare students for technology-based careers and educate the populace about agriculture in the 21st century, we must examine how agricultural educators integrate technology into their classrooms. the most common type of technologies used in u.s. classrooms, and in agricultural education classrooms, are those available through the internet (tsai et al., 2011; vega & robb, 2019, williams et al., 2014a). these technologies include video sharing websites, learning management systems (lms), apps, games, and online educator resources (vega & robb, 2019). use of such technology in the classroom supports student learning, creativity, and motivation while improving teachers’ abilities to differentiate course concepts and provide easy, more affordable access to course materials (bekele, 2010; williams et al., 2014a). factors impacting agricultural educators’ technology use include cost, availability, complexity, learning time, implementation time, support, and positive modeling of the technology during the teacher education process (al-ruz & khasawneh, 2011; coley et al., 2014; williams et al., 2014b). reports show many successful educational technologies go completely unused due to lack of access, support, and teacher efficacy with the product (crossley & mcnamara, 2017). in some cases, this phenomenon extends to least one third of all educational technology products purchased by schools (binkley, 2013; glimpse k12, 2019; vega & robb, 2019; yoder, 2023). educators may also implement ineffective technologies – or use technologies ineffectively – due to inexperience, personal preference, outside influences, and educational mandates (glimpse k12, 2019; vega & robb, 2019; yoder, 2023). the glimpse k12 analysis of school spending (2019) estimates that this non-use of technology costs schools over five billion dollars each year. theoretical and conceptual framework rogers’s diffusion of innovations rogers’s theory of the diffusion of innovations (2003) forms the basis of this study. this theory examines how individuals within a social system evaluate an innovation’s utility and make decisions regarding the adoption or rejection of that innovation through trial and communication. factors influencing an individual’s decision to adopt an innovation include the qualities of the innovation itself, communication methods, time, and social system characteristics (rogers, 2003). rogers (2003) divides the diffusion process into five stages: knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. first, an individual learns about the innovation and asks questions regarding its purpose, use, and ability to address needs. next, that individual https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 hendrix et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 81 experiments with and develops attitudes about the innovation before deciding on its suitability. if the innovation is adopted, it is then implemented into everyday life for a trial period. following this trial period, the individual then decides if permanent adoption is warranted. after adoption, discontinuation or alteration can occur (rogers, 2003). these processes result from dissatisfaction with or misuse of the original innovation. discontinued innovations will die out as they pass through a social system and never reach sustained adoption. altered innovations will remain in the system, although in a different form than originally intended. successful reinvention of an innovation increases the likelihood of adoption and decreases the time necessary for the diffusion process to occur. the innovations most likely to be reinvented are those offering individuals more freedom of and possibilities for use (rogers, 2003; sahin, 2006). sahin (2006) notes technologies such as computers are particularly ripe for reinvention, as they allow “many possible opportunities and applications” (p. 4). rogers (2003) described five characteristics which impact an individual’s decision to either adopt or reject an innovation: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. relative advantage refers to an innovation’s superiority over existing ideas, systems, or options. compatibility describes an innovation’s fit within the needs, beliefs, and situations inherent to a social system. complexity refers to the perceived level of difficulty associated with using an innovation as intended. trialability is the degree to which an innovation may be experimented with or tested by potential adopters. observability is concerned with the visibility and impact of outcomes which arise from an innovation. innovations in possession of high levels of relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, and positive observability, alongside low levels of complexity, are more likely to be adopted. gagné’s events of instruction the in-class usage methods for technology included in this study were derived from the work of gagné et al. (1992), which described the purposeful development of quality educational lessons through a systematic process. this process was derived from a model of events that occur when adults are presented with learning outcomes and related stimuli and was designed to structure the learning process in the most effective manner based off that model (gagné et al., 1992). gagné et al. (1992) originally proposed nine distinct steps in their lesson design procedure, but some steps were combined for clarity and to reduce survey length. the sequence of these steps was kept intact to maintain fidelity to gagné et al.’s (1992) original model. these changes were made with the guidance and approval of agricultural and extension education faculty at west virginia university. purpose the purpose of this study was to explore west virginia agricultural educators’ use of internetbased technology in their classrooms and identify connections between technology use patterns and respective adoption characteristics. in doing so, agricultural educators and teacher educators can gain a more thorough understanding of how internet-based technology is currently used in the classroom, and how the differing attributes of such technology can create https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 hendrix et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 82 more impactful learning opportunities for students when used in appropriate contexts. specific objectives guiding this study included: 1. identify how many west virginia agricultural educators have access to reliable internet service and technology in their classrooms. 2. identify the frequency with which west virginia agricultural educators used specific internet-based technologies in the classroom in their lessons. 3. examine when and how agricultural educators in west virginia integrate internet-based technologies into their lessons. methods this descriptive study explored west virginia agricultural educators’ internet-based technology habits and preferences. the population for this study included all agricultural educators employed in west virginia (n = 103). the tailored design method (dillman et al., 2014) was used to guide instrument design and participant contact procedures. participants were contacted by email and asked to complete an online survey instrument on technology usage in their classroom. participants that did not respond after two weeks received a reminder email and a telephone call asking them to complete the survey or provide information orally. those who did not respond after four weeks received a second similar reminder. at the close of the survey period, 32 agricultural educators provided usable data, offering a 31% response rate. differences in early respondents and late respondents were not significant. the instrument was composed of four sections. the first section asked respondents if they used internet-based technologies in their classrooms, and if they had reliable access to internet and technology sources provided by their school. the second section queried if participants used selected internet-based technologies, and if so, how frequently this use occurred. frequency responses were recorded on a four-point likert-type scale ranging from “always = 4” to “rarely = 1.” the third section asked respondents to indicate when and how each technology was integrated into regular learning activities. the fourth section collected respondents’ demographic information. researchers used cronbach’s alpha to measure the reliability of the statements included on the instrument. all statements demonstrated a cronbach’s alpha of .70 or above, which is acceptable in social science research (nunnally, 1994). the types of internet-based technology included in the study were derived from vega and robb (2019), which included search engines, learning management systems (lms), virtual field trips, video sharing platforms, and supplemental materials such as apps and games. the researchers chose to add the icev website to the survey because it is commonly used in west virginia as a technological teaching aid. icev provides subscribing teachers with career and technical education-specific resources including lesson plans, videos, activities, study materials, and assessments (icev, 2024). icev was founded in 1987 and is now used in over 2,000 classrooms worldwide (icev, 2022). to ensure validity, the survey was first examined by a panel of agricultural education teacher educators at west virginia university, and pilot tested on mississippi secondary agricultural https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 hendrix et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 83 educators. mississippi was chosen because it possessed levels of in-school technology and internet access similar to those in west virginia. data were analyzed for frequencies, means, and standard deviations using ibm® spss® 27.0 for windows (2021). the primary limitation for this study involved the fact that participants were contacted only via email and not through other means. this contact method made it more likely that respondents would be more familiar with, and thus more likely to use, technology. even though all agricultural educators in west virginia are given email addresses by the west virginia department of education, it is possible that some educators did not see the email, did not know how to complete an online survey, or did not feel comfortable doing so. a second limitation for this study involves technology access for teachers. not all respondents said their schools offered reliable internet access. as participants were contacted over the internet through official school email addresses, some agricultural educators in west virginia may have been unable to access their email or the survey. access to equipment is a reported issue regarding technology adoption in schools and is most likely to occur in title i schools (vega & robb, 2019). these findings cannot be generalized to other agricultural education programs in other states and territories. findings thirty-two educators completed the study for a response rate of 31.06% (n = 32). eighteen respondents identified themselves as male (56.30%) 13 as female (41.60%), and two did not provide their gender (3.10%). the average length of respondents’ teaching careers was 14.63 years (sd = 10.20). research objective one of the 32 respondents, 31 (96.88%) reported having reliable internet and technology access in their school building on a regular basis. all 32 respondents (100%) stated their students had access to such resources, either through personal or school-owned devices. this access made it possible for every responding educator to utilize at least one form of internet-based technology in their classrooms. such findings agree with the idea that technology is important in agricultural education classrooms, and with vega and robb’s (2019) estimate of 95% of teachers using technology in some form. they also agree with tsai et al.’s (2011) finding that internet searches are one of the most common forms of technology use in classrooms. smith et al. (2018) noted use of student-owned devices such as smartphones is becoming more common in schools which do not have the resources to provide reliable technology access for all. research objective two this study explored how frequently respondents used each piece of internet-based technology in their everyday classroom instruction. respondents indicated if they “always,” “often,” “occasionally,” or “rarely” used the technology. “always” was defined as use of the technology every day, “often” described use a few times a week, “occasionally” referred to use a few times a month, and “rarely” referred to use only a few times a semester. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 hendrix et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 84 results showed a clear hierarchy of internet-based technology use in west virginia agricultural education classrooms. technologies which displayed a variety of uses and allowed input from the teacher proved to be much more popular and frequently used than those which were not. table 1 illustrates west virginia agricultural educators’ technology preferences and use frequencies. table 1 frequency of use of internet-based technology always often occasionally rarely technology f % f % f % f % lms 17 53.13 11 34.38 3 9.38 1 3.13 search engines 10 31.25 18 56.25 3 9.38 1 3.13 virtual field trips 0 0.00 1 3.45 15 51.72 13 44.83 video sharing platforms 1 3.5 14 50.00 6 21.43 7 25.00 apps/games 1 3.57 4 14.29 10 35.71 13 46.42 icev 4 18.18 7 31.82 4 18.18 7 31.82 learning management systems demonstrated the greatest frequency of use and widest levels of adoption of all technologies. all 32 respondents (100%) used lms as part of their classes, and over half (f = 17, 53.13%) used it every day. eleven employed it “often” (34.38%), while three used it “occasionally” (9.38%), and one respondent “rarely” used it (3.13%). all respondents (n = 32, 100%) used search engines, although less frequently than they did lms. ten respondents “always” used search engines (31.25%), while 18 used them “often” (56.25). three used them “occasionally,” (9.38%), and one used them “rarely” (3.13%). in a 10-year review of literature regarding educational technology integration, tsai et al. (2011) found search engines to be the most commonly integrated piece of internet-based technology on a global scale. while this may be still the case, in many countries use of learning management systems surged during the height of the covid-19 pandemic, as there were few other safe options for educating students (lee et al., 2022; prat et al., 2021). if this study had been performed prior to the pandemic, it is likely that lms use would be lower. virtual field trips were seen as more of a niche product useful in certain educational situations. twenty-nine respondents (90.63%) said they used virtual field trips at least once a semester, while three (9.37%) did not use virtual field trips at all. no respondent used them every day, although one (3.45%) did employ them “often.” most respondents accessed virtual field trips on an occasional (n = 15, 51.72%) or rare (n = 13, 44.83%) basis, likely during specific lessons for which they either had a virtual field trip opportunity available or felt one to be advantageous to the learning process. twenty-eight respondents (87.50%) used video sharing platforms in their classes. over 70% of those who did used them either “often” (n = 14, 50.00%) or “occasionally” (n = 6, 21.43%), indicating that they, like virtual field trips, were helpful in specific circumstances only. one https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 hendrix et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 85 respondent (3.50%) used them every day, and a quarter of users (n = 7, 25.00%) called upon them “rarely.” apps and games were not frequently included as part of normal learning activities. only 28 respondents said they used them (87.50%) at all, and most of those did so rarely (n = 13, 46.42%), or occasionally (n = 10, 35.71%). a few included them in lessons on a frequent basis (n = 4, 14.29%), and one “always” did so (n = 1, 3.57%). the final technology included in this study was icev. icev was polarizing to respondents, demonstrating the lowest number of total users (n = 22, 68.75%) and an interesting pattern of use. half of those who implemented icev in their classrooms did so all (n = 4, 18.18%) or most (n = 7, 31.82%) of the time. the other half of icev users chose to include it in their lessons occasionally (n = 4, 18.18%) or rarely (n = 31.82%). considering icev is a paid subscription service for pre-made lesson plans, activities, videos, and assessments, it is interesting to note that half of respondents did not use it much, despite making an investment to purchase it. this indicates icev may not be meeting teachers’ needs, or may be purchased at a district level, similar to lms. research objective three research objective three examined when and how agricultural educators integrated internetbased technologies into their lessons. lesson segments were derived from the work of gagné et al. (1992) and included lesson introductions, activating strategies, content provision, reviews, and assessments. table 2 shows west virginia agricultural educators’ usage of internet-based technology divided by lesson segment in further detail. table 2 use of internet-based technology in west virginia agricultural education classrooms internet-based technology lms search engine video sharing website icev apps and games virtual field trips total lesson component introduction 14 17 24 10 3 12 80 activating strategy 17 18 8 9 10 6 68 lesson content 25 25 21 18 5 12 106 review 22 16 20 12 15 7 92 assessment 23 6 6 9 8 2 54 total 101 82 79 58 41 39 761 results indicated that teachers were most likely to use technology during the content provision portion of their lessons (f = 106), followed by review (f = 92), and introduction (f = 80) portions. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 hendrix et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 86 teachers were least likely to use technology during the activating strategy (f = 68) and assessment (f = 54) segments of lessons. learning management systems were the most frequently used technology during classroom lessons (f = 101), with most usage occurring during the content provision, assessment, and review segments. search engines (f = 82), video websites (f = 79) also had high frequencies of use, especially during content provision, introductions, and reviews. icev (f = 58), apps and games (f = 41), and virtual field trips (f = 39) were the least commonly used of all technologies. these findings demonstrate agricultural educators in west virginia have specific uses and preferences for technology in their classrooms. however, there are some instances where educators may not be using technology to its fullest potential. apps and games were not often used in respondents’ classes, and when they were, it was often for review purposes. however, ting (2010) found games could serve as a useful method for activating student interest in a topic before beginning actual instruction. only ten respondents used apps or games in such a manner. similarly, results showed respondents did not use technology as much for assessments, preferring more traditional formats instead. these results indicate a need for greater technological creativity to be modeled during the teacher education process. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations results of this study confirm the importance of internet-based technology in the agricultural education classroom. most classrooms in west virginia had reliable internet access and schoolowned technology, but in some cases students’ personal devices were required. the authors recommend identifying methods of technology implementation for agricultural education programs in such situations. they recommend performing such an analysis through survey methods that do not use the internet in order to catch programs which may have been left out of this study due to poor internet or technology availability. most of the internet-based technologies included in the study showed sustained and wide adoption. these technologies are essential to online learning, open to reinvention, and in possession of key attributes that rogers (2003) linked with successful adoption. this finding is supported by observing the ways in which participants used each technology in their classrooms, as the most frequently used were also those implemented during a variety of lesson plan components. learning management systems and search engines demonstrated high levels of relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, and observability and low complexity. they require little effort or knowledge to use, are accessible on small screens and slower connections, are useful to teachers and students, and versatile in function. their use is also widely supported throughout k-12 education (tsai et al.; vega & robb, 2019), increasing the likelihood that teachers will receive positive affirmation from others about their use (rogers, 2003). in some cases, use of these technologies may be mandated by district or state educational leaders, which rogers (2003) terms an “authority innovation decision” (p. 348). this may have led to the high number of learning management system users involved in the study. either way, it is essential for educators to use these technologies fluently. the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 hendrix et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 87 researchers recommend teacher educators teach and model essential lms and search skills during the teacher education process, so teachers (and students in turn) can implement them to greater potential in the classroom. research has shown that an educational technology course is not enough for students to master the material; teacher modelling and integration of technology into all courses is key (zipke, 2018). they also recommend helping in-service agricultural educators master these technologies through demonstrations at professional development events and activities. less frequently used technologies like virtual field trips, video websites, apps and games, and icev demonstrate less of rogers’s (2003) characteristics and may be viewed as less useful than other options, incompatible with teachers’ expectations, inaccessible on student devices, too expensive, or too likely to produce ineffective learning outcomes. while results indicate they are useful in certain situations, their specificity and lack of user control may make them difficult to implement as widely throughout a lesson. the researchers recommend deeper examination into the use of these less-frequently employed technologies. understanding what virtual field trips or videos are used and how games or apps are implemented into class could assist teachers with developing more successful, creative, and engaging technology-integrated lessons while preparing students for agricultural careers and educating them on modern agricultural practices. current app-based agricultural technologies allow users to conduct business, keep records, monitor weather and climate information, operate irrigation systems, map fields, manage livestock, connect with experts, monitor soil health and fertility, access important information, and more (farm bureau, 2024; hopkins, 2024). however, respondents in the study were either unaware of or unable to use these capabilities and heavily preferred to use apps for review instead of class content provision. virtual field trips were more likely to be used for content, but still underutilized overall. virtual field trips can allow students to gain insider views of agricultural operations that could not physically be visited due to logistic, funding, educational, or health and safety issues (tuthill & klemm, 2002). updates with virtual reality programs could provide an in-depth, 3d experience integrating not just images, but sounds and narrations as well (wells & miller, 2020). with so few americans involved in agriculture directly, viewing agricultural practices even remotely could provide valuable insight towards potential careers and general knowledge of food and fiber production. teacher educators should introduce educators to these technologies early and require teacher candidates to practice using them creatively during lessons, and not just as tools for review. the researchers also recommend an investigation into teachers’ use of icev due to its interesting use patterns. respondents were polarized regarding its implementation, and 31.82% admitted to rarely using it, despite either their programs or districts paying for the service. knowing who uses icev, how it is implemented, the suitability of icev lessons for curricular needs, and why it is purchased if not frequently used should be explored. icev offers both agricultural instruction through technology, and instruction in agricultural technologies, allowing it to serve as an effective option for educating about agricultural careers, at least for some. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 hendrix et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 88 the researchers noted that assessment was the lesson component least tied to technology use. some respondents did use their lms program or icev for assessment, but most seemed to prefer more traditional assessment means. the researchers recommend identifying teachers’ preferred assessment methods and reasonings behind those preferences. while technology may not be appropriate for all assessments in agricultural education, its use could help teachers manage submissions, provide more targeted feedback, and evaluate learning in multiple ways. acknowledgments this work is/was supported by the usda national institute of food and agriculture, hatch project s1701 and the west virginia agricultural and forestry experiment station. author contributions: r. hendrix – conceptualization, formal analysis, writing original draft, supervision; 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(2011). self-efficacy in internet-based learning environments: a literature review. educational technology & society, 14(4), 222-240. https://www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.14.4.222 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 https://www.glimpsek12.com/blog-posts/glimpse-k12-analysis-of-school-spending-shows-that-two-thirds-of-software-license-purchases-go-unused https://www.glimpsek12.com/blog-posts/glimpse-k12-analysis-of-school-spending-shows-that-two-thirds-of-software-license-purchases-go-unused https://www.glimpsek12.com/blog-posts/glimpse-k12-analysis-of-school-spending-shows-that-two-thirds-of-software-license-purchases-go-unused https://www.croplife.com/editorial/matt-hopkins/best-agriculture-apps/ https://www.icevonline.com/ https://www.icevonline.com/pressroom/2022/icev-acquires-applied-educational-systems https://www.icevonline.com/pressroom/2022/icev-acquires-applied-educational-systems https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2021.1978401 https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095177 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ed501453.pdf https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2018.01238 https://www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.13.2.141 https://www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.14.4.222 hendrix et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 90 tuthill, g., & klemm, e. b. (2002). virtual field trips: alternatives to actual field trips. international journal of instructional media, 29(4), 453-468. https://wvu.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarlyjournals/virtual-field-trips-alternatives-actual/docview/204317859/se2?accountid=2837 united states department of agriculture national institute of food and agriculture. (2023). agriculture technology. https://www.nifa.usda.gov/topics/agriculture-technology vega, v., & robb, m.b. (2019). the common sense census: inside the 21st century classroom. common sense media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/2019educator-census-inside-the-21st-century-classroom_1.pdf wells, t., & miller, g. (2020). the effect of virtual reality technology on welding skill performance. journal of agricultural education, 61(1), https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.01152 williams, m. r., warner, w. j., flowers, j. l., & croom, d. b. (2014a). accessibility and usage of technology by north carolina agriculture teachers. journal of agricultural education, 55(4), 191-205. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2014.04191 williams, m. r., warner, w. j., flowers, j. l., & croom, d. b. (2014b). teaching with technology: north carolina agriculture teachers’ knowledge acquisition, attitudes, and identified barriers. journal of agricultural education, 55(5), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2014.05001 yoder, s. (2023, october 16). school ed tech money mostly gets wasted. one state has a solution. the hechinger report. https://hechingerreport.org/school-ed-tech-moneymostly-gets-wasted-one-state-has-a-solution/ zipke, m. (2018). preparing teachers to teach with technology: examining the effectiveness of a course in educational technology. the new educator, 14(4), 342-362. https://doi.org/10.1080/1547688x.2017.1401191 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.439 https://wvu.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/virtual-field-trips-alternatives-actual/docview/204317859/se-2?accountid=2837 https://wvu.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/virtual-field-trips-alternatives-actual/docview/204317859/se-2?accountid=2837 https://wvu.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/virtual-field-trips-alternatives-actual/docview/204317859/se-2?accountid=2837 https://www.nifa.usda.gov/topics/agriculture-technology https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/2019-educator-census-inside-the-21st-century-classroom_1.pdf https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/2019-educator-census-inside-the-21st-century-classroom_1.pdf https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.01152 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2014.04191 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2014.05001 https://hechingerreport.org/school-ed-tech-money-mostly-gets-wasted-one-state-has-a-solution/ https://hechingerreport.org/school-ed-tech-money-mostly-gets-wasted-one-state-has-a-solution/ https://doi.org/10.1080/1547688x.2017.1401191 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 3, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. mahamane s. cissé, educational consultant, 1440 hebron church road, statham, ga 30666, msaliou@hotmail.com, https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1586-6105 2. m. craig edwards, sarkeys distinguished professor of agricultural education, oklahoma state university, 240 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, craig.edwards@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4436-4450 3. lauren l. cline, assistant professor, oklahoma state university, 242 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, lauren.l.cline@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4187-8122 4. j. shane robinson, professor & head, oklahoma state university, 225 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, shane.robinson@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9506-5752 5. craig e. watters, clinical associate professor of professional practice, director of institute for global social entrepreneurship, oklahoma state university, stillwater, ok 74078, craig.watters@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4386-1818 6. lydia m. martins, phd student, oklahoma state university, 215j agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, lydia.martins@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5699-0096 41 entrepreneurship in sub-saharan africa: participants’ views of a professional development program’s impact on their business ventures five years later m. cissé 1, m. edwards2, l. cline3, j. robinson4, c. watters5, l. martins6 article history received: may 12, 2025 accepted: to august 24, 2025 published: september, 22 2025 keywords agribusiness; education; photovoice; sdg 8: decent work & economic growth abstract we assessed the impact of oklahoma state university’s 2018 mwfi on its participants, i.e., fellows, approximately five years after they returned home. twenty-five fellows from 20 sub-saharan african (ssa) nations participated in a six-weeks-long training program sponsored by the u.s. department of state. our follow-up study sought to determine the fellows’ satisfaction regarding the training, the primary benefits and achievements attributed to it, and the training-related developments of the fellows’ businesses they selected to share. we collected quantitative and qualitative data to answer three questions, including a narrated photovoice request. most fellows indicated that they were satisfied with the training and would not have been equipped to improve their businesses without its contributions to their development. as such, results were supported conceptually by human capital theory. more planning by the funder who places fellows and by the institute’s providers may better address some fellows’ specific learning needs and interests not fully met. additional longitudinal studies, including economic analyses, are warranted. mailto:msaliou@hotmail.com http://craig.edwards@okstate.edu http://lauren.l.cline@okstate.edu http://shane.robinson@okstate.edu mailto:craig.watters@okstate.edu mailto:lydia.martins@okstate.edu cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 42 introduction and problem statement naudé (2009) argued that most developing nations had neglected entrepreneurship in their economic growth models due to hosting economies mostly controlled by state-owned enterprises and multinational companies, especially in the case of sub-saharan african (ssa) nations. however, attitudes have shifted toward more entrepreneurial economies due to rampant youth unemployment (gough, 2016; mukembo et al., 2020, 2023; smith et al., 2023) and corruption in many state-run entities (collier, 2007). entrepreneurial ventures are regarded as capable of creating jobs, reducing poverty, and spurring economic growth (bruton et al., 2015). although many entrepreneurs in ssa often lack basic business management skills (mano et al., 2012), ramachandran and shah (1999) asserted that african entrepreneurs with secondary level education or higher have better managerial skills, suggesting that education improved their business acumen. economists attribute the endemic poverty of many nations to the conflict trap, exacerbating social tensions, contributing to unemployment, destroying infrastructure, and deterring investment (collier, 2007). entrepreneurship has been used to catalyze economic and social change in nations recovering from conflicts, a condition plaguing many in ssa, by facilitating collaboration among ethnicities and reducing the distrust that often characterizes conflict-ridden regions. oklahoma state university hosted a mandela washington fellowship institute (mwfi) for ssa entrepreneurs primarily in the agriculture and food sectors and for a few in stem-related youth development ventures, i.e., social entrepreneurship. however, little data existed assessing the program’s long-term impact. filling this gap could provide useful feedback, expand the related literature, address a world bank concern regarding the evaluation of development efforts (rother, 2007), and better enable stakeholders to judge the value of mwfis. theoretical and conceptual framework this study was guided conceptually by human capital theory (hct) which also undergirded the planning and delivery of the project evaluated. such provided a lens through which the impact of a training program could be assessed regarding participants’ satisfaction, behaviors involving entrepreneurship, and business enterprise development over time. hct posits that investments in education and training improve an individual’s productivity and earning potential (becker, 1962, 1964, 1994; schultz, 1961, 1971). and those who engage in professional development are more competitive in the job market and more capable of occupational success. the organization for economic co-operation and development (2001) defined human capital as knowledge, skills, and experiences that enhance economic productivity. in this case, we examined how mwfi participation contributed to fellows’ success as entrepreneurs, aligning with hct’s claim that education leads to improved job performance, increased incomes, and higher motivation. hct (becker, 1964, 1994; schultz, 1961, 1971) offered an analytical lens regarding how the mwfi training had impacted the entrepreneurship of its participants who were creating, maintaining, and expanding their business ventures in ssa. this framework, therefore, assisted us in exploring a mwfi’s long-term impact. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 43 purpose our purpose was to assess the impact of oklahoma state university’s 2018 mwfi on its participants, i.e., fellows, approximately five years after they returned home, especially regarding satisfaction with the training program and the development of their entrepreneurial ventures. we sought to answer three research questions: (a) how satisfied were the fellows with selected aspects of the training? (b) what primary benefits and achievements did the fellows attribute to the training experiences? (c) what training-related developments of the fellows’ businesses did they choose to visually document and narrate? methods our larger study (cissé, 2023) was intended as a census, including all 25 fellows who participated in the 2018 mwfi, i.e., 15 males and 10 females from 20 ssa countries, ranging in age from their early 20s to mid-30s. most held at least an undergraduate degree. at time of the follow-up portion of the study in 2023, one female participant was deceased, so 24 individuals remained. the mwf is the flagship program of the young african leaders initiative. it aims to empower young leaders of ssa through academic coursework, leadership training, and networking (cissé, 2023) and strives to include genders equally and fellows with physical disabilities among its 700 annual participants (u.s. department of state, n.d.). the supervising agency, international research exchange (irex), as contracted with the u.s. department of state, assigns 25 fellows for six-weeks of training to each mwfi. our mwfi featured a leadership-in-business theme emphasizing entrepreneurship. an executive-style training program was implemented through interactive, engaging, and practical learning experiences to promote critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving skills while exploring coherent themes designed to bolster the fellows’ capacities primarily as agricultural and food entrepreneurs. institute topics and learning exercises included business pitch presentations; climate change and sustainable agricultural and natural resources stewardship; corporate social responsibility; credit and financing models and approaches; customer service; emerging and innovative technologies; employee training, appraisal, and relations; gender equity; social entrepreneurship; volunteerism/community service; and youth development, employability, and engagement; among many others. in addition, learning opportunities to inform the fellows’ understanding and practice of strengths-based, transformational leadership that emphasized ethical behaviors were stressed throughout the mwfi’s programming. faculty members, guest presenters, and special topic facilitators were drawn from across the university, the local community, and the state to support achieving our institute’s objectives. in particular, faculty from the colleges of agriculture (coa) and business collaborated to plan and deliver the mwfi, i.e., a multidisciplinary team. enlisting assets from the coa, such as experts in agribusiness, including from the robert m. kerr food and agricultural products center (fapc), who regularly consult with agribusiness and food entrepreneurs in oklahoma, enabled the fellows to gain insights into solutions involving food product preserving and storing, packaging, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 44 labeling, and marketing. oklahoma seed stock foundation, as affiliated with the oklahoma state university’s department of plant and soil sciences, focuses on improving grain seed quality and producing certified seed for u.s. grain farmers, hosted several fellows for training. seed quality assurance is a significant problem facing farmers in ssa and consistently threatens efforts to achieve food security in their nations. other resources – on our campus and in the community – employed to achieve our mwfi’s goals included oklahoma state university’s center for international trade and development (citd), meridian technology center’s business development outreach unit, and the stillwater/payne county chamber of commerce, among other actors supporting business and entrepreneurship development in oklahoma. citd is a member of oklahoma’s small business development center (sbdc) network and assists the state’s entrepreneurs with smalland medium-size enterprises to take advantage of domestic and international trade opportunities. the sbdc model has implications for regions such as ssa by supporting u.s.-africa trade. site visits and enterprise-shadowing opportunities also enhanced our programming as well as the fellows’ involvement with a habitat for humanity house building project and a local food pantry’s work, both u.s. models of volunteerism and community service. in addition, the mwfi incorporated numerous cultural experiences highlighting oklahoma’s history and traditions, e.g., visiting a native american heritage center, partaking in traditional 4th of july festivities, and touring a public school’s agricultural education facilities to interact with teachers and students. as part of our multi-method study, 21 fellows (87.50%) completed a follow-up assessment via an online qualtrics questionnaire regarding the mwfi experience that included levels of satisfaction with its training as well as opportunities to highlight business-related benefits and achievements they attributed to their participation. using a 4-point, likert-type scale (1 = not satisfied to 4 = very satisfied; ꭤ = 0.69; jayaratne, 2015), the fellows responded to four items describing their levels of satisfaction for (a) professional interactions with u.s. participants, (b) relevance of the experience to their business needs, (c) usefulness of the learning experiences, and (d) the overall mwfi experience. these findings are represented with frequencies, percentages, and by an overall composite mean score. the fellows were also asked to identify the most significant benefits gained by participating in the mwfi. in addition, the fellows were asked to describe any achievements of their business enterprises attributed to participating in the mwfi. nine (37.5%) also submitted photos of their businesses considered outgrowths either entirely or in part due to their participation in the mwfi and were accompanied by the fellows’ narrations. photovoice is a qualitative research method that allows individuals to share their lives, challenges, and achievements through photos. participants, often from disadvantaged circumstances, use cameras to document their activities, emotions, and thoughts about various phenomena, share those images, and explain their reasons for photographing such. photovoice, therefore, can give a voice to the marginalized by allowing them to express needs and attributes of their communities (evans-agnew & rosemberg, 2016). photovoice was our study’s other data collection method that enabled the fellows to express visual evidence of their https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 45 businesses’ growth over time. these could have been new products; new packaging or branding; new programs, collaborations, or approaches; or use of new tools or machines they initiated after attending the mwfi. responses to open-ended questions regarding the fellows’ mwfi-related benefits and achievements as well as photovoice narrations of business enterprises are presented almost verbatim. results distilled through content analysis (gay et al., 2012; leedy & ormrod, 2005) were summarized as conclusions. tracy’s (2010) criteria of rich rigor, credibility, sincerity, resonance, and significant contribution guided our analytical and interpretive processes. reflexivity in studies involving qualitative methods, researchers’ backgrounds and potential biases should be revealed. i, the lead researcher, am a native of mali. i assume that young africans are as capable as their western counterparts if given similar opportunities. i earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the soviet union before returning to mali in 1992. living in the united states since 1996, i realize that the soviet union and the united states, despite variant economic systems, stressed agriculture’s role in their development and prosperity and the need to develop the respective nations’ human capital. this captured my interest. i assisted with the 2018 and 2019 oklahoma state university’s mwfis as a project team member. life experiences and interests, including that involvement, influenced me to research this topic. i sought to mitigate biases by bracketing such (tufford & newman, 2010). other authors include faculty members at oklahoma state university, three in agriculture and one in business, and one u.s. graduate student. two led their institution’s three mwfis and traveled to ssa for development projects, and another provided the fellows with leadership training. the student, studying international agriculture, assisted with manuscript preparation. findings none of the 21 responding fellows indicated dissatisfaction with their participation in the mwfi after five years had elapsed. eighteen (85.71%) indicated that they were either satisfied or very satisfied regarding their professional interactions with u.s. participants (see figure 1). however, fewer, 13 of 21 (61.90%), were as satisfied with the experience’s relevance to their business needs. eighteen (85.71%) also indicated that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the usefulness of the training experience. and 19 (90.48%) rated the overall mwfi experience as either satisfying or very satisfying (see figure 1). the overall composite mean score for the satisfaction construct was 3.20/4.00 which was slightly lower when measured at the conclusion of their mwfi (3.31/4.00; cissé, 2023) five years earlier. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 46 figure 1 satisfaction of the fellows five years later note. numerals above the vertical bars were the number of participants who indicated that level of satisfaction with the corresponding color-coded response items. five years later, the fellows were asked the most significant benefits they gained from participation in the 2018 mwfi. see table 1 for their responses. 3 10 88 9 4 3 7 11 2 9 10 2 somewhat satisfied 3 satisfied 4 very satisfied satisfaction five years after the institute the professional interactions with u.s. participants the relevance of experience to your business needs the usefulness of learning experience in the u.s. the overall experience you received during this program https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 47 table 1 most significant benefits fellows reported gaining from the 2018 mwfi fellows responses 1 “i gained confidence in anything i aimed to do.” 2 “after the fellowship, i reviewed my business model, and my sales significantly changed.” 3 “networking, new skills, self-confidence” 4 “my network grew, and i was introduced to new concepts.” 5 a “the most significant benefit was to be well-trained in business entrepreneurship and leadership.” 6 a “the connections i have made are the most significant thing. connecting with a u.s. counterpart was possible and easy because i was there physically and connecting with other african fellows. it was empowering to know i have another fellow pushing hard no matter what. just that thought keeps me going.” 7 a “network, because i can tap into a rich network anytime.” 8 “entrepreneurial acumen and networking” 9 a “social media marketing is one of the most significant benefits. i also benefited from the public speaking class we had.” 10 “being able to know that i have great potential and think big.” 11 a “also, the session on leadership was very great. it helped me to discover my leadership style." 12 a “improved leadership and communication skills” “before the fellowship, i was somewhat not confident in myself and was poor at communication.” 13 “the fellowship has built my entrepreneurial capacity and allowed me to take bold action and co-found my own company.” 14 “i became a better version of myself. more open-minded and focused on contributing to the betterment of my society.” 15 a “my business scaled up from 30% to 70%. my marketing skills improved.” 16 “better knowledge, perception, and understanding of america.” 17 “the networks i built are the most valuable thing i gained for my career and personal growth.” 18 a “meeting dr. [name] [a mwfi project team member].” 19 a “the networks i created while in the program are the most significant. having friends from across africa and the u.s. is the most important thing.” 20 “i learned a lot from cross-culture and networking with fellow africans; i expanded my business and am currently employing directly over 500 farmers.” 21 “confidence” “i gained self-confidence that makes me feel more capable of using my talents. in the workplace, especially in entrepreneurship, self-confidence is an important element of leadership. it’s an essential quality for any entrepreneur, and the program greatly helped me.” note. a fellows’ entrepreneurial experiences, including for-profit and social, are further elaborated on through their quotes in the notes corresponding with their photovoice responses. five years later, the fellows were asked to describe any achievements they attributed to their participation in the 2018 mwfi. see table 2 for their responses. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 48 table 2 achievements fellows attributed to their participation in the 2018 mwfi fellows responses 1 “i was able to give training to 500 rural producers to extend my network. because of this work, i was ‘youth of the month.’ we created forty-five (45) agricultural cooperatives after the mwf.” 2 “social media marketing training and basic accounting training received have enhanced how we interact with our customers.” 3 “networking, self-confidence, opportunity identification” 4 “the global outlook that we are planning. up-scaling (massively); sourcing funding” 5 a “thanks to [the] oklahoma state university mwf, i mastered pitching and business plan. i increase[d] my self-confidence and skills in business and entrepreneurship.” 6 a “through the oklahoma state university mwfi, i have made connections with the fablab tulsa, and we had . . . found . . . [a] grant for a stem project in togo.” 7 a “working with 4-h u.s. has given me the legitimacy to get more school partners in congo upon completing the mwfi.” 8 “exports markets” 9 a “during my stay at oklahoma state university, we were taught about facebook marketing in one of our sessions. it has helped my business. since i got back, i have used facebook all of the time, this has increased sales, and my business has gained recognition.” 10 “networking skills” 11 a “improved my production quality by employing the best technology learned from fapc. improved my business and leadership skills, where i managed diversity effectively within my team and staff.” 12 a “the fellowship significantly improved my communication skills and entrepreneurial mindset.” 13 “i was able to effectively communicate, sell, focus, learn, and strategize.” 14 “[the] oklahoma state university mwfi improved my entrepreneurship skills and branding skills. the experience helped me network more and helped me maintain my networking relationships.” 15 a “business resilience” 16 “visiting and working with a company outside of mozambique.” 17 “meeting dr. [name, faculty member at oklahoma state university]” 18 a “i got more information about grain amaranth through [name] since he connected me with the amaranth institute in mexico. i have been in close contact with grain amaranth experts . . . . i also got good quality seeds from mexico through connections in mexico.” 19 a “exposure to the international level. [i] learned from networking.” 20 “it is difficult to attribute an achievement impact gained thanks to oklahoma state university, but the mwf was a wonderful human experience where i learned much from my other fellows. i came back with a desire to do entrepreneurship even more powerfully and with an even more convinced mindset that i could accomplish great things. social entrepreneurship also means a lot to me today, thanks to that experience.” 21 “i could structure and formalize my business because of the knowledge acquired at oklahoma state university.” note. a fellows’ entrepreneurial experiences, including for-profit and social, are further elaborated on through their quotes in the notes corresponding with their photovoice responses. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 49 photovoice data via qualtrics survey platform, nine fellows, three women and six men spanning ssa from togo to tanzania, provided cellphone quality photos of their businesses representing outgrowths or results attributed to participation in the mwfi (see figures 2-10). photos signified changes in their business operations, opportunities, and ongoing development as entrepreneurs. the narrations were the fellows’ explanations of the photos and relationships with their mwfi experiences. figure 2 fellow 5, mali note. “these are products of agrowomen: sesame oil, sesame seeds, sesame snacks, and parboiled rice. participating in the fellowship helped me develop my business ideas and products. i bought a small sesame oil press with the stipend of the fellowship. mr. [name] put me in contact with a lady named [name], who helped me buy my first oil press on amazon. during the second trip to the 8th global forum of unaoc, i brought my machine home.” https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 50 figure 3 fellow 6, togo note. “this picture shows a stem workshop in a school. the board held by the kid is an electronic board we codesigned with the fablab tulsa on a mwf18 reciprocal exchange-funded project. i visited them during the mwf 2018 fellowship, and we applied for a grant for the project. the project is about going to schools in togo for hands-on soldering sessions so kids learn how to solder a led light, a battery holder, and the power switch to the board. but this is not just about soldering; it is also about learning more about our country, togo, its regions, and what can be valued or featured from every region and culture. the idea is to make them curious about science and technology and willing to learn from others. that also helps create cohesion in a country with such diverse cultures and makes them keener on accepting and working together. business-wise, these kinds of boards cannot be produced here even if we design them, we will have to order them from abroad. but these kinds of activities are what we want to be doing more in school and show more of what stem education is. but we need the funding and the required support. so, through the mwf 2018 reciprocal grant and networking with fablab tulsa, we can apply for grants and do fundraising for similar projects.” figure 4 fellow 7, republic of congo note. “that is the picture of the luzabu group head office in [city], which we launched almost one year after completing the mwf 2018 at oklahoma state university. it has increased our training capacity and branding, allowing our start-up to grow financially and in credibility. it relates to the training i received at oklahoma state university in that the decision to launch it came from a poster pitch we designed with my team using the poster pitch techniques taught to us at oklahoma state university. we pitched to investors using luzabu group poster pitch and convinced some of them to invest. thus, oklahoma state university has been a great catalyst for our current success.” https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 51 figure 5 fellow 9, liberia note. “in the photo, i feel accomplished after a hard day[’s] work, making sure all the products are well packaged and can compete locally and internationally. skills learned from oklahoma state university have everything to do with my business growth. as you see in the picture, the products are well displayed on the shelf due to some visits to some business centers during my stay at oklahoma state university. the photo also indicates the working of a true african lady who has been inspired by lessons learned from mwf, always getting up early to get things done and striving to improve daily. finally, the photo inspires girls and women to create their narratives. it means that girls and women are strong enough to make their own decisions, be free, and break the status quo that people set up for them.” figure 6 fellow 11, nigeria note. “the scene is capacity building and development of over 300 smallholder potato farmers on reducing potato waste, processing, storage, food safety, and packaging/marketing. about 80% of women and youths attended the training funded by the african development bank (afdb) and sponsored by the potato value chain office in [name] state, nigeria. the training empowered the women to process potatoes locally into starch, creating a hygienic potato fries space using instant cook stands. the training was a capacity development initiative learned from the robert m. kerr food and agricultural product[s] center (fapc) in stillwater, oklahoma, during the mandela washington fellowship and the post-fellowship networking activity with the staff of oklahoma state university.” https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 52 figure 7 fellow 12, ethiopia note. “i have rebranded it [, i.e., my enterprise,] again to make it easier to remember and catchier. the name implies a local name that means medicine, the leaves indicate agriculture, and the yellow and green color of the fruits and vegetables suggests something to do with nature. the whole story and idea are derived after the fellowship, including using powerful colors, which oklahoma state university also uses orange as its identification. please find the attached new brand name.” figure 8 fellow 15, tanzania note. “the picture represents the improvement of our services, from good to great! partnering with other vendors to increase our revenue and access to more wedding events, we are serving ice cream and sweet snacks at this event!” https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 53 figure 9 fellow 18, kenya note. “the picture was taken on our farm in [town], kenya. the photo shows my mother, my friend’s kids from mexico, and me. we have intercropped maize and grain amaranth on the farm for our consumption and as cash crops. my friend, [name] from mexico, had visited the farm to see how we grow our amaranth and offer advice as an expert in the field. [name] and a team from mexico, including [a mwfi co-coordinator, name’s] mother, had invited me to the 1st world amaranth congress in mexico shortly after the oklahoma state university fellowship. in mexico, i learned more about amaranth growing and value addition which i applied to our farm in kenya. the fellowship helped me learn new techniques of marketing and managing the business. after the fellowship, i began the value addition of the grain amaranth, which grew the business revenues by over 50%.” figure 10 fellow 19, uganda note. “ . . . i had just reached my place of work. the boys were cleaning the garlic, sun drying it, and packaging it for shipment to congo, sudan, kenya, etc., . . . i learned customer care, sustainability, and accountability of business [at the mwfi].” the nine participants who provided narrated images described a variety of entrepreneurial endeavors ranging from production agriculture to food processing and purveying to youth development through stem. eight of the nine made direct linkages between the growth and success of their ventures to learning experiences that occurred during the 2018 mwfi at oklahoma state university and some even thereafter stemming from relationships sparked https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 54 during the fellowship. for these entrepreneurs, the mwfi’s impact had resonated during the five years that elapsed, and their narrations said as much. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations we assessed long-term impacts of a 2018 mwfi on its participants from ssa. other than the mwfi’s providers, findings may be relevant to additional stakeholders, such as the u.s. department of state and ssa governments, as they determine whether u.s. investments in international development yield meaningful outcomes regarding entrepreneurs and their ventures. the fellows’ overall level of satisfaction with their mwfi experiences remained mostly stable five years later, implying that their entrepreneurship training needs and interests were largely met. regarding benefits associated with the mwfi, fellows identified business networking opportunities and connections, growth in confidence as entrepreneurs, skills acquisition involving new approaches to marketing and leadership, and aspects of selfimprovement. as for highlighting achievements they credited to mwfi participation, fellows further stressed better networking, including the use of social media; increased marketing channels; and improved confidence. several fellows also described exporting their products to international buyers, improving approaches to business planning and practices, and developing a more entrepreneurial mindset while seeking to scale-up their enterprises and find new opportunities for expansion. although the training was a north-south initiative, of note, a kenyan fellow who farmed and processed amaranth engaged in a south-south collaboration involving producers and food scientists in mexico arising from their mwfi experience. the fellows’ benefits and achievements were further confirmed and expanded on by the photos and related narratives they shared. development of the fellows’ capacities as entrepreneurs were described in contextual ways but several also depicted developing the capacity of others, including youth and women, through the scope and reach of their enterprises. our results, therefore, supported assertions of hct (becker, 1962, 1964, 1994; schultz, 1961, 1971) and capacitating individuals for improved economic empowerment. we recommend an improved placement process among the funder, the fellows, and the hosting institutions. agriculture and agribusinesses, as contexts for fellows’ learning experiences such as enterprise shadowing, site visits, and access to experts, are not the same throughout the united states, e.g., rice or sugar cane producing areas versus corn and egg production regions. knowing more about the fellows’ entrepreneurial interests and matching them with such could lead to greater satisfaction among future mwf participants. longitudinal studies are often a rarity regarding the impact of training programs intended to build the capacities of international participants (rother, 2007; smith et al., 2023), as described here; this is usually due to a lack of donor funding to support such. therefore, funders are urged to earmark a portion of the resources provided for these programs to support long-term evaluations, including on-site observations; interviews of local stakeholders, e.g., employees https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 cissé et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 55 and customers; and analyses of return-on-investment impacts. failure rates among entrepreneurs worldwide vary but are relatively high (sarasvathy et al., 2011). so, was lack of success why more than half the fellows did not provide photos representative of their business achievements after returning home, or were other reasons at play? this lack of participation warrants additional inquiry. we also acknowledge several limitations of our study: small sample size, reliance on selfreporting, potential for recall problems (rogers, 2003) by the participants, as well as the absence of on-site observations and data collection. further, our results were not immune to the dunning-kruger effect, i.e., the fellows may have overestimated their abilities (van hugten et al., 2023) when reporting benefits and achievements they attributed to participating in a mwfi. acknowledgments funding information: this research study was funded in part by the oklahoma agricultural experiment station hatch project no. okl03187, through the u.s. national institute of food and agriculture. conflict of interest: no conflicts of interest exist regarding the study, or this related manuscript. previous dissemination: portions of this manuscript were derived from the lead author’s doctoral dissertation study, as referenced: https://openresearch.okstate.edu/entities/ publication/a4eeb195-f103-4ab5-8f9d-4034301129e7. related oral presentations occurred at the 2025 conference of the association for international agricultural and extension education in inverness, scotland, and at the 2024 conference of the comparative and international education society in miami beach, fl, usa, as part of a panel discussion. artificial intelligence: no ai tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript. author contribution statement: m. s. cissé – investigation, formal analysis, writing original draft; 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(2023). the dunningkruger effect and entrepreneurial self-efficacy: how tenure and search distance jointly direct entrepreneurial self-efficacy. journal of business research, 161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113810 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601 https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325010368316 https://yali.state.gov/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113810 microsoft word 345-final.docx advancements in agricultural development volume 4, issue 3, 2023 agdevresearch.org 1. kasey harmon, graduate student, university of nebraska, 143 filley hall, p.o. box 830947, lincoln, ne 68583, kaseyharmon99@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6794-1722 2. taylor ruth, assistant professor, university of tennessee, 201b morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996, truth2@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5269-9154 3. bryan reiling, associate professor of animal science, university of nebraska-lincoln, , ansc c204a, unl, 68583-0908, breiling2@unl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5913-0614 4. nathan w. conner, professor of agricultural education, university of nebraska-lincoln 236 filley hall lincoln, ne 685830947, nconner2@unl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0063-4110 5. christopher t. stripling, professor and department head, university of tennessee , 320 morgan hall, 2621 morgan circle drive, knoxville, tn 37996-4511, cstripli@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5045-3492 90 predicting teachers’ intent to use inquiry-based learning in the classroom after a professional development k. harmon1, t. ruth2, b. reiling3, n. w. conner4, c. t. stripling5 article history received: may 23, 2023 accepted: august 9, 2023 published: august 21, 2023 keywords theory of planned behavior; science literacy; science proficiency abstract in the united states, there is an increasing need for high school students to enhance their science proficiency. inquiry-based learning (ibl) can serve as a teaching strategy to increase students’ science proficiency levels, but it is critical that teachers are equipped with the knowledge needed to teach ibl. in this study, we aimed to describe the impact that a professional development (pd) about integrating ibl into curricula has on science and agriscience teachers’ intent to use ibl. the theory of planned behavior, as well as confidence, guided this evaluation. a paper survey was distributed to the pd participants after the in-person part of a prolonged pd. survey questions were related to respondents’ confidence, attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and intent in using the ibl animal science concepts. findings from this study indicate that teachers developed an increased confidence, possessed positive attitudes, were influenced by subjective norms, and felt that barriers could be controlled. however, attitude was the only significant predictor of intent to integrate the ibl animal science concepts. we recommend pursuing a follow-up with the teachers after implementation of the ibl lessons to gain a better understanding of the practicality of ibl in the classroom. harmon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.345 91 introduction and problem statement approximately half of all high school students in tennessee (tennessee department of education, 2022), and nebraska are science proficient (nebraska department of education, 2022). as students graduate and pursue higher education or enter the workforce, it is important that they are science literate so they can effectively problem solve and make informed decisions (united states department of education [usde], 2022; zen, 1990). science can be taught using inquiry-based learning which would help students enhance their critical thinking and science literacy skills (warner & myers, 2011). ibl prepares students to become productive citizens of society as they gain crucial skills such as problem solving, collaborating, analyzing information, and effective communication (calalb, 2018; savery, 2006). students can enhance their science literacy (zen, 1990) and foster their critical thinking and problem-solving skills through applying science to real-life contexts within career and technical education (cte) (pearson et al., 2013; thoron & myers, 2011; thoron & myers, 2012). previous research alludes to teachers recognizing the value of ibl but do not have the appropriate instructional knowledge and skills to use ibl in their classroom (dibiase & mcdonald, 2015). professional development is an effective method to change teacher’s attitudes (guskey, 2002), and boost their confidence in their ability to use ibl (kreifels et al., 2021; thoron et al., 2011; thoron & myers, 2011). prolonged pd programs over several months can be particularly useful in preparing teachers to integrate ibl into their classes (kreifels et al., 2021). therefore, the science and agricultural academy was developed as a 12-month long pd program for science and agricultural teachers to learn how teach using ibl within the context of animal sciences. the pd program consisted of a 5-day, in-person training during the summer followed by continued support over the academic year as teachers integrated ibl into their classes. the purpose of this research was to describe the impact that the in-person pd program had on science and agriscience teachers' intent to use ibl during the following academic year. theoretical and conceptual framework the theoretical framework used for this study was the theory of planned behavior (tpb) (ajzen, 1991). tpb was used to describe the impacts that an ibl pd has on science and agriscience teachers' intent to integrate ibl animal science concepts. ajzen’s (2012) tpb model shown in figure 1 emphasizes that a person’s behavioral intent is influenced by their attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (ajzen, 1991). attitude is defined as how one feels toward a behavior and whether their perception of a behavior is advantageous (ajzen, 1991). performing a behavior due to social pressure from peers is subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control refers to how a person perceives they can perform or control a behavior (ajzen, 1991). specifically, favorable attitudes, subjective norms, and a high perceived behavioral control positively influence an individual’s intent to perform a behavior (ajzen, 1991). harmon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.345 92 figure 1. ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior model effective pd enables teachers to become more confident in modifying curriculum as they gain a better understanding of their content, evaluate their performance, and identify their student needs (patton et al., 2015). desimone’s (2009) suggested components of a pd were used to enhance the tpb variables including behavioral control, attitude, and subjective norms. content focus is a prominent factor when improving teacher knowledge and skills (desimone, 2009). the science and agricultural academy is a multi-part pd consisting of targeting behavioral control factors by increasing teacher knowledge on creating and teaching ibl science content (ferand et al., 2020) through an animal science perspective and providing materials needed to facilitate the lessons. active learning components of a successful pd enable teachers to engage in experiential learning of lessons and activities (desimone, 2009; patton et al., 2015) that increases teachers’ ability to facilitate the content on their own (garet et al., 2001). in this specific pd, teachers were given the opportunity to be active learners where they participated as students and in collaboration with peers to broaden their perspectives and enhance their behavioral control. additionally, coherence enabled teachers to form their attitudes and discuss the importance of addressing science and agricultural literacy efforts using ibl. furthermore, the recommended duration of a pd is 20 or more hours contact time (desimone, 2009). the pd for this study was held eight hours daily over a period of five days, giving the teachers prolonged time to engage in material and increase their skills and self-efficacy in facilitating ibl animal science concepts. the pd also allowed teachers to engage in collective participation as they participated in science and agriscience teacher pairs from their own school to create ibl animal science lessons from both a science and agricultural perspective that satisfies their school and student needs. teachers’ intent to integrate ibl into their classrooms is influenced by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (conner et al., 2021). however, barriers that affect teachers’ intent to use ibl consist of lack of resources and support from school administration, high student-to-teacher ratios, and state-level expectations (dibiase & mcdonald, 2015; harmon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.345 93 ramnarain, 2014). this pd attempted to address and provide solutions to some of those barriers through the activities previously described. there is an increasing need to explore the impact that pd has on teachers’ intent in using ibl animal science concepts as a context for teaching science. purpose the purpose of this research was to describe the impact that a professional development about integrating inquiry-based learning into curricula had on science and agriscience teachers' intent to use ibl. the following objectives guided this study: 1. determine science and agricultural academy participants’ change in confidence in integrating inquiry-based learning animal science concepts into their curriculum before and after and inquiry-based learning professional development. 2. describe science and agricultural academy participants’ perceived behavioral control, attitude, subjective norms, and intent toward integrating inquiry-based learning animal science concepts into their curriculum. 3. determine how attitude, behavioral control, and subjective norms influence the behavioral intent that the science and agricultural academy participants have toward utilizing the activities and integrating inquiry-based learning animal science concepts into their curriculum. methods to fulfill the purpose of this study, a paper survey with nine questions was distributed to the science and agricultural academy participants in tennessee and nebraska immediately following an in-person pd. there were 32 respondents who participated in the study (n = 32, 97% participation rate), and they had been teaching for a range of years (m = 9.75, sd = 8.32). subjects that the teachers taught were: agriscience (65.63%), biology (18.75%), chemistry (9.38%), and other agricultural and science areas (62.5%). six questions from the survey were reported for this study: perceived behavioral control, attitude, subjective norms, intent, and respondents’ pre and post confidence in using ibl. confidence was measured using two, 6-item, 5-point likert-type scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. respondents indicated their pre-pd and post-pd confidence in teaching the six animal science concepts covered in the pd. the averages for the preconfidence items (cronbach’s α = .78) and the post-confidence items (cronbach’s α = .83) were used to create the constructs. to ensure consistent interpretation of the findings, real limits were created (sheskin, 2004). the real limits for confidence were 1.00 1.49 = strongly disagree, 1.50 2.49 = disagree, 2.50 3.49 = neither agree nor disagree, 3.50 4.49 = agree, 4.50 5.00 = strongly agree. the remaining questions were based on theory of planned behavior (ajzen, 1991) variables, and the constructs were adapted from prior literature and research (ajzen, 2002; rogersrandolph et al., 2021) to align with the context of this study. perceived behavioral control was harmon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.345 94 measured with a 4-item, 5-point likert-type scale. the labels for the scale ranged from 1= strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. the average for the items was calculated and the original reliability was a cronbach’s alpha of .62. this reliability fell below .70, which is the acceptable threshold for reliability (field, 2013). removal of an item did not improve the reliability of the construct; however, nunnally (1978) has suggested a reliability above a .50 is acceptable when in the beginning phases of research. because this survey instrument was adapted for a new context of the pd program, it was deemed acceptable for this research and the instrument was not edited. real limits for perceived behavioral control were the same as confidence. attitude was measured using a bipolar semantic differential 8-item, 5-point scale attaching the idea of integrating ibl animal science concepts to a set of adjectives that were antonyms. items were coded so that a positive adjective was a five and a negative adjective was a one. the construct was created using the average for the items (cronbach’s α = .86). the real limits for attitude were 1.00 1.49 = extremely negative, 1.50 2.49 = negative, 2.50 3.49 = neutral, 3.50 4.49 = positive, 4.50 5.00 = extremely positive. subjective norms were measured with seven items on a 5-point likert-type scale with the same labels as perceived behavioral control. the initial reliability of the scale was below the acceptable value of cronbach’s alpha of .70 or higher (cronbach’s α = .55), but increased to a cronbach’s alpha of .80 after two items were deleted. the average for the remaining five items was used to create the construct. real limits for subjective norms were the same confidence. intent was measured with a 2-item, 5-point likert-type scale. the following labels for the scale ranged from 1 = extremely unlikely to 5 = extremely unlikely. the average for the items were used to create the construct (cronbach’s α = .92). real limits for intent were 1.00 1.49 = extremely unlikely, 1.50 2.49 = somewhat unlikely, 2.50 3.49 = neither likely nor unlikely, 3.50 4.49 = somewhat likely, 4.50 5.00 = extremely likely. to address concerns of validity, the instrument was reviewed by a panel of experts with expertise in survey design, ibl, and animal sciences. responses from the paper surveys were entered electronically to a replicated qualtrics survey, and data were exported to spss version 26 for analysis. paired samples t-tests were used to determine objective one. descriptive statistics were reported for objective two. a multiple linear regression analysis was used for objective three. assumptions for normality was not an issue because the variables’ skewness or kurtosis fell within +/-2. assumptions for this multiple linear regression were met as well. multicollinearity diagnostics were run, and no issues were identified as the tolerance and variance inflation factors (vif) fell within the acceptable thresholds (field, 2013). findings objective one respondents’ confidence in teaching inquiry-based animal science concepts related to facility management, genetics, health, meat science, nutrition, and reproduction before and after the pd can be found in table 1. respondents' confidence was on average 3.36 (sd = 0.66) prior to the pd and 4.28 (sd = 0.50) after participation in the pd. to determine if there was a significant harmon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.345 95 change in confidence, a paired samples t-test was conducted and a statistically significant difference was detected (t = 9.012, p < .01), thus indicating that confidence in teaching animal science concepts increased after completing the pd. the effect size, using cohen’s d, indicated a large effect (d = 1.62). table 1 confidence in teaching the following concepts before and after pd (n = 32) pre pd confidence post pd confidence genetics 3.94 (0.88) 4.48 (0.63) reproduction 3.81 (1.03) 4.42 (0.81) health 3.56 (0.88) 4.42 (0.62) nutrition 3.47 (1.02) 4.35 (0.55) facility management 2.94 (0.98) 4.03 (0.75) meat science 2.47 (0.95) 4.00 (0.68) total average 3.36 (0.66) 4.28 (0.50) objective two respondents indicated they had behavioral control after completing the pd with a mean of 3.91 (sd = .71). majority of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed to feeling equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully integrate animal science concepts into their classroom (87.60%; table 2) and indicated that finding the resources to integrate the concepts would not be challenging (75.0%). additionally, some respondents agreed or strongly agreed that integrating the animal science concepts into their classroom would not inhibit their teaching of state standards (65.70%) and expressed that they will have enough time to utilize the ibl animal science lessons (62.50%). harmon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.345 96 table 2 behavioral control (n=32) strongly disagree disagree neither agree or disagree agree strongly agree % (f) % (f) % (f) % (f) % (f) i feel equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully integrate animal science concepts into my classroom. 3.1 (1) 3.1 (1) 6.3 (2) 56.3 (18) 31.3 (10) i will have enough time in the semester to teach animal science concepts to students. 3.1 (1) 18.8 (6) 15.6 (5) 25.0 (8) 37.5 (12) it would be challenging to find the resources to integrate agriscience into my classroom.a 0 (0) 9.4 (3) 15.6 (5) 43.8 (14) 31.3 (10) integrating animal science concepts into my classroom will inhibit my teaching of state standards.a 3.1 (1) 6.3 (2) 25.0 (8) 34.4 (11) 31.3 (10) a items were reverse coded so that strongly disagree was a 5 and strongly agree was a 1. respondents had extremely positive attitudes toward integrating ibl animal science concepts (m = 4.68; sd = 0.45). overall, respondents' attitudes toward integrating ibl animal science concepts into their classrooms were more positive than negative (m = 4.84; sd = 0.37) and more good than bad (m = 4.81; sd = 0.40). the item with the lowest mean was essential/not essential (m = 4.50; sd = 0.84). table 3 shows respondents’ response means for items in the attitude scale. table 3 respondents attitudes (n=32) m (sd) good: bad 4.81 (0.40) positive: negative 4.84 (0.37) beneficial: not beneficial 4.69 (0.78) acceptable: unacceptable 4.81 (0.59) necessary: unnecessary 4.59 (0.62) important: unimportant 4.69 (0.54) essential: not essential 4.50 (0.84) crucial: trivial 4.53 (0.72) scale average 4.68 (0.45) harmon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.345 97 respondents indicated they felt subjective norms associated with ibl animal science concepts (m = 3.70; sd = .80). most respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they did not feel pressure to focus only on standardized testing and nothing else (78.20%; table 4). some respondents also agreed or strongly agreed that people who are important to them want them to integrate animal science concepts into their classroom (64.50%). respondents also expressed that their school administration encourages them to increase their knowledge and confidence in teaching animal science concepts (62.50%), as they are expected to possess the necessary confidence in teaching the concepts (53.20%). furthermore, the majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they did not feel pressure to focus only on standardized testing and nothing else (78.20%). approximately one-third of respondents indicated they do feel social pressure from their communities to increase their confidence in teaching animal science concepts (34.40%), while others neither agreed nor disagreed (34.40%). table 4 subjective norms (n=32) strongly disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree strongly agree % (f) % (f) % (f) % (f) % (f) i feel pressure to focus only on standardized testing and nothing else.a 0 (0) 6.3 (2) 15.6 (5) 31.3 (10) 46.9 (15) people who are important to me want me to integrate animal science concepts into my classroom. 0 (0) 12.9 (4) 22.6 (7) 35.5 (11) 29.0 (9) my school administration encourages me to increase my knowledge and confidence in teaching animal science concepts. 3.1 (1) 6.3 (2) 28.1 (9) 21.9 (7) 40.6 (13) it is expected of me to have great confidence in teaching animal science concepts before i integrate it into my classroom. 3.1 (1) 6.3 (2) 37.5 (12) 34.4 (11) 18.8 (6) i feel social pressure from my community to increase my confidence in teaching animal science concepts 12.5 (4) 18.8 (6) 34.4(11) 15.6 (5) 18.8 (6) a items were reverse coded to that strongly disagree was a 5 and strongly agree was a 1. table 5 shows respondents’ intent to use the ibl animal science curriculum learned during the pd (m = 4.75; sd = .42). the majority of respondents were extremely likely to utilize the handson activities (78.10%) and integrate the animal concepts (71.90%). however, a minority of the harmon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.345 98 respondents indicated they were only somewhat likely (21.90%; 28.10%). furthermore, nobody said they were unlikely utilize the activities from the pd (0%). table 5 intent (n=32) extremely unlikely somewhat unlikely neither likely nor unlikely somewhat likely extremely likely % (f) % (f) % (f) % (f) % (f) please indicate how likely you are to utilize the hands-on activities related to animal science in your classroom 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 21.9 (7) 78.1 (25) please indicate how likely you are to integrate animal science concepts into your classroom 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 28.1 (9) 71.9 (23) objective three attitude, subjective norms, and behavioral control were included in the regression model, shown in table 6, to predict intent to use ibl animal science concepts in the future. this model was statistically significant (f (3, 30) = 10.33, p < .001) and could account for 53.4% of the total variance in intent to integrate ibl animal science concepts (r2= .534). the only significant predictor in the model was attitude, and as it increased one point, intent increased by .49 points (b = .49, p < .01). subjective norms (b = .14, p = .18) and behavioral control (b = .02, p = .81) were not statistically significant predictors of intent. table 6 regression model to predict intent to use ibl animal science concepts in the classroom predictor variable b se b β t p constant 1.86 .603 3.074 .00* behavioral control .02 .10 .04 .25 .81 attitude .49 .17 .52 3.00 .00* subjective norms .14 .10 .25 1.40 .18 * p < .01 harmon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.345 99 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the purpose of this study was to describe the impact that professional development has on science and agricultural academy participants’ intent to integrate ibl in their classroom. this study was guided by the tpb to describe the teachers’ attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, and the influence that those variables have on their intent to utilize ibl teaching strategies within the context of animal sciences (ajzen, 1991). after the pd, respondents showed an increased confidence in teaching the following animal science areas: genetics, reproduction, health, nutrition, facility management, and meat science. possessing an increased confidence positively influences teachers’ ability to use ibl in their classrooms which further supports prior research of pd boosting teacher confidence (kreifels et al., 2021; thoron et al., 2011; thoron & myers, 2011). respondents reported feeling in control of perceived behavioral control factors that include finding time to teach the lessons and being able to locate the resources needed to facilitate the ibl lessons. additionally, aligning with prior literature (guskey, 2002), respondents possessed strongly positive attitudes after the pd. respondents also indicated that they feel pressure from subjective norms, such as standardized testing and school administration, which aligns with previous studies that identify those as barriers that affect teachers’ intent to use ibl (dibiase & mcdonald, 2015; ramnarain, 2014). barriers previously identified further demonstrates the need for teachers to engage in collective participation with other teachers during future pd programs to create potential solutions for subjective norms (desimone, 2009). the regression model could account for the large variance in intent to integrate ibl animal science concepts. although perceived behavioral control and subjective norms are relevant, attitude was found to be the only significant predictor of intent. replicating this research in other states could help better validate these findings and explore the relevancy and influences that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control have on one another. furthermore, when providing future pd, it would be beneficial to ensure that pd is enjoyable for teachers by including hands-on, active learning strategies that enable them to increase their positive attitudes (desimone’s 2009). our findings indicate that the pd was effective in increasing teacher intent to integrate ibl lessons in the context of animal science in their classrooms. the findings would also provide guidance to researchers and agricultural education faculty in planning future teacher pd and developing ibl curriculum. additionally, as teachers continue to lack the knowledge and skills to use ibl in their classroom (dibiase & mcdonald, 2015), school administrations should encourage their teachers to seek inquiry-based learning pd. to gain a broader understanding of the research problem, a qualitative study should be conducted exploring specific attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control that affect intent (moustakas, 1994). future research should also work to further refine the behavioral control measurement to increase the overall reliability of the study. additionally, there could be value in exploring specific differences between science and agriscience teachers’ harmon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v4i3.345 100 confidence and intent to use ibl. since the findings from this study focus on animal science concepts, it would be beneficial to replicate other pd programs that address other agricultural topics such as agricultural mechanics or plant science. also, because this study was only conducted in tennessee and nebraska, it should be conducted at other universities and states to better understand the impacts that an ibl pd program has on science and agricultural teachers across the united states. furthermore, pursuing a follow-up with the teachers following implementation of the ibl lessons would contribute to a better understanding of the practicality of ibl in the classroom. acknowledgements supported by usda, national institute of food and agriculture, usda-nifa-pdal, program a7501, grant award 2021-67037-34298 k. harmon – formal analysis, investigation, writing original draft; 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(2022). science, technology, engineering, and math, including computer science. https://www.ed.gov/stem warner, a. j., & myers, b. e. (2011). what is inquiry-based instruction? ifas extension. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/wc/wc07500.pdf zen, e. (1990). science literacy and why it is important. journal of geological education, 38(5), 463-464. https://doi.org/10.5408/0022-1368-38.5.463 © 2023 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 4, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. arati joshi, graduate student, department of agricultural education and communication, university of florida, 408 rolfs hall, 341 buckman dr, gainesville, fl, 32611, aratijoshi@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4946-9366 2. john diaz, associate professor & extension specialist, department of agricultural education and communication, university of florida, 1200 n park road, plant city, fl 33563, john.diaz@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-8759 3. anil kumar chaudhary, associate professor of agricultural and extension education, pennsylvania state university, 386 shortlidge rd, 209c ferguson building, university park, pa 16802, auk259@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5809-8854 4. k. s. u. jayaratne, professor and state leader for extension evaluation, 240 ricks hall, campus box 7607, department of agricultural and human sciences, north carolina state university, raleigh, nc 27695, ksjayara@ncsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5591-3905 5. sebastian galindo, associate professor of program evaluation, department of agricultural education and communication, university of florida, 113c bryant hall, gainesville, fl 32611, sgalindo@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4061-773x 59 enhancing effectiveness of extension program evaluations by validating the trustworthiness of self-reported measures of extension program outcomes a. joshi1, j. diaz2, a. kumar chaudhary3, k. jayaratne4, s. galindo5 article history received: july 10, 2024 accepted: november 12, 2024 published: november 15, 2024 keywords subjective knowledge; objective knowledge; behavior change; impact assessment; sdg 15: life on land abstract assessment of program outcomes in extension often relies on subjective measures, such as perceived or self-reported knowledge, which are criticized for potential bias and inaccuracy. conversely, objective knowledge, i.e., how much an individual actually knows, is considered more accurate. studies show varying associations between subjective and objective knowledge, ranging from no correlation to high correlation, and their influence on behavior change also varies. in this study, we aim to quantify the relationship between subjective knowledge, objective knowledge, and behavior change. data were collected from master gardener volunteer training attendees. we used pearson correlation and hierarchical linear regressions to explore the relationship between subjective and objective knowledge and their influence on behavior, i.e., engagement in gardening practices. our findings show that subjective and objective knowledge post-training were moderately correlated, indicating that participants' selfassessments were not entirely accurate before training. interestingly, only subjective knowledge before training predicted engagement in gardening practices after training, highlighting the significant role of perceived understanding in behavior change. based on the findings, we suggest that extension programs should focus on addressing participants' existing beliefs to foster enduring behavior change. by designing programs that consider these preexisting perceptions, extension can more effectively translate knowledge into practical, lasting behaviors. mailto:aratijoshi@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4946-9366 mailto:john.diaz@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-8759 mailto:auk259@psu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5809-8854 mailto:ksjayara@ncsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5591-3905 mailto:sgalindo@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4061-773x joshi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 60 introduction and problem statement evaluating the impact of extension programs and measuring knowledge and behavior change is a complex task (larese-casanova, 2017). there is ongoing debate regarding the use of subjective versus objective measures to evaluate these changes. subjective measures, where participants self-report their knowledge and awareness before and after program participation, are commonly used due to their practicality, ease of administration, and broad applicability (aqueveque, 2018; gonyea, 2005). however, research suggests that relying solely on subjective assessments may lead to cognitive bias, where participants may either underestimate or overestimate their actual knowledge (han, 2019; house et al., 2004; kruger & dunning, 1999; o’leary & israel, 2019). other researchers argue for the inclusion of objective measures, such as quizzes, tests, or skills assessments, alongside subjective assessments, as they more accurately gauge knowledge acquisition (macků et al., 2020; waters et al., 2018). the correlation between subjective and objective measures of knowledge varies across studies, with some showing no correlation (ellen, 1994), while others report low to moderate correlations (aqueveque, 2018; han, 2019; pieniak et al., 2010) or strong correlations (gámbaro et al., 2013). similarly, studies highlight diverse effects of subjective and objective knowledge on behavior (han, 2019; ienna et al., 2022; kim et al., 2018; redman & redman, 2016). however, the majority of research on this topic originates from health and education disciplines, leaving a gap in understanding within agricultural extension programs. evaluating these measurement approaches specifically within agricultural contexts could yield valuable insights, particularly since current evaluations of extension programs predominantly rely on subjective assessments. theoretical and conceptual framework program evaluation uses social science research methods to assess the efficacy of social intervention programs (rossi et al., 2004). this study adapts the targeting outcomes of programs (top) model (rockwell & bennett, 2004) as its conceptual framework. the top model offers a valuable framework for assessing extension program outcomes by outlining a hierarchy of effects. it posits that changes in knowledge, attitudes, skills, and aspirations (kasas) – considered short-term outcomes – can lead to behavioral and practice changes (medium-term outcomes), ultimately contributing to improvements in social, environmental, and economic conditions (long-term outcomes or impacts). the top model also contributes to two purposes of evaluation, (a) to evaluate the programming process for improvement and (b) to evaluate the program outcomes for accountability. measuring the achievement of these outcomes requires indicators, which can be subjective or objective. for instance, structured observation of participants regarding the adoption of behavior is an objective indicator for practices, while using self-reported tests is a subjective measure. similarly, for measuring knowledge, test scores are objective indicators, and self-assessment is a subjective indicator. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 joshi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 61 additionally, behavior change theories, such as the theory of planned behavior (ajzen, 1991), social cognitive theory (bandura, 1977), and the knowledge-attitude-behavior model (bettinghaus, 1986; liu et al., 2016), explain the impact of perceived knowledge (or cognition) on behavior. these theories emphasize that attitudes, beliefs, and an individual's subjective or perceived understanding significantly impact behavior change. several studies reveal a stronger effect of objective knowledge on an individual's behavior (ienna et al., 2022; klerck & sweeney, 2007; sharma et al., 2008). the use of both subjective and objective outcome indicators would complementarily allow for triangulation of the findings, rigorously making the outcome evaluations more realistic and useful. however, extension educators lack resources, time, and skill to conduct comprehensive evaluations (diaz et al., 2019; kluchinski, 2014; kumar chaudhary et al., 2020) and are not able to use both types of indicators. therefore, in this study, we assess whether subjective or objective indicators are the best measures of knowledge change and their relationship with behavior/practice change. purpose the purpose of this research was to compare subjective and objective assessment measures used in agricultural extension programs, to identify the most effective approach for accurately evaluating changes in knowledge and subsequent behavior. to guide this study, we used the following objectives: 1. determine correlations between participants' subjective (perceived) and objective (tested) knowledge in an extension program. 2. compare the efficacy of subjective versus objective knowledge measures at predicting engagement in behavior following extension program participation. methods we conducted a quasi-experimental, longitudinal quantitative survey (creswell & creswell, 2017) using google forms™ to collect data from master gardener volunteer (mgv) training attendees in leon (n = 15), orange (n = 16), osceola (n = 10), and palm beach (n = 16) counties in florida during spring 2023. data were collected before (n = 58) and after (n = 41) the 50-hour training program. the pretest questionnaire included 122 questions on subjective knowledge, objective knowledge, and engagement in gardening practices covering topics like florida friendly landscaping, botany, entomology, plant pathology, nematology, soil, nutrients, fertilizers, turfgrass, landscape plant selection and maintenance, pesticides, vegetable gardening, fruits, propagation, and wildlife. the post-test questionnaire included additional questions on retrospective subjective knowledge, i.e., participants were asked to reflect on their knowledge before the training. this was done to identify any differences in knowledge assessment by the participants. the question item was ‘how would you rate your knowledge in the following areas prior to the master gardener training program?’ subjective knowledge was assessed through thirteen different items using a five-point likert scale (0 = not knowledgeable at all to 4 = extremely knowledgeable) (e.g., how would you rate https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 joshi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 62 your knowledge in the following areas – ‘plant pathology: diseases affecting plants’). objective knowledge was assessed through multiple-choice questions with a correct answer. the maximum score that one could get on objective questions was 118. engagement in gardening practices was evaluated through eleven different items (e.g., select the response that best reflects the frequency for which you are using the practice – ‘i use irrigation as a supplement to rain’). engagement was measured on a five-point likert scale, based on the transtheoretical model for behavior change (prochaska & velicer, 1997), which was later condensed to four points for consistency in both pre and post-tests (0 = not important to me to 3 = i am doing this most of the time/all the time). indices were created by averaging all items under each construct. post-hoc reliability analyses for internal consistency for likert scale questions were conducted, which resulted in cronbach’s alpha, α >.85 for subjective knowledge question and α >.79 for behavior question. since all the indices exceeded the minimum threshold of .7 for cronbach’s alpha measures were considered reliable for use (nunnally & bernstein, 1994). a panel of experts in program evaluation, survey methodology, and mgv training were invited to review the instruments and provide feedback to ensure content and face validity. the research team revised the instruments accordingly and resubmitted them for further review. after reaching a consensus, we conducted cognitive interviews with existing mgvs to ensure the instrument's clarity for the target audience (kumar chaudhary & israel, 2014). data cleaning and analysis after preliminary data cleaning, we found that only 34 response pairs matched in both pre-and post-test assessments; all other cases were discarded. upon further cleaning through regression diagnostics, we identified two multivariate outliers using mahalanobis distance (p < 0.001), which were removed. standardized, studentized, and studentized deleted residuals were checked for influential cases, but none were found (all residuals within ±3 sd). for research objective two, the regression assumptions were tested, and all were met. a total of 32 responses were analyzed using ibm spss (version 29.0). we used descriptive statistics and paired t-tests for research objective one and pearson correlation and hierarchical linear regression for research objective two. the effect size measure for paired t-test, i.e., cohen’s d was interpreted using cohen’s (1988) guidelines, .2, .5., and .8 as small, medium, and large effect size, respectively. the pearson correlation effect size measure, i.e., correlation coefficient (pearson’s r), was interpreted using davis’s (1971) guidelines, .01 to .09, .1 to .29, .3 to .49, .5 to .69, and .7 and higher as negligible, association, low association, moderate association, substantial association, and very strong association, respectively. finally, r2 was used as an effect size measure for hierarchical linear regression (kotrlik et al., 2011). for hierarchical linear regression, engagement in gardening practices after the training was the dependent variable, and independent variables entered in the first block (model 1) were objective scores in the pre and post-test, and variables entered in the second block (model 2) were subjective knowledge scores pre and post-test. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 joshi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 63 findings we found that the subjective knowledge index increased from 0.92 before the training to 2.41 after the training (see table 1). similarly, objective scores increased from 64.47 before the training to 109.84 after the training. a slight change in engagement in gardening practices was found from 2.40 to 2.61 before and after training, respectively. the paired t-test indicated a significant change in subjective knowledge, objective knowledge, and engagement in gardening practices before and after the training (see table 2). we found a small effect size (d = 0.28) for the change in mean subjective knowledge from the pre-test to the post-test. there was a medium effect size for the change in engagement in gardening (d = 0.55) before and after the training. retrospective subjective knowledge showed a large effect size (d = 2.76), indicating a substantial change from pretest to posttest. similarly, objective knowledge also exhibited a large effect size (d = 2.83) before and after the training. table 1 summary of subjective knowledge, objective knowledge, and engagement in gardening practices before and after the spring 2023 mgv training for participants (n = 32) variable m sd index of subjective knowledge before training 0.92 0.39 index of subjective knowledge after training 2.41 0.49 index of subjective knowledge prior training (retrospective pretest) 0.94 0.45 objective score before training 64.47 15.04 objective score after training 109.84 14.56 index of engagement in gardening practices before training 2.41 0.57 index of engagement in gardening practices after training 2.61 0.41 note. the response scale for subjective knowledge was: not knowledgeable at all (0), slightly knowledgeable (1), moderately knowledgeable (2), very knowledgeable (3), and extremely knowledgeable (4). response scales for engagement in gardening practices were: not important to me (0), considering this (1), i'm doing this occasionally (2), and i am doing this most of the time/all the time (3). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 joshi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 64 table 2 results of paired t-tests for subjective knowledge, objective knowledge, and engagement in gardening practices for spring 2023 mgv training participants (n = 32) variable mean before mean after paired mean difference confidence interval of the difference p-value cohen’s d lower upper subjective knowledge pretest – posttest 0.92 2.41 1.49** 1.304 1.686 <0.001 0.28 retrospective pretest – posttest 0.94 2.41 1.47** 1.282 1.666 <0.001 2.76 objective knowledge pretest – posttest 64.72 109.84 45.12** 39.380 50.869 <0.001 2.83 engagement in gardening practices pretest – posttest 2.41 2.61 0.21** 0.075 0.349 0.004 0.55 *indicates significance at p ≤ 0.05; **indicates significance at p ≤ 0.01 objective one: relationships between subjective and objective knowledge assessments we found a significant correlation between subjective and objective knowledge after training with moderate association (r = 0.398, p = 0.024) (see table 3). a very strong association (r = 0.720, p < 0.001) between retrospective and baseline pretest was also found. no significant correlation was found between subjective and objective knowledge before the training, retrospective subjective knowledge and objective knowledge before training, and pretest subjective and posttest objective knowledge. table 3 pearson correlation coefficients between subjective and objective knowledge at different training stages for spring 2023 mgv training participants (n = 32) correlation between item 1 item 2 pearson correlation pvalue subjective knowledge after the training objective knowledge after the training 0.398* 0.024 subjective knowledge before training objective knowledge before training 0.087 0.637 retrospective pretest subjective knowledge pre-test subjective knowledge 0.720** <0.001 retrospective pretest subjective knowledge objective knowledge before training 0.159 0.386 pretest subjective knowledge post-test objective knowledge -0.025 0.892 *indicates significance at p ≤ 0.05; **indicates significance at p ≤ 0.01 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 joshi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 65 linear regression was carried out to quantify the relationship between subjective and objective knowledge after training. we aimed to understand how subjective knowledge (independent variable) predicted objective knowledge (dependent variable) after the training. the result of linear regression indicated that subjective knowledge significantly predicts objective knowledge after the training (f (1, 30) = 5.654, p = 0.024) and explains 13.1% variability in objective knowledge. the unstandardized regression coefficient (b) of 11.659 indicated that every oneunit increase in subjective knowledge after training increases objective knowledge by 11.659 units. objective two: compare the efficacy of subjective versus objective knowledge measures at predicting engagement in behavior following extension program participation. the hierarchical linear regression analysis where engagement in gardening practices after training was regressed against subjective and objective knowledge before and after training (see tables 4 & 5) indicates that only subjective knowledge before the training (b = 0.404, t = 2.284, p = 0.031) significantly predicts engagement in gardening practices after training. model 1 which included objective knowledge before and after training was not significant (f (2, 29) = 1.904, p = 0.167). when subjective knowledge before and after training was added, i.e., model 2, explained variability increased to 22% (adjusted r2) and the model was significant (f (2, 27) = 4.475, p = 0.021). the unstandardized regression coefficient (b) of 0.404 indicated that every one-unit increase in subjective knowledge before training increases engagement in gardening practices after training by 0.404 units when other variables were held constant. table 4 model summary of hierarchical linear regression of engagement in gardening practices as dependent variable and subjective and objective knowledge before and after training as independent variables std. error of the estimate change statistics model r r2 adjusted r2 r2 change f change df1 df2 sig. f change 1 0.341 0.116 0.055 0.40117 0.116 1.904 2 29 0.167 2 0.580 0.336 0.238 0.36030 0.220 4.475 2 27 0.021 note. model 1 = objective knowledge before and after training; model 2 = model 1 + subjective knowledge before and after training https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 joshi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 66 table 5 hierarchical regression analysis of engagement in gardening practices after training as dependent variable and subjective and objective knowledge before and after training as independent variables variable model 1 model 2 b β t p b β t p objective score after training 0.008 0.276 1.436 0.162 0.006 0.227 1.177 0.249 objective score before training 0.003 0.114 0.593 0.558 0.002 0.085 0.486 0.631 subjective knowledge index after training 0.148 0.178 0.963 0.344 subjective knowledge index before training* 0.404 0.387 2.282 0.031 *indicates significance at p ≤ 0.05; **indicates significance at p ≤ 0.01 discussion, conclusions, and recommendations our study sheds light on the intricate interplay between subjective and objective knowledge, their influence on engagement, and the enduring impact of pre-existing perceptions on posttraining behaviors. we found a moderate correlation between subjective and objective knowledge after training, but no correlation was found before the training. moreover, our study revealed that subjective knowledge before training is the sole predictor of post-training gardening behaviors. the lack of correlation between subjective and objective knowledge before training might be because of a lack of meta-cognitive skills among participants to access their knowledge accurately (kruger & dunning, 1999) or because of overprediction of their subjective knowledge (karaca et al., 2023). participants’ subjective and objective knowledge changed significantly after the training, leading to a more congruent alignment between the two after completing the training. regarding behavior, i.e., engagement in gardening practices, we found an overall increase in it after the training. however, participants' original perceptions predicted this behavior, overshadowing the effect of newly acquired objective knowledge. ajzen et al. (2011) found a similar result and described that factual information alone seldom directly translates into decision-making or actions; instead, self-appraisals shape behavioral beliefs. similarly, the stronger impact of perceived knowledge on behavior is reported in various contexts (han, 2019; pieniak et al., 2010; redman & redman, 2016). additionally, this finding supports the idea that altering participants’ subjective knowledge is more challenging than enhancing objective knowledge (lonka et al., 1996). consequently, addressing pre-existing perceptions and beliefs should be a central focus of extension programs seeking to facilitate enduring behavior change. there is a practical application of the insights derived from the findings of this study to the design and implementation of agricultural development programs and extension initiatives aimed at fostering behavior change. this is the major implication of this study contributing to the field of extension and agricultural development. understanding the complexities of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 joshi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 67 cognitive processes and the critical role of participant’s perceptions is essential for creating lasting behavioral shifts toward the planned direction in agricultural extension and development programs. by prioritizing the reshaping of perceptions and beliefs before engaging participants in training, extension educators can enhance the likelihood that newly acquired objective knowledge will transform effectively into desired agricultural behaviors. our findings reveal a crucial area of focus for agricultural extension programs: facilitating participants to appraise more accurate self-assessments before training begins (e.g., doing reflective activities on their beliefs and assumptions), rather than solely concentrating on the delivery of information. this strategy could significantly improve the alignment between participant’s expectations and current level of knowledge and skills with the introduction of new knowledge and skills. furthermore, our results highlight the value of integrating both subjective and objective assessments into extension program evaluations to triangulate the program outcomes realistically. this approach allows for a more comprehensive analysis of knowledge gains and better captures the perceptions most directly linked to behavior change, which is especially pertinent in the context of extension education and agricultural development. finally, our regression analyses shed light on the intricate relationships between subjective and objective knowledge and their impact on gardening practices within the agricultural sector. recognizing these dynamics, extension training programs could benefit from placing greater emphasis on specific knowledge domains that have shown a more substantial influence on the application of new knowledge and skills following the training. by tailoring educational content to address these influential factors, extension programs can significantly enhance the overall efficacy of master gardener volunteer (mgv) training initiatives and other agricultural education efforts, ultimately aiding in the effective dissemination of research-based horticultural information and supporting the broader goals of sustainable agricultural development. limitations to address the limitations of this study, particularly the small sample size and one group of extension audience, future research should replicate this study with a diverse and larger participant base. additionally, it is advisable to implement strategies such as targeted follow-up communication, incentives, or other engagement measures to encourage post-training application, which is critical for sustaining agricultural practices introduced through extension programs. in terms of questionnaire design, a more concise and streamlined set of questions is recommended to improve response rates, reduce survey fatigue, and ensure efficient data collection, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of agricultural education evaluations. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 joshi et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 68 acknowledgments this work was supported by funding from the penn state extension’s multistate & integrated grants program. this work was partially supported by the usda national institute of food and agriculture and hatch appropriations under project #pen04945 and accession #7006518 titled “applying socio-psychological factors to enhance educational programs and policies.” author contributions: a. joshi – data curation, formal analysis, writing-original draft, writing reviewing & editing; 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(2018). examining the interrelations among objective and subjective health literacy and numeracy and their associations with health knowledge. journal of general internal medicine, 33(11), 1945–1953. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-018-4624-2 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.519 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2010.03.004 https://doi.org/10.4278/0890-1171-12.1.38 https://doi.org/10.4278/0890-1171-12.1.38 https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci7010004 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/aglecfacpub/48/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2008.01.004 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-018-4624-2 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 4, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. case emerson. agriculture teacher, lafayette high school, 160 ne hornet dr., mayo, fl 32066, cemerson@lcsbmail.net, https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9619-3784 2. brian myers, professor and chair, agricultural education and communication, university of florida, 305 rolfs hall p.o. box 110540, gainsville, fl., 32611, bmyers@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2593-9159 3. j.c. bunch, associate professor, university of florida, 307a rolfs hall, gainsville, fl. 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 4. jason dossett, graduate assistant, university of florida, 3-6 rolfs hall, gainsville, fl. 32611, j.dossett@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7159-7372 1 determining collaboration between university of florida institute of food and agricultural sciences extension agents and secondary school-based agricultural educators c. emerson1, b. myers2, j.c. bunch3, j. dossett4 article history received: february 1, 2024 accepted: june 10, 2024 published: july 19, 2024 keywords cooperation; theory of planned behavior; motivation; sdg 4: quality education abstract successful and beneficial collaboration relies on the dedication of individuals to cooperate, the established culture of collaboration and cooperation and a desire and willingness to collaborate. agricultural educators and extension agents often find themselves in competition for members rather than cooperation to develop members. working in conjunction with one another in a concerted effort allows the two groups to develop youth into more efficient and effective leaders and citizens. this study utilized the theory of planned behavior (ajzen, 1985). as applied to this study, this theory would hold that the variables of interest, personal and professional demographics within the two groups, to influence collaboration levels between agricultural educators and extension agents because these factors can shape and include attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral controls. this study found perceptions between school-based agricultural educators and extension agents do hold positive views of cooperation. however, this cooperation does not happen very often outside of well-established instances. upon examination of this study, we recommend further research be done to maintain an accurate reading of cooperation between these two entities and delve further into what motivates them. mailto:cemerson@lcsbmail.net https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 https://orcid.org/0000--0000-0000-0000 mailto:bmyers@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2593-9159 mailto:bunchj@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 mailto:j.dossett@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7159-7372 emerson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 2 introduction and problem statement in a world with a growing, hungry population and an agriculture sector shrinking in population and acreage, both formal and informal educators of agriculture, natural resources, and applied sciences must remain as relevant as possible. school-based agricultural educators and university of florida extension agents essentially have the same goals but with varying target audiences. the role of a school-based agricultural educator is to develop students that are both lifelong learners and gain agricultural literacy, and to contribute to a skilled agriculture workforce (roberts & ball, 2009). similarly, the role of an extension agent is to take the research provided by the land-grant university system and disseminate that information to serve the citizens of a particular community by teaching and providing advice, guidance, and information on a variety of topics (cooper & graham, 2001). murphrey et al. (2011) describe factors that lead to successful collaboration between the two groups, which include environmental factors and membership characteristics, but those factors are not always present. mutually beneficial partnerships are possible when these factors are present, but participants in a study by scherer et al. (2018) rarely mentioned any type of partnership. while both descriptions are similar and certainly overlap, the question remains: to what level do school-based agricultural educators and extension agents collaborate to achieve these goals? whether the two groups should collaborate or compete has been debated since each of their inceptions (hillison, 1996). the recruitment, scholarship, and development of students in ffa and 4-h is a point of contention (gage et al., 2004; gates et al., 2020; gill et al., 2010; nowakowski et al., 2023; russell, 2016). too often we find there is a disconnect between school-based agricultural educators and extension agents in relation to collaborating for academic purposes, with extension agents and school-based agricultural educators identifying a communication gap between groups (seevers & stair, 2015). theoretical and conceptual framework this study utilizes the theory of planned behavior. the theory of planned behavior stemmed from the theory of reasoned action (ajzen & fishbein, 1980; fishbein & ajzen, 1975) which was designed to predict volitional behaviors and to help us understand their psychological determinants (azjen, 1985). in general, this theory indicates that a person’s behavior is affected by their intentions which is in turn affected by attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral controls. in this study, the theory of planned behavior suggests that the variables of interest—personal and professional demographics within the two groups—affect collaboration levels between agricultural educators and extension agents. this influence occurs because these factors shape attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral controls. the study was designed around this theory because if the perspectives and backgrounds of agricultural educators and extension agents affect behavior, then differences in collaboration levels should be observable. attitudes influencing collaboration encompass the individual's positive or negative feelings towards collaborative efforts. subjective norms are shaped by the peers and professional community to which the extension agent or sbae teacher belongs. perceived https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 emerson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 3 behavioral control involves the availability of resources, necessary skills, and opportunities for collaboration. purpose this survey study aimed to describe and determine collaboration levels between university of florida extension agents and school-based agricultural educators. a quantitative survey was used to determine how each group perceives the current levels of collaboration, the levels each group values collaboration, and if each group sees a potential for growth in collaboration. the objectives of this study include the following: 1. describe the perception of school-based agricultural educators toward cooperation. 2. describe the perception of extension agents toward cooperation. 3. describe the level of school-based agricultural educator and extension agent collaboration. 4. identify cooperative efforts between school-based agricultural educators and extension agents. methods this study used an online survey that followed the tailored design method by dillman et al. (2014). dillman et al. (2014) focused their tailored design method around the notion that to create quality surveys, surveyors must limit coverage error, sampling error, nonresponse error, and measurement error. the target population for this study was secondary school-based agricultural education educators in the state of florida and university of florida extension county faculty, also known as extension agents. according to the florida association of educator’s directory, in the year 2023, there were 517 individuals employed as school-based agricultural educators in florida. this included teachers at both high school and middle school level programs. currently, there are 357 individuals serving as university of florida extension agents in some capacity in florida. these agents represent various specializations including agriculture and horticulture, individual and family development, community resources and economic development and 4h youth development. this study population included all agents regardless of their specialization or school-based agricultural educators based on grade level taught. using the florida association of agriculture educator’s directory, all agriculture teachers were emailed for input on this survey. using the university of florida personnel directory, all extension agents were emailed for participation in this survey as well. both groups were emailed and encouraged to respond by completing the survey. a preemptive email was sent to advise the participants a survey was on the way. the surveys themselves were initially emailed to the agricultural educators and extension agents, and a reminder to complete the survey was sent a week later. the final reminder was sent a week later. the last opportunity for agricultural educators and agents to submit their survey was two days later. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 emerson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 4 agricultural educators and agents could complete the survey at a time of their choosing and at their own pace. the survey allowed both populations to begin the survey and return to the survey if time did not allow completion in one sitting. in the end, the sample comprised of 60 school-based agricultural educators and 102 university of florida extension agents. in total, the survey was sent to 892 individual emails. only 851 surveys made up the accessible sample, as two were duplicate, 29 bounced, and 10 failed. thus, the response rate was 19%. the survey itself was based on the instrument used by ricketts and place (2005) but amended by the researchers to gain an understanding of how each group perceived current levels of collaboration, the levels each group valued collaboration, and if each group saw a potential for growth in collaboration, while the instrument used in ricketts' and place's 2005 study focused on perceptions regarding cooperation, their cooperative behavioral intentions (what motivates them to collaborate), and individual experiences with collaboration. the instrument was reviewed by a panel of experts and pilot-tested by two small groups of the target populations. this study used three main constructs to divide the items or questions asked. the first construct revolved around teachers’ and agents’ perceptions of collaboration. these items required the individuals being surveyed to respond using a five-point likert-type scale (1 meaning the participant strongly disagrees with the item presented, 2 meaning the participant disagrees with the item presented, 3 meaning the participant is neutral with the item presented, 4 meaning the participant agrees with the item presented, and 5 meaning the participant strongly agrees with the item presented). the second construct revolved around how much teachers and extension agents cooperate and collaborate. these items required the individuals being surveyed to respond using a four-point likert-type scale (1 meaning the participant has never been involved with the item occurring, 2 meaning the participant is seldom involved with the item occurring, 3 meaning the participant is usually involved with the item occurring, and 4 meaning the item always occurs). the last construct revolved around identifying where teachers and extension agents currently collaborate. this construct also used a four-point likert-type scale (1 meaning the participant has never been involved with the item occurring, 2 meaning the participant is seldom involved with the item occurring, 3 meaning the participant is usually involved with the item occurring, and 4 meaning the item always occurs). completed questionnaires were grouped, entered, and analyzed through spss 27 and allowed the researcher to analyze the data easily and with confidence. descriptive statistics were calculated to determine frequencies of each item and sorted by occupation. figures were then rounded to the nearest tenth decimal place. findings this survey study aimed to describe and determine collaboration levels between university of florida extension agents and school-based agricultural educators. a quantitative survey was used to determine how each group perceives the current levels of collaboration, the levels each group values collaboration, and if each group sees a potential for growth in collaboration. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 emerson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 5 results concerning collaboration levels between university of florida extension agents and school-based agricultural educators are presented in the following sections. objective one: determine the perception of school-based agricultural educators toward cooperation. this survey aimed to gauge respondents’ attitudes toward cooperation within the context of either school-based agricultural educators for grades 5th through 8th or school-based agricultural educators for grades 9th through 12th. results indicate that a high percentage of both groups value cooperation. specifically, 92.9% (n = 13) of educators for grades 5th through 8th and 89.1% (n = 41) of educators for grades 9th through 12th agreed or strongly agreed that cooperation allows for enhanced research sharing. similarly, the majority of both groups (92.9%, n = 13 for grades 5th-8th and 100%, n = 46 for grades 9th-12th) believed in cooperating with committed and responsible individuals. when it came to the importance of cooperation between agricultural educators and extension agents, the responses were positive, with 85.7% (n = 12) of educators for grades 5th-8th and 80.4% (n = 37) for grades 9th-12th agreeing or strongly agreeing. additionally, most respondents (78.6%, n = 11 for grades 5th-8th and 91.3%, n = 42 for grades 9th-12th) felt that full participation from all parties was necessary for cooperation. most educators (64.3%, n = 9) in grades 5th-8th believed that some personalities do not work well together, while 91.1% (n = 42) of educators for grades 9th-12th disagreed with this. nonetheless, both groups recognized the importance of cooperation in making projects more effective, with 85.7% (n = 12) of grades 5th-8th and 95.6% (n = 44) of grades 9th-12th (n = 44) agreeing or strongly agreeing. all educators saw personal relationships outside of work as enhancing cooperation, with 100% (n = 14) agreement among those for grades 5th-8th and 78.3% (n = 36) for grades 9th-12th. additionally, the majority from both groups believed that the time invested in cooperation was well spent (85.7%, n = 12 for grades 5th-8th and 78.3%, n = 36 for grades 9th-12th) and that cooperation could lead to time savings after an initial investment (85.7%, n = 12 for grades 5th8th and 87.0%, n = 40 for grades 9th-12th). when considering cooperation, many respondents for grades 5th-8th (78.6%, n = 11) and grades 9th-12th (71.7, n = 33) indicated that the characteristics of other parties, such as personality, responsibility, and respect influences their decision. however, a noteworthy percentage (30.8%, n = 4 for grades 5th-8th and 38.7%, n = 17 for grades 9th-12th) felt neutral about whether they could communicate freely with agricultural educators/extension agents in their county. a majority of both groups (100%, n = 14 for grades 5th-8th and 76.1%, n = 35 for grades 9th12th) considered a congenial relationship with colleagues important for successful operation. regarding the belief that people should be able to work with anyone if they try hard enough, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 emerson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 6 64.3% (n = 9) of educators for grades 5th-8th agreed, while 63% (n = 29) of educators for grades 9th-12th agreed. a notable portion of respondents (57.1%, n = 8 for grades 5th-8th) believed they could work best with those they had a history with, while 39.1% (n = 28) of educators for grades 9th-12th agreed. interestingly, most educators for grades 5th-8th (57.1%, n = 8) disagreed with the idea that they had nothing to reciprocate to colleagues, whereas a larger percentage (69.6%, n = 32) of educators for grades 9th-12th disagreed. concerning the perception of colleagues' busyness and its impact on cooperation, 57.1% (n = 8) of educators for grades 5th-8th disagreed, while 47.8% (n = 22) of educators for grades 9th-12th disagreed. most educators from both groups did not believe cooperative relationships consumed too much time (57.1%, n = 8 for grades 5th-8th and 67.4%, n = 31 for grades 9th-12th). interestingly, 64.3% (n = 9) of educators for grades 5th-8th disagreed with making cooperation decisions based on what they heard from others in their field, while 60.9% (n = 28) of educators for grades 9th-12th disagreed. regarding competition between ffa/4-h for participants, most respondents disagreed (57.1%, n = 8 for grades 5th-8th and 56.5%, n = 26 for grades 9th-12th). interestingly, a substantial percentage (34.7%, n = 16) of educators for grades 9th-12th remained neutral on this topic. lastly, a significant majority of respondents from both groups rejected the idea that cooperation should only occur in certain situations (100%, n = 14 for grades 5th-8th and 71.7%, n = 33 for grades 9th-12th). similarly, a large percentage (92.9%, n = 13 for grades 5th-8th and 89.1%, n = 41 for grades 9th-12th) disagreed with the notion that students should not be allowed to participate in both ffa and 4-h. in summary, the survey revealed a generally positive attitude toward cooperation among agricultural educators, with a few variations in perception between those teaching different grade levels. objective two: determine the perception of extension agents toward cooperation. to the statement “cooperation allows for added research sharing,” 94.1% (n = 96) of extension agents either agreed or strongly agreed. agents overwhelmingly agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “i am more likely to cooperate with someone who is committed and follows through on a project”, with 86.3% (n = 88). next, 91.1% (n = 93) of extension agents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “cooperation between agricultural educators and extension agents is important to offer the best opportunities to youth. further, 88.2% (n = 90) of agents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “full participation by all parties is necessary for cooperation to occur.” to the statement “some personalities do not work well together,” 83.3% (n = 85) of agents agreed or strongly agreed while 12.7% (n = 13) were neutral. most extension agents agreed with the statement “most projects need cooperation to be more effective” with 82.4% (n = 84) agreeing or strongly agreeing. to the statement “there are certain personalities with whom i work well,” extension agents agreed or strongly agreed with a https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 emerson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 7 total of 93.1% (n = 95). the statement “personal relationships with potential cooperators outside of work enhance the possibility of cooperation at work” saw 68.6% (n = 70) of extension agents agree or strongly agree while 23.8% (n = 24) answered as being neutral. as the to the statement “the time i devote to cooperation is well-invested,” a total of 83.2% (n = 85) agreed or strongly agreed and 14.9% (n = 15) were neutral. a total of 78.4% (n = 80) agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “after initial time devoted, effective cooperation will result in greater time savings,” while 18.6% (n = 19) answered as neutral. to the statement “successful cooperation can only occur with people i respect,” 30% (n = 31) of extension agents agreed, 26% (n = 27) responded as neutral, and 36% (n = 37) disagreed. the majority of agents were neutral regarding the statement “i listen to the agricultural educator/extension agent in my county more than they listen to me” with a total of 61% (n = 62). agents disagreeing or strongly disagreeing with that statement totaled 30% (n = 31). the statement “if i want things done right, i'll do them myself” was met with various answers (30%, n = 31 of agents agreed, 32.6%, n = 33 responded as neutral, and 21%, n = 21 disagreed). the statement “i work best with whom i have a history” was agreed with by 27.3% (n = 23), responded to as neutral by 39.4% (n = 40), and disagreed with by 30% (n = 31). extension agents responded to the statement “i feel like i don't have anything to reciprocate to the agricultural educators/extension agents in my county” with a total of 81% (n = 83) disagreeing or strongly disagreeing. the next statement received a variety of responses. 23% (n = 23) of agents agreed, 27% (n = 29) responded neutrally, and 36% (n = 37) disagreed with the statement, “i feel like the agricultural educators slash extension agents in my county are too busy to cooperate with me.” the majority (68.3%, n = 70) of extension agents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement “i have previously tried to cooperate, and it is not worth the time required.” further, the statement “cooperative relationships consume too much time” saw 74.3% (n = 75) of agents disagree or strongly disagree and 19.8% (n = 20) responded as neutral. around 60% (n = 61) of agents disagree or strongly disagree with the statement “my decision to cooperate is based on what i hear from others in my field,” while 22.8% (n = 23) responded as neutral and 15.8% (n = 16) agreed. to the statement “i feel like i am competing with ffa/4-h for participants,” 52% (n = 53) of extension agents responded as disagreeing or strongly disagreeing, 21.8% (n = 22) as neutral, and 25.7% (n = 27) as agreeing or strongly agreeing. most agents (89.1%, n = 91) disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement “being organized and punctual are not important in a successful cooperative relationship.” a total of 77% (n = 79) of agents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement “ffa and 4-h should cooperate only in certain situations” while 19% (n = 19) responded as neutral. also, a large majority (91.9%, n = 94) of agents disagree or strongly agree with the statement “students should not be allowed to participate in both ffa and 4-h.” finally, 94% (n = 96) of extension agents disagree or strongly disagree with the statement “in general, ffa and 4h should not cooperate.” https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 emerson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 8 objective three: determine the level of school-based agricultural educator and extension agent collaboration. these responses were categorized by the occupations of the participants, which included agricultural educators for grades 5th-8th, agricultural educators for grades 9th-12th, and extension agents. depending on the specific situation, respondents from these groups exhibited varying levels of cooperation with each other, as shown in table 1. table 1 levels and instances in which agricultural educators and extension agents cooperate agricultural educators (5-8 grades) (n = 14) agricultural educators (9-12 grades) (n = 46) extension agents (n = 102) item: n ev er se ld om u su al ly al w ay s n ev er se ld om u su al ly al w ay s n ev er se ld om u su al ly al w ay s state and county fairs 7.1% 21.4% 21.4% 35.7% 17.4% 10.8% 30.4% 41.3% 13.1% 32.3% 22.2% 32.3% 4-h and ffa judging contests 14.3% 21.4% 35.7% 28.6% 21.7% 26.1% 26.1% 26.1% 32.3% 17.2% 25.3% 34.3% sharing resources 21.4% 21.4% 42.9% 14.3% 11.4% 20.5% 40.9% 27.3% 7.3% 19.8% 39.6% 33.3% seeking out resources for curriculum 21.4% 28.6% 35.7% 14.3% 2.2% 40% 40% 17.9% 14.4% 37.2% 34.1% 14.4% cooperating with local 4-h clubs and ffa chapters for community service projects 15.4% 30.8% 30.8% 23.1% 20.4% 45.5% 25% 9.1% 22.7% 32% 36.1% 9.3% conducting educational programs 23.1% 15.4% 53.8% 7.7% 17.8% 44.4% 28.9% 8.9% 13.4% 22.7% 45.5% 18.6% sharing curriculum 23.1% 30.8% 38.5% 7.7% 13.6% 40.9% 34.1% 11.4% 16.5% 22.7% 40.2% 20.6% co-training various teams and leadership activities 53.8% 30.8% 15.4% 0% 37.8% 44.4% 13.3% 4.4% 31.3% 41.7% 19.8% 7.3% assisting in recruiting members 46.1% 38.5% 15.4% 0% 42.2% 31.1% 24.4% 2.2% 45.8% 31.3% 16.7% 6.3% conducting demonstrations/ presentations together 53.8% 30.8% 15.4% 0% 37.8% 46.7% 11.1% 4.4% 33.3% 37.5% 24% 5.2% conducting joint adult education programs 57.1% 35.7% 7.1% 0% 62.2% 28.9% 6.7% 2.2% 45.8% 32.2% 17.7% 4.2% https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 emerson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 9 objective four: identify cooperative efforts between school-based agricultural educators and extension agents. the study revealed that cooperative efforts among these groups manifest in diverse ways. a strong majority (86%, n = 139) of the total participants expressed occasional to consistent cooperation with extension agents and school-based agricultural educators at county and state fairs. similarly, 81.7% (n = 132) reported their involvement in combined 4-h/ffa judging contests. a notable 90.3% (n = 146) shared resources within their county, while 88.5% (n = 143) sought out extension agents and agricultural educators as valuable curriculum resources. moreover, 78.6% (n = 127) engaged in cooperative ventures with local 4-h clubs and ffa chapters through community service projects. additionally, 84.5% (n = 137) participated in joint educational programs with extension agents and agricultural educators within their counties, and 83.8% (n = 136) collaborated in sharing curriculum materials locally. furthermore, 64.9% (n = 105) engaged in co-training activities for various teams and leadership initiatives. over half (55.2%, n = 89) extended assistance in recruiting members, and 63.6% (n = 103) jointly conducted demos and presentations. lastly, 48.4% (n = 78) organized and participated in joint adult education programs within their respective counties. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the study reveals several key areas for improvement in school-based agricultural education and extension services. firstly, there is a need to work together to recruit students to either and/or both youth development programs as each have opportunities for different age groups and interests. secondly, the importance of collaboration is highlighted, especially in training groups like judging teams, to optimize resources and support community involvement. there is a need for open communication between extension agents and school-based agricultural educators, especially from the prospective of 9th through 12th grade sbae as 26% (n = 12) disagree or strongly disagree and 8% (n = 4) were neutral with the statement “i feel like i can communicate freely with extension agents in my county.” furthermore, there is an urgent need to foster mutual respect and active listening between sbaes and extension agents, as 39% (n = 23) of school-based agricultural education teachers feel undervalued and ignored. lastly, a prevalent self-sufficiency attitude among both groups suggests a barrier to cooperative efforts, indicating a shift towards more collaborative and interdependent approaches is necessary for enhancing the effectiveness of educational and extension programs. this study highlights a gap between the favorable perception of collaboration and its actual implementation among extension agents and sbae teachers. despite recognizing the value of working together, actual cooperative efforts are infrequent, pointing to underlying challenges such as communication barriers, cultural differences, and resource limitations. the findings highlight the necessity of transforming this idea of collaboration into practical, actionable https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 emerson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 10 strategies. by encouraging open dialogue, aligning mutual objectives, and creating structured opportunities for collaboration, both groups can bridge the existing gap, leading to enhanced program effectiveness and better community service. the study not only identifies these discrepancies but also encourages a shift towards more integrated and effective collaborative practices. sbae teachers and extension agents believe in the benefits of collaboration and feel that their professional communities value cooperation, yet reported collaboration was not frequent. causes of this discrepancy could result from a lack of perceived behavioral control. many extension agents and sbae teachers could feel as though they lack the time to commit to collaboration and cooperation with one another. another possible cause of the lack of collaboration could simply be a result of communication gaps. whether it is a result of insufficient communication, where opportunities to collaborate are overlooked, or a lack of sharing information, the communication gap could explain the gap between behavioral intention and practice. based on this study, we recommend several actions to strengthen partnerships between university extension agents and school-based agricultural educators, focusing on enhancing collaboration for community and youth programs. first, university extension agents should maintain a positive outlook on cooperation and seek innovative ways to engage students in their communities (murphrey et al., 2011). universities could support this by incorporating the importance of collaboration into the curriculum for future educators and extension agents (seevers & stair, 2015). a task force could be established by professional organizations from both sectors to research and identify new collaborative opportunities. these organizations could also model effective cooperation at organizational and administrative levels. additionally, planning crossprofessional workshops and training sessions that focus on cooperative skills is essential. professional development opportunities could specifically highlight strategies for effective collaboration in youth development programs. administrators are encouraged to advocate for policies that emphasize collaboration benefits, and professional organizations should recognize and celebrate successful partnerships. implementing these recommendations can significantly enhance the educational outcomes and community impact of these collaborations. to refine our understanding of the cooperation between school-based agricultural educators and university extension agents, future research should adopt the following strategic approaches: • initially, frequent replication of the study with the same instruments should be conducted to monitor shifts in policy and cultural attitudes among professionals. conducting these studies across different states can reveal how regions influence professional practices and cooperation. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 emerson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 11 • comparative analysis across study replications can identify trends in perceptions, motivations, and factors for collaboration between the two groups (murphrey et al., 2011). this analysis is critical for understanding evolving relationships and pinpointing areas needing intervention. incorporating qualitative methods will provide deeper insights into the nature of cooperation and collaboration, adding richness to the quantitative data collected. • additional data gathering could include analyzing event calendars for overlap and timing, as well as examining the impact of geographical factors like county size on collaboration efforts. qualitative data could be collected to provide a richer understanding of why certain behaviors regarding collaboration are exhibited. the study should ensure inclusivity by defining "collaboration" clearly at the outset and including diverse demographic options such as "hispanic" and others in ethnicity survey questions. these approaches will enable stakeholders to gain clearer insights into the dynamics of community education and foster more effective collaborations. acknowledgments author contributions: c. emerson writing-original draft, investigation, and formal analysis; b. myers writing-review and editing, formal analysis, and supervision; j. c. bunch writingreview and editing, methodology; j. dossett writing-review and editing references ajzen, i., & fishbein, m. 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(2023). recruitment strategies used by school-based agricultural educators in michigan. journal of agricultural education, 64(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.v64i2.49 ricketts, k. g., & place, n. t. (2005). cooperation between secondary agricultural educators and extension agents. journal of extension, 43(6). https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol43/iss6/7 roberts, t. g., & ball, a. l. (2009). secondary agricultural science as content and context for teaching. journal of agricultural education, 50(1), 81–91. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2009.01081 russell, r. a. (2016). perceptions of secondary agricultural education programs, the national ffa organization, and agricultural careers of students not enrolled in a high school agricultural course [unpublished master’s thesis]. university of kentucky. seevers, b., & stair, k. (2015). exploring community partnerships in agricultural and extension education. journal of extension, 53(3), article 15. https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.53.03.15 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol42/iss6/18 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.1996.01009 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.1996.04008 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.v61i3.2332 https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.48.02.07 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2011.03036 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.v64i2.49 https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol43/iss6/7 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2009.01081 https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.53.03.15 emerson et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 13 scherer, h. h., wilk, a., wiley, s., & spindler, m. (2018). the graduate extension scholars program: professional development to connect research and education. journal of extension, 56(6), article 16. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol56/iss6/16 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.469 https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol56/iss6/16 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 3, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. catherine a. dibenedetto, associate professor, clemson university, 251 mcadams hall, clemson, sc 29634, cdibene@clemson.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1802-0854 2. natalie k. ferand, assistant professor, virginia tech, 144k smyth hall, blacksburg, va 24061, nferand@vt.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9505-1764 3. richie roberts, professor and chair, new mexico state university, msc 3501, las cruces, nm 88003-8003, roberts3@nmsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2993-4945 4. aaron j. mckim, associate professor, michigan state university, east lansing, mi 48824, amckim@msu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0600-3611 5. rustie l. robison, graduate research assistant, clemson university, 153 mcadams hall, clemson, sc 29634, rustier@clemson.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8164-3857 6. logan dale, graduate research assistant, louisiana state university, baton rouge, la 70803, ldale4@lsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0965-2181 7. brian e. myers, professor and chair, university of florida, 305 rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611, bmyers@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2593-9159 27 agriscience teachers beliefs about stem illumination after an immersive professional development experience: a q sort study c. a. dibenedetto1, n. k. ferand2, r. roberts3, a. j. mckim4, r. l. robison5, l. dale6, b. e. myers7 article history received: to may 14, 2025 accepted: july 29, 2025 published: august 26, 2025 keywords behavioral intention; experiential learning; teacher self-efficacy; sdg 4: quality education abstract this study examined agriscience teachers’ beliefs regarding how a professional development (pd) experience illuminated the importance of integrating stem into the floriculture curriculum. sixteen teachers from 12 states were selected through a competitive application process to participate in a usda-nifa funded pd program. the pd included five months of virtual sessions and a 10-day domestic travel experience, exposing participants to the floral distribution channel, site visits with industry professionals, and hands-on learning with scientists. q methodology was used to explore participants’ beliefs. teachers sorted 36 statements, developed using ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior, into a quasi-normal distribution. factor analysis revealed three belief types: (a) stem advocates, (b) stem illuminators, and (c) illumination attempters. stem advocates emphasized the importance of stem for critical thinking and student engagement. stem illuminators valued technical stem content knowledge gained through pd. illumination attempters acknowledged stem’s importance but reported a need for additional support and training. findings suggest immersive, content-specific pd can positively influence teachers’ self-efficacy and behavioral intentions. we recommend additional support tailored to teacher needs and use of q methodology to explore how teacher beliefs influence instructional behaviors. mailto:cdibene@clemson.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1802-0854 mailto:nferand@vt.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9505-1764 mailto:roberts3@nmsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2993-4945 mailto:amckim@msu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0600-3611 mailto:rustier@clemson.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8164-3857 mailto:ldale4@lsu.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0965-2181 mailto:bmyers@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2593-9159 dibenedetto et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 28 introduction and problem statement a significant gap has been reported regarding the number of students entering and remaining in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem; akcan et al., 2023). there is a need for more purposeful and direct connections between content, educators, and students in school-based agricultural education (sbae; roberts et al., 2020). the need for seamless integration of stem content and technical agricultural concepts has been noted as particularly acute within floriculture curricula (ferand, bommidi, et al., 2025; ferand, dibenedetto, et al., 2022, 2023). stem integration has been defined as the merger of disciplines to enhance students’ knowledge, understanding, and interest in stem (wang & knobloch, 2022). despite this notion, the effective transfer of stem knowledge and skills from agriscience teachers to students is contingent on educators being proficient in the stem subject matter as well as possessing a comprehensive understanding of industry practices (wang & knobloch, 2022). such deficiencies in the synthesis of stem and agricultural content have been addressed through teacher professional development (pd) programs. when exposed to a pd experience designed to enhance agriscience teachers’ understanding of illuminating stem concepts in floriculture, ferand et al. (2020) reported that teachers had marked increases in their science teaching efficacy beliefs and their science teaching outcomes expectancy scores. however, there were no statistically significant differences among teachers’ scores on these measures using pre-, post-, and post-post assessment comparisons. as such, a key implication from the previous findings was the need for a greater understanding of designing effective pd to enhance agriscience teachers’ self-efficacy to integrate stem concepts when teaching floriculture (ferand, bommidi, et al., 2025; ferand, dibenedetto, et al., 2020). this study builds upon that implication by examining a different immersive pd program aimed at supporting stem integration in floriculture, using similar outcome measures to evaluate changes in teacher efficacy. theoretical and conceptual framework we examined this phenomenon using ajzen’s (1991, 2006) theory of planned behavior (tpb). initially proposed by ajzen (1985), tpb integrates central components of self-efficacy, motivation to complete a task, and control. tpb has suggested that an individual’s engagement in a particular behavior is driven by their beliefs and intentions toward an action. these beliefs are categorized into three distinct dimensions: (a) behavioral beliefs (attitudes), (b) normative beliefs (subjective or social norms), and (c) control beliefs (perceived behavioral control). behavioral beliefs represent an individual’s perceptions of the potential positive or negative outcomes of executing a behavior. such beliefs significantly shape an individual’s attitude toward a related action (ajzen, 2006). on the other hand, normative beliefs pertain to the perceived social pressures influencing the decision to engage in a behavior (ajzen, 1991). lastly, control beliefs represent the perceived https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 dibenedetto et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 29 ease associated with performing the behavior. as a result, these belief systems serve as antecedents to individuals’ planned behaviors. in this investigation, each of the beliefs outlined by ajzen (1991, 2006) structured how we analyzed the participants’ views of the pd experience. teachers' knowledge bases are challenging to quantify and conceptualize (ferguson et al., 2022; shulman, 1987). mckim et al. (2017) theorized agriscience teachers can be categorized based on their levels of declarative knowledge and core stem ideas with procedural agricultural content and posed only three categories of teachers: vocational purist, illumination attempter, and science illuminator. when juxtaposed with stem integration, science illumination enables teachers to highlight core ideas and technical content seamlessly. integration of stem ideas is broadly divided into two groups: those that attempt illumination and those that are illuminators of science (mckim et al., 2017). both of these groups are motivated to integrate science into the sbae classroom, but the difference is noted in proficiency of science knowledge (mckim et al., 2017). science illuminators are proficient in science knowledge and are motivated to illuminate science in the sbae curriculum. illumination attempters may be deficient in science knowledge but are motivated to illuminate science in the sbae curriculum. based on the expectancy-value motivational theory (wigfield, 1994) , a third teacher type is noted, the vocational purists; these teachers lack competence to illuminate science, are not motivated to integrate science into the sbae curriculum and do not illuminate science and its link with society (mckim et al., 2017). as teachers are the access point through which students engage with content, and to be efficient stem illuminators, teachers must have equal levels of stem content knowledge and awareness of technical agriculture (mckim et al., 2017). additionally, previous studies have also shown that students who engage in stem illuminated content score higher on both technical agricultural and core science concepts (ferand et al., 2020) and have comparable scores to their peers who learn stem concepts in a traditional core-focused class (nolin & parr, 2013). it has been documented the lower a teacher’s perceived self-efficacy in a subject, the less time students will receive instruction on the topic (ramey-gassert & shroyer, 1992). student achievement of expected learning outcomes is also directly related to the self-efficacy of the teachers' beliefs (tschannen-moran & hoy, 2001). additionally, teachers’ level of content knowledge has been shown to increase student stem learning (national research council, 2013). teachers have also inaccurately perceived their level of stem content knowledge (hendrix et al., 2020; scales et al., 2009). if teachers are to teach a specific topic or method in their classrooms, they should have intentional and purposeful professional development covering these concepts (guskey, 1995). furthermore, teachers should have opportunities for experiential learning to be “in the shoes” of their students and engage with the content, or better yet, plan the content, from the perspective of their students (jeanpierre et al., 2005). when operationalized for this study, behavioral beliefs and attitudes, were viewed as teacher perceptions of stem illumination. normative beliefs, or subjective or social norms, were operationalized as perceived support of illumination from stakeholder groups. lastly, control https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 dibenedetto et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 30 beliefs, or perceived behavioral control, were seen as possible barriers or consequences of stem illumination. purpose a better understanding of how agriscience teachers approach the implementation of stem concepts after an immersive pd experience may inform future decisions for pd program design. this study examined participants’ beliefs regarding how a pd experience illuminated the importance of integrating stem when teaching floriculture for agriscience teachers. one research question guided this study: what patterns emerge about agriscience teachers’ beliefs on integrating stem into the floriculture curriculum after a pd experience? methods we created a pd experience for agriscience teachers that focused on enhancing their stem knowledge and skills in floriculture. this pd experience used a combination of virtual and inperson exploration of the floriculture industry. despite this method, little was known about whether the participants believed this pd experience was an approach that enhanced their integration of stem when teaching floriculture. the pd experience examined in this study was funded by the immersive professional development experiences for agriscience teachers to explore the floriculture industry project award no. 2023-67037-39955, from the u.s department of agriculture’s national institute of food and agriculture . in total, 16 agriscience teachers from across the u.s. were selected using a competitive application process. the participants represented 12 unique states, all teaching floriculture or horticulture-related courses. for the first five months, the participants engaged in monthly virtual sessions to help expand their knowledge about stem concepts in the floriculture industry. example session topics included the floral distribution channel, the international floriculture market, and the wholesale cut flower industry. stem principles were illuminated throughout each session. then, in july 2024, the participants engaged in a 10-day domestic travel experience, including site visits in south carolina, kentucky, and florida. during the domestic travel experience, the participants were exposed to multiple phases of the floral distribution channel, such as the importing of flowers and the distribution process at the miami international airport. further, the participants conducted a site visit to a domestic fresh-cut flower grower in kentucky. finally, the agriscience teachers had hands-on experiences with scientists at clemson university and floralife inc. research facility while in south carolina to help them understand ways to address disease and post-harvest-related practices. throughout each site visit, we highlighted relevant stem concepts and required participants to reflect on their growth in stem knowledge at the end of each day. in this study, we utilized q methodology (brown, 1980). q methodology aims to uncover participants’ comprehensive patterns of thought (brown, 1980). to achieve this, researchers correlate participants’ sorted statements using factor analysis to reduce the data into factor https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 dibenedetto et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 31 arrays. these arrays are then interpreted using naturalistic methods to reveal different viewpoints on a given phenomenon (watts & stenner, 2013). a fundamental principle of q methodology is concourse theory, which reflects the full range of participants’ opinions expressed through statements (watts & stenner, 2013). to build this concourse, we analyzed written reflective statements collected from previous cohorts of this pd experience and relevant academic literature. this process resulted in 189 initial statements. using ajzen’s (1991) tpb, we then categorized the statements into three belief systems: (a) behavioral, (b) normative, and (c) control, which helped us sample 36 statements to use for this study, creating a q-set of 36 statements. data were collected from the participants (n =16) in july 2024 on the final evening of a domestic travel pd experience. the agriscience teachers sorted the 36 sampled statements onto a quasi-normal distribution curve, ranging from -4 to +4. the full q-set of statements can be accessed as an instrument appendix for this article. findings using pq method® version 2.35 (schmolck, 2014), three statistical analyses were conducted: (a) correlation, (b) principal components factor analysis, and (c) factor score calculations. a varimax rotation was applied to obtain a simple structure, and we chose a three-factor solution with a significance threshold of .42. this solution accounted for all 16 agriscience teachers and explained 67% of the total variance, with minimal correlations between factors. to interpret the factors, we followed mauldin’s (2012) guidelines, examining array positions, distinctive and consensus statements, factor loadings, teachers’ personal and professional backgrounds, as well as their written reflections after the sorting process. table 1 provides a factor matrix with participants’ personal and professional characteristics. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 dibenedetto et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 32 table 1 factor matrix with participants’ personal and professional characteristics p number/ gender age years teaching ethnicity factor loadings 1 2 3 1-female 39 19 white 0.64a 0.33 0.08 2-female 40 14 white 0.81a 0.27 0.01 3-female 36 12 white 0.80a 0.32 0.24 4-male 29 7 black 0.82a 0.04 0.31 5-female 26 4 white 0.50a 0.03 0.38 6-male 28 5 white 0.79a -0.01 0.34 7-female 65 18 white 0.84a 0.12 0.02 8-female 63 40 white 0.87a 0.13 0.27 9-male 29 1 white 0.73a 0.26 0.23 10-male 50 28 white 0.73a 0.17 0.26 11-female 32 7 white 0.65a 0.34 0.11 12-female 44 14 native american 0.38 0.66b 0.23 13-female 41 11 white -0.06 0.91b 0.03 14-female 42 17 white 0.32 0.09 0.54c 15-female 40 6 white -0.03 0.16 0.88c 16-female 34 11 white 0.26 -0.07 0.49c note. p was the identifier for each participant. aindicated a defining sort for factor 1. bindicated a defining sort for factor 2. cindicated a defining sort for factor 3. our analysis produced three factors: (a) stem advocates, (b) stem illuminators, and (c) illumination attempters. the factors represent the agriscience teachers’ beliefs about how their pd experience emphasized the importance of integrating stem when teaching floriculture. in our descriptions of each factor, we provided data notations that reflected the array position, zscore, and theoretical category from ajzen’s (1991) tpb that the statement represented. table 2 displays each item number from the q-set (see appendix a), as well as the z-score and array position for each of the three factors. finally, the theoretical category as aligned with the theoretical framework for each statement is also presented. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 dibenedetto et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 33 table 2 z-scores and array positions of each statement by factor and theoretical category item number array pos (f1) z (f1) array pos (f2) z (f2) array pos (f3) z (f3) theoretical category 1 4 1.63 3 1.27 4 1.68 bb 2 3 1.27 3 1.27 2 0.79 bb 3 -4 -1.63 -3 -1.53 2 0.87 bb 4 -2 -1.12 -3 -1.45 -3 -1.38 bb 5 -1 -0.31 0 -0.13 1 0.64 bb 6 3 1.58 -2 -0.88 3 1.1 bb 7 4 1.71 -2 -0.88 2 1.05 bb 8 3 1.16 -1 -0.52 1 0.58 bb 9 2 0.72 -2 -0.57 -1 -0.28 bb 10 1 0.35 4 1.75 1 0.6 bb 11 0 0.07 3 1.27 0 0.03 bb 12 0 0.18 3 1.27 0 0.06 bb 13 2 0.84 0 0 -2 -1.03 nb 14 1 0.55 0 0 -1 -0.64 nb 15 2 0.77 4 1.75 4 1.61 nb 16 0 0.03 1 0.39 -3 -1.04 nb 17 1 0.51 2 1.05 -4 -1.95 nb 18 -2 -0.65 -3 -1.45 -2 -0.97 nb 19 -3 -1.51 -2 -0.57 -3 -1.44 nb 20 -2 -1.09 -1 -0.26 2 1.04 nb 21 0 -0.07 1 0.39 -1 -0.65 nb 22 -1 -0.18 1 0.39 -1 -0.2 nb 23 -1 -0.39 2 0.7 -2 -0.73 nb 24 -1 -0.34 1 0.39 -1 -0.45 nb 25 -4 -1.83 -4 -1.93 0 0.24 cb 26 -3 -1.24 -4 -1.84 -4 -1.77 cb 27 -2 -0.79 0 0.22 3 1.11 cb 28 3 1.35 0 0.26 3 1.2 cb 29 0 -0.13 0 -0.09 -2 -0.98 cb 30 -3 -1.47 2 0.61 -3 -1.45 cb 31 -1 -0.64 -3 -1.27 3 1.32 cb 32 2 0.97 -2 -0.61 0 0.21 cb 33 1 0.64 -1 -0.22 1 0.41 cb 34 0 0.01 1 0.35 1 0.41 cb 35 1 0.41 -1 -0.31 0 -0.19 cb 36 -3 -1.35 2 1.14 0 0.24 cb note. bb = behavioral beliefs; nb = normative beliefs; cb = control beliefs https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 dibenedetto et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 34 factor 1: stem advocates the first factor, stem advocates, represented 11 agriscience teachers’ views about how the pd influenced their beliefs about integrating stem in the floriculture curriculum. it should be noted that all four male participants loaded significantly, purely because of this factor. further, this factor was overwhelmingly influenced by individuals’ behavioral beliefs. overall, teachers displayed a philosophy to engage students, which was further supported through the program as the pd made them recognize that integrating stem into floriculture content helps learners gain crucial critical thinking skills (array position = +3; z = 1.58; behavioral belief). the stem advocates expressed that the pd experience encouraged them to champion the critical role of stem when teaching floriculture, and that they saw the benefits in integrating stem into the sbae classroom. for example, the participants reported that the pd helped them understand how integrating stem into the floriculture content may help future generations solve global issues and problems (array position = +4; z = 1.62; behavioral belief) while also assisting students to gain a better understanding of the world (array position = +3; z = 1.26; behavioral belief) and gain critical thinking skills that can prepare them for the future (array position = +3; z = 1.16; behavioral belief). as a result of the pd experience, the stem advocates also maintained that illuminating stem concepts in the floriculture curriculum could positively affect the relationship between educators and learners because the learning environment could become more engaging (array position = +4; z = 1.71; behavioral belief). related to this, stem advocates were differentiated from other groups by agreeing that the pd helped them understand that leaders whose opinions they value will encourage them to improve their knowledge and skills in stem integration to improve their teaching of floriculture content (array position = +1; z = 0.55; normative belief). factor 2: stem illuminators in the second factor, the stem illuminators expressed that the pd experience reinforced their belief that agriscience teachers needed to enhance their knowledge and skills in stem to effectively teach floriculture in sbae (array position = +4; z = 1.75; normative belief). it should be noted that both participants who loaded significantly and purely on this factor were female and had more than ten years of teaching experience. in particular, the stem illuminators revealed that the pd experience encouraged them to gain more technical knowledge in technology (array position = +4; z = 1.75; behavioral belief), engineering (array position = +3; z = 1.269; behavioral belief), and mathematics (array position = +3; z = 1.26; behavioral belief). through this enhanced technical knowledge, the agriscience teachers perceived they could integrate stem into the floriculture content more effectively. the stem illuminators did not see many major barrier in integrating stem into their curriculum as the pd brought to their attention that although financial challenges exist, stem integration is still achievable (array position = +2; z = 0.61; control belief); pd made them aware that integrating stem concepts into floriculture is not as difficult as expected because students can be supported using simple strategies (array position = 0; z = 0.22; control belief); and pd https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 dibenedetto et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 35 helped them recognize that integrating stem into floriculture is easier because many concepts fit naturally into the curriculum (array position = 0; z = 0.26; control belief). factor 3: illumination attempters the final factor, illumination attempters, reflected the belief that integrating stem into the floriculture curriculum should be encouraged because it could positively influence students, but not as enthusiastically as through the stem advocates factor. however, the pd experience helped these participants understand they needed more advanced knowledge and skills and greater support to achieve such aims. of note, the three sorters who loaded significantly and purely on the final factor had considerable variability in teaching experience, ranging from six to 17 years of teaching experience. the illumination attempters perceived that integrating stem into floriculture content may help future generations solve global issues and problems (array position = +4; z = 1.675; behavioral belief) as well as gain key critical thinking skills (array position = +3; z = 1.102; behavioral belief). despite this, the illumination attempters also reported that integrating stem into floriculture was difficult because many learners are uncomfortable applying the concepts in the real world (array position = +3; z = 1.195: control beliefs). as a result, the illumination attempters believed they needed additional training and support to improve their stem knowledge and skills to effectively teach floriculture (array position = +4; z = 1.611; normative belief). illuminator attempters see the value of stem illumination; however, the pd did not increase their perception that integrating stem is socially expected or valued in their environment (array position = –1 to –4 across multiple items; normative beliefs); and the pd made them realize that the people they work with, whose opinions matter to them, are unlikely to encourage stem integration (array position = –2; z = –1.03; normative belief). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations three factors emerged regarding agriscience teachers’ beliefs on integrating stem into the floriculture curriculum after a professional development (pd) experience: (a) stem advocates, (b) stem illuminators, and (c) illumination attempters. the majority (n = 11) identified as stem advocates, suggesting the pd positively influenced their behavioral beliefs (ajzen, 1991) and self-efficacy to integrate stem into floriculture content. these participants supported handson, engaging instruction but acknowledged gaps in their own stem or technical agricultural knowledge. however, they reported feeling supported by stakeholders such as mentors, colleagues, and students, which reinforced their intent to continue seeking content-specific pd. originally mckim et al. (2017) presented only three categories of teachers related to science illumination: vocational purists, science illuminators, and illumination attempters. as vocational purists do not see the benefit of integrating science, and solely teach technical agricultural content, none of the participants in the pd program identified as a vocational purist. interestingly, a fourth group, stem advocates, emerged from our research that was not proposed by mckim et al. (2017). based on our findings, we categorized the majority of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 dibenedetto et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 36 participants in this fourth group. stem advocates are differentiated by their self-efficacy or their ability to illuminate, which was not considered by mckim et al. (2017) in their original model because only science knowledge and motivation were considered as factors. we recommend with the discovery of a fourth group more research is needed to develop an updated philosophical model for science illumination to additionally categorize agriscience teachers as stem advocates. future research should also focus on developing teachers’ selfefficacy along with their science and agricultural content knowledge. we recommend encouraging stem advocates to persist in integrating stem, as it enhances student engagement and fosters critical thinking and problem-solving. as ajzen (1991) and mckim et al. (2017) indicated, these individuals demonstrate strong intentions to implement change. we further recommend expanding mckim et al.'s (2017) typology to include a distinction between teachers who lack content knowledge but perceive high stakeholder support versus those who do not. teachers may believe in their capacity, but their intention levels are likely to wane having perceived their environment as unsupportive. two mid-career participants, identified as stem illuminators, perceived the pd improved their stem teaching by enhancing their content knowledge in technology, engineering, and mathematics. consistent with wang and knobloch (2022), educators’ content proficiency and understanding of industry practices are critical for effective stem instruction. these teachers felt confident in their ability to adapt materials and noted support from their school communities. they viewed stem illumination as feasible and beneficial without requiring significant additional effort. their belief in the value of teaching stem through agriculture distinguished them from vocational purists. three participants were categorized as illumination attempters. although they believed in the value of integrating stem to promote student success and global awareness, they expressed a clear need for additional training and support. unlike stem advocates, they felt a lack of stakeholder support or awareness of stem integration efforts. these teachers expressed realistic concerns about their knowledge depth and students’ challenges in applying stem concepts. as noted by hendrix et al. (2020) and scales et al. (2009), teachers often struggle to accurately assess their own content mastery. we recommend that future pd target specific technical and pedagogical competencies to increase both stem illuminators and illumination attempters confidence and ability to teach floriculture through a stem lens. though illumination attempters could be misinterpreted as less optimistic, they may actually offer a more grounded view of what is needed to sustain meaningful stem integration. the pd experience successfully connected content, educators, and students (roberts et al., 2020). we recommend q methodology (brown, 1980) as a valuable tool for uncovering nuanced belief patterns in similar contexts. future research should explore students’ perspectives on stem integration in agriscience, which may further inform teacher support https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 dibenedetto et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 37 strategies (ajzen, 1991). additionally, studies that examine teaching practices—not just beliefs—can help determine whether pd influences actual classroom implementation. while stem advocates and illumination attempters agreed on the importance of stem, their perceived behavioral control varied, suggesting that future research should investigate the link between belief, support, and practice. acknowledgments funding information: this work is supported by the immersive professional development experiences for agriscience teachers to explore the floriculture industry, project award no. 2023-67037-39955, from the u.s. department of agriculture’s national institute of food and agriculture and by the american floral endowment educational grant program. any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official usda or u.s. government determination or policy. conflict of interest: there are no conflicts of interest. previous dissemination: this manuscript is based on data published in the paper proceedings of the 2025 american association of agricultural education southern region conference. dibenedetto, c. a., ferand, n. k, roberts, r., dale, l, robison, r. l. , & mckim, a. (2025, february). agriscience teachers’ beliefs about a professional development experience focused on enhancing their illumination of stem when teaching floriculture: a q sort study. proceedings of the southern region meeting of the american association for agricultural education conference, irving, texas, usa. artificial intelligence: artificial intelligence was not used in this work. author contribution statement: c. a. dibenedetto funding acquisition, project administration, supervision, conceptualization, investigation, writing – original draft preparation and review and editing, n. k. ferandsupervision, conceptualization, investigation, formal analysis, writing – original draft preparation and review and editing, r. roberts conceptualization, methodology, investigation, formal analysis, writing – original draft preparation, resources, writing – review and editing, a. j. mckim investigation, writing – original draft preparation and review and editing, r. l. robison investigation, writing – original draft preparation and review and editing, l. dale writing – original draft preparation, b. e. myers writing – review and editing. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 dibenedetto et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 38 references ajzen, i. 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(1994). expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation: a developmental perspective. educational psychology review, 6(1), 49-78. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02209024 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.607 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0742-051x(01)00036-1 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0742-051x(01)00036-1 https://doi.org/10.33902/jpr.202213513 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02209024 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 3, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. megan cantrell, lecturer, agricultural education and communication department, university of florida, 113b bryant hall, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611. megancantrell@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8511-4442 2. lauri m. baker, associate professor, agricultural education and communication department, uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources. university of florida,1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, gainesville, fl 32611, lauri.m.baker@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-607732 3. cheng-xian yang, phd candidate, agricultural education and communication department, uf/ifas center for public issues education in agriculture and natural resources gra, university of florida,1408 sabal palm drive, level 2, gainesville, fl 32611, yang.c1@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4297-5810 1 time to get some zzs? navigating generation z values in extension programming through a systems lens m. cantrell1, l. m. baker2, c. yang3 article history received: october 26, 2023 accepted: april 1, 2024 published: april 16, 2024 modified: may 30, 2024 keywords systems thinking; mental models; qmethodology; land-grant university abstract the purpose of this study was to identify programming values of generation z college students to offer insight into future programming and adaptation of current systems within extension to prepare for the next generation of stakeholders. researchers approached this study with the philosophy that extension should aspire to be a learning organization and continually seek to understand current and future stakeholders to navigate societal changes. q-methodology was used to quantitatively capture student priorities for 42 programming areas with three subcategories of people, environment, and economy and jobs. an initial sample of 158 was paired down to a p-set of 21. results of the q-sort indicated three factors of group priorities: (a) economic and peoplecentric; (b) people-environment centric with limited focus; and (c) environmental-centric. results show a need for programming related to the environment and the protection of natural resources (factor 3) and addressing societal concerns like drug and alcohol abuse (factor 1). for non-urban and prior extension user audiences (factor 2) developing programming that connects environmental issues with people and societal issues is important. future research should be conducted in other extension systems to develop a broad understanding of generation z’s programming needs. mailto:megancantrell@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8511-4442 mailto:lauri.m.baker@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-607732 mailto:yang.c1@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4297-5810 cantrell et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 2 introduction and problem statement cooperative extension is tailored to meet the needs of communities, and as community stakeholders shift and evolve, so should extension programming priorities, as these are designed to work together to bring about positive change. extension is a process that provides scientific knowledge from the department of agriculture and land-grant colleges to surrounding communities and the public to solve issues of the farm, home, and community (collins, 2012; hightower, 1973; usda nifa, 2024). by engaging in communities, extension can lead positive change in states, the nation, and globally. it aims to connect the research to issues faced by people, allowing more people to benefit from scholarship (collins, 2012; usda nifa, 2024). the mission of extension is to contribute to helping communities acquire knowledge in agriculture, people and natural resources, and the life sciences (uf/ifas extension, 2022). based on the tenyear roadmap, the priority missions of the university of florida’s institute for food and agricultural sciences (uf/ifas) extension are to promote food and environmental awareness; cultivate youth potential and community development; and to improve a healthier lifestyle for communities (uf/ifas extension, 2012). as younger adults enter the workforce, it is necessary to understand the thoughts of generation z as the next generation of extension users, agents, and volunteers. generation z is defined as individuals born between 1995 and 2010 (seemiller & grace, 2016). the literature surrounding this generation continues to develop, particularly surrounding the impact of the covid-19 pandemic (dolot, 2018). literature pre-dating the pandemic indicates generation z is a motivated, socially active generation that is marked by entrepreneurship and positive views on social change (seemiller & grace, 2016). generation z is the primary generation engaged in higher education and currently entering the workforce. understanding current college students' perspectives on extension topics can help adjust future extension priorities and highlight topics that are viewed as important by this key demographic area as they become more prevalent extension users. while prior work indicates college-aged students are not familiar with extension, once exposed to extension they see value in extension (mcleod-morin et al., 2023) and continue to be an important audience group to consider for building a future for extension systems beyond current generations of extension users (baker et al., 2011; mcleod-morin, 2023). theoretical and conceptual framework researchers approached this study with the philosophy that extension should aspire to be a learning organization as defined by senge’s five disciplines of learning organizations: building a shared vision, systems thinking, mental models, team learning, and personal mastery (senge, 2006). innovation in systems thinking is key in agriculture, health, and human sciences to respond to rapidly changing demands and knowledge that reaches people who depend on it. extension, in partnership with usda nifa, translates research into action to build a system that offers cutting-edge discoveries from research to turn knowledge into practice (usda nifa, 2024). all five of senge’s five disciplines of learning organizations are critical because of the interlinked and integrated needs of a learning organization (senge, 1994), and in the full data collection process of the uf/ifas extension system all five have been utilized. however, the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 cantrell et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 3 portion of the study reported here related to generation z college students focused on two of the five: systems thinking and mental models. in organizational management and change literature, systems thinking is defined as the concept that organizations are integrated, dynamic systems that nest within each other (burke, 2013). thus, an organization cannot think about individual needs without recognizing the consequences to other parts of the system and to the universal system (senge, 1994). to develop a full picture of what is happening within a connected system, opposing viewpoints and all different but interconnected types of thinking deserve consideration. mental models are similarly complex and operationalized as the core values of all employees and stakeholders that shape the organizational identity. an organization’s success is dependent on its ability to adapt to new mental models when there is a shift in values of employees and stakeholders (senge, 1994). when individuals within an organization develop the capacity to challenge and reshape their mental models, it fosters a culture of continuous learning and adaptation, enabling the organization to navigate complex challenges effectively. the current study proposes that a shift may occur when asking generation z their preferences for future programming and education for extension. if new priorities are set by one generation, systems thinking proposes that because of the interconnected systems, this change in one area can ripple through the entire organization (sterman, 2000). while understanding the viewpoints of past generations and current stakeholders will always remain important, looking to the future may offer a greater understanding of where priorities will be in the future. this holistic perspective helps in anticipating and addressing emerging issues, enhancing resilience, and making informed, proactive decisions to prepare for the future. by combining mental model transformation with systems thinking, while building on current literature of existing mental models and systems thinking of extension and connected entities like usda nifa organizations can not only adapt to change but also proactively shape their strategies and structures to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape (senge, 2006; sterman, 2000). purpose the purpose of this study was to identify programming values of generation z college students related to extension to offer insight into future programming and adaptation of current systems within extension to prepare for the next generation of stakeholders. with the assistance of software, we divided generation z college students into different subfactors based on their perceived differences using self-reported demographic data. in addition to examining the extension items that each subfactor was concerned with, this study also analyzed which items were less prioritized. based on the results, this study could further inform the current development of extension programming areas and discuss potential future priority areas. methods q-methodology was determined as the best technique to aid researchers in quantitatively capturing student opinion at a moment in time while enrolled at a land-grant institution (watts https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 cantrell et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 4 & stenner, 2012). to better understand generation z’s perceptions of extension topics, we used 42 programming areas for uf/ifas extension, originally developed by narine et al. (2020), and further refined by harder et al. (2023). these 42 programming areas served as a predetermined concourse (watts & stenner, 2012). the programming areas were categorized into three programming areas of focus: people (f = 15), economy and jobs (f = 11), and the environment (f = 16). a total of 158 undergraduate students enrolled at the university of florida participated in ranking the program areas on a scale of most important to least important. the forced distribution was established based on the 42 programming areas used as statements, which established the q-set for this study (see figure 1). the two additional statements over the 11 nodes were placed in the highest and lowest scores giving a more polar distribution over the 42 statements. figure 1 forced distribution used to collect data in the q-sort process due to the nature of data saturation within q-methodology, deeper analysis was difficult with the full dataset. thus, researchers took a purposive subsample with unique identifiers to make a less homogenous population as their p-set (watts & stenner, 2012), which is the recommended practice in q-methodology (stenner et al., 2008). priority was placed on having representation of gender, location, and prior extension experience. this resulted in 21 participants which aligns with the q-methodology's standard of having a p-set for saturation that is equivalent to half of the sorting statements to allow proper statistical analysis (watts & stenner, 2012). these participants’ q-sorts were entered in kade software for analysis. factor extraction was completed using a principal components analysis, resulting in three factors that had significant eigenvalues, which is indicative of the factor’s significance statistically (watts & stenner, 2012). one of the participants did not correlate strongly enough with any factor resulting in 20 students' data that were included in the factor rotations at a significance of 5% (p < .05) (watts & stenner, 2012). the three factors explained 52% of study variance with a more substantial break between factor three and four with 7% of the variance explained at the next factoring. factors were then rotated on all data in the study excluding q-sorts with a factor relevance which was less than .60 and factor loadings that were less than .40 on the remaining factors (watts & stenner, 2012). factor analysis was completed using q-sort values, with particular attention to distinguishing statements for each factor and factor arrays. analysis of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 cantrell et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 5 these elements of the data were given a title to best represent the opinions of the individuals in each factor. limitations exist for this study focused on the population of interest and a lack of details for priority areas for extension. all participants were enrolled in a required writing course in the college of agricultural and life sciences at the university of florida which limits an encompassing understanding of all members of generation z who will be extension users. the population also skews to the older sector of generation z which may have differing opinions and interest in extension priority areas than the younger members who are still in secondary school. q-methodology with a pre-determined concourse prevents participants from adding additional items which may reflect a differing priority area. this particularly highlights the current extension priority areas but does not address a potential gap of other areas. findings the sample was predominantly female (f = 14; 70%), four were males (20%), two identified as non-binary (10%). half were juniors (f = 10; 50%), five (25%) were sophomores, four (20%) were seniors, and one was a freshman (5%). these students grew up almost equally in rural (f = 7; 35%), subdivision (f = 6; 30%), and downtown/in town (f = 7; 35%) areas. over three-fourths of participants had yet to participate in programming from extension (f = 16; 80%). based on the factoring results, the final factors one to three included six, six, and eight students respectively. we extracted three factors with between six and eight defining variables and composite reliability of above 0.80 (see table 1). factor q-sort values where each factor placed the statement on the distribution board, which is its perceived value (see table 2). table 1 factor characteristics characteristics factors 1 2 3 no. of defining variables 6 6 8 average reliability coefficient .80 .80 .80 composite reliability .96 .96 .97 standard error of factor z scores .20 .20 .17 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 cantrell et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 6 table 2 factor q-sort values for each statement no. statement factors 1 2 3 1 preserving farmland -2 -5 1 2 protecting water quality -2 -5 3 3 protecting air quality -2 -4 2 4 ensuring safe food handling practices to prevent foodborne illness 1 -4 1 5 assisting farmers in agricultural production -2 -3 -2 6 strengthening the local food system 1 -4 -3 7 promoting economic development -1 -3 -5 8 ensuring individuals have access to affordable healthy food 3 -3 -1 9 helping youth develop leadership, citizenship, and other life skills 4 -3 -3 10 getting more adults involved in mentoring youth 3 -2 -4 11 reducing obesity through educational programs 1 -2 -1 12 helping consumers make healthy food choices 2 -2 -1 13 providing physical fitness education 2 -2 -1 14 preventing chronic disease 4 -1 3 15 helping rural communities improve their quality of life 0 -1 -4 16 assisting local government with land use decisions -3 -1 -2 17 helping communities be better prepared for natural disasters 0 -1 0 18 helping households become more energy efficient 0 -1 0 19 building the capacity of community nonprofits 2 0 -4 20 helping urban communities improve their quality of life 0 0 -5 21 assisting local businesses with land use decisions -3 1 -2 22 preserving foods for home use (e.g., canning, dehydrating) 1 1 0 23 helping first-time homeowners make smart financial decisions 0 2 -2 24 addressing alcohol abuse 0 2 0 25 addressing prescription drug abuse -1 5 2 26 addressing illegal drug abuse -1 4 0 27 addressing mental health 5 3 3 28 preventing suicide 3 4 4 29 building healthy families 4 5 2 30 strengthening couple and/or marital relationships 3 4 1 31 teaching healthy relationship skills to teens 5 3 1 32 strengthening workforce readiness 1 1 -1 33 helping households reduce water use -1 2 -3 34 composting, reducing, and recycling consumer goods -1 1 3 35 strengthening the financial well-being of small businesses 2 3 0 36 controlling invasive plants -3 3 1 37 protecting the coastal environment -3 2 4 38 protecting freshwater resources (e.g., lakes, rivers, springs, wetlands) -4 0 4 39 reducing saltwater intrusion -4 1 -3 40 protecting the marine environment -5 0 5 41 controlling invasive pests (e.g., animals, insects) -4 0 2 42 protecting natural habitats and ecosystems -5 0 5 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 cantrell et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 7 factor one, economic and people-centric factor, explained 23% of the variance, with six defining variables, a composite reliability of 0.96, and an eigenvalue of 4.73. students in factor one prioritized people over the environment. extension topics related to people and economy and jobs got significantly higher z scores. results indicated this factor prioritizes nurturing youth and addressing food and health issues. in addition, it should be noted that the economy and job topics with priorities in this factor had a relationship to the people and community elements, such as ensuring individuals have access to affordable healthy food and building the capacity of community nonprofits. on the contrary, all the lowest priority areas for this factor fell into the environment category. demographics in factor one included four juniors, one senior, and one sophomore; only the sophomore was a prior extension user. four of them were females and the other two were male. all rural/urban options were represented within this factor, and they were from different college of agricultural and life sciences majors. this economic and people-centric factor shows a commonality in this group of individuals to strongly emphasize economic growth, job creation, and social well-being, while showing less concern for environmental sustainability (see table 3). table 3 economic and people-centric: factor high and low priority areas low z high z category helping youth develop leadership, citizenship, and other life skills x people ensuring individuals have access to affordable healthy food x econ. and jobs helping consumers make healthy food choices x people getting more adults involved in mentoring youth x people building the capacity of community nonprofits x econ. and jobs providing physical fitness education x people strengthening the local food system x econ. and jobs ensuring safe food handling practices to prevent foodborne illness x econ. and jobs reducing obesity through educational programs x people promoting economic development x econ. and jobs composting, reducing, and recycling consumer goods x environment controlling invasive plants x environment reducing saltwater intrusion x environment controlling invasive pests (e.g., animals, insects) x environment protecting freshwater resources (e.g., lakes, rivers, springs, wetlands) x environment protecting natural habitats and ecosystems x environment protecting the marine environment x environment note. categories are highlighted in colors to show differentiation visually: people = pink; economy and jobs = yellow; environment = green https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 cantrell et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 8 factor two, people-environment centric with limited focus, explained 19% of the variance, with six defining variables, a composite reliability of 0.96, and an eigenvalue of 4.09. students in factor two highly prioritized extension topics about people and the environment, particularly when the two are connected. they also had one high priority for the economy and jobs, but it was focused on a human element (helping first-time homeowners make smart financial decisions). most of the lowest priorities for this factor were economy and job, followed closely by some environmental issues. however, it is worth noting that the environmental programming areas that this factor prioritized included a human element, such as “helping households reduce water use,” while those with lower priorities did not have a human element identified (e.g., protecting air or water quality). students in factor two were from all years of school and all different majors across the university of florida. three of them were prior extension users and two were unsure. all samples in this factor were female and lived outside of cities. this people-environment centric with limited focus factor represents individuals who strongly value the well-being of people and the environment but do not place a high priority on specific issues related to food and air quality (see table 4). table 4 people-environment centric with limited focus: factor high and low priority areas low z high z category addressing prescription drug abuse x people addressing illegal drug abuse x people controlling invasive plants x environment helping first-time homeowners make smart financial decisions x econ. and jobs helping households reduce water use x environment addressing alcohol abuse x people reducing saltwater intrusion x environment assisting local businesses with land use decisions x environment addressing mental health x people ensuring individuals have access to affordable healthy food x econ. and jobs assisting farmers in agricultural production x econ. and jobs strengthening the local food system x econ. and jobs protecting air quality x environment protecting water quality x environment preserving farmland x environment note. categories are highlighted in colors to show differentiation visually: people = pink; economy and jobs = yellow; environment = green lastly, factor three, environmental-centric, explained 10% of the variance, with eight defining variables, a composite reliability of 0.97, and an eigenvalue of 2.15. students in factor three prioritized environmental topics above all else. most of the lowest-priority topics for this factor https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 cantrell et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 9 were economy and job, with only one other significantly low priority in the environmental category (helping households reduce water use). this study inferred that factor three was so environmentally focused, they did not prioritize programming related to the residential element of water use due to prior connections to this or related topics. two sophomores, four juniors, and two seniors were in factor three, with different majors across the college. none of the students were prior extension users. the gender of this factor included two males, four females, and two non-binary students. all rural/urban options were represented within this factor. the environmental-centric factor can be described as individuals who prioritize environmental sustainability above all else and who do not prioritize economic growth, job creation, and people-centric aspects of society (see table 5). table 5 environmental-centric: factor high and low priority areas low z high z category protecting natural habitats and ecosystems x environment protecting the marine environment x environment protecting freshwater resources (e.g., lakes, rivers, springs, wetlands) x environment protecting the coastal environment x environment controlling invasive pests (e.g., animals, insects) x environment protecting water quality x environment protecting air quality x environment preserving farmland x environment strengthening couple and/or marital relationships x people teaching healthy relationship skills to teens x people strengthening the financial well-being of small businesses x econ. and jobs strengthening workforce readiness x econ. and jobs helping first-time homeowners make smart financial decisions x econ. and jobs helping households reduce water use x environment building the capacity of community nonprofits x econ. and jobs helping rural communities improve their quality of life x econ. and jobs helping urban communities improve their quality of life x econ. and jobs promoting economic development x econ. and jobs note. categories are highlighted in colors to show differentiation visually: people = pink; economy and jobs = yellow; environment = green conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this sample of generation z, college-students born between 1997 to 2012 at the university of florida enrolled in a course in the college of agriculture and life sciences, fell into three different factors based on ranking of values and need for programming. these factors were: (a) https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 cantrell et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 10 economic and people-centric; (b) people-environment centric with limited focus; and (c) environmental-centric. all factors were less likely to value programming related to the economy and job issues. this could reflect their stage of life as full-time students who are not engaged with the workforce in a full-time capacity during their time at a university, which supports previous work in this area (baker et al., 2011; mcleod-morin et al., 2023). however, when looking to build programming for the future for extension, those who are less likely to have been extension users (factors 1 & 3) had clear programming focus areas of interest in 1) economic development when focused on people aspects and 3) environmental programming, which confirms this audience continues to offer potential value in engaging in extension programming earlier once exposed positively (baker et al., 2011; mcleod-morin et al., 2023). interestingly, those who were more likely to have used extension before (factor 2) valued more variety in programming. this may speak to the nature of extension as a whole and the value placed on the importance of a variety of programming areas. additionally, it may provide support for introducing extension programming and resources available to current students through a larger-scale initiative while they are still students on campus. results speak to a clear need for programming related to the environment and the protection of natural resources (factor 3). additionally, there is a clear need for building people and addressing societal concerns like drug and alcohol abuse (factor 1). for non-urban and prior extension user audiences (factor 2), it will be important to develop programming that connects environmental issues with people and societal issues. programming for economy and job areas may also gain more traction and interest with these gen z audiences if they connect to how these affect the environment and/or people. these elements are not currently as explored within the scope of extension but should be examined as extension reconsiders its future scope of work. while these results are not surprising given the culture of generation z (seemiller & grace, 2016), these may require a system thinking approach (senge, 2006) in integrating within the current extension programming structure. competition for funding of programs and expansion of programs is always a balance, and new mental models may need to be adopted to respond to the values of generation z stakeholders within the current extension system. the extension system's success depends on adapting to stakeholders' changing needs and values (burke, 2013; senge, 1994; 2006). this requires ongoing flexibility as stakeholders move into new life stages. beyond a programmatic standpoint, it is important to note that many undergraduate students in this research who are enrolled in a college related to agriculture and related sciences were unfamiliar or unsure if they had personally engaged with extension. being a prior extensionuser had an impact on students' perspectives related to programming. information, and potentially direct engagement, regarding extension should be included in colleges of agriculture, particularly land-grant institutions to ensure each student is aware of the extension system and what it may offer to them in their future careers and personal life as they continue to develop and become contributing members of society. further research into other generations' priorities would be a useful addition to the literature, particularly if it was possible to compare those who are extension users and non-extension https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 cantrell et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 11 users. replication of this study on a national scale, or within other land-grant institutions, could create a broader understanding of programmatic priorities of generation z as they enter the workforce. q-sort methodology offers potential for other extension systems to explore programming needs and priorities through repeating this process, which could offer deeper understanding of current and future needs and priorities for extension, usda nifa, and other partnering organizations across the united states. acknowledgments funding for this research was provided by the university of florida institute for food and agricultural sciences (uf/ifas) and specifically by the office of the dean and director of extension at uf/ifas and the office of the senior vice president for uf/ifas. cantrell, m. conducted data analysis and interpretation, writing of the results and methods, and editing; baker, l. m. developed the study design, collected data, wrote the literature review, discussion, and conclusions; yang, c. supported data collection, cleaned the data, contributed to writing and editing. this article was modified after initial publication to provide additional details about how the instrument was developed. two additional references were added. references baker, l. m., irani, t., & abrams, k. 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(1973). hard tomatoes, hard times: a report of the agribusiness accountability project on the failure of america's land grant college complex. schenkman publishing. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/nactajournal.55.2.32.pdf https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2012.0065 http://dx.doi.org/10.15219/em74.1351 https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.61.02.01 cantrell et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 12 mcleod-morin, a., baker, l. m., boyer, c., zagonel, a., & lindsey, a. b. (2023). rewarding relationships: a quasi-experimental design evaluating the impact of an extension public relations seminar. journal of human sciences and extension, 11(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.55533/2325-5226.1373 narine, l. k., ali, a. d., & hill, p. a. (2020). application of a three-phase needs assessment framework to identify priority issue areas for extension programming. journal of extension, 58(4), article 24. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol58/iss4/24 national institute of food and agriculture [nifa]. (2024). cooperative extension system. united states department of agriculture. https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/how-wework/extension/cooperative-extension-system seemiller, c., & grace, m. (2016). generation z goes to college. john wiley & sons. senge, p. m. (2006). the fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization. broadway business. senge, p. m. (1994). the fifth discipline fieldbook: strategies and tools for building a learning organization. crown business. sterman, j. (2000). business dynamics: system thinking and modeling for a complex world. mcgraw-hill education. stenner, p., watts, s., & worrell, m. (2008). q methodology. in c. willig, & w. stainton rogers (eds.), the sage handbook of qualitative research in psychology (pp. 215-239). sage research methods. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781848607927 university of florida extension [uf/ifas extension]. (2022). about extension.https://branding.ifas.ufl.edu/downloads/uploads/extension%20brochures/ex tension/extension-overview-booklet-2021.pdf university of florida extension [uf/ifas extension]. (2012). shaping solutions for florida’s future: the uf/ifas extension roadmap 2013–2023. https://pdec.ifas.ufl.edu/teams watts, s., & stenner, p. (2012). doing q methodological research: theory, method and interpretation. sage publications. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446251911 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.415 https://doi.org/10.55533/2325-5226.1373 https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol58/iss4/24 https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/how-we-work/extension/cooperative-extension-system https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/how-we-work/extension/cooperative-extension-system https://doi.org/10.4135/9781848607927 https://pdec.ifas.ufl.edu/teams https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446251911 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 2, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. renzo ceme, graduate assistant, university of florida, p.o. box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, rcemevinces@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1232-9001 2. sebastian galindo, associate professor, university of florida, p.o. box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, sgalindo@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4061-773x 3. jose antonio molina, graduate assistant, university of florida, p.o. box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, j.molinagonzalez@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0946-7024 4. pablo lamino, assistant professor, university of florida, p.o. box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, pablo.lamino@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3941-4935 86 exploring the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of female extension agents in guatemala’s western highlands r. ceme1, s. galindo2, j. a. molina3, p. lamino4 article history received: march 13, 2025 accepted: july 2, 2025 published: july 14, 2025 keywords extension agents; swot analysis; rural development; sdg 5: gender equality; guatemala abstract this study explores the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (swot) that female health and nutrition extension agents in guatemala’s western highlands face. this research aims to understand extension agents' perceptions regarding their roles and challenges in delivering effective programs. using an instrumental case study design, the research involved semi-structured interviews with 12 female extension agents, complemented by observations and analytical and methodological memoing. significant findings reveal that strengths include effective communication, professional vocation, and emotional awareness. weaknesses are primarily language barriers and difficulty demonstrating program value. opportunities for expanding the network and professional growth were highlighted, while threats encompass gender inequality, political instability, and community resistance. recommendations for practitioners and extension program implementers include promoting and enhancing multilingual training, providing professional development opportunities, and addressing gender biases through community engagement. mailto:rcemevinces@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1232-9001 mailto:sgalindo@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4061-773x mailto:j.molinagonzalez@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0946-7024 mailto:pablo.lamino@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3941-4935 ceme et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 87 introduction and problem statement rural extension is a key driver of rural development (oakley & garforth, 1985). in agriculture, rural extension aims to improve livelihoods by helping farmers address challenges and implement sustainable practices (davis, 2020; oakley & garforth, 1985). in guatemala, extension prioritizes the comprehensive development of rural families, with a focus on food security and poverty reduction (landini & vargas, 2020). this approach often assumes equal benefits among household members, overlooking the distinct roles and needs of women, who play a vital role in household nutrition, health, and agricultural productivity (hernandez et al., 2023; wehr et al., 2014). the latest world bank (2025) report shows that 57.3% of guatemalans live in poverty, with rural areas worse off. guatemala also ranks among the highest in gender inequality in latin america, especially in rural areas where women have limited access to education, land, and economic opportunities (instituto nacional de estadística, 2025; mosso et al., 2022; programa de las naciones unidas para el desarrollo, 2024). this intersection of poverty and gender disparity highlights the need for extension services that support women (hernandez et al., 2023; petrics & barale, 2018) and include female extension workers (berger et al., 1984; ragasa, 2014). given their importance to community well-being and the critical role of gender-responsive extension services, this study conducts a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats [swot] analysis of the role of female health and nutrition extension agents in the western highlands of guatemala. by examining participants’ perceptions of the swot analysis components, this research aims to inform practitioners from government and non-government organizations about the factors that influence the implementation of nutrition and healthrelated extension programs in rural guatemalan communities. conceptual framework in guatemala’s western highlands, agricultural extension services are critical for improving rural livelihoods, yet they often fail to reach women effectively (mosso et al., 2022). women in rural sectors play a central role in agriculture and nutrition, but face barriers such as entrenched gender norms and limited institutional support (hoss-cruz et al., 2024; mosso et al., 2022). this study employs a swot analysis framework to explore the internal and external factors (gürel, 2017; sammut-bonnici & galea, 2015) influencing the work of female health and nutrition extension agents who work with local rural women in this region. the swot analysis approach is employed in this study as a participatory tool to structure and synthesize the subjective perspectives (chiodini, 2020) of female health and nutrition extension agents in guatemala’s western highlands. swot analysis is a qualitative tool used to structure strategic thinking by identifying internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats (gürel, 2017; sammut-bonnici & galea, 2015), as is illustrated in figure 1: https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 ceme et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 88 figure 1 4-quadrants swot analysis model adapted from bull et al. (2016) strengths refer to characteristics that add value and make a difference compared to others; weaknesses are aspects that do not help create the necessary competence and are a disadvantage when compared to others (gürel, 2017; phadermrod et al., 2019). opportunities involve conditions or situations that allow the development of activities, considering them as advantages; and finally, threats are conditions or situations that hinder the development of an activity, considering them as disadvantages (gürel, 2017; phadermrod et al., 2019). swot analysis is particularly valuable in contexts where formal data is limited, and stakeholder insights are crucial. for this reason, the purpose of the swot analysis in this study is to structure subjective opinions of extension agents to examine their roles in addressing educational programs with women in the rural sector of guatemala. to accomplish this, swot analysis is used to reflect the current context using a qualitative instrument for evaluating internal and external factors (phadermrod et al., 2019; rana et al., 2023). by capturing the lived experiences of these agents, the swot framework helps identify key barriers and might assist stakeholders and decision-makers in generating alternatives to enhance collaborative development (barati et al., 2017). this approach not only supports strategic planning and problem identification (barati et al., 2017; kelsey, 2018) but also ensures that the research is grounded in context-specific realities. in this study, swot analysis is applied as a participatory diagnostic method to capture the lived experiences and professional insights of female health and nutrition extension agents in guatemala’s western highlands. given the limited reach of agricultural extension services to women in this region, the framework provides a structured approach to identify internal and strengths opportunites weaknesses threats po sit iv e n eg at iv e internal external https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 ceme et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 89 external factors that influence their work. this approach ensures that the findings are grounded in the agents’ realities and directly inform strategies aimed at enhancing extension systems. purpose this research explores how female health and nutrition extension agents from the western highlands of guatemala perceive their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in their role of delivering community-based programs. these agents are frontline workers who provide nutritional and health-related education and support to rural women, often serving as critical links between government or ngo initiatives and local communities. the study pursued the following specific objectives: (a) identify female extension agents’ strengths, (b) describe female extension agents’ weaknesses, (c) explain female extension agents’ opportunities, and (d) discuss female extension agents’ threats. methodology this research employed an instrumental case study design (stake, 1995), which focuses on understanding a particular issue. in this context, it investigates the experiences of female health and nutrition extension workers in guatemala’s western highlands. the case is “instrumental” because it is used to gain broader insights into the systemic challenges and opportunities faced by female extension agents in rural guatemala. the case was bound by location (the western highlands) and participants' occupation (female health and nutrition extension agents). a constructivist paradigm guided the research, emphasizing the co-construction of meaning and the importance of participants’ subjective experiences (creswell & creswell, 2018). before reaching out to the participants, the texas tech university institutional review board approved this study with the code 2022-773, which qualified for exemption. to recruit participants, one of the researchers conducted a workshop addressing gender-focused issues in rural areas of guatemala, attended by 25 female field technicians. from this group, 12 participants were purposefully selected based on the following criteria: (1) at least one year of experience working with rural women in the western highlands, (2) age 18 or older, and (3) residence in a rural community. data collection semi-structured interviews were the primary source of data, which balanced structured inquiry with the flexibility to explore participants’ unique perspectives (aurini et al., 2021). interviews were conducted via zoom and whatsapp video calls (archibald et al., 2019; sah et al., 2020), recorded with consent, and transcribed using sonix® software. to enhance depth and triangulation, interviews were supplemented with participatory and non-participatory observations, as well as analytical and methodological memoing throughout the research process (lincoln & guba, 1985; saldaña, 2016). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 ceme et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 90 data analysis the data analysis process was guided by the swot framework, aligning directly with the study’s objectives. the process began with preliminary data exploration, which involved repeated transcript readings and memo writing. an iterative coding process was used, beginning with open coding to identify meaningful units of data. these codes were then organized into categories corresponding to the four swot dimensions: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. this method allowed for the identification of categories, subcategories, and dimensions relevant to the study (saldaña, 2016). pattern coding followed, grouping related codes into broader themes and providing insights that captured the relationships among data points (morse & richards, 2002). two researchers independently coded the data, and discrepancies were resolved through discussion in three consensus meetings. trustworthiness to ensure trustworthiness, the study followed the criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability (creswell & creswell, 2018). credibility was supported through data triangulation, detailed descriptions, and reflexive memoing, using diverse sources like interviews and observations to enhance validity (ary et al., 2010). transferability was enhanced through purposive sampling and detailed context reporting, enabling readers to evaluate the relevance of findings to different settings (cope, 2014). dependability was ensured through process documentation, including transcripts and reflexive memoing. confirmability was achieved through reflexivity, where researchers documented assumptions and reflected on biases; transcripts were reviewed repeatedly for accuracy and to limit preconceived notions (lincoln & guba, 1985). researcher as instrument the four investigators have lived and studied in latin america and bring contextual knowledge of gender dynamics in rural development, gaining insight into the necessity of promoting inclusive practices in extension. by directly engaging with participants and maintaining reflexivity, the researchers helped ensure that the findings were grounded in participants’ realities and interpreted with cultural sensitivity (ary et al., 2010). findings objective 1: identify female extension agents’ strengths effective communication female extension agents highlighted their ability to communicate as a significant strength. their capacity to engage with diverse communities has allowed them to form meaningful connections quickly, fostering trust and collaboration with rural populations. eight participants emphasized the role of effective communication in successfully conveying valuable information and building lasting relationships. one participant mentioned: “one of my strengths as an extension worker is that it does not take much for me to talk with people, and generally, i make friends quickly.” this indicates that https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 ceme et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 91 her communication skills enable her to connect with people easily, which is crucial in extension work. this sentiment was echoed by other participants in quotes such as: “my way of addressing people, the trust i have had [...] for me is a strength,” and “i have always worked with groups of seniors [...] to gain people's trust.” gaining trust and building rapport has contributed to their success in extension work. another participant reinforced this by stating: “being able to communicate, being able to say what we feel or listen to other people helps a lot.” in addition to the previous quotes, the ability to simplify and share complex information enhances the communication effectiveness of extension workers; as another participant mentioned: “through the years and experience, i have also accomplished [...] to try to talk to people in a slightly simpler way.” professional vocation the extension workers take great pride in their sense of vocation, seeing it as a key factor in their ability to help others and succeed in their roles. their commitment to their job extends beyond regular duties, emphasizing a deep dedication to making a difference in the communities they serve. seven participants believe achieving positive outcomes in extension work would be difficult without this strong sense of purpose and responsibility. one of the participants shared: “i feel that my strengths are to be committed, responsible, and punctual,” emphasizing their personal commitment to the work. another extension agent echoed this sentiment: “responsibility. humanism. be a very tolerant person. someone who knows [...], perhaps in terms of family care.” punctuality and reliability were also repeatedly mentioned, as evidenced by the statement: “be responsible. make yourself known; for example, if i call at nine and arrive at 9:30 a.m., i am not making myself known (correctly) to the community as a responsible, punctual person." being responsible and exceeding expectations were also fundamental to their work ethic, demonstrating a willingness to do more than what is required; this sense of duty drives them to overcome challenges, as highlighted by another participant: “for me, one of the strengths is that i like my job, and i feel that even though there are obstacles, i try to find a solution.” emotional awareness emotional awareness and empathy with the community are crucial for how extension workers approach their work. ten of the participants mentioned that they come from the same or similar backgrounds as the audience they work with, which enables them to connect on a deeper level. this shared experience fosters trust and motivates extension agents to help rural populations with dedication and compassion, especially in areas with limited support. one participant stated: “i have always been very kind to people [...] support that being very much like being aware of them,” demonstrating her empathetic approach to helping others. this quote highlights how persistence and understanding are crucial to fostering positive outcomes. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 ceme et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 92 the ability to persevere, even when challenges arise, was mentioned by several participants. for example, one extension agent described the importance of turning a negative response into a positive outcome: “the other thing that has also happened is that there are many people who are also very negative […] so, sometimes they misinform people so that they do not participate in those activities, however, i managed to overcome those obstacles, and i did it with perseverance and hard work.” to navigate these perception barriers, one of the participants underscored the importance of perseverance, stating: "perseverance is that when one is insisting or giving time for changes [...] making visits and so on, we do not stop giving up." in addition, emotional strength was also tied to the confidence they gained through experience, as one participant remarked: “having the confidence to do things [...] no longer being afraid, but being able to relate properly to them, for me is a strength.” respect in their interactions was also essential, as one participant mentioned: “you have to be humble, you have to be collaborative, and always open to new opinions because the community members really have some very good ideas,” which illustrates their commitment to positive, respectful engagement with the communities they serve. objective 2: describe female extension agents’ weaknesses language barriers ten out of twelve participants reported that language differences between themselves and the women they serve hindered communication. many rural communities in the western highlands speak only indigenous languages, while most extension agents speak spanish. this linguistic gap creates an obstacle in delivering extension program information effectively. extension agents suggested using an interpreter as an alternative to bridge this gap, but there were concerns that the essence of the message could be lost in translation. one participant explained: “the biggest problem we have is the language. many women do not speak spanish, and there are not enough translators for all languages,” highlighting the insufficient number of translators available for the many indigenous languages. another participant shared: “sometimes we need translators to communicate with women, but we worry that the message will not get through the way we want it to,” emphasizing the uncertainty of whether the message is fully conveyed through facilitators. participants echoed this concern, pointing out that relying on facilitators might still not ensure complete understanding. one participant remarked: “the fact that we do not speak the language of the community complicates everything. even if we use facilitators, we feel that the message is not conveyed in the same way,” while another participant added that as part of being an extension agent, she must adapt to the community needs she explained: “the challenge has been to understand and adapt to them because the work of extension is not to make people fit with us, but that we have to adapt to them so that they can work with us." this last statement underscores the essential adaptability required of extension agents in overcoming language and other barriers. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 ceme et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 93 difficulty demonstrating program value eight participants expressed that they sometimes struggle to effectively communicate the value of their programs, especially when they are unable to provide tangible resources. this was perceived as a weakness in their ability to engage and motivate community members. since the program focuses on knowledge dissemination rather than providing tangible benefits, many participants in the community are hesitant to adopt the new techniques. the lack of material support, such as seeds or tools, has led to skepticism about the value of the information provided. as one participant mentioned: “people expect us to give them something, not just knowledge. they do not value information if it is not accompanied by a tangible benefit,” reflecting the difficulty in conveying the long-term benefits of knowledge alone. another agent added: “the program does not provide inputs or direct aid, only information, and that is not what people want. for this reason, many are not interested,” underscoring the community’s reluctance to engage without material incentives. extension agents also identified a limited ability to persuade or inspire participation in their communities as a weakness in their communication or facilitation skills. one participant stated: “one challenge is to form the group and achieve attendance [..] where one has to struggle to achieve participation, and the other challenge is that they [community participants] will replicate what you teach them to achieve changes for their family.” this highlights the difficulty in fostering engagement when community members hesitate to participate due to preconceived notions or distrust. they emphasized that building trust with community members is crucial for overcoming these barriers, as mentioned by one of the extension agents: “at first, when people do not know you well, they just attend. however, when you gain their trust, the sessions become more effective.” this suggests that addressing the perception barriers is essential to enhance participation and ensure that shared information can lead to meaningful changes in the community. the commitment to ongoing engagement is vital for reshaping community perceptions. they acknowledged the necessity for strategic approaches, as it was suggested by one of the participants: “if you do not have an answer, you must look for strategies. for example, sharing testimonies from other people and the changes they have achieved." by sharing success stories from other communities, they aim to illustrate the value of their program and counteract skepticism, ultimately fostering a more receptive environment for knowledge dissemination. objective 3: explain female extension agents’ opportunities expanding the network the extension workers meet diverse groups of people in various locations, allowing them to expand their networks and appreciation of cultural diversity in their regions, traveling throughout rural areas of guatemala, and learning about new places. this opportunity was highly mentioned, and it was a motivation for most of the participants. one of the participants mentioned: “i feel very excited in my job because i go to different places, experience a shift of environments, and meet new people,” stating that female extension agents are motivated to https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 ceme et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 94 visit new places and know new people, other participants confirmed it when they said: “i have visited many places and learned about their traditions and cultures,” and “i have known many places where i have never been, so this job allowed me to meet people and do networking.” the opportunity to travel to different places has extended their knowledge capacity regarding cultural diversity, environmental landscapes, and people connections. female extension workers find rewards from their jobs when they experience these indirect benefits. other evidence that witnessed previous statements are the following responses from the extension agents interviews: “i like to spend time with people in different communities; this has helped me learn from them and value what i have,” and “i feel motivated to know new places and learn from the people, because every day we learn something different,” these quotations highlighted how importance these type of opportunities are in the job in order to feel motivated. professional growth all participants said they attend monthly workshops to improve their work. they also emphasized that the institution where they work allows them to pursue new careers and interact with colleagues from other programs, which helps to extend relations and exchange ideas. extension workers referred to professional development opportunities that help them to grow in their work; one participant mentioned: “we have opportunities to participate in technical training […] and attend meetings to listen about experiences from other people,” another participant mentioned: “since i am in this job, i have grown a lot […] i am studying a new college career.” these statements prove that extension workers accomplish their tasks in their jobs and are in constant preparation through training, pursuing new professional careers, and learning from other people's experiences. objective 4: discuss female extension agents’ threats gender inequality this theme encompasses the limitation of women's participation in development and training activities in certain rural communities in guatemala. women often face barriers imposed by their husbands, hindering their personal growth and community involvement. many women internalize these restrictions and often choose not to participate to avoid conflict with their husbands. one of the extension agents said: the machismo is a very remarkable problem; i have been in communities where women do not have the opportunity to participate, they do not have a space of learning or the chance to receive support from us […] women usually say ‘my husband does not allow me to go to meetings or training because he thinks that i am going to talk about him, so i prefer do not go to avoid problems.’ gender inequality is a serious problem that needs to be addressed in rural communities, especially for extension agents who are working with families that are facing this kind of threat. it is important to recognize the problem and try to find ways to deal with it or find resources that help to address this issue adequately. another participant stated: “because in our culture, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 ceme et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 95 there is too much machismo, and women think that they do not have rights (…) so, our job as extension agents is to provoke a change, letting women know what their rights are,” echoed by another extension agent comment: “there are men that do not allow their wives to participate in our programs.” these quotes are evidence of the machismo problem and how this could affect the implementation of extension programs. political and financial issues this theme covers the impact of political instability on the continuity of projects and employment contracts. political changes in guatemala can affect the execution of projects, causing the cancellation of contracts and the impossibility of completing established objectives. one of the participants mentioned: “they took away our contract because at that time there was a political problem in guatemala […] so we could only deliver three products of the four,” other participants said: “one difficulty could also be that sometimes i would like people to change, but there are also economic situations that prevent them from making many changes.” these difficulties prevent the implementation of desired changes, even when agents wish to support and promote these changes but feel limited by a lack of resources. in addition, complications in accessing the communities were identified as a threat to the extension agents in delivering their programs; one participant mentioned: “sometimes there have been difficulties in reaching the communities because of the rains, the roads are in poor condition.” community resistance eight out of twelve extension agents expressed fear of rejection by communities and local leaders when participating in extension programs. agents experience frequent difficulties when trying to involve people in projects, and they find resistance to participating in their activities. the main reasons for this are the presence of skepticism and the fact that community members are looking for tangible benefits, not only educational training. one of the participants stated: “i feel that it is the rejection of people because we are looking for the acceptance of people […] and in several circumstances, we have been told no from them.” some participants hesitated to be part of the program because the extension agents aim to change behaviors and cannot provide tangible benefits for households, which could cause negativity during implementation. another extension agent echoed this statement by mentioning: “there are women who don’t want to participate directly in the meetings, so it’s our responsibility to make individual visits. unless they shut the door on us and say -look, i don’t want to talk anymore, i don’t want you to bother me-.” conclusions, discussion, and recommendations female extension agents excel in simplifying technical information, making it accessible to diverse audiences. this tailored communication fosters trust and rapport with rural communities, enabling agents to engage populations and encourage sustainable behavioral changes. castillo et al. (2024) similarly highlighted that effective communication is developed over time and employs diverse methods, such as producer meetings and farmer field schools, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 ceme et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 96 to disseminate information. the dedication of extension agents demonstrates their commitment to improving rural lives. beyond routine responsibilities, their intrinsic motivation drives them to overcome challenges and sustain community engagement. fanzo et al. (2015) also reported that efforts go beyond just a typical job, as extension agents often invest personal resources to support program needs, such as purchasing training materials. the language barriers reported by extension agents reflect a key professional weakness in multilingual regions, where limited proficiency in indigenous languages hinders effective communication and program delivery. the lack of adequate translation resources and training hinders agents' ability to reach community members effectively. another critical weakness lies in the difficulty of demonstrating program value due to the misalignment between community expectations and program goals. many participants anticipate tangible benefits and may undervalue knowledge-based initiatives. opportunities for extension agents include expanding their networking and engaging with diverse communities across rural sectors. this exposure increases their professional experience and understanding of local needs and challenges. threats include gender inequality, which restricts women's participation in development activities. political changes can disrupt project continuity, reduce funding, and sometimes result in contract cancellation. these issues threaten extension program implementations. extension programs should invest in ongoing professional development opportunities for female extension agents, specifically those promoting the exchange of viewpoints among colleagues (landini & villafuerte-almeida, 2022). training in communication, cultural competency, and trust-building can enhance their already existing capabilities. providing agents with practical resources can empower them to maximize their outcomes. to address female extension agents' language barriers, programs should prioritize multilingual training to help agents develop basic proficiency in local indigenous languages. access to professional translation tools and on-demand translators can ensure accurate and culturally authentic communication. additionally, incorporating visual aids, such as videos, should be extended, as it has been shown to improve people's understanding and increase the adoption rate of new techniques (fanzo et al., 2015). addressing the misalignment between community expectations and program goals requires improved communication strategies, including success stories to illustrate long-term program benefits. involving community leaders can also help build trust and align expectations. programs such as the gender-sensitivity training module on value chains for extensionists in guatemala (smith, 2018) offer valuable insights into addressing these challenges effectively. extension institutions should implement consistent and well-structured training and evaluation programs to ensure extension agents continuously develop their skills and knowledge (akinbile & otitolaye, 2008). efforts to empower women through different educational programs should be implemented to combat male dominance in households. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 ceme et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 97 acknowledgments funding information: the research was self-funded. conflict of interest: there are no conflicts of interest. previous dissemination: information from this article was previously presented in the 2025 southern region american association for agricultural education conference as an oral presentation (https://aaaeonline.org/page-18465) and in the 2025 association for international agricultural and extension education conference as a poster presentation (https://aiaee.org/page-18234). artificial intelligence: grammarly and microsoft 365 copilot were used as an ai tool to assist with language refinement and grammar correction during manuscript preparation. author contribution statement: r. ceme – conceptualization, data collection, coding, formal analysis, writing-original draft, and editing; s. galindo – supervision, formal analysis, writingreview and editing; j. molina – writing-review and editing; p. lamino – conceptualization, supervision, data collection, coding, formal analysis, writing-review and editing. references akinbile, l. a., & otitolaye, o. o. 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(2025, july 3). guatemala overview. world bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/guatemala/overview © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.589 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8616-4_17 https://doi.org/10.18805/ag.r-2522 https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.5738 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118785317.weom120103 https://ingenaes.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/ing-case-study-2018_07-gender-sensitive-module-on-value-chains-guatemala-smith.pdf https://ingenaes.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/ing-case-study-2018_07-gender-sensitive-module-on-value-chains-guatemala-smith.pdf https://doi.org/10.18357/ijih.101201513196 https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/guatemala/overview advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 2, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. kimberly kester, extension livestock educator, university of wisconsin–madison, lafayette county – uw extension 700 main street, #2, darlington, wi 53530-1396, kimberly.kester@wisc.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6453-7139 2. john s. rayfield, professor, texas tech university, box 42131-lubbock, tx 79409-2131, john.rayfield@ttu.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3741-2637 3. d. barry croom, professor, university of georgia, 2360 rainwater rd, tifton, ga 31793, dbcroom@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7710-5212 4. paula burke, county extension coordinator/anr agent northwest district, university of georgia, 900 newnan rd, carrollton, ga 30117-6477, pjburke@uga.edu 5. zackary williams, county extension coordinator, university of georgia, 203 south dixon street, ag complex, suite 3, alma, ga 31510, zackary.williams@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5580-2621 6. brooklyne wassel, county extension coordinator/anr agent, university of georgia, p.o. box 397, meansville, ga 30256, brooklyne.wassel@uga.edu 7. shanna reynolds, shanna reynolds county extension coordinator, university of georgia, 55 oglethorpe drive, crawford, ga 30630, shanna.reynolds@uga.edu, 8. joshua g. fuder, anr agent northwest district, university of georgia, 1130 bluffs parkway, canton, ga 30114, jfuder@uga.edu 9. robyn stewart, county extension coordinator, university of georgia, 2080 rowland-york drive, lincolnton, ga 30817, rlstew2@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0567-5567 42 the perceptions of farmers toward fee-based extension programs and services k. kester1, j. s. rayfield2, d. b. croom3, p. burke4, z. williams5, b. wassel6, s. reynolds7, j. g. fuder8, r. stewart9 article history received: november 27, 2024 accepted: may 1, 2025 published: may 14, 2025 keywords extension; farmers; fees; sdg 4: quality education abstract this study used a descriptive survey design to explain u.s. agricultural producers' perceptions of how fee-based services would limit their access to extension resources. agricultural producers in the united states use extension because of the free resources, troubleshooting, and competitively priced and high-quality lab services. participants perceived immense value in research-based information available at no cost, especially for those who fell into the lower gross farm income brackets. participants with higher-income farms were more tolerant of paying for commercial consulting services, likely due to having more capital to invest in such services. despite their aversion to fees, participants supported paying for lab services that evaluated soil, plant, water, and feed samples. such fees are expected as part of a standard business transaction yielding a tangible product or data, as one would experience when buying other goods. participants were largely unaware of free commercial plant disease diagnosis services, which suggests an opportunity for agricultural agents to promote this more thoroughly in their counties. overall, georgia agricultural producers rely on extension for free or affordable information that is high-quality and readily accessible. producers count on their county agent to link them to a resource system providing valuable information in numerous formats to meet their needs. mailto:kimberly.kester@wisc.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6453-7139 mailto:john.rayfield@ttu.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3741-2637 mailto:dbcroom@uga.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7710-5212 mailto:pjburke@uga.edu mailto:zackary.williams@uga.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5580-2621 mailto:brooklyne.wassel@uga.edu mailto:shanna.reynolds@uga.edu mailto:jfuder@uga.edu mailto:rlstew2@uga.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0567-5567 kester et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 43 introduction and problem statement the mission of cooperative extension has broadened in recent years in response to technological advances in the industry, societal needs, and the needs of the u.s. and the world economy (united states department of agriculture, 2023; west et al., 2009). cooperative extension mostly meets these needs through free services to agricultural producers, funded by tax dollars. despite advances in cooperative extension programs and services, persistent problems remain in meeting stakeholders' needs when conditions call for conservative budgets and austerity measures (narine et al., 2019). extension agents struggle to keep pace with technological advancements because of limited resources for staffing, training, and development (narine et al., 2019). in addition to these challenges, cooperative extension has to cope with increased competition from private agricultural consultants who provide on-demand services to u.s. agricultural producers for a fee (ortmann et al., 1993; rivera, 1996). for this study, we defined a commercial agricultural consultant, or scout, as a professional who provides expert advice and assistance to farmers, agribusinesses, and other organizations involved in agriculture. however, for cooperative extension to mitigate the effects of its challenges and compete with private-sector consultants, a fee-based service delivery system may be necessary, despite farmers' apprehensions. a study from washington state university extension found that farmers agreed that wsu extension was valuable to their community and was an appropriate use of public funding. however, when asked how much they would be willing to pay for extension services in taxes, participants selected a range of answers below the actual cost of those services (hoag, 2005; lawrence & mandal, 2016; weiler et al., 2006). to address its challenges and compete with private-sector consultants, cooperative extension may need to implement a fee-based service delivery system despite farmers' concerns and unwillingness to pay the total cost of its services. nevertheless, are farmers ready for a feebased delivery system? conceptual framework how might farmers respond to the transition to a fee-based extension service? this new approach to providing extension expertise is a significant structural change from traditional program delivery methods. extension professionals utilize the diffusion of innovation theory (rogers, 2003) as the vehicle for adopting new technologies in agriculture (koutsouris, 2018). suppose cooperative extension were to implement strategies based on the diffusion of innovation theory to promote the adoption of a fee-based system. would this new approach help alleviate the challenges faced by local extension professionals and enhance the level and quality of services provided to producers? https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 kester et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 44 the status of extension in georgia in the state where we conducted this study, farmers produced over 13 billion dollars of agricultural products and services in 2022 (kane, 2023). to maintain a high level of productivity in the agriculture industry, that state, with local and federal partnerships, has established a robust extension system. in 2023, extension professionals contacted 482,376 people and conducted 42,798 on-site consultations (university of georgia extension, 2023). in the state where we conducted this study, agricultural producers currently do not pay for the advisory services they receive from agricultural extension agents. they only pay out of pocket for lab services, where their local extension office ships soil, water, plant, and feed samples to the university of georgia labs, and a registration fee for organized programs or classes they choose to attend. however, setting the fees for extension services depends on the market. as demand and the cost of inputs fluctuate, the fee would also fluctuate (laurent et al., 2006). if cooperative extension cannot match the market fee price, an extension fee-based system becomes unworkable. furthermore, while promising to make extension advisory services more selfsupporting, a fee-based system competes with consulting services in the agribusiness industry (laurent et al., 2006). the human toll of a competitive market for advisory services is steep, driving qualified extension professionals into burnout and subsequent departure from the profession (feldhues & tanner, 2017). purpose this study described agricultural producers' perceptions of establishing fee-based services for extension resources in georgia. methods this study used a descriptive survey design to explain agricultural producers' perceptions about how fee-based services would limit their access to extension resources. the study's target population included all agricultural producers in georgia who had interacted with extension personnel or participated in extension programs and services. based on 42,439 reported farms in georgia (national agricultural statistics service, 2019), the ideal sample size (95% confidence interval, 5% margin of error) was 381 respondents. the survey involved producers known by their county agents who attended an extension event where a county agent shared the survey instrument or was on the county agent's mail/email list. according to cypress (2017), purposive samples can improve the transferability of the results to the population. extension's countydelivery system increased the odds of collecting responses from agricultural producers familiar with extension resources (fraenkel et al., 2012). at the end of the data collection phase, 235 surveys were initiated, with 185 fully completed. any respondent who completed more than two-thirds of the survey instrument was considered https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 kester et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 45 a sufficient partial respondent and remained in the dataset for analysis, bringing the total number of responses to 222. these partial responses provided data points that spoke directly to the research question about methods of access to extension resources. multiple choice questions asked respondents for their perceptions about the potential limited access to resources due to an entirely fee-based system or the cost of lab services. using vagias (2006) as our guide, we set the response anchors as not at all limited, slightly limited, somewhat limited, and very limited. as a follow-up to the fee-based question, participants were asked what fee they would tolerate for troubleshooting services and selected a range of costs. the ranges were designed to encompass the average cost of a scout for peanuts, blueberries, and other crops on a per-acre basis. this was followed by several questions about whether participants had previously used a private consultant to scout crops, why they prefer a private consultant or commercial scout over a county agent, and whether they have ever participated in a georgia extension on-farm trial. finally, the survey gathered data about gross farm income, commodities produced, and county of operation to reveal farm size and type trends. construct validity was established after the survey instrument was reviewed by three experts familiar with extension agents' work. face validity was confirmed when the survey instrument was piloted by 26 county agents and other practitioners working closely with extension (school of education & human development, 2020). using dillman et al. (2014) as our guide, we emailed the anonymous link to the online qualtrics (provo, ut) survey to extension offices and county agents across georgia. the first follow-up email on september 7, 2022, contained another request for county agents to share the survey instrument with their producers, plus a printable version and a promotional graphic with a qr code. we sent a second follow-up email on october 27, 2022, and a final reminder on december 12, 2022. this last reminder was impactful as it yielded responses from 54 late responders. we hand-coded open-ended responses into key themes or sentiments. following spelling corrections and coding, we imported the dataset into ibm spss statistics, version 29. for results clustered by commodity group, individual commodities were assigned to agritourism, forestry, fruits and nuts, livestock and aquaculture, ornamental horticulture, poultry, row and forage crops, or vegetables. the groupings were consistent with pre-determined groups within the georgia farm gate survey interface. findings general results & demographics most of the 222 respondents reported as white (94.59%). three respondents indicated they were hispanic or latino (1.35%) in addition to one of the other races. the average age was https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 kester et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 46 54.34 years, compared to the national agricultural statistics service (nass) average of 58.9 years. the nass data showed that 71.88% of agricultural producers were male and 28.12% were female. at the same time, this study included respondents who were, as a group, 66.7% male and 33.3% female – a perfect two-thirds and one-third split. about 81.2% of participants reported they have reliable internet at home, allowing them to access this survey and online extension resources. the sample was considered representative of the target population. respondents indicated how long they have personally been involved in farming and how many generations their family has been farming. the most common answer for personal farming experience was 0 – 10 years (36.0%), and a good portion of respondents were 4th-generation or more farmers (33.3%), followed by 1st-generation (26.6%). slightly more than one-third of the respondents may be entirely new to farming or are part of a family's younger generation that has historically farmed. of the 23 other responses, 18 explained that their parents' generation skipped farming, four listed a generation beyond the fourth instead of selecting 4th generation or more, and one respondent stated they do not farm but still utilize agricultural extension resources for work. additionally, respondents shared how often they utilized extension resources over the past five years. most agricultural producers used extension resources twice or thrice a year (42.3%) or monthly (29.3%). however, 3.2% reported they have not used extension resources within the past five years, despite the survey being delivered through county extension agents and the university of georgia employees. fee-based services the prospect of fee-based services, or paying a fee for an on-farm troubleshooting visit by extension professionals, was perceived as a limitation for agricultural producers. over 74% of respondents indicated that if they were to pay for farm visits made by extension professionals, paying for farm visits would make their access to extension resources somewhat limited or very limited (see table 1). in this scenario, gross farm income did appear to affect the participants' perceived limitations. most participants with gross income less than $1,000,000 selected somewhat limited or minimal access, whereas participants with farms grossing over $1 million tended towards only slightly limited access due to fee-based services (see figure 1). table 1 frequency and percentage of total (n = 222) for perceived limitation of access to extension resources as a result of fee-based services degree of limitation n % no response 9 4.1 not at all limited 12 5.4 slightly limited 36 16.2 somewhat limited 73 32.9 very limited 92 41.4 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 kester et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 47 there were slight shifts in tendency when farms were categorized by commodity group. however, most selections remained somewhat limited or had minimal access. farmers who focused on forestry, livestock, aquaculture, poultry, and row and forage crops indicated their use of extension resources would be limited, followed by somewhat limited, and slightly limited. most of the participants whose operations focused on agritourism, fruits and nuts, ornamental horticulture, and vegetables indicated that the use of extension resources was somewhat limited, followed by very limited and slightly limited.. figure 1 frequency for perceived limitation of access to extension resources due to fee-based services, clustered by self-reported gross farm income (n = 185) fee tolerance we asked respondents to indicate their tolerance level for fee-based on-farm troubleshooting. an equal number of responses selected $0 (32.4%) and $1 to $25 (32.4%), while 18.0% and 9.0% of respondents would tolerate fees of $26 to $50 and $51 to $100, respectively (see figure 2) https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 kester et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 48 figure 2 frequency and percentage (n = 222) for tolerated fee for a troubleshooting visit when clustered by gross farm income, most responses remained at $0 and $1 to $25 as a tolerated fee. farms grossing less than $10,000 reported most frequently that they would accept a $1 to $25, followed by $0 and $26 to $50. those in the $10,000 to $349,999 and $350,000 to $999,999 brackets tended more towards $0, followed by $1 to $25 and $26 to $50. farms grossing over $1 million appeared more divided, with their top selections split between $0 and $51 to $100, followed by $26 to $50. when clustered by commodity group, the same trends toward $0 and $1 to $25 applied in most cases. however, vegetable growers indicated they would be more likely to tolerate a visit fee of over $100 than a $51 to $100 fee. row and forage crop producers showed a distinct drop-off in their preferences, where $0 and $1 to $25 would mostly be tolerated, with little tolerance for any fee level above $25. despite most responses showing that fees were primarily not tolerated for on-farm troubleshooting visits, responses suggested that lab services and testing expenses did not limit access to extension resources (see figure 3). over 74% of participants indicated that lab service fees did not at all limit or only slightly limit their access. about 21.6% said that lab service fees charged through extension made their access somewhat limited or very limited. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 kester et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 49 figure 3 frequency and percentage (n = 222) for perceived limitation of access to extension resources due to lab service fees on a gross farm income basis, most responses also showed that lab services did not impact access to extension resources. the only gross farm income bracket that reported their access would be very limited due to lab service fees, which was the less than $10,000 income bracket. utilization of commercial scouts the questions included in the survey instrument offered valuable insight into the decisionmaking and extension utilization of agricultural producers in georgia. most respondents have never used a commercial scout (57.2%) or have never used one but were considering doing so (7.2%). only 27.5% reported using a commercial scout (see table 2). nearly 79% said they did not think commercial scouts provided more accurate information than ag agents. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 kester et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 50 table 2 previous use of commercial ag scouts and perceived accuracy of information (n = 222) variable n % have you ever used a commercial scout/consultant? no response 18 8.1 no, but i am considering it 16 7.2 no, never 127 57.2 yes, but not anymore 19 8.6 yes, i still do 42 18.9 does a commercial scout/consultant provide more accurate information? no response 18 8.1 no 175 78.8 yes 29 13.1 we hand-coded an open-ended question about why or why not a commercial scout provides more accurate information than extension professionals into central themes. for those reporting that a commercial scout does provide more precise information, the most common reason was due to their specialized training. in contrast, they considered agents more like generalists (see table 3). a handful also mentioned that scouts provide more accurate information because they have "more skin in the game," from the standpoint that their pay or ability to be hired can fluctuate based on performance. the leading answers for those who believe that commercial scouts do not provide more accurate information were "my ag agent is better" or that agricultural agents and scouts offer the same information (see table 4). several participants also suggested that commercial scouts are inherently biased towards their company or associated product lines and are "only in it for the money." https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 kester et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 51 table 3 reasons why a commercial scout does or does not provide more accurate information (n = 222) variable n % why does a scout provide more accurate information? no response 187 84.2 specialized training 23 10.3 available / in my fields more 7 3.2 skin ($) in the game 5 2.3 why does a scout not provide more accurate information? no response 142 64.0 an agricultural agent is better than a consultant 19 8.6 do not use 12 5.4 scout and agent are the same 11 5.0 not educated enough in my commodity 9 4.1 in it for the money 9 4.1 company/product bias 8 3.6 no local connections 5 2.3 it depends on the specific scout 4 1.8 spread too thin over the territory 2 0.9 too specialized 1 0.5 'yes or no' questions regarding profits were also posed. most responses showed that they think commercial scouts do not increase their profits and that agricultural agents do increase their earnings (see table 4). table 4 indication of whether commercial scouts or county agents increase agricultural producers' profits (n = 222) variable n % does using a scout increase your profits? no response 18 8.1 no 134 60.4 yes 70 31.5 does using an agent increase your profits? no response 20 9.0 no 50 22.5 yes 152 68.5 next, we asked participants why they chose extension resources and provided any other commentary not otherwise captured in the rest of the survey. we also asked why they decided to use a scout, the results of which closely aligned with answers about why they think a scout https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 kester et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 52 provides more accurate information than an extension agent. most pro-extension responses cited high-quality information and services as the top reason for using extension, besides being locally accessible, backed by research, and free or low-cost. three participants indicated they do not use extension because of various perceived deficiencies within extension. one statement said, "i cannot get the extension officer to come to my farm. he's always too busy and never has time for me. i've finally given up and utilized other community resources." another said, "i don't use them because i'm a beekeeper, and i feel that the university of georgia apiary department doesn't help commercial beekeepers." a third respondent expressed concern over the lack of available funding for county operations and indicated that this was why they chose not to use extension resources. conclusions, discussion, and implications our findings conclude that agricultural producers were not adamantly opposed to a fee-based cooperative extension service delivery system. farmers in the state where this study was conducted could tolerate a moderate fee to access the knowledge and skills of extension agents, especially if the consulting leads to higher yields and increased profits. this is consistent with the findings of anderson and feder (2007). the agricultural producers will significantly limit their reliance on extension services if the cooperative extension service moves to a fully fee-based delivery system, especially farmers who are unable to afford such services. agricultural producers have a low tolerance for any fees charged for extension agent consultations above a modest amount that covers a fraction of the actual expense of the services. any abrupt and significant fee increase would likely lead to dissatisfaction and reduced engagement with extension services. however, producers indicate they are willing to pay a small fee for lab assays and services if they perceive a clear benefit or value. this implies that the perception of the value of extension services is a key element in a producer's decision to use extension services. under the current funding model, agricultural producers believe that agents are a good value and benefit for their services. extension agents are experts in their field and can transfer knowledge and skills to farmers, providing them with the information and resources they need to improve their practices and increase productivity. agricultural producers who use commercial scouts instead of extension agents do so because of concern about the quality of the service they receive from extension. this implies that cooperative extension has not sufficiently identified and addressed these perceived quality issues. agricultural producers who use extension services do so because of the free resources, troubleshooting, and competitively priced, high-quality lab services. producers perceived immense value in research-based information available at no direct cost, a primary reason many choose extension over commercial scouts. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 kester et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 53 recommendations cooperative extension should continue to provide low-cost or no-cost services to agricultural producers, but should experiment by offering some services at a modest fee designed to recoup the cost of services rendered. participants were largely unaware of free commercial plant disease diagnosis services, which suggests an opportunity for agricultural agents to promote this more thoroughly. the extension should also continue a tiered service model where some services remain free to producers and additional high-value services are offered at a reasonable fee. furthermore, extension professionals should address quality issues associated with their services. this can be accomplished through further research and customer feedback surveys. finally, extension should focus outreach efforts on educating producers about the benefits of extension services. acknowledgments funding information: this research project was self-funded. conflicts of interest: there are no conflicts of interest. previous dissemination: this article is derived from dissertation research: post, k. (2023). threats and opportunities: describing georgia agricultural producers’ access to extension resources [doctoral dissertation, texas tech university]. https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/items/890f7c52220c-410d-a3e0-46dc640dd332/full artificial intelligence: artificial intelligence tools were not used in the study or the manuscript's preparation. author contributions: k. kester and j. s. rayfield formal analysis, investigation, writingoriginal draft; d. b. croom formal analysis, writing-review and editing. p. burke, j. fuder, s. reynolds, r. stewart, b. wassel, and z. williams – investigation and manuscript review. references anderson, j. r., & feder, g. (2007). agricultural extension. in r. evenson & p. pingali (eds.), handbook of agricultural economics (vol. 3, pp. 2343–2378). elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1574-0072(06)03044-1 cypress, b. s. 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(2009). extension: a modern-day pony express? journal of extension, 47(2), 1–4. https://archives.joe.org/joe/2009april/comm1.php © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.571 https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-162x(199605)16:2%3c151::aid-pad868%3e3.0.co;2-s https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-162x(199605)16:2%3c151::aid-pad868%3e3.0.co;2-s https://media.clemson.edu/cbshs/prtm/research/resources-for-research-page-2/vagias-likert-type-scale-response-anchors.pdf https://media.clemson.edu/cbshs/prtm/research/resources-for-research-page-2/vagias-likert-type-scale-response-anchors.pdf https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-4146.2006.00442.x https://archives.joe.org/joe/2009april/comm1.php advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 2, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. david agole, senior lecturer, mountains of the moon university, p.o box 837 fort port, uganda, david.agole@mmu.ac.ug, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1297-983x 2. mark a. brennan, professor, pennsylvania state university, 204 ferguson building, university park, pa 16802, unescochair@psu.edu, mab187@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8434-3948 3. connie d. baggett, associate professor emeritus, pennsylvania state university, university park, pa 16802, bbc@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8434-3948 4. john c. ewing, associate professor emeritus, pennsylvania state university, 215 ferguson building, university park, pa 16802, jce122@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9189-1106 5. amanda crump, associate professor, university of california, davis, ca 95616 usa, acrump@ucdavis.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9710-2956 6. cosmas wacal, lecturer, mountains of the moon university, p.o box 837 fort port, uganda, cosmas.wacal@mmu.ac.ug, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4831-3191 1 determinants of food security status among young farmers with and without disabilities d. agole1, m. a. brennan2, c. d. baggett3, j. c. ewing4, a. crump5, c. wacal5 article history received: november 11, 2024 accepted: march 10, 2025 published: april 1, 2025 keywords agricultural extension; sdg 2: zero hunger; participation; policy; uganda abstract food is a basic need; thus, food security status is key to well-being of young farmers. this study examined factors that influence food security status of young farmers with and without disabilities in uganda. specifically, the study examined the influence of disability status, region of location, gender, social exclusion, participation in agricultural programs, and social capital on food security of young farmers. the study utilized a comparative and cross-sectional research designs that involved 774 young farmers; 388 with disabilities and 386 who had no disabilities. the sample selection involved the use of stratified, random, and criterion purposive sampling. this research utilized an interviewer-administered paper survey in collecting data. descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used in analysing data. the findings indicated disability as a factor of social exclusion as the most curtailing to food security, especially in eastern uganda. participation in training programs and social capital development were most likely to increase food security status of young farmers. therefore, disability-inclusive provision of agricultural extension services targeting young farmers, disability-inclusive awareness raising, and effective implementation of existing disability policies could create an enabling environment to make young farmers food secure. mailto:david.agole@mmu.ac.ug https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1297-983x mailto:unescochair@psu.edu mailto:mab187@psu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8434-3948 mailto:bbc@psu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8434-3948 mailto:jce122@psu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9189-1106 mailto:acrump@ucdavis.edu http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9710-2956 mailto:cosmas.wacal@mmu.ac.ug https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4831-3191 agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 2 introduction and problem statement currently, uganda's population is 45.9 million, with young people under 30 years of age constituting 72.3%, as the largest demographics (uganda bureau of statistics [ubos], 2024). according to uganda’s constitution, youth demographic is that category of people between 18 and 35 years of age, which makes up 24.8% of the country’s total population (ubos, 2024). the african youth charter refers youth as individuals between 15 and 35 years of age (african youth commission, 2006; organization of economic cooperation and development [oecd], 2015). while uganda bureau of statistics defines the active working age in uganda as between 15 and 64 years of age as 57.4% of the total population, this study focuses on young farmers between 15 and 45 years of age, representing 43.5% of the active working population (ubos, 2024). despite uganda’s commitment to sdg 2; end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, food insecurity is still rampant among young farmers in uganda (adeyanju et al., 2023; moore et al., 2021 schwartz et al., 2019). this is further justified by the 2024 global hunger index that ranked uganda as 105th out 127 countries globally with a score of 27.3 (severe), against the 18.3 score for the world considered moderate (global hunger index, 2024). while the global hunger index for uganda is 27.3, food security situation for people with disability that constitute 12.4% of uganda’s population (ubos, 2024), experience a double disadvantage against attaining food security because of social exclusion as a youth and having a disability (agole et al., 2021). theoretical and conceptual framework disability refers to as a limitation in participation in daily living, work, or leisure activities resulting from physical or mental health condition. the study is informed by the social model of disability (burton, 1993) and interactional theory (wilkinson, 1991). the social model, which is mostly used in disability studies in the global south; as a disadvantage society imposes on people with disabilities that impedes them from accessing existing social and economic opportunities, rendering them dependent on other people for support services (ikendi et al., 2023; lamino et al., 2024). while most disability studies in the global north prefer the medical model (eide et al., 2021), which views disability as pathological condition– an individual affected can be diagnosed and treated (agole et al., 2019). therefore, the social model of disability seeks to explain how social structural barriers in society disadvantage people with disability from accessing benefits meant for the public like participating in agricultural extension capacity building programs. most often people with disability are either directly or indirectly deprived from participating in public programs by outrightly being told to wait for programs that specifically target them that never come or are denied information (agole, 2021). this deprives people with disability the right to participate in public programs that are meant to benefit the public, a factor that keeps constrains people with disabilities from developing capacities that would enhance agricultural productivity to assure food security. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 3 this study used the interactional theory to understand the influence of interactions of people with disability with other members of community to assure food security. the theory posits that a community is comprised of social fields that emanate from individual community members that allow people to connect and interact with one another to form community fields (pigg, 1999; wilkinson,1991). from this perspective, creation of social fields tends to develop wider interactions of community members, which in turn allows individuals to access resources like information on existing capacity building programs a factor that would promote participation of people with disabilities in capacity building programs meant for the public (agole, 2021). therefore, the individuals with strength social fields tend to access community benefits as opposed to individuals that experience weak social fields. the conceptual framework (figure 1) is derived from the social model of disability and interactional theory. this study conceptualized food security to be influenced broadly by disability status, region of location, stigma of social exclusion, participation in capacity-building programs, and social capital. figure 1 conceptual framework purpose the primary purpose of this paper was to examine factors that influence food security situation among young farmers with and without disability in uganda. the specific objectives of this study were to assess the influence of disability status, region of location, social exclusion, participation in training programs, and social capital on food security status of young farmers with and without disability. methods this study was conducted in the northern and eastern regions of uganda because they have the highest disability rates in uganda, with 14.5% in northern and 14% in eastern (uganda bureau of statistic, 2024). the study employed a comparative and cross-sectional research designs. the sample size of 774 young farmers, 388 with and 386 without disability of 16 to 45 years of age, was determined using sampling a table of 95% confidence, with a 5% margin of individuals’ characteristics • disability status • gender • region of location • institutional factors • participation in capacity building programs • social capital • stigma of social exclusion food security • number of meals eaten in a day https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 4 error. the sample composed of 493 selected from northern uganda (258 with disability and 235 without disability) and 281 from eastern uganda (130 with disabilities and 151 without disabilities). young farmers with disabilities were in the categories of: speaking, hearing, walking, handling, and visual disabilities. the study employed a mixture of stratified, simple random, and purposive criterion sampling techniques (table 1). northern and eastern regions were purposively selected to participate in the study. the regions were stratified into districts. with the district level, as a point of entry to respondents, a list of all people with disabilities was obtained from the national union of disabled persons of uganda (nudipu) district offices, which served as the sampling frame for individuals. the unit of analysis for enumeration was the individual young farmer with or without disability. the sample scheme is summarized in table 1. table 1 sampling scheme for 774 young farmers with and without disabilities stratified purposive random with disability (n = 388) with out disability (n = 386) reason region northern 258 235 have highest disability rates eastern 130 151 sub region acholi gulu district 111 gulu district 85 protracted civil was between 1986 and 2004 nwoya district 70 nwoya district 34 omoro district 52 omoro district 107 amuru district 20 amuru district 06 agago district 05 agago district 03 teso kumi district 103 kumi district 83 bukedea district 27 bukedea district 22 ngora district 46 the interviewer-administered paper survey, only differentiated by the disability demographic, was used for collecting quantitative data from young farmers with or without disabilities. social exclusion and social capital were measured on five-point likert scale responses consisting of most often = 5, often = 4, sometimes = 3, rarely = 2, and not at all = 1. item on young farmers participation in training programs were rated on a scale of very high = 5, high = 4, neither high nor low = 3, low = 2, and very low = 1. food security was rated on a four-point response scale consisting of once = 1, two times = 2, three times = 3, and four times = 4, because four is the highest number of meals eaten in a day eastern and northern regions of uganda. cronbach alpha (α) was used for testing internal consistency of the summated scales and ranged between α = .76 and α = .94. the reliability analysis for participation α = .94, social capital α = .76, food security α = .86, social exclusion α = .87. data were collected in 2017 by research enumerators https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 5 that included social workers with disability organizations, youth with disabilities, and sign language interpreters in accordance with standards approved by penn state university institutional research board. data for young farmers with or without disabilities were entered in spss as separate data files, cleaned, then two data sets were merged with identifier variables created regarding disability status and region. the study employed basic descriptive univariate statistics, bivariate correlations and regression analysis to identify factors that influenced (explain) food security situation of young farmers with and without disabilities. factors with significance p = or < 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. findings the findings of the influence of social exclusion, region of location, gender, participation in training programs, and social capital on food security status of young farmers are summarized in descriptive statistics in table 2, and empirical findings in tables 3, 4, 5, and 6. descriptive statistics there were more young farmers with disabilities in northern uganda (33.3%) than eastern uganda (18.8%). also, there were more young farmers without disabilities in northern region (30.4%) than in eastern region (19.5%). also, in table 2, generally very few young farmers with disabilities in northern region have worked with extension workers on issues related with agriculture (7.7%) and eastern uganda (10.7%) and young farmers without disabilities in without in eastern region (9.3%) and northern region (8.5%). both young farmers with disability in eastern region (27.8%) and northern region (24.1%) and those without disabilities in eastern (25.6%) and northern (21.2%) regions are members of farmer groups in their communities. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 6 table 2 descriptive statistics of the variables used in the study (n = 774) variables used in the study with disability (n = 388) without disability (n = 386) eastern region (n = 130) northern region (n = 258) eastern region (n = 151) northern region (n = 235) % % % % disability status (n = 774) 16.80 33.30 19.50 30.40 region of uganda (n = 774) eastern (n = 281) 16.80 19.50 northern (n = 493) 33.30 30.40 gender female (n = 247) 12.10 20.30 16.70 13.40 male (n = 527) 34.20 32.00 37.00 34.30 participation in extension programs have you worked with any extension worker on issues related with agriculture? yes (n = 136) 10.70 7.70 9.30 8.50 no (n = 638) 35.60 44.60 44.50 39.10 have you been contacted to participate in any community training programs? yes (n = 136) 10.70 7.70 9.30 8.50 no (n = 638) 35.60 44.60 44.50 39.10 stigma of exclusion are you a member of any social group in your community? yes (n = 372) 27.80 24.10 25.60 21.20 no (n = 399) 18.50 28.60 28.10 26.10 social capital m (sd) m (sd) m (sd) m (sd) interact with people outside of your community (n = 773) 3.42(0.931) 3.74(1.069) 3.60(1.053) 3.82(1.094) travel to places outside of your community (n = 773) 2.50(1.087) 3.00(1.248) 3.09(1.061 3.68(1.188) food security how many times do eat a meal in a day (n = 767) 1.79(0.764) 2.10(0.618) 2.09(0.653) 2.56(0.690) correlation results the factors of social exclusion, region of location, gender, participation in capacity building programs, social capital and food security status of young farmers were correlated to determine the relationship among factors with food security as summarized in table 3. there is a statistically significant positive relationship between region of uganda (r = .25, p < .01), working with any extension worker on agriculture (r = .15, p < .01), interact with people outside of your community (r = .14, p < .01), traveling to places outside of your community (r = https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 7 .35, p < .01) and food security status of young farmers. there is a statistically significant negative relationship between disability status (r = -.26, p < .01) and food security. table 3 correlation coefficient of the factors note. **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1. disability status 1 .06 (p<.11, n = 774) .01 (p<.97, n = 774) -.42** (p<.00, n = 562) -.05 (p<.21, n = 771) .06 (p<.12, n = 774) -.05 (p<.21, n = 773) -.25** (p<.00, n =773) -.26** (p<.00, n = 767) 2. region of uganda .06 (p<.11, n = 774) 1 .05 (p<.20, n = 774) -.08 (p<.06, n = 562) .08* (p<.03, n=771) .05 (p<.17, n = 774) .12** (p<.01, n = 773) .20** (p<.00, n = 773) .25** (p<.00, n = 767) 3. have you worked with any extension worker? .01 (p<.97, n = 774) .057 (p<.19, n = 774) 1 .38** (p<.00, n = 562) .24** (p<.00, n=771) .05 (p<.13, n = 774) -.01 (p<.79, n = 773) -.05** (p<.17, n = 773) .15** (p<.00, n = 767) 4. have you been contacted to participate in any training? -.42** (p<.00, n = 562) -.08 (p<.07, n = 562) .38** (p<.00, n = 562) 1 .33** (p<.00, n = 559) -.01 (p<.90, n = 562) -.03 (p<.56, n = 561) -.02 (p<.69, n = 561) .09* (p<.03, n = 555) 5. are you a member of any social group? -.05 (p<.21, n = 771) .08* (p<.03, n = 771) .24** (p<.00, n = 771) .33** (p<.00, n = 559) 1 -.10** (p<.01, n = 771) -.25** (p<.00, n =771) -.16** (p<.00, n = 771) -.07 (p<.12, n = 766) 6. gender .06 (p<.12, n = 774) .05 (p<.165, n = 774) .05 (p<.13, n = 774) -.01 (p<.90, n = 562) -.10** (p<.01, n = 771) 1 .02 (p<.63, n = 773) -.03 (p<.39, n = 773) -.00 (p<.93, n = 767) 7. interact with people outside of your community -.045 (p<.209, n = 773) .12** (p<.01, n = 773) -.01 (p<.80, n = 773) -.03 (p<.56, n = 561) -.25** (p<.00, n = 771) .08 (p<.63, n = 773) 1 .42** (p<.00, n = 773) .14** (p<.00, n = 767) 8. travel outside of your community -.25** (p<.00, n = 773) .20** (p<.00, n = 773) -.05 (p<.17, n =773) -.08 (p<.69, n = 561) -.16** (p<.00, n = 771) -.03 (p<.37, n = 773) .42** (p<.00, n = 773) 1 .35** (p<.00, n = 767) 9. number of meals eaten in a day -.26** (p<.00, n = 767) .25** (p<.00, n = 767) .15** (p<.00, n = 767) .09* (p<.03, n = 555) -.06 (p<.12, n = 766) -.00 (p<.93, n = 767) .14** (p<.00, n = 767) .35** (p<.00, n = 767) 1 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 8 table 4 correlation coefficients of the variables model r r square adjusted r squared std. error of the estimate 1 0.52s 0.28 0.26 0.61 note. the predictors (constant) were disability status, region of uganda, working with extension workers on agricultural issues, being a member of any social group in a community, gender, interacting with people outside your family, and traveling to places outside your community. the dependent variable was the measure of food security, which is the number of meals eaten in a day. f values the f value with the number of meals eaten in a day as the dependent variable and the independent variables are disability status, region of uganda, working with extension workers on agricultural issues, being a member of any social group in a community, gender, interacting with people outside your family, and traveling to places outside your community. the large f value (f = 25.84, p < 0.05) reveals that the independent variables influence the outcomes of the dependent variable. table 5 f values model sum of squares df mean squares f values p 1 regression 76.77 8 9.60 25.84 <0.05b residual 202.36 545 0.37 total 279.12 553 note. a predictors (constant) disability status, region of uganda, working with extension workers on agricultural issues, being a member of any social group in a community, gender, interacting with people outside your family, and traveling to places outside your community. dependent variable how many meals do you eat in a day. bthe b-superscript on the p-value of <0.05 implies that the f-value of 25.84 significantly improves the estimation of food security using some of the predictor variables in a-superscript. food security regressed on disability, regions of uganda, gender, social exclusion, participation in training programs, and social capital the study conceptualised social inclusion (disability status, gender, membership to social groups), region of uganda, participation in community programs (working with agricultural extension workers, being contacted to engage in community trainings), social capital (interaction with people outside of your community, travel to places out of your community), as factors that influence food security status of young farmers with and without disability in uganda (table 6). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 9 northern region of uganda has a significant positive influence on food security (beta = 0.31, p < 0.05) of young farmers. further, working with extension worker on issues related with agriculture (beta = 0.15, p < 0.05), or travelling to places outside their communities of residence (beta = 0.25, p < 0.05) have positive significant influence on food security of young farmers. contrary, disability status has a significant negative influence (beta = -0.27, p < 0.05) on food security. in addition, being contacted to participate in community training programs (beta = 0.03, p = 0.54), membership to a social group (beta = -0.08, p = 0.10), or interaction with people outside of your community (beta = -0.04, p = 0.29), or gender (beta = -0.03, p = 0.49) have negative influence on food security status of young farmers. reduced regression equation: y (food security) = 1.04 – -0.27 (disability status) + 0.31 (region) + 0.15 (working with any extension worker on agriculture) + 0.25 (travel to places outside your community) table 6 food security regressed against social exclusion, and participation in programs model unstandardized coefficient standardized coefficient β se of b beta t p constant 1.05 0.20 5.25 <0.05 disability status (1 = with) -0.41 0.07 -0.27 -6.23 <0.05 region of uganda (0 =eastern) 0.47 0.06 0.31 7.83 <0.05 have you worked with any extension worker on issues related with agriculture? 0.26 0.07 0.15 3.72 <0.05 have you been contacted to participate in any community training programs? -0.04 0.06 -0.03 -0.62 >0.05 are you a member of any social group in your community? -0.10 0.06 -0.07 -1.66 >0.05 gender -0.04 0.06 -0.03 -0.69 >0.05 interact with people outside of your community -0.03 0.03 -0.05 -1.06 >0.05 travel to places outside of your community 0.14 0.03 0.25 5.80 <0.05 f = 25.844 df = 8/545 p = <.005 r square = .28 adjusted r square = .26 std. error of the estimate = 0.61 note. dependent variable: number of meals eaten in a day. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 10 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the more the young farmers live in a given region of uganda, work with extension workers on agriculture, interact with people outside of the community, travel to places out of their community, young farmers tend to become food secure and vice versa. northern uganda is more likely to be food secure than eastern uganda. disability is the most curtailing factor in young farmers’ food security status. therefore, young farmers with disabilities are more likely to experience food insecurity than their counterparts because the culture and traditions of the community greatly influence the social life of young farmers with disabilities. usually, young farmers with disabilities tend to experience more difficulties to travel to places outside their communities because of the nature of disability a person possesses and absence of assistive devices such as white cane and wheel chairs. this is because most of the farmer capacity building activities are usually conducted in demonstration sites outside their communities of residence and others in form of exchange visits to other farmers, yet young farmers with disabilities tend to require additional assistance in form of sign language interpreters, wheel chair and pushers, and guides that are often lacking. also, many public community agricultural programs meant to improve food security status of community members are likely to exclude and discriminate against participation of young farmers with disabilities. young farmers with disabilities have a lower chance of interacting with people outside their families and communities, and therefore less opportunity to access information and build social capital compared to young farmers without disabilities. during the 1986 to 2004 civil war in northern uganda, people of the region lived in camps. all the people regardless of their social status lived in the same socioeconomic situations and faced similar challenges such as loss of assets, loss of lives, and displacement from their communities of residence. facing similar challenges and living close to one another, created social cohesion between people with and without disabilities, resulting to improved food security. moreover, young farmers in eastern uganda are more likely to experience food insecurity because community structures like the uganda national union of persons with disability that tend to be avenues for capacity building programs that would benefit young farmers with disabilities are less developed in eastern uganda. therefore, existence of weak community structures that would facilitate participation of young farmers in capacity building programs tend to disadvantage and exclude participation of young farmers in program meant for the public. it is, especially, worsened by participation in programs that is based on social ties and relatives, thus young farmers with and without disabilities with less social capital tend to miss out participating in community programs. much as both young farmers with and without disability experience food insecurity, it is important to note that having a disability, social exclusion tend to deflect a young farmers food security status, especially in eastern uganda. building social capital, especially through travelling to places outside community of residence, and participating in community programs through working with agricultural extension workers are more likely to improve food security of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 agole et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 11 young farmers. these findings could inform development agencies and organizations for the need for a concerted to build the capacity of young farmers with or/and without disability a fundamental driver to assure food security. also, critical is reorienting agricultural extension educators and institutional development programs for young farmers towards building structures and programming mechanisms that directly target and accommodate young farmers’ interests to attain food security. in addition, alleviation of the antecedents of social exclusion of young farmers with disabilities through disability-inclusive awareness raising and effective implementation of disability policies could create an enabling environment for food security of young farmers with disability. it is therefore, important to conduct research on the appropriate livelihood strategies that could assure food security in young farmers with and without disability. acknowledgments this work was supported by the fulbright junior program scholarship 2015, agrability project for pennsylvanians 2017, and unesco-community leadership and youth development at pennsylvania state university 2017. https://agsci.psu.edu/unesco/initiatives this article was a component of the doctoral dissertation for agole, d. (2018). participation in capacity-building programs and the implications for the livelihood and well-being of young farmers with and without disabilities in uganda. https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/15300dja5368 author contributions: d. agole – conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, writingoriginal draft; m. a brennan – supervision, formal analysis, investigation, writing-review and editing, funding acquisition; c. d. baggett – supervision, formal analysis, investigation, writingreview and editing, funding acquisition; j. c. ewing – writing-review and editing; a. crump – writing-review and editing; c. wacal – writing-review and editing. references adeyanju, d., mburu, j., gituro, w., chumo, c., mignouna, d., ogunniyi, a., akomolafe, j. k., & ejima, j. (2023). assessing food security among young farmers in africa: evidence from kenya, nigeria, and uganda. agricultural and food economics, 11(4), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40100-023-00246-x. african youth commission. 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(1991). the community in rural america. greenwood press. © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.567 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.03.011 https://www.ubos.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/national-population-and-housing-census-2024-final-report-volume-1-main.pdf https://www.ubos.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/national-population-and-housing-census-2024-final-report-volume-1-main.pdf advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 3, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. laura greenhaw, assistant professor, university of florida, 219 rolfs halls, po box 110540, gainesville, fl, 32611, laura.greenhaw@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1562-9798 2. rachel biderman, phd candidate, university of florida, po box 110540, gainesville, fl 32611, rbiderman@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9738-5896 14 evaluating an agriculture and natural resources leadership development program utilizing the cipp model l. greenhaw1, r. biderman2 article history received: march 19, 2025 accepted: august 4, 2025 published: august 22, 2025 keywords leaders; sdg 4: quality education; adult education; outcomes; stakeholders abstract the purpose of this study was to explore the utility of the context, input, process, and product (cipp) model to evaluate agriculture and natural resources (anr) leadership development programs (ldp). we evaluated washington agforestry leadership program, one of over 50 similarly structured anr ldps around the world, and used the cipp model to determine the extent to which the leadership program is meeting both the current and future needs and expectations of stakeholders. we found the cipp model to be an appropriate and adequate evaluation framework that resulted in robust data collection and analysis, leading to meaningful recommendations for washington agforestry. overall, stakeholders support the current content and structure of the program and find it to be fulfilling the stated mission. simultaneously, areas for immediate improvement, future growth, and longevity were noted. we recommend that other anr ldps conduct robust program evaluations using the cipp model. applying a consistent evaluation process to similarly structured anr ldps would build a valuable knowledge base of outcomes, impacts, and potential needs of such programs. minimally, programs should develop and implement regular formative and summative evaluations to better understand and document program outcomes and impacts. program directors should utilize evaluation data to continually improve their programs. https://agnettamu0-my.sharepoint.com/personal/karissa_palmer_agnet_tamu_edu/documents/desktop/laura.greenhaw@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1562-9798 mailto:rbiderman@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9738-5896 greenhaw and biderman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 15 introduction and problem statement “leadership is a highly sought-after and highly valued commodity” (northouse, 2022, pg. 1). agriculture and natural resources (anr) leadership development programs (ldps) provide nonformal education to help build leadership capacity (dunbar, 2022). anr ldps have existed since the 1960’s, beginning with the kellogg farmers study program administered by michigan state university (w.k. kellogg foundation, 2000). similar leadership development programs, specifically those in the international association for programs of agricultural leadership (iapal), span the globe and have over 25,000 alumni (dunbar, 2022). however, limited research has been published on these programs’ outcomes. program evaluations published to date report anr ldps enhance participants’ leadership knowledge, skills, networks and social capital, although continued rigorous evaluation of programs has been recommended (carter & rudd, 2000; lamm & carter, 2019; lamm et al., 2016; madsen et al., 2014; w.k. kellogg foundation, 2000). moreover, most ldp evaluations focus on participant outcomes (wallace et al., 2021) and neglect assessing program relevance within the broader context of the anr industry. furthermore, given that iapal member programs use similar program design and delivery methods and routinely share resources and information, an opportunity exists to strengthen the collective knowledge base by applying a consistent program evaluation approach. therefore, we evaluated iapal member program, washington agforestry, using the context, input, process, and product (cipp) model to explore its utility as an evaluation framework for anr ldps, especially iapal member programs. additionally, we sought to determine washington agforestry’s current relevance and potential future needs. our use of the cipp framework may guide evaluation of similar anr leadership development programs. moreover, our findings may inform facilitators’ or administrators’ decision-making for similar anr ldps. theoretical and conceptual framework we used the context, input, process, and product (cipp) model, developed by daniel stufflebeam in 1960 to frame this evaluation. “the cipp approach is based on the view that the most important purpose of evaluation is not to prove but to improve” (stufflebeam, 1983, p. 118). information is systematically collected to identify program strengths and areas of growth. one benefit of the model is its broad application. methodological decisions can be made based on what the program and evaluation teams want to know. uniquely, the model “guides both the evaluators and stakeholders in posing relevant questions and conducting assessments at the beginning of a project (context and input evaluation), while it is in progress (input and process evaluation), and at its end (product evaluation)” (zhang et al., 2011, p. 59). cipp was originally designed to assess efficacy of inner-city school reform projects but has been applied to a wide variety of contexts from education to military personnel review and more (stufflebeam, 2003). the cipp model is a comprehensive framework that guides formative and summative evaluation of four concepts as denoted by the acronym: context, inputs, processes, and products (stufflebeam, 2003). context evaluation assesses program goals through research on https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 greenhaw and biderman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 16 program background, resources, and needs. it allows a broader group of stakeholders to weigh in on program priorities and objectives. this stage helps shape the direction of the overall evaluation. input evaluation is aptly named, as it targets the inputs of a program with an aim to help assess alternative or competing approaches, staffing and budget plans and other inputs that should be considered when determining cost-effectiveness. process evaluation assesses the activities and implementation of the program, to identify what changes need to be addressed. finally, product evaluation focuses on program outcomes and how effectively needs are being met. product evaluation includes intended and unintended, as well as shortand long-term outcomes, and is comprised of four subparts: impact, effectiveness, sustainability, and transportability. transportability asks whether the processes that produced desirable outcomes were found to be transportable and adaptable for effective use in other settings (stufflebeam, 2003). this is of particular importance given the similarities of anr ldps, especially those in iapal. a reciprocal relationship exists between each type of evaluation context, input, process, and productand four evaluative foci: goals, plans, actions, and outcomes, respectively (stufflebeam, 2003). each foci, and subsequently each type of evaluation, is grounded in the core values of the program being evaluated (see figure 1). accordingly, programs seeking to set, validate or improve goals engage in context evaluation. planning improvement efforts raise input evaluation questions and input evaluation should, in turn, provide an assessment of program plans and direction for improving plans. process evaluation is prompted by program actions and accordingly provides feedback on program activities. outcomes necessitate product evaluation, which correspondingly provides judgements of results being achieved by the program. all of this, then, emanates from the program’s core values, as seen in figure 1 (stufflebeam, 2003). figure 1 key components of the cipp evaluation model, recreated from stufflebeam (2003) https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 greenhaw and biderman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 17 purpose the purpose of this study was to explore the utility of the context, input, process, and product (cipp) model to evaluate agriculture and natural resources (anr) leadership development programs (ldps). we systematically evaluated the washington agforestry leadership program to inform program administrators’ decision-making. washington agforestry, an active member of iapal, is an experiential leadership learning program for adults working in agriculture, forestry, and other natural resource-based businesses in washington. the following questions guided this study: 1. does the cipp model provide a useful framework to evaluate anr ldps? 2. to what extent are the goals, plans, actions, and outcomes of washington agforestry meeting the current and future needs and expectations of stakeholders? methods the washington agforestry evaluation was a multi-phase process, involving multiple data sources and collection points. throughout the process, researchers reflected on the utility of the cipp model as a framework for anr ldp evaluation. the university of florida’s institutional review board (irb) approved the research protocol and all participants in all phases were provided informed consent. context and input evaluation was conducted with the program administrative team consisting of three members directly responsible for administering washington agforestry and the executive director of the agriculture and forestry education foundation that houses the leadership program. this provided the evaluation team a thorough understanding of program goals and the planned administration of the program. process and product evaluation included three data points collected from two groups of participants. first, program perceptions were collected from purposefully selected stakeholders. stakeholders represented varying relationships with washington agforestry and thus, varying perspectives. examples include program donors, current and past program participants’ employers, program alumni, program board of directors members, and representatives of anr organizations. participants represented different parts of the state and varying industry interests. an electronic survey was sent to ten participants and nine responded. ten open-ended questions gathered general perceptions of the program, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as well as the current reputation and value of the program. second, program information and documents were organized into three categories: content and structure, participant recruitment and selection, and general policies and procedures. we identified 15 people with expertise corresponding to at least one category and invited them to participate in a review of program documents and subsequent focus group. experts included administrators of similar anr ldps, washington agforestry alumni, industry representatives, and leadership and adult education specialists. each participant was assigned to the category corresponding to their expertise, given access to the relevant documents, and provided a fillable pdf form prompting them for feedback on the content of the documents (the actual information that exists regarding the program) and the process (the actual administration and facilitation of the program components). subsequently, the experts were brought together for an in-person focus https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 greenhaw and biderman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 18 group, with the aim to clarify perceived program outcomes and consolidate feedback into actionable recommendations for the program administrators to consider. program data from the context evaluation and a summary of the program perceptions survey results were shared at the beginning of the focus group to provide additional information, then experts convened in their assigned groups for category-specific discussion. six participants discussed content and structure, four participants discussed recruitment and selection, and four participants discussed general policies and procedures. one expert was unable to attend the focus group. a designated note taker accompanied each group to prompt discussion, and capture thoughts, ideas, questions, and feedback. following the initial round of discussions, participants were reassigned with at least one expert from each category group assigned to a new group, to provide an opportunity to identify overlapping discussion points and recommendations. again, each new group was assigned a note taker. finally, the full expert group was reconvened, and each category group shared their recommendations aloud for any additional perspective or comments. the final session was audio-recorded and transcribed. the program perceptions survey, expert comments from the document pre-review, notes from the segmented focus group sessions, and transcripts from the final open sharing and discussion of actionable recommendations were analyzed through basic qualitative analysis procedures. inductive, or “open coding” was utilized, in which the evaluators read through the data and developed categories based on what was most important and recurring (maxwell, 2013). to “condense large amounts of data into more manageable units for analysis” (saldaña & omasta, 2022, p. 245) common recurring thoughts and ideas were grouped into similar categories labeled as codes. the codes were then compared and evaluated “both within and between categories” (maxwell, 2013, p. 107), and themes were derived from the codes. to ensure validity of the research process, two approaches were taken. first, researcher bias was explored and mitigated by having a multi-person evaluation team, and findings were regularly reviewed with the washington agforestry administrators. secondly, reactivity, which is defined as “the influence of the researcher on the setting or individuals studied” (maxwell, 2013, p.124) was addressed through researcher reflexivity. findings our primary research question explored the utility of the cipp model for evaluating anr ldps. cipp can guide both formative and summative evaluation which is particularly useful for anr ldps because they are reiterative, selecting a cohort of participants, delivering the multiseminar program, graduating the cohort, then selecting a new cohort of participants. this provides an opportunity to evaluate previous iterations from a summative perspective while also conducting formative evaluation, given the ongoing nature of the program. context our context evaluation was primarily summative, seeking to assess the basis for program objectives and what needs, opportunities, or problems were identified that led to them. we analyzed program documents and information shared by program administrators to clarify https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 greenhaw and biderman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 19 what program goals were espoused and prioritized. this important first step allowed us to subsequently evaluate alignment between programmatic decision-making and stakeholder expectations. one challenge we encountered was the breadth of program information that existed, coupled with a lack of organization and consistency across documents. conversations with program administrators were important sources of data as well as clarification of data. overall, we found evaluating the context of washington agforestry to be a critical first step in the process. input our input evaluation focused primarily on the three-module framework that guided the delivery of washington agforestry across multiple seminars delivered in locations in-state, outof-state, and internationally. one limitation is the depth of information available about the content. frequently, only seminar and presentation titles were in program documents, which made it difficult to discern what was conveyed and how. this could be enhanced through observations or by collecting data from current program participants. while we did not assess the program budget, we did evaluate programmatic choices in terms of time, other resources such as access to people and locations, participant time and tuition, and stakeholder priorities. washington agforestry administrators simultaneously evaluated their budget and assessed alternative choices and opportunities for future efforts. it may have been useful for program administrators to share budgetary information, particularly during the focus group, as it could have prompted additional or more applicable ideation considering budget resources and restrictions. overall, we were able to evaluate inputs in a way that informed program administrators’ decision-making. process we evaluated the washington agforestry process from two perspectives: internal from program administrators and external from other stakeholders, including alumni, industry experts, and leadership specialists. we found value in pairing the internal and external perspectives regarding program processes, particularly as a formative process for planning for future program needs and opportunities. our evaluation uncovered actionable recommendations to modify some program processes, while retaining or clarifying other processes. product as we engaged stakeholders, we sought to understand their perspectives of the impact washington agforestry has had on their industry and how they would articulate its value and importance. although difficult to quantify, we were able to collect qualitative evidence that strongly supported the continuation of the washington agforestry leadership program, albeit with potential modifications. this section could have been further strengthened with greater clarity and agreement on program goals by program administrators, participants, and external stakeholders. additionally, we identified an opportunity to develop an evaluation plan to engage program participants and alumni in assessing program outcomes and impacts. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 greenhaw and biderman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 20 in our evaluation process, we addressed each of the sections of cipp. the flexibility of the model allowed us to ask a range of pertinent questions and collect and analyze a variety of data types from multiple sources. we included program administrators and external stakeholders at nearly every step. most importantly, this robust process culminated in actionable recommendations for improvement alongside confirmation of the value of current program components, with supporting evidence, that were delivered to washington agforestry administrators and the board of directors. our second research question explored the extent to which washington agforestry is meeting the current and future needs of stakeholders. stufflebeam (2003) recommends evaluations be reported in three parts: program background, program implementation, and program results. here, program background findings were derived from analysis of context and input evaluation data provided by program documents and communications with program staff and administrators. program implementation findings were derived from analysis of program documents, conversations with program administrators, and external stakeholder feedback. program results findings are the product of qualitative analysis of the program perceptions survey, focus group participants’ program document pre-review, notes from the focus group sessions, and transcripts from the final focus group discussion. these findings are presented as themes. program background washington agforestry began in 1978, graduating the first cohort in 1980. washington agforestry’s mission is to “cultivate leaders in agriculture, forestry, and natural resources who communicate, collaborate, inspire, and serve” (washington agforestry, n.d., pg. 2). prospective participants must meet the following eligibility criteria: (a) lived and worked in washington for at least one year; (b) obtain employer approval to take time from work necessary to complete program; and (c) remain employed in agriculture, forestry, or related natural resources industry (afnr) for the remainder of the program. as of 2025, washington agforestry has graduated 45 classes, totaling just over 1,200 individuals. historically, more males than females have participated, participants are relatively equally distributed across the state, and most participants are employed in the agriculture industry, followed by community/related services, forestry, and fisheries. participants in class 45 were responsible for $6,000 tuition, plus additional expenses such as travel to and from seminars, some meals, a passport, etc. importantly, it was noted that race/ethnicity and age data of applicants and participants have not been collected. program implementation washington agforestry participants are selected through a competitive application process. a selection committee reviews applications and interviews potential participants prior to selecting members for each class. classes of 15-18 participants engage in nearly 60 days of education, through 13 seminars over 18 months. the program learning objectives are, 1. learn about exemplary leadership and identify personal strengths and development areas. 2. enhance communication skills including active listening, public speaking, and meeting facilitation. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 greenhaw and biderman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 21 3. effectively work with people with different values, perspectives, and personalities. 4. build management skills that emphasize listening, questioning, and creating dialogue. 5. learn to inspire others through storytelling, emotion, and logic. 6. explore legislative, regulatory, economic, and social issues that impact natural resources industries and rural communities. 7. learn to take a collaborative approach to problem solving. 8. understand the public policy decision-making process and how public policy can be changed. 9. be equipped with tools for crafting and advancing effective public policy. 10. appreciate the value of relationships built on mutual respect and trust. 11. develop critical thinking skills. the program is conceptualized as three modules, each containing multiple seminars. module one includes three in-state seminars on personal leadership. two in-state seminars and a seminar in washington, d.c. comprise the second module on leadership in public policy. the final module focuses on leadership and systems thinking, encompassing six seminars, including an international seminar. each cohort concludes their program at a final applied leadership and graduation seminar, where they present group public policy projects and celebrate their accomplishments. throughout the program, participants engage in direct instruction paired with experiential learning. they complete various activities, readings, assessments, and assignments to achieve the stated goals. in-state seminars are conducted at various locations around the state, highlighting the breadth and depth of the anr industry in washington (washington agforestry, n.d.). program results we evaluated both process and content in terms of program results, with an aim to determine if the current structure and delivery methods of the program can be improved and if the current content is and will continue to be relevant. three major themes arose from our data analysis: continuity, diversity, and strength in numbers. continuity the need for continuity emerged as a theme throughout the data. particular attention was paid to whether and how program objectives, content, and outcomes were aligned and if program structure and administration supported the alignment. it was noted that program objectives should contain measurable outcomes, and those objectives should inform the content of the program. questions were raised about whether current program objectives were measurable and, if so, how they were being measured. likewise, program objectives should inform recruitment and selection processes as well as program policies and procedures. the knowledge and skills the program aims to develop should be relevant to and needed by the participants being recruited. recruitment goals should be reflected in and supported by program policies and procedures. the curriculum map, including the scaffolded modules, was seen as a useful tool, especially for ensuring continuity. similarly, the continuum articulated through the program design of guiding participants from a mindset of “learner” to “active participant” was noted as positive, and the use of intentional guided reflection was highlighted https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 greenhaw and biderman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 22 as an optimal way to help program participants connect learning objectives to outcomes they perceived or experienced, thus enhancing continuity. key areas for improvement in this theme included refining and clarifying program objectives, aligning policies and activities with program objectives such as electing ‘officers’ among participants in each program class, and considering how program objectives should inform a recruitment plan and selection processes. a second aspect of continuity surfaced regarding alignment between program objectives and stakeholders’ expectations of program graduates. program stakeholders include program administrators, participants, program alumni, anr industry representatives and others. specifically, external stakeholders indicated that program success was represented by graduates in ‘visible’ leadership roles (i.e. public advocacy, political positions, policy-making contributions, etc.). simultaneously, concern about the lack of traditional agriculture producers’ participation was expressed. focus group participants acknowledged time and cost constraints as likely barriers to producers’ participation. there may be misalignment between the desire for increased producer participation and the expectation that program alumni fulfill visible leadership roles “beyond the farm gate.” additionally, one focus group participant noted that the program “seems to have limited visibility, both within the agriculture and forestry industry, and certainly outside those industries.” there seemed to be a disconnect between who is participating in the class and who the program was intended to attract and serve, as well as stakeholders’ expectations regarding who should be participating in the program and what successful program alumni should be doing. diversity diversity arose in two distinct yet related ways: diversity of perspectives in content, and diversity of participants. regarding diverse perspectives in content, it was noted that a primary outcome for program participants is broad and deep understanding across agriculture and natural resources (anr) industries, from local to global levels. moreover, it was suggested that incorporating content beyond traditional anr, to include the whole food system as well as high-level, cross-cutting issues, such as sustainability, artificial intelligence, and inclusion might be beneficial. it was emphasized that various perspectives should not just be acknowledged but be incorporated throughout content in an equitable way, including attention to language used, the ways in which content is presented, and the amount of time allotted to various perspectives. regarding diversity of participants, the need for a diverse candidate pool and balanced selection process aimed at achieving desired representation was expressed. two specific demographic categories of concern were identified; primary industry and race/ethnicity. the qualitative data clearly conveyed a concern for increasing the number of participants who identify as traditional agricultural producers. the most recent program data indicates a trend of nearly half of class participants identifying their primary industry as “community or related services” including banking, insurance, conservation districts, government agencies, etc. qualitative data also indicated stakeholder desire for increasing the number of applicants and participants from tribal communities and communities of color. it is important to note that race and ethnicity demographics have not been historically collected from applicants or participants, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 greenhaw and biderman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 23 so their representation or lack thereof cannot be substantiated quantitatively at this point. importantly, stakeholders recognized the program currently does not have a recruitment plan and shared concerns that the program may not achieve diverse applicants or participants without intentional recruitment efforts focused on desired demographics. strength in numbers networking and network development were identified as important outcomes for program participants. despite some deliberation among focus group participants about how the program could be administered differently to address financial, time, or other challenges, there was overwhelming agreement that participant relationships developed because of time spent together and outweighed any potential advantages of a different program structure. one program alum stated, “it was a life changing experience where i gained confidence, a robust network and a group of lifelong friends.” moreover, data suggest that network development and maintenance should extend beyond time in the program, to engage alumni more intentionally and effectively. this may also lend itself to continuing education opportunities for alumni. ideas related to enhancing cohesion of the cohort surfaced as well. stakeholders encouraged the expectation of 100% attendance at seminars. they also recommended that additional equitable policies modeled after the existing international travel policy be considered to further encourage cohesion of class participants. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations we found the cipp model to be a useful evaluation framework for an anr ldp. the model is robust yet flexible, which allowed us to address pertinent questions for program administrators’ decision-making, leading to meaningful recommendations. we incorporated a wide variety of perspectives through our data collection to support a well-rounded evaluation of washington agforestry. moreover, this approach can be both formative and summative, which may facilitate continual improvement of ongoing, iterative programs. program evaluation can be time-intensive and complex. we recognize not all programs have resources to conduct such a holistic evaluation. however, evaluators do not have to carry out all four cipp model components. rather, program administrators and evaluators should carefully consider which are most important, given the life stage of the program, the purpose of the evaluation, and the availability or accessibility of data. we recommend iapal members and other similar anr ldps use the cipp model for evaluation and share their process and results. stufflebeam’s (2003) recommended reporting format of program background, context, and results enhances transferability. applying a consistent model to evaluate similarly structured anr ldps would build a valuable knowledge base documenting outcomes, impacts, and potential needs of such programs, potentially resulting in collectively improving programs. regarding the washington agforestry leadership program, we conclude that the current content and structure is fulfilling the stated mission and there is strong stakeholder support. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 greenhaw and biderman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 24 simultaneously, areas for improvement, future growth and longevity were noted. the cohort model was noted as a strength and critical for achieving the network identified as one of the most important outcomes for participants, the program, and the industry. we strongly recommend the cohort model be retained and opportunities to further enhance and support the development and maintenance of participants’ and alumni networks be considered. two primary areas for improvement were identified, namely continuity and diversity. regarding continuity, we conclude that alignment from stakeholder expectations, through program objectives, to measurement of objectives is important and should be carefully reviewed. moreover, consistency throughout and across program documents and communications can confirm and enhance alignment. therefore, we recommend that washington agforestry conduct a thorough review of program documents to ensure consistency and alignment of program objectives, policies, and communications. regarding diversity, stakeholders voiced a desire to ensure various perspectives were considered and presented equitably across programming. this may be difficult to document, however, we recommend that program administrators consider what perspectives are included in future programming. additionally, stakeholders shared concern regarding diversity of participants, specifically the number who identified as traditional agricultural producers as well as participants who identified as a member of a tribal community or person of color. given the robust discussion about this topic, we conclude that demographic makeup of cohorts is a concern of stakeholders and therefore recommend that program administrators work with stakeholders to identify the ideal mix of participant demographics in each cohort and develop a corresponding recruitment plan. important demographics should be collected consistently during the application and selection process, and if possible, data from previous participants should be collected so an accurate assessment of historical participant demographics can guide decision-making. finally, we recommend washington agforestry and other anr ldps establish and maintain an evaluation plan, regularly collecting and analyzing relevant data to ensure program objectives are being realized in the best way possible. acknowledgments we thank hannah poush, kyle brooksher, julie grenfell and vicky scharlau who were our partners at washington agforestry and agriculture and forestry education foundation, without whom this work would not have been possible. thank you for initiating this work, inviting us to conduct this evaluation, and providing information and support throughout the process. funding information: this research was funded by the washington state department of agriculture specialty crop block grant program, grant no. k3952 (agr00026754) conflict of interest: there are no known conflicts of interest. previous dissemination: this evaluation research has not been previously reported. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 greenhaw and biderman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 25 artificial intelligence: no artificial intelligence was used in the development of this manuscript. author contribution statement: l. greenhawconceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, writingoriginal draft, review, & editing, supervision, project administration; r. bidermanformal analysis, investigation, writingoriginal draft, review, & editing. references carter, h., & rudd, r. d. (2000). evaluation of the florida leadership program for agriculture and natural resources. journal of southern agricultural education research, 50(1), 199– 219. http://jsaer.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/volume-50-full-issue.pdf dunbar, j. d. (2022, july). international association of programs for agricultural leaders. who we are. https://www.iapaleadership.org/who-we-are lamm, k. w., & carter, h. s. (2019). leadership development program evaluation: a social network analysis approach. journal of southern agricultural education research, 69(1), 4-19. http://jsaer.org/2019/01/02/leadership-development-program-evaluation-asocial-network-analysis-approach/ lamm, k. w., carter, h. s., & lamm, a. j. (2016). evaluating extension-based leadership development programs in the southern united states. journal of agricultural education, 57(1), 121–136. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2016.01121 madsen, w., o’mullan, c., & keen-dyer, h. (2014). learning and leadership: evaluation of an australian rural leadership program. australian journal of adult learning, 54(1), 30–49. maxwell, j. a. (2013). qualitative research design: an interactive approach. sage publications, inc. northouse, p. g. (2022). leadership: theory and practice. sage publications, inc. washington agforestry. (n.d.). participant program handbook. https://agforestry.org/programs/ saldaña, j., & omasta, m. (2022). qualitative research: analyzing life. sage publications, inc. stufflebeam, d. l. (1983). the cipp model for program evaluation. in: d. l. stufflebeam, g. f. madaus, & t. kellaghan (eds.), evaluation models (pp. 279–317). springer, dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6669-7_7 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 http://jsaer.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/volume-50-full-issue.pdf https://www.iapaleadership.org/who-we-are http://jsaer.org/2019/01/02/leadership-development-program-evaluation-a-social-network-analysis-approach/ http://jsaer.org/2019/01/02/leadership-development-program-evaluation-a-social-network-analysis-approach/ https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2016.01121 https://agforestry.org/programs/ https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6669-7_7 greenhaw and biderman advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 26 stufflebeam d. l. (2003, october 3). the cipp model for evaluation. [paper presentation]. annual conference of the oregon program evaluators network (open), portland, or, united states. https://goeroendeso.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/cippmodeloregon10-031.pdf wallace, d. m., torres, e. m., & zaccaro, s. j. (2021). just what do we think we are doing? learning outcomes of leader and leadership development. the leadership quarterly, 32(5), 101494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2020.101494 w.k. kellogg foundation. (2000). the legacy of the ag leadership development program: rich heritage cultivates future opportunities (item #534). w.k. kellogg foundation. zhang, g., zeller, n., griffith, r., metcalf, d., williams, j., shea, c., & misulis, k. (2011). using context, input, process and product evaluation model (cipp) as a comprehensive framework to guide the planning, implementation, and assessment of service-learning programs. journal of higher education outreach and engagement, 15(4), 57–83. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ej957107.pdf © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.591 https://goeroendeso.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/cipp-modeloregon10-031.pdf https://goeroendeso.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/cipp-modeloregon10-031.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2020.101494 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ej957107.pdf advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 2, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. benita komunjeru, doctoral student, louisiana state university, 225a j.c. miller hall, 110 lsu union square, baton rouge, la, 70803; bkomun2@lsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4799-8675 2. whitney l. figland-cook, assistant professor, east texas a&m university, p.o. box 3011, commerce, tx, 75429, whitney.figland@tamuc.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8669-2692 3. jacob englin, doctoral candidate, louisiana state university, 225a j.c. miller hall, 110 lsu union square, baton rouge, la, 70803, jengl13@lsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8816-534x 4. richie roberts, professor and department head, new mexico state university, msc 3501, p.o. box 30003, las cruces, new mexico, 88003-8003; roberts3@nmsu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2993-4945 14 advocating for agricultural education: a mixed methods examination on the role of opinion leadership on teachers’ advocacy intentions b. komunjeru1, w. l. figland-cook2, j. englin3, r. roberts4 article history received: january 21, 2025 accepted: april 7, 2025 published: april 8, 2025 keywords mixed methods research; sdg 10: reduced inequalities; teacher leadership abstract the purpose of this mixed methods study was to describe the role of opinion leadership on louisiana teachers’ intentions to advocate for agricultural education. as a result, we found that the quantitative and qualitative data strands were largely complementary. we concluded that the agricultural education teachers in louisiana reported only a marginal level of opinion leadership. regarding their intentions to advocate for agricultural education, most teachers indicated they would be likelier to engage in low-stakes advocacy, such as joining their professional organization, meeting with decision-makers, or attending ffa day at the capital rather than participating in advocacy considered more professionally risky. the teachers also recognized that they exhibited a deficiency in advocacy knowledge and skills. going forward, we recommend that future research examine the approaches that teachers use to champion various issues and causes that may affect their programs. we also call for greater emphasis on helping teachers learn how to tell agricultural education’s story in ways that motivate decisionmakers to become allies for the profession. finally, we call for greater professional development experiences designed to help teachers advocate for agricultural education. mailto:bkomun2@lsu.edu https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2forcid.org%2f0009-0002-4799-8675&data=05%7c02%7croberts3%40nmsu.edu%7c1e3a0b0577004e5e8c2808dd373868ac%7ca3ec87a89fb84158ba8ff11bace1ebaa%7c1%7c0%7c638727437595384112%7cunknown%7ctwfpbgzsb3d8eyjfbxb0eu1hcgkionrydwusilyioiiwljaumdawmcisilaioijxaw4zmiisikfoijoitwfpbcisilduijoyfq%3d%3d%7c0%7c%7c%7c&sdata=hlz71s1vkmsgg4wgqhttxkfdyo4zaff1bypomgwywy4%3d&reserved=0 mailto:whitney.figland@tamuc.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8669-2692 mailto:jengl13@lsu.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8816-534x mailto:roberts3@nmsu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2993-4945 komunjeru et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 15 introduction and problem statement teacher advocacy has emerged as a popular buzzword in education (bradley-levine, 2018; velasco et al., 2023). velasco et al. (2023) defined the term as an action taken by a teacher to influence the process by which decisions are made in education. as such, teacher advocacy often involves issues that have cultural, economic, and social implications that influences lives. for example, teachers can advocate for change regarding issues that negatively influence students and school systems, such as inadequate resources, misinformation, and poverty (bradley-levine, 2018). despite this, teachers often find themselves grappling with balancing local community and cultural expectations as well as overcoming negative assumptions and stereotypes about advocacy (velasco et al., 2023). in agricultural education, hock and myers (2018) explained that teacher advocacy has taken on various forms. for instance, teachers can address problems such as the shortage of qualified individuals to fill jobs in industry, lack of support for agriscience programs, misinformation about scientific practices that lead to new agricultural products and practices, and other relevant issues. to achieve such, teachers need to mobilize others – alumni, parents, and influential community members – willing to contribute their influence to ensure that a cause receives the attention needed (doerfert & lawson, 2018). on this point, blackburn et al. (2017) noted that a critical component of effective advocacy was ensuring that others found value and supported a teacher’s vision. often, this can be achieved by telling the story of agricultural education in ways that resonate and create a sense of urgency for those who hold decisionmaking power (casten, 2018). on this point, lamm et al. (2015) explained that individuals viewed as knowledgeable, wellestablished, and trustworthy in a social system should be “considered opinion leaders within their networks of influence” (p. 147). therefore, opinion leaders in agricultural education would be considered vital in influencing advocacy efforts for agricultural education. by taking responsibility for enacting positive change at the individual and system levels, teachers can serve as a source of good for students, schools, and communities (catapano, 2006). as such, understanding how opinion leaders understand advocacy, insight could be gained into the factors influencing their decision-making regarding their intentions to advocate for the discipline. with this knowledge, we could identify ways to motivate opinion leaders to champion issues important to agricultural education (lejeune & roberts, 2020). despite this, little empirical data has been advanced that could be used to guide such efforts. conceptual framework for this investigation, lazarsfeld et al. (1948) notion of opinion leadership served as the lens we used to analyze the phenomenon. through this lens, knowledge is viewed as being disseminated through a two-phase process: (a) opinion leaders receive and process information, and (b) the opinion leaders communicate their views, i.e., complexity, relative https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 komunjeru et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 16 advantage, and utility, of such information to their followers, which leads to either the acceptance or rejection (lazarsfeld et al., 1948; see figure 1). figure 1 lazarsfeld et al. (1948) the role of opinion leadership lazarsfeld et al. (1948) noted that opinion leaders could become influential in a social system through a variety of ways, including (a) appointment, (b) nomination, (c) recruitment, and (d) self-selection. despite the ambiguous path to opinion leadership, valente and davis (1999) maintained that in every social system, individuals emerge who serve as role models to others: “[t]hese role models act as opinion leaders within their communities and can be important determinants of rapid and sustained behavior change” (p. 57). as such, followers often view opinion leaders as more competent than themselves because they can effectively communicate why an issue, or cause, should be considered important in their context (valente & davis, 1999). further, rogers (2003) noted that opinion leaders were often considered more innovative, optimistic, and of higher status in a given social system. therefore, although opinion leaders are often different, i.e., heterophily, they remain similar enough to their followers to gain buy-in and support, i.e., homophily (rogers, 2003). in education, teachers hold unique and influential power over the dynamics of teaching and learning within their schools. spillane et al. (2003) reported that teachers primarily relied on their fellow educators rather than school administrators for advice about teaching. therefore, teachers’ inclination to seek support from their peers often positions other teachers as opinion leaders in educational contexts (hatch et al., 2005). consequently, teachers who can advocate for the best interest of their students and communities have been shown to successfully influence their colleagues to adopt various instructional practices (marshall & anderson, 2009). in the current study, we sought to understand better the role of opinion leadership in influencing agricultural education teachers’ intentions to advocate for agricultural education. although opinion leadership has traditionally focused on the how the acceptance or rejection of information from opinion leaders such was not the focus on this study. instead, we positioned https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 komunjeru et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 17 this investigation to understand the level of opinion leadership exhibited by teachers and how such influenced their intentions to advocate for agricultural education. purpose and objectives the purpose of this study was to describe the role of opinion leadership on louisiana teachers’ intentions to advocate for agricultural education. four objectives guided the investigation: 1. describe the level of opinion leadership possessed by louisiana agricultural education teachers. 2. describe the intentions of louisiana teachers to advocate for agricultural education. 3. describe relationships among louisiana agricultural teachers’ level of opinion leadership and intentions to advocate for agricultural education. 4. narrate louisiana teachers’ perspectives on advocating for agricultural education. methodology we used a convergent mixed methods design to integrate quantitative and qualitative data to enhance the quality of the results in the investigation (creswell & plano clark, 2018). researchers frequently utilize convergent designs to bolster findings when quantitative or qualitative data alone may lack sufficient strength (creswell & plano clark, 2018). we assigned equal priority, i.e., quan + qual, to each strand of data (morse, 1991). to achieve the purpose of this study, we facilitated a census (n = 219) of louisiana agricultural education teachers. this was achieved using the louisiana agriculture teachers’ association (lata) membership directory as the investigation’s participant frame. we also used dillman et al.’s (2014) tailored design approach to facilitate the collection of data using a web-based instrument created through qualtrics online software. to begin data collection, we sent a pre-notice message followed by timed reminders to all individuals who met the inclusion criteria, informing them about the study (dillman et al., 2014). in total, 219 invitations were sent to sbae teachers in louisiana beginning in july 2022. after multiple reminders, 141 responses (64.3% total response rate) were recorded. however, after reviewing the data, we noted that 33 (23.4%) responses were incomplete; therefore, they were excluded from our analysis. as a result, we determined that 108 (49.3%) responses were usable. to address non-response bias in this investigation, we compared early and late respondents (lindner et al., 2001). previous research has demonstrated that late respondents often share similarities with non-respondents (lindner et al., 2001). in this study, individuals who completed the questionnaire within one week were considered early responders; meanwhile, we deemed all other individuals as late respondents. in a t-test comparison between the early and late respondent groups, we found no statistically significant differences (p > .05). therefore, we did not consider non-response bias as a major factor influencing the results in the quantitative strand of data. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 komunjeru et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 18 the instrument used to collect data in this investigation included four sections with a combination of previously established and research-developed measures. to establish face and content validity, a panel of experts that consisted of three agricultural education faculty members at louisiana state university, the louisiana ffa executive secretary, and one practicing agricultural education teacher who was not included in the population under investigation. we also pilot-tested the instrument with 28 agricultural education teachers from louisiana who were not included in the study. as a result of the pilot test, reliability for each section of the quantitative instrument had a cronbach’s alpha of .80 or greater, which was considered acceptable (nunnely, 1978). the first section of the instrument used childers’ (1986) opinion leadership scale to measure the agricultural education teachers’ perceived level of opinion leadership. on this measure, the participants were asked to rate their level of agreement on six items regarding their perceived influence on issues affecting agricultural education. although we slightly adapted the instrument to fit the context of this study, its structure was indistinguishable from childers (1986). therefore, each item used a five-point bipolar response structure. for example, we presented each item using pairs of dissimilar statements in which a 1 (one) designated a negative sentiment, whereas a 5 (five) reflected a positive sentiment (childers, 1986). after collecting data, we averaged the six items to create the participants’ overall opinion leadership score. in the second section of the instrument, we used a researcher-developed scale to measure participants’ intentions to advocate for agricultural education. the scale asked participants to indicate their willingness to advocate for agricultural education on 13 items using bi-polar responses, i.e., 1 = yes; 2 = no. then, we averaged the 13 items to calculate an overall intention score. we used the third section of the instrument to collect narrative responses from the participants using the following prompt: “describe some of your most memorable experiences as well as challenges advocating for agricultural education.” we created a 400-word minimum forced response in qualtrics for all participants in the qualitative portion. the final section of the instrument asked the participants to provide their personal and professional characteristics. after completing data collection, we compiled our quantitative items into an spss file and cleaned the data while removing any personal identification of the participants. to address research question one, we analyzed data using measures of central tendency, including frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. these measures were utilized to describe the population’s opinion leadership and advocacy intentions. after describing these factors, we performed a correlational analysis to examine the relationships between the selected variables. in the qualitative strand, we employed an interpretive qualitative approach (merriam & tisdell, 2015). to achieve this, we required each participant in the study to provide a narrative response. to analyze the qualitative data, we used the qualitative analysis software nvivo. we also used lincoln’s and guba’s (1985) four criteria for qualitative quality – credibility, confirmability, transferability, and dependability – to guide our ethical decision-making in the study. the initial data analysis was executed using the constant comparative method, involving three types of coding: (a) open, (b) axial, and (c) selective (corbin & strauss, 2015). open coding entailed categorizing data units into distinct categories. to facilitate the first phase of analysis, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 komunjeru et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 19 each member of the research team analyzed each source of qualitative data line-by-line, which resulted in 438 open codes (corbin & strauss, 2015). the second qualitative analytic approach, axial coding, involved examining relationships among categories to develop evidentiary support (saldaña, 2021). we facilitated this process by meeting as a research team after the open coding phase and negotiating ways to reduce the open codes into categories. this axial coding process resulted in development of 14 distinct categories. in our final phase of qualitative analysis, we employed selective coding to construct a narrative of the data, which facilitated the emergence of themes by incorporating multiple perspectives (corbin & strauss, 2015). through comparisons and contrasts, the qualitative findings were operationalized by weaving participants’ perspectives into detailed descriptions. findings objective #1 the first objective sought to describe the agricultural education teachers’ level of opinion leadership. when probed about the frequency of individuals they communicated with about issues affecting agricultural education in the past six months, most (f = 27; 25%) indicated they had told a number of people. meanwhile, participants reported that they only marginally communicated with their colleagues about issues affecting agricultural education (f = 34; 35.2%). regarding the likelihood of being asked about new information concerning agricultural education, most indicated they were not very likely to be asked (f = 30; 31.5%). further, most participants indicated that their colleagues (f = 30; 27.8%) informed them about new developments in agricultural education rather than them informing their colleagues. for the item, “when you talk to your friends and neighbors about issues affecting agriculture education,” the teachers suggested that they provided some new information (f = 45; 41.7%). finally, most of the participants indicated that they were often not used as a source of advice (f = 51, 47.2%) in discussions with friends and colleagues about issues affecting agricultural education. it should also be noted that participants’ overall opinion leadership score was a mean of 2.94 with a standard deviation of 1.01. table 1 outlines the level of opinion leadership reported by the agricultural education teachers in louisiana. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 komunjeru et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 20 table 1 louisiana agricultural education teachers’ level of opinion leadership statements 1 2 3 4 5 during the past six months, how many people have you told about issues affecting agriculture educationa 12.1% 25.0% 19.4% 18.5% 25.0% in general, how often do you talk about to your colleagues about issues affecting agricultural educationb 8.3% 35.2% 16.7% 16.7% 23.1% compared to your circle of friends, how likely are you to be asked about new information concerning agricultural educationc 23.1% 31.5% 18.5% 13.9% 13.0% in a discussion of issues that affect agricultural education, which of the following happens mostd 16.7% 27.8% 27.8% 18.5% 9.3% when you talk to your friends and neighbors about issues affecting agricultural education do youe 9.3% 33.3% 2.8% 41.7% 13.0% overall, in all your discussions with friends and colleagues about issues affecting agricultural education you aref 9.3% 47.2% 4.6% 32.4% 6.5% note. a1 = no one to 5 = a number of people; b1= never to 5 = often; c1= not likely to 5 = very likely; d1 = your colleagues tell you about new developments to 5= you tell your colleagues about new developments most of the time; e1= give little information to 5 = give a great deal of information; f 1= not used as a source as advice to 5 = often used as a source of advice. objective #2 thirteen items were used to measure the agricultural education teachers’ intentions to advocate for agricultural education. using a bi-polar scale (1= yes; 2 = no), most indicated that they would advocate by joining their professional organization (f = 103; 95.4%), meeting with decision-makers at the district/area level (f = 98; 90.7%), and attending ffa day at the capital (f = 93; 86.1%). meanwhile, the majority of teachers were unwilling to run for an elected position (f = 83; 76.9%), attend a rally or demonstration (f = 71; 65.7%), or create an informational flyer or video (f =55; 50.9%) to advocate for agricultural education. as a result, the overall intention score for participants in this investigation was a mean of 1.34 with a standard deviation of 0.24. table 2 provides an overview of teachers’ intentions to advocate for agricultural education. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 komunjeru et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 21 table 2 the intentions of louisiana teachers to advocate for agricultural education statement yes no join my professional organization (lata). 95.4% 4.6% meetings with decision makers at the district/area level. 90.7% 9.3% attend ffa day at the capital. 86.1% 13.9% informal meetings with decision makers. 86.1% 13.9% formal meetings with decision makers. 77.8% 22.2% make a telephone call or text to decision makers. 77.8% 22.2% writing a letter or email to decision makers. 73.1% 26.9% writing a post on social media (i.e., facebook, twitter, or instagram, etc.). 61.1% 38.9% donate money to an issue or cause that affects agricultural education. 58.3% 41.7% write a newspaper article addressing a relevant issue. 55.6% 44.4% create an informational flyer or video. 49.1% 50.9% attend a rally or demonstration. 34.3% 65.7% run for an elected position. 23.1% 76.9% objective #3 for the third objective, we used correlational analysis to examine the relationship between the variables of interest. as a result, we found a statistically significant (p < .01) and moderate negative relationship (r = -.480) between the agricultural education teachers’ level of opinion leadership and their intentions to advocate for agricultural education. this finding suggested that as the teachers’ opinion leadership increased, their intentions to advocate for agricultural education decreased. objective #4 using a qualitative approach, the final objective explored the experiences and challenges faced by louisiana teachers in advocating for agricultural education. as a result, three themes emerged from our analysis: (a) low-stakes advocacy, (b) advocating to and through students, and (c) a deficiency in advocacy knowledge and skills. the themes tell the story of the actions, aspirations, and deterrents of teachers as they have strived to promote agricultural education. theme #1: low stakes advocacy in the first theme, low-stakes advocacy, we compared the narrative responses of individuals who self-identified as having greater opinion leadership in the quantitative strand with those who did not perceive they exhibited a high level of opinion leadership. an emergent finding from our analysis was that individuals who exhibited higher opinion leadership scores often described engaging in low-stakes advocacy rather than professionally risker advocacy behaviors. as such, low-stakes advocacy represented actions that those individuals perceived might have limited potential negative repercussions, i.e., behaviors the teachers viewed as safe. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 komunjeru et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 22 examples of low-stakes advocacy included joining my professional organization and attending ffa day at the capital. the individuals who reported having higher opinion leadership scores also articulated other forms of low-stakes advocacy, such as building relationships, networking, and subtly influencing decision-makers largely within their local context (lazarsfeld et al., 1948). as participant #40 explained: “when advocating, sometimes it’s the quiet actions that speak the loudest.” similarly, participant #61 explained: “advocacy in agricultural education is not always about grand gestures and public demonstrations. often, it’s the little conversations you have that make the biggest impact.” the individuals who did not report exhibiting a high level of opinion leadership in the quantitative strand, however, indicated that they largely “did not” engage in advocacy for agricultural education (participant #1). or they preferred more private advocacy efforts such as “voting for individuals who support agricultural education” (participant #101) or “speaking with family and friends” about the importance of agricultural education (participant #91). therefore, these individuals reported being largely disengaged from advocacy for agricultural education. theme #2: advocating to and through students in the second theme, advocating to and through students, 72 participants reported that at the heart of their advocacy was empowering youth through agricultural education. therefore, the teachers viewed their primary responsibility as educating the next generation about agriculture and inspiring them to become advocates themselves (lazarsfeld et al., 1948). on this point, participant #9 pondered: “…so what’s our most potent advocacy tool? obviously, it’s our students.” echoing this sentiment, participant #100 shared: “when students become passionate advocates for agriculture, it’s like a ripple effect – their voices spread far and wide.” as a result of such work, the agricultural education teachers reported that their students often took action. case in point, participant #26 explained that after his agricultural education program consistently lost resources after an administration change, his students took note and “created a petition” to bring about change. “the petition worked; within a few days, my new superintendent asked to meet with me personally, and he apologized. we did not have any problems after that,” explained participant #26. meanwhile, participant #60 recalled how her students “were inspiring as they canvased the community during a bond issue to get a new agricultural education building.” she continued: “the students and parents came together and were passing out educational materials and talking to people at all different kinds of community events; i didn’t even really have to do much, and the bond passed!” theme #3: a deficiency in advocacy knowledge and skills in the final theme, a deficit in advocacy knowledge and skills, over 60 participants reported that they perceived they lacked the necessary tools to be effective advocates for agricultural education. perhaps this finding provides insight into why individuals who had a higher opinion leadership score identified in this investigation only reported engaging in low-stakes advocacy behaviors (lazarsfeld et al., 1948). as such, the teachers expressed a desire for professional development and other educational opportunities that would equip them with the necessary skills. as an illustration, participant #81 revealed: “i want to advocate for agricultural education https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 komunjeru et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 23 better, but i need the tools to do it effectively. with some more training, i think i could be a better voice for the agricultural industry and the teaching profession.” in particular, the agricultural education teachers suggested they needed help navigating the complexities of “policy and using various forms of media,” according to participant #27. another suggestion offered by participant #5 was for state leaders to create “monthly information and fact sheets” that teachers could use as talking points when advocating for agricultural education. she continued: “we do not know what’s going on most of the time. by having up-to-date talking points, we can sell our programs better.” on the other hand, participant #98 revealed: “as a younger ag teacher, i do not really know how to even begin forming relationships with our legislature. just having some tips on how to begin building those relationships would make a big difference.” finally, 37 teachers reported needing more knowledge and skills regarding communicating agricultural education’s story better. specifically, they desired new professional development opportunities that focused on the use of social media, writing for newspapers and print media, photography, and film editing. consequently, the agricultural education teachers in this investigation desired to continue to nurture their advocacy abilities by pursuing additional support and resources. by helping teachers learn to amplify their voices and providing the public with insights into their experiences through additional training, perhaps a brighter future for agricultural education could be cultivated. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this investigation aimed to describe the role of opinion leadership on louisiana teachers’ intentions to advocate for agricultural education. as a result of this investigation, we concluded that the quantitative and qualitative data strands were largely complementary. we also conclude that the agricultural education teachers in louisiana reported only a marginal level of opinion leadership. perhaps this was because childers’ (1986) opinion leadership scale required the teachers to self-report their perceived level of opinion leadership. as such, we recommend exploring alternative ways to measure this phenomenon that allow researchers to consider whether others in an agricultural education teachers’ social system view them as opinion leaders (lazarsfeld et al., 1948). perhaps such data could deepen our understanding of the role of opinion leaders in shaping the advocacy behaviors of agricultural education teachers. regarding their intentions to advocate for agricultural education, most teachers indicated they would be likelier to engage in low-stakes advocacy (velasco et al., 2023), such as joining their professional organization, meeting with decision-makers, or attending ffa day at the capital rather than participating in advocacy efforts considered more professionally risky. this notion was corroborated through quantitative and qualitative data. of note, the finding also appeared to support the work of lamm et al. (2014), who found that opinion leaders in anr were largely unwilling to take risks. moving forward, we recommend that future research explore ways to encourage agricultural education teachers to engage in advocacy efforts that require more active engagement and buy-in from their followers to better champion issues affecting https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 komunjeru et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 24 agricultural education. we also recommend that teacher educators consider including curricular content on practical approaches to advocate for agricultural education in their preservice coursework. these opportunities could help future agricultural education teachers gain confidence in communicating agricultural education’s story in powerful, far-reaching ways. because of the statistically significant and moderate negative relationship discovered between louisiana agricultural education teachers’ level of opinion leadership and their intentions, we concluded that agricultural education teachers in this investigation did not appear to overly engage in advocacy efforts for agricultural education. future research should seek to understand why teachers do not appear inclined to engage in advocacy. with this knowledge, perhaps changes can be made to ensure that opinion leaders in agricultural education become better prepared to influence change regarding institutional policy and practice, public attitudes and behaviors, political processes, and power imbalances for marginalized groups. a key finding that emerged in the qualitative strand was how the agricultural education teachers advocated to and through their students. as such, we conclude that although many of the advocacy behaviors reported by agricultural education teachers were low-stakes in nature, they inspired more high-stakes advocacy behavior from their students. such a finding does not appear to have been previously addressed in the literature on agricultural education. therefore, we recommend follow-up studies to investigate the varied and complex ways that agricultural education teachers can inspire their students to take action and champion issues in agricultural education and the agricultural industry more broadly. we also conclude that the agricultural education teachers in this investigation recognized they exhibited a deficiency in advocacy knowledge and skills. as such, the teachers desired more insight into how to effectively advocate for agriculture education better through professional development. this finding was surprising, considering the vast number of needs assessments conducted in agricultural education across various states that have not reported such a need (roberts et al., 2020). we recommend that researchers and practitioners who conduct needs assessments in the future consider adding items related to advocating for agricultural education. although lazarsfeld’s (1948) notion of opinion leadership served as a productive lens, perhaps the findings of this investigation could serve as a foundation to create a new model that examines the role of opinion leadership on teachers’ advocacy behaviors for agricultural education. with such knowledge, perhaps researchers could better elucidate how opinion leaders can successfully champion issues affecting agricultural education across local, state, national levels. finally, we recommend that state agricultural education leaders and teacher educators create professional development opportunities focused on improving agricultural education teachers’ ability to advocate for their profession (solomonson & roberts, 2022). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 komunjeru et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 25 acknowledgments this manuscript is based on data published in poster and paper proceedings of the 2024 and 2022 american association of agricultural education conferences. komunjeru, b., figland cook, w. l., roberts, r., stair, k. s. 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(2023). stand out and speak up: exploring empowerment perspectives among advocacy activities of stem teachers in the us. teacher development, 27(4), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2023.2207095 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.581 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.03128 https://www.jstor.org/stable/3090258 https://doi.org/10.1177/000271629956600105 https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2023.2207095 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 3, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. jacqueline v. aenlle, assistant professor, kansas state university, 301 umberger hall, manhattan, ks 66506, jaenlle@ksu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7366-4981 2. jamie l. loizzo, associate professor, university of florida, 121d bryant hall, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611, jloizzo@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5575-2918 3. lisa k. lundy, professor, university of florida, 121e bryant hall, po box 112060, gainesville, fl 32611, lisalundy@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3498-7486 4. fevin m. folta, professor, university of florida, 2550 hull road, po box 110690, gainesville, florida 32611, kfolta@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3836-2213 5. james c. bunch, associate professor, university of florida, 307a rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32611, bunchj@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 39 scientists’ side of the microphone: an examination of agricultural and natural resources podcast guests’ experiences j. v. aenlle1, j. l. loizzo2, l. k. lundy3, f. m. folta4, j. c. bunch5 article history received: november 1, 2023 accepted: march 25, 2024 published: april 29, 2024 keywords science communication; public engagement with science; mixed method abstract while some food, agricultural, natural resources, and human science (fanrhs) experts participate in a variety of outreach opportunities, many face barriers to public interaction such as lack of incentive, knowledge, or confidence. this study examined scientists’ and extensionists’ outreach experiences as guests on science podcasts. results showed the guests had minimal formal science communication training yet were highly educated individuals and involved with informal education. future research should examine how peer-modeling can be used to recruit more scientists to science communication opportunities and how institutions can improve training for outreach such as podcasts. mailto:jaenlle@ksu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7366-4981 mailto:jloizzo@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5575-2918 mailto:lisalundy@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3498-7486 mailto:kfolta@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3836-2213 mailto:bunchj@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-2349 aenlle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 40 introduction and problem statement prior research and literature describe public outreach as informing, connecting, or gathering feedback from a community on a certain issue, company, or organization (christensen, 2007; paisley, 2019; riccardi et al., 2022). scientists have often viewed outreach as a voluntary activity that exists outside of their career responsibilities (andrews et al., 2005). however, andrews et al. (2005) explained that some view extension as an essential portion of every scientist’s job at a public land grant university in the united states, but a lack of incentives, time, training, administrative support, and hesitation to engage in heated discussions can be key barriers to scientist participation in outreach (loizzo et al., 2019; rose et al., 2020). with the public sometimes feeling distrustful of science researchers, many americans have instead identified alternative information sources such as individuals who are willing to communicate about scientific issues and able to reach diverse audiences. these personas might include, but are not limited to, mass media personalities, community leaders, and other opinion leaders. many online opinion leaders share content about food, agriculture, environmental sciences and natural resources (baker et al., 2021; long et al., 2011; matous, 2023). but research has shown that subject matter experts within these areas might not be active in science communication on social media since they prefer the use of traditional websites or meetings (lamm et al., 2016). bik (2015) recommended that researchers participating in outreach should utilize a diverse set of media platforms to cross-promote content on digital media channels, such as facebook, instagram, twitter, youtube, or podcasts (spencer et al., 2017). scientists can continue to build trust with public audiences by sharing and discussing information to public audiences directly or mediated through mediums such as social media (fiske & dupree, 2014; huber et al., 2019). theoretical and conceptual framework a conceptual framework comprised of self-efficacy theory (set) and the inreach vs. outreach model guided the study. in this study, self-efficacy was applied to describe scientists’ positive motivations and confidence toward participating in science communication and outreach opportunities such as podcasts, and the inreach vs. outreach model provided a framework for how scientists can leverage online platforms to ‘sing from the rooftops’ for public engagement to move beyond communication in typical scientific echo chambers of peer-reviewed journals and conferences. self-efficacy theory set has been used in an array of social and phycological disciplines including but not limited to education, business, and health to assess individuals’ perceived ability and motivation for behavior change or information processing (bandura, 1986; schunk & pajares, 2009). set explains factors that can influence an individual’s likeliness of participating in a given behavior. factors that affect participation in a desired behavior include past experience, perceived social norms, and confidence to perform the behavior (bandura, 1989). if scientists have had positive science communication experiences or positive perceptions towards the practice, they may be https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 aenlle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 41 more willing to participate in science outreach opportunities including, but not limited to, science podcasts. inreach vs. outreach the inreach vs. outreach conceptual model examines social media followership to identify whether scientist’s online presence is communicating to an internal or external audience (côté & darling, 2018). inreach could be considered as promoting content to individuals already within a given network or in a similar field, such as peers and colleagues (echo chamber). conversely, outreach entails reaching audiences (i.e., public audiences, scientists in different disciplines, policymakers, etc.) outside of an individual’s field and outside their immediate network (côté & darling, 2018). côté and darling (2018) developed this model when analyzing scientists’ twitter usage for science communication. the researchers determined that accounts with one thousand or more followers successfully conducted outreach. studies have used côté and darling’s model to examine the engagement of online audiences (e.g., via twitter) with ocean science/ocean literacy and to determine the types of audiences being reached and engaging with content (kopke et al., 2019). additionally, this model has also been utilized to create new methods for identifying micro-influencers and examining their usefulness (rakoczy et al., 2018). these approaches can be mimicked and the inreach versus outreach model can be used to assess the impact and reach of science communicators, podcast producers, and guest speakers within fanrhs. the goal of fanrhs podcast producers and science communicators sharing educational content should be potentially both inreach (i.e., to colleagues, etc.) and outreach to public audiences for increasing science literacy, science awareness, and knowledge. purpose podcast usage has become increasingly popular in recent years (edison research and triton digital, 2023) and has been proven as a useful tool for informal education, reaching new audiences, and communicating about agricultural information (beattie et al., 2020; chivers et al., 2023). the purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of food, agricultural, natural resource, and human science (fanrhs) subject matter experts who have served as guests on science podcasts. the following research questions (rqs) guided the study: • rq1: what are fanrhs podcast guests’ demographics? • rq2: how did podcast guests prepare for podcast interviews and outreach opportunities? • rq3: what was the reaction of fanrhs podcast guests before, during, and after the podcast? methods this research study was part of a larger study that examined fanrhs podcast production from the perspective of the podcast producers, guests, and podcast listeners. this portion of the project specifically focused on the experiences of guests on fanrhs podcasts and followed a mixed-method approach. mixed methods research provides both a numerical, broad https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 aenlle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 42 examination of a phenomenon, and a more in-depth look at the underlying factors contributing to it (creswell & plano clark, 2017). recruitment and instrumentation an earlier portion of the larger research project required researchers to purposively sample and contact over 70 fanrhs podcast producers. these producers were then asked to share a survey opportunity with their past podcast guests. the podcast guests’ survey consisted of three blocks of questions. block one included questions about the podcasts that individuals were guest speakers on and included other experiences with science communication opportunities. block two included a trust in science instrument (results reported in dissertation and a different publication). block three collected similar demographic information as the producer survey (i.e., age, gender, education level, etc.). the podcast guest survey included a combination of multiple choice, free response, and likert-type scales ranging from one (strongly disagree) to five (strongly agree). descriptive statistics were used to answer the research questions. eighteen participants completed the podcast guest survey in its entirety, and five volunteered to participate in follow-up interviews. the interviews with podcast guests included a section of questions on their experiences participating in fanrhs science communication and podcasts, and their views on trust in science. questions within those sections focused on their motivation to participate in podcasts and other science communication efforts, their contributions to science awareness, and their perceptions of the scientific enterprise. interview questions included: have you had any science communication training? why did you choose to participate in a fanrhs podcast? how does podcasting impact science education, communication, engagement, and/or trust? reliability and trustworthiness an online survey was chosen for the initial portion of this study due to the quick response time and possible reach (creswell & creswell, 2018). to increase the trustworthiness of the qualitative portion of this study, results were reported using rich, thick descriptions. rich, thick descriptions are commonly used in qualitative research to increase the reliability and transferability of results by thoroughly describing experiences, research participants, the research context, and observations (creswell & creswell, 2018). analysis quantitative data were cleaned in excel and then exported to statistical package for social sciences (spss) where descriptive statistics were calculated. qualitative interviews were recorded via zoom then uploaded to sonix.ai for transcription. transcriptions were checked for accuracy before coding began (creswell & creswell, 2018). data were analyzed by the primary researcher using the constant comparison method (glaser, 1965), then another member of the research team reviewed and confirmed the codes identified. the constant comparison method involves simultaneously noting emerging codes while also comparing them to existing codes to determine areas of overlap or divergence (glaser & strauss, 1967). next the primary researcher did a second round of axial coding, where codes were then grouped into larger categories based on the research questions (corbin & strauss, 2015). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 aenlle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 43 limitations given the specificity of the population and the use of chain referral sampling, the researcher was unable to obtain a large sample size of participants (18 survey responses and five interview participants). therefore, generalizations should not be made outside of this population. additionally, the covid-19 pandemic heavily impacted the study design. as a result of the pandemic, interviews were held via zoom instead of in person, which could have impacted interpersonal interactions with the participants. findings rq 1: what are the demographics of fanrhs podcast guests? the gender demographics of survey respondents (n = 18) were split between female (50%), male (44.4%), and individuals who chose to provide their own gender identity (5.6%). of the respondents, 12 (66.7%) identified as white, three (16.7%) as hispanic/latino, two (11.1%) as asian, and one (5.6%) preferred not to answer (table 1). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 aenlle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 44 table 1 demographics of fanrhs podcast guests (n = 18) variable    f % gender  male  8 44.4   female  9 50.0   i would like to contribute my own personal gender identity  1 5.6 race  white  12 66.7   asian  2 11.1   hispanic/latino  3 16.7   prefer not to answer  1 5.6 location california  1 5.6   florida  9 50   georgia  1 5.6   illinois  1 5.6   north carolina  1 5.6   pennsylvania  1 5.6   texas  1 5.6   washington  1 5.6   does not reside in the united states  2 11.1   age 25-31  7 38.9   32-38  5 27.8   39-45  4 22.2   46-51  1 5.6   52-58  1 5.6 level of education  four-year college degree  1 5.6   some graduate school or advanced degree  17 94.4 self-identify as part of the food, agriculture, or natural resource industry   yes  17 94.4 no  1 5.6 years in industry   0-5  8 44.4   6-10  1 5.6 10+  8 44.4 most respondents (77.8%, f = 14) participated in various types of science communication efforts, including podcasting, for more than five years (table 2). nine of the respondents (50%) were in texas, and 88.9% (f = 16) were between the ages of 18-45. most podcast guests had completed either some graduate school or an advanced degree (94.4%, f = 17), or a four-year college degree (5.6%, f = 1) as their highest level of education (table 1). podcast guests had https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 aenlle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 45 spoken on podcasts about agriculture (77%, f = 14), environmental science (38.9%, f = 7), food (27.8 %, f = 5), natural resources (27.8 %, f = 5), and human sciences (16.7%, f = 3). table 2 time (years and hours/week) spent participating in science communication (n = 18) variable    f % years spent participating in science communication efforts.  2-3   3 16.7 4-5  1 5.6   5+  14 77.8 hours per week spent participating in science communication.  0-5  8 44.4 6-10  6 33.3   11-20  2 11.1   21-40  2 11.1 is science communication time per week included in your job? yes 13 72.7 no 5 27.8 rq 2: how did podcast guests prepare for podcast interviews and outreach opportunities? the following section outlines responses participants shared during the qualitative interview portion of the study. a total of five survey respondents opted-in to follow-up semi-structured interviews. these guests were either university scientists, educators, or extension professionals. interview participants were a mixture of females and males, most of which resided in the southeastern united states. when guests discussed the ways in which they prepared for fanrhs podcast interviews, several themes emerged. guests described strategies for preparing for individual interviews and how producers helped them prepare. fanrhs podcast guests prepared for interviews by researching the podcast, preparing key points, and understanding the tone of the podcast. all guests mentioned being invited for podcast interviews via an email invitation. before a podcast interview, guests were sometimes invited to a pre-interview meeting either via phone or email. three of the guests mentioned that one topic discussed during the pre-meeting was the objectives of the episode. guest 2 explained: my questions are geared around allowing myself to prepare and make sure that they're getting what they want out of the podcast, but also making sure that i'm the right person to do the podcast because there's a lot of people at [my university]. and if it's not me, i am happy to recommend somebody else. once guests have established that the podcast is a good fit for them, they then typically decide on talking points to include. when discussing important pieces of their preparation, guest 1 said: i laid out three key points or three key pillars that i wanted to come through, but not too much preparation because it wasn't a formula…it was more conversational, so it was more preparing: what are the key themes i need to have come through? and making sure i was able to do that. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 aenlle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 46 lastly, guests typically liked to know about the tone of the podcasts and whether they would be more formal or more casual and conversational. guest 3 reflected on two podcast interview experiences and explained that the first one was more casual which differed greatly from the second. guest 3 said: the [second] one felt very formal, and i don't know if that was just the differences in those options, and the [second] one i didn't prepare. i mean, no, the [second] one i prepared a lot for, the [first] one i didn't prepare as much for. in summary, guests prepared for podcast interviews by gathering detailed information about the podcast in general, understanding the objectives and tone of the episode, and compiling a list of talking points. rq 3: what was the reaction of fanrhs podcast guests before, during, and after the podcast? fanrhs podcast guests expressed feelings of caution before a podcast experience. later they described positive aspects of the experience and an appreciation for the final product of the podcast interviews. fanrhs podcast guests were sometimes cautious when preparing for an interview. podcast guests typically also participated in other communication and outreach opportunities that they said were not always the best experience, which has made them cautious and encouraged them to ask more questions when approached with communication opportunities. guest 3 described how their words could have been altered in interviews or written communication pieces in such a way that the information would be misrepresented: we all get nervous about what will happen once [the communication] leaves our hands. and so, we may go in with the best of intentions, we lay out all of the elements of what we know and how people should proceed. and the element that is shared on the podcast only focuses on our level of uncertainty or it pulls out those pieces. so, i think podcasting maybe is a little better than traditional media, where it's only a sound bite. for the most part, podcasts can include much longer conversations, more background, more details. guest 2 shared similar concerns for their words and meanings being misconstrued: you know, i don't want to just put it right out there. i'm going to be cautious if my words can be twisted or if the end goal is x, and that's not in line with the science, or i'm worried that they're going to portray me in a way that is not going to. sometimes people take things out of context on purpose. to mitigate these concerns, before agreeing to an interview, the guest will investigate the person or organization supporting the episode to better understand their background and objectives. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 aenlle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 47 well-produced podcasts should include an engaging host, timely content, have an appropriate length, and present their topic as a narrative four of the podcast guests mentioned several characteristics that set well-produced podcasts apart from others. for example, when discussing the qualities of an engaging host of fanrhs podcasts, guest 2 said: to be a good presenter, and they need to speak the science. and the person who's doing the podcast has to know the difference, you know, which is tough because they're not necessarily an expert in that area. i think it's on both ends. the guest is presenting their information, and it's the podcast person's role to make them look good. it's got to be timely, people have to be interested in the subject. so, sometimes it comes down to a catchy title. just to get people to actually push the button and want to listen to the podcast. and then sometimes it's somebody that has a following, you know, like certain people will just command an audience. in addition, guest 1 discussed the importance of the podcast content and format: i mean, i guess from my own perspective, you're telling a really engaging story that you are getting my attention, that beginning and pulling me in, and then willing to not constantly chop and change directions, but to spend time in the story, if that makes sense. those tend to be my favorite podcasts. similarly, guest 2 also mentioned the impact of podcast length and speaker ability: i'm a short and sweet person, so, i'm not going to listen to an hour podcast. you can't make me do it, but if it's entertaining, and if it's well done, if it's accurate, and you have really good speakers because you have no visuals, so you have to have somebody who's not monotone and can carry out a conversation. i think it's another avenue and probably one that we're not tapping enough. podcast guests believed that a well-made podcast includes an engaging host, a narrative format, and that they are concise. podcast guests enjoyed listening to the final product podcast guests appeared to be happy with the final products of the podcasts they were featured on. some guests were even allowed to pre-listen and approve the podcast track, before it was published. guest 1 said, “the first one i did, they did send a proof. it was great.” for other podcast experiences, guest 1 did not get a proof of the episode before the track was released, but they did get a chance to verify that the content they shared was accurate. guest 1 explained that: i was a guest on their show. and when we got done, they said, ‘hey, was there anything that you think you'd want to clarify on that?’ i said, ‘no, i think this went really well,’ so it may have been they would have sent it. i'm kind of a believer in so long as there's a level of trust in what we're putting together, i don't necessarily have to approve it. one recommendation for a podcast guest was to give more details and guidance before a podcast interview. guest 3 said: https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 aenlle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 48 i think that the final product of both of those experiences was good. i think on the front end, i just didn't quite know how to prepare for the first one. i prepared so many notes, like a ridiculous amount of notes, and in fact, when they edited, it became two episodes—so many, so many things. in conclusion, podcast guests enjoyed hearing the final product of their podcast interviews. in addition, they appreciated it when producers notified them when the episodes were published. institutions can better support fanrhs science communicators by providing additional training and professional development opportunities many podcast guests frequently participated in a variety of science outreach efforts, but they did not have any formal training in science communication. guest 5 discussed their experiences learning about communication and said, “none of this is formal. none of our training in biomedical sciences taught us to be good communicators.” when asked about past training, guest 4 said, “i will start by saying that historically, no, i didn't have any training on this. a lot of my training was like, like thrown in the fire, go communicate and then, we'll see how you do.” outside of experiential learning experiences, many guests also learned about science communication from watching mentors or other skilled communicators. guest 1 mentioned that they had the opportunity to work with experienced communicators at their institution and learned to respect the discipline and science of communication. similarly, guest 4 said: i, in my graduate degrees, worked for people who are very strong science communicators who interacted very frequently with industry members in taking hard scientific topics and really trying to communicate them to our stakeholders in the food industry. i was able to watch them, and then sort of emulate their style as i sort of came into my own degree. though most had no previous training, they did show interest in future training opportunities. guest 4 said: i think that i am not opposed to going and participating and learning more of how to communicate science better… we are busy people. so, i think for me, it's taking a whole day away to do something, probably not something i'm going to find the time to do. finding a way to do it in an hour, two-hour segments, even asynchronously, that is something that i would absolutely be able to participate in. guests discussed various ways in which institutions can better support science communication efforts. first, guests could use support in identifying potential podcasts on which to speak. guest 3 said, “i think more broad training and professional development in how they would find the right podcasts for their work.” guest 1 said that it would be helpful to learn better ways to interact with public audiences: “how do i speak to the different kind of audiences? and then, how do i get feedback back?” several other guests felt that they could use some additional preparation for handling negative feedback on digital platforms. as guest 4 explained: https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 aenlle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 49 part of the problem when you put yourself out there as a science communicator is you open yourself up to trolling and sort of negative people out there in the interwebs. information on how to deal with that would be helpful. when discussing other opportunities for support, guests saw many opportunities for leadership at universities which could be utilized to support their outreach efforts. guest 4 said: “i think support from administrators all the way from a department chair through the dean level, support for them to be able to be open and honest in their communication is probably something that is needed.” to summarize, producers described various ways academic professionals and universities could better support fanrhs podcasts, including serving as expert guests and joining practitioner communities to share their research and best practice recommendations. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study examined fanrhs podcast guests’ demographics and experiences speaking on podcasts. guests identified as white, hispanic/latino, and asian and were balanced between males and females. podcast guests were highly educated individuals, involved with formal or informal education, and had spoken on podcasts about agriculture and occasionally topics such as environmental science, food, natural resources, and human sciences. the pattern of experts who have already participated in science communication, choosing to continue to do so is congruent with the principles of self-efficacy. guests had several years of experience in science communication and outreach. it appeared they opted in to participating in this study, and previously to serve as guest speakers on podcasts, in part because they had higher levels of self-efficacy than individuals with fewer years of speaking experience and sharing science information with public audiences (e.g., set; bandura, 2010). an opportunity exists to recruit and train experts who are less experienced in science communication. the training should include technical skill development to produce high-quality podcasts and leverage social platforms. but it should also include best practices and tips designed to use persuasive narratives to share information, instructions on how to connect content and interviews to explain the nature of science and the scientific worldview, and guidance on how to dialogue with listeners, especially about complex and heated issues. future trainings can continue to incorporate workshops that advance science-based educational programs on science communication and science literacy (schoerning, 2018). organizations and institutions can support the creation of collaborative groups that demonstrate how to build science communication into research, navigate science communication barriers (i.e., feelings of exclusion), and share knowledge with broader public audiences outside of typical academic circles (devonshire & hathway, 2014; rose et al., 2020). to increase science communicators' self-efficacy and recruit more experts and scientists to communicate, universities, academic organizations, or current communicators can better showcase experts already actively participating in science communication efforts. new science https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 aenlle et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 50 communicators can be recruited following peer modeling principles and by using social cues from other scientists to prompt their participation (bandura, 1986; schunk, 2020). experts can both increase public trust in science (fiske & dupree, 2014; huber et al., 2019) and satisfy the land-grant mission of making knowledge more accessible (rasmussen, 1989) through these digital outreach opportunities. several best practices for podcast guests arose through this study. before recording an interview, guests should have a good sense of the objective and tone of the podcast and have an idea of what content they will share during the interview. guests should share information within their area of expertise and avoid speaking on topics outside their area of expertise. it is beneficial for guests to also provide the producers with additional resources (i.e., papers, infographics, short videos, etc.) to strengthen the podcast’s credibility. guests should speak to their particular area of expertise and nothing outside of it (fiske & dupree, 2014). and lastly, guests can use podcasts to promote their own research, organizations, programs, or platforms to new audiences (e.g., inreach vs outreach model; côté & darling, 2018) and as a method for increasing informed decision-making about fanrhs topics. the future of science communication will include recruiting and training well-rounded science communicators to addressing wicked problems and misconceptions held by consumers. the results of this study can be used by communication specialists or program coordinators who wish to engage and train experts to contribute to their outreach programs. future research should explore how institutions can better collaborate with scientists and support their outreach programs through training opportunities across disciplines in order to share knowledge and increase impact. future research should also focus on gathering data from a larger sample of the population to be able to explore more generalizable findings and trends. acknowledgements author contributions: j.v. aenlle conceptualization, methodology, writing-original draft, investigation, formal analysis; j.l. loizzo methodology, writingreview & editing, supervision; l. k. lundy writingreview & editing; k.m. folta writingreview & editing; j.c. bunch writingreview & editing. references andrews, e., weaver, a., hanley, d., shamatha, j., & melton, g. 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(2017). earth-science outreach using an integrated social media platform. the geological society of america today, 27(8), 28-29. https://www.geosociety.org/gsatoday/groundwork/g333gw/article.htm © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.421 https://www.geosociety.org/gsatoday/groundwork/g333gw/article.htm advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 3, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. chanda d. elbert, associate professor, texas a&m university, 200 john kimbrough blvd, college station, tx, 77842, chanda.elbert@ag.tamu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6115-6410 66 enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within agricultural higher education: insights from black faculty and administrators in agricultural colleges at united states land grant institutions c. d. elbert1 article history received: august 7, 2023 accepted: april 14, 2024 published: may 6, 2024 keywords agriculture; faculty; critical race theory; leaders abstract the experiences of black faculty as leaders and administrators in the field of agriculture have not been widely studied nor reported. the goal of this research focused on black faculty leaders' experiences in agriculture to gain firsthand insights regarding the enhancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion within agricultural higher education. the central research question guiding the study was: what are the experiences of black faculty leaders at colleges of agriculture at predominantly white institutions (pwis)? counter-storytelling was used to explore the personal narratives of eight participants. these experiences fall within the tenets of critical race theory. three primary themes emerged: navigating leadership: microaggressions in the midst; inequities: is everyone really equal; and isolation: the lone ranger. findings of this study hold valuable implications for practitioners, policymakers, and academic institutions seeking to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion within agricultural higher education. recommendations for policy and practice include providing support for leadership mentoring and professional development, conducting robust research on the intersection of race, ethnicity, and gender for faculty of color, and establishing collaborative initiatives between academic institutions, industry partners, and community organizations to address historical disparities and stimulate interest in agriculture among black communities. mailto:chanda.elbert@ag.tamu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6115-6410 elbert advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 67 introduction and problem statement this study examines the leadership experiences of black faculty and administrators in agricultural academic programs at the united states land grant institutions. it emphasizes the need for increased representation of faculty of color, particularly in senior administrative positions, to improve recruitment and retention of students from diverse backgrounds. the scarcity and underrepresentation of black professors in higher education, only 6% (nces, 2022), is a significant issue. the study highlights the need to document and express the experiences of black faculty and administrators in agriculture, as their contributions can help shape the future of agriculture. the agricultural field faces significant challenges in addressing the needs of marginalized populations due to the 72% overwhelmingly white american professorate (nces, 2022), specifically full and associate professors. as the academic field of agriculture grapples with contemporary demands, embracing the contributions of marginalized populations becomes pivotal in shaping future agricultural infrastructure. historical inequities, including the enslavement of black people, sharecropping, and loss of farmland, have contributed to diminished interest in agriculture among black communities, exacerbating the lack of representation (hinson, 2008). consequently, it is not surprising that few black professors are in colleges of agriculture. the findings of this study can inform targeted strategies and interventions aimed at increasing the representation and advancement of black faculty within higher education, thereby fostering a more inclusive and supportive environment in colleges of agriculture. moreover, the insights garnered from this research can guide institutional policies and practices that promote leadership development and equitable opportunities for faculty of color, driving positive changes in recruitment, retention, and career progression in the broader agricultural sector. theoretical and conceptual framework this study drew from critical race theory (crt) and the notion of microaggressions to inform the study’s theoretical framework. in higher education, it is well-documented that black people experience racism and discrimination (haynes, 2020; offermann et al., 2014; turner et al., 2008). delgado and stefancic (2001) stated that “critical race theory (crt) is a collection of activists and scholars interested in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power” (p. 2). ladson-billings (1998) stated that crt helps to utilize and analyze experiences relative to african americans within the systems of higher education by naming their realities. counter-storytelling has emerged as a powerful and effective tool for connecting scholarship and marginalized voices in higher education. solórzano and yosso (2002) found that counter-storytelling allows faculty of color to relay their personal accounts of racial and ethnic inequalities. hiraldo (2010) contends that crt is part of our society's political, social, economic, and education. delgado and stefancic (2001) provided the foundation for the five tenets of crt. the first tenet states that racism is ordinary and not aberrational; in other words, racism is https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 elbert advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 68 embedded in everyday life. in higher education, when diversity initiatives are ignored, institutionalized racism continues to exist (iverson, 2007). the second tenet, interest convergence (ic), refers to the notion that “racism advances the interests of both white elites and working-class people” (delgado & stefancic, 2001, p. 7). at many higher education institutions, “professors are seen as owners of the curriculum” (hiraldo, 2010, p. 5), and in this regard, they are the creators of knowledge in the curriculum as well as society. in essence, fewer black professors have opportunities to become creators of knowledge in higher education settings; therefore, they have a lack of voice in the curriculum for students. the third tenet is social construction, which refers to the ways that races are invented and manipulated by societal needs as long as they are useful and convenient. the fourth tenet contends that while racism is perpetuated at the structural/macro level in society, listening to and understanding the multiple and diverse lived experiences of individuals is essential for understanding how racism works to create inequities in individual outcomes due “to the ways the dominant society racializes different minority groups at different times” (delgado & stefancic, 2001, p. 8). the fifth tenet focuses on the importance of intersectionality or simply put, the idea that no individual can be adequately identified by membership in a single group. i also utilized the notion of microaggressions to analyze the data. solórzano and colleagues (2000) stated that microaggressions are verbal insults or nonverbal or visual affronts which can be performed automatically or unconsciously. druery and colleagues (2018) further iterated that “the problem with microaggressions is that the ‘micro’ means small or minor” (p. 75) when there is nothing small or minor about this behavior. sue (2010) found that microaggressions can be identified within the context of microassaults, microinsults, and microinvalidations. microassaults are purposeful and targeted racial derogatory statements; microinsults are subtle insults that convey negative messages; and microinvalidations are communications that are used to exclude the realities and lived experiences of people of color (sue, 2010). a significant consequence of microaggressions is their capacity to influence and shape career trajectories (payton et al., 2018). purpose the purpose of this study was to investigate and understand the leadership experiences of black faculty and administrators within agricultural academic programs at the united states land grant institutions. the study aimed to shed light on the challenges, opportunities, and dynamics black individuals face in leadership roles in the context of agricultural sciences. by examining their experiences, the study sought to provide insights to inform practical strategies to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion within academic institutions and the broader agricultural sector. additionally, the study aimed to contribute to the broader discourse on agricultural development by highlighting the significance of representation, leadership development, and advancement opportunities for underrepresented groups in the field of agriculture. the central research question that guided this qualitative study was: what are the experiences of black faculty leaders at colleges of agriculture at predominately white institutions (pwis)? https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 elbert advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 69 methods i employed counter-storytelling as a method informed by a critical race theory perspective. counterstories are narratives of the combined experiences of people from marginalized communities (patton & catching, 2009). these stories are powerful because marginalized voices are usually the ones that are unheard or have been silenced. counterstories are powerful personal accounts that are grounded in real life. solórzano et al. (2002) stated that a counter-story emerges when the tenets of crt are involved and when people of color share their story, it is a counter-story. these narratives counter the dominant narratives. as a researcher, i assumed participants authored their own experiences produced through their interactions with social structures of oppression (bhattacharya, 2017). participants i recruited eight study participants through snowball sampling (creswell & poth, 2016). each of my participants held the associate/full professor rank and was a current or past administrator within a college of agriculture at a pwi. snowball sampling proved valuable in securing qualified participants (saldaña & omasta, 2017). all participants identified as black, african american, caribbean, or african descent. participants worked in land grant institutions that varied in size and location, spanning the northeastern, midwestern, southeastern, and southwestern regions of the united states. to ensure confidentiality, i utilized pseudonyms (saldaña & omasta, 2017). demographics of participants the gender, cultural identity of participants, region of the current institution, and type of institution of degrees received are reported in table 1. table 1 demographics of participants participant participant self identity college/university attended (bs, ms, phd) institution employed dr. pioneer dr. analytical dr. scholarly dr. communicative dr. candid dr. introspection dr. intellectual dr. empowerment black man african man black man african woman black woman caribbean woman of african descent black woman black woman pwi, pwi, pwi pwi, pwi, pwi hbcu, pwi, pwi hbcu, pwi, pwi hbcu, pwi, pwi pwi, pwi, pwi pwi, pwi, pwi pwi, pwi, pwi pwi pwi pwi pwi pwi pwi pwi pwi https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 elbert advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 70 our beliefs, assumptions, and values impact every aspect of the research process. my intentionality and positionality for my chosen population led me to ask participants to share their counternarratives. my lived experiences as a black woman navigating the nontraditional academic field of agriculture informed my research. due to our similarities and prior acquaintances, the participants could relate to the researcher in a way that facilitated sharing their personal experiences about their academic careers at a pwi. data collection involved in-depth, open-ended interviews (bhattacharya, 2017) with all participants at their respective institutions or a neutral location. i conducted formal, semistructured, open-ended, and in-person interviews with each participant. i journaled throughout the data collection process to document my thoughts and reflections before and after each interview (lincoln & guba, 1982). i also engaged in peer debriefing with expert colleagues and scholars in the college of education to enhance the validity and reliability of the study. these experts also helped to conceptualize ideas and review questions and transcripts (creswell & poth, 2016). based upon the thematic analysis, the following themes emerged: navigating leadership: microaggressions in the midst; inequities: is everyone really equal; and isolation: the lone ranger. findings navigating leadership: “microaggressions in the midst” typically, leadership roles within colleges of agriculture are predominantly held by white males, with infrequent representation from black tenured faculty. amongst the few black faculty members who attain these elevated leadership positions, a common strategy involves acquiring the essential tools and resources required to pursue such roles. for instance, they have actively engaged in leadership and professional development opportunities over the years, thereby equipping themselves for the demands of leadership positions. dr. scholarly shared his approach: you know that you come in with the deck sometimes stacked against you, or you feel that way. it really left me, thinking i better be extremely prepared. so, with every situation, i know that i better study harder, i better know every fact i can and i better be prepared for multiple situations. after attaining leadership positions in academia, dr. scholarly encountered the daily influence of race and gender identities on his leadership experiences. he was acutely aware of the ongoing scrutiny he faced from his colleagues. being a black male situated in a predominately white environment, he anticipated and prepared for such challenges. this state of readiness aligns with the first and foundational tenet of crt, asserting that racism is ordinary and a commonplace occurrence. as black faculty continued to explore their identities, they found intersections between gender and race. dr. communicative shared how race and gender intersections played out in her professional and academic roles: https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 elbert advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 71 everything i do comes from a context of my race and my gender, as well as, my community side, growing up in an inner-city area from an urban perspective. it's all interwoven and i don't think my race and gender influence my leadership, my leadership comes from a racialized context; it comes from a gendered context; it's intertwined. her multiple identities were salient in her daily interactions with dominant cultures in the work environment. dr. scholarly and dr. communicative reiterated the need to name their realities as they navigated each day while interacting with others. two participants stressed the importance of their ethnicities while navigating their leadership experiences. dr. introspection expressed that race did not impact her identity as a leader; however, she viewed her caribbean ethnicity and gender identities as salient and central motivators for pursuing opportunities: if i see a training or an experience that specifically targets women, of course i’m going to go for it. the same thing with funding or taking advantage of opportunities that have been specific to me because of my ethnicity. i think that, being someone who comes from a culture where people are unafraid to take risks, is the lens from which i operate. while navigating many leadership experiences at several universities and as a proud nigerian, dr. analytical expressed similar sentiments. i think that the institutional arrangements here in the united states, for generations, created a kind of a master-servant environment. maybe it came out of slavery which keeps some of our people where they continue to second guess themselves and seek approval where it's unnecessary. i wouldn't say we didn't have that experience because i come from nigeria; it was a colony, but because of the way my family interacted, we were kind of rebels, as an african, i was raised with deep values. as active participants within their familial and perspective cultural communities, dr. introspection and dr. analytical shared that their ethnicity and cultural identities were particularly salient relative to how they navigated their daily lives as they relate to their lived experiences and leadership. microaggressions such as microinsults and microassaults impacted their leadership. dr. scholarly shared one example of a microinsult inflicted on him by a colleague. his colleague continued to ask dr. scholarly the following question: where did you go to school? i didn’t expect you to know this. the assumption was that you were not able to compete, sometimes the assumption that you were there because you were black, but not because of your academic capability. that was a challenge to overcome how you had to be twice as good and expect half the credit. furthermore, these types of questions and comments assign a degree of intelligence about dr. scholarly’s racial identity. these comments also question the relevance and rigor of the participants’ educational degrees by attempting to invalidate their intellectual value. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 elbert advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 72 inequities: "is everyone really equal?” participants questioned their treatment based on their race, ethnicity, and gender identities and shared how they were often excluded from potential opportunities. these types of exclusions further exemplified the tenets of crt, highlighting that racism is an integral component of the daily interactions faced by black faculty. dr. intellectual said: some of my constituents that came in around the same time came into an extension and a research appointment and automatically they’re in on grants. they didn’t have to contribute to it at all, well other than a little bit, they come into papers. there is just a relationship already, that changes your outputs, your thought process, and your sense of belonging. these inequalities continued to surface even after participants secured various leadership positions. dr. analytical shared his experience as a center director when a research dean decided he should no longer have a leadership title or authority. the research dean expected dr. analytical to continue to keep the center running efficiently but without the appropriate title. ultimately, the research dean appointed someone else to dr. analytical's position. additionally, the new director's salary was funded by grants previously awarded to dr. analytical; moreover, the new director became dr. analytical’s new supervisor. this painful experience resulted in dr. analytical returning to his department to resume his role as a faculty member. in this case, the institution not only allowed such blatantly aggressive behavior but also initiated and carried it out. faculty in this study shared the need to prove their worth at work. even though participants were qualified and demonstrated success in their respective positions, colleagues still perceived them as less than their colleagues. as the first black female administrator in her department and the first to serve in this type of administrative capacity in her academic college, dr. candid was met with resistance by her colleagues every step of the way. she shared with her department head: they keep going over my head to you, and every time you do that, you undermine my position. you undermine not just the position and what the position stands for, but you undermine me on a personal level and a professional level as a woman of color. in this example, the department head began to work with dr. candid and attempted to support her. however, this support was too little too late, as dr. candid chose to leave and relocate to another institution due to the microaggressive behaviors of colleagues. professional isolation: “the lone ranger” participants shared their feelings of isolation in their faculty and academic leadership positions. most participants were the first black faculty or person of color in their departments within their agricultural colleges. dr. empowerment said, “i came here as the first female and the first person of color, first black person, still the only black person on the faculty, period, tenure stream, or otherwise.” other participants also echoed the experience of isolation. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 elbert advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 73 experiences of acute disrespect described by participants were reminders of the dominant social orders. participants reported being the first person of color to hold a position and having remained that way over decades. participants also grappled with the additional pressures of representing or being the spokesperson for their ethnicity or race. these aggressions of exclusion and alienation are behaviors that are more advantageous toward white people. dr. scholarly said: you feel like you have a whole culture on your back because, if you mess up, then the assumption is that this is what happens if you hire a person that looks like him, so there's a huge weight. black faculty are often in positions where they must prove their worth within their discipline. participants also reported various committees and service activities where they volunteered to work with several organizations. one such faculty member became overly involved as a leader in her discipline. while serving as a leader in multiple organizations simultaneously, she continuously felt as though she had to prove her worth. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations these themes are vital to consider because microaggressions and institutional racism continue to prevail in u.s. institutions of higher education (rolón-dow & davison, 2021). however, it is not a surprise that microaggressions are present with black faculty in colleges of agriculture due to the longstanding history and negative perceptions and realities of black people in agriculture. hurtado (1992) discusses the “chilly” climate that black faculty endure due to colonialism. three decades later, the “chilly” climate appears to be more like an “iceberg” with black faculty trying to measure the depths underneath the iceberg while navigating the academy. stanley (2006) found that “regardless of the situation, faculty of color perceive that they are held to higher expectations and that they are not acknowledged when they make an effort to respond to the requirements in place” (p. 715). untenable political landscapes and microaggressions contributed to participants leaving administrative positions (edwards & ross, 2018; griffin et al., 2011). many participants in this study chose to return to their academic departments and resume their full-time duties as faculty members. these experiences reflected the first tenet of crt —that racism is ordinary (delgado & stefancic, 2001). another tenet of crt —interest convergence —also played out in the participants’ experiences. black faculty administrators who were perceived as no longer serving the interests of their white colleagues were either replaced or removed (bell, 2004; delgado & stefancic, 2013; orelus, 2020). the fifth tenet of crt reflects the importance of intersectionality. in this regard, black faculty shared their gendered experiences and how their intersectionality impacted their professional workspaces. microaggressions were experienced by all participants in this study. similar studies (louis et al., 2016; turner et al., 2008) found that black faculty who experienced microaggressions felt disempowered. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 elbert advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 74 these findings suggest that additional research should be conducted to explore the intersections of leadership, race, ethnicity, and gender for faculty of color and administrators in colleges of agriculture. such studies could aid in developing a model to inform policies to support underrepresented faculty in colleges of agriculture on a local and national level. institutional level mechanisms must be established wherein black faculty can comfortably discuss issues such as microaggressions and inequities they experience in their daily interactions. jayakumar (2009) contended that understanding this type of issue is one of the first steps to equity in our society. it is further recommended that equitable institutional programs and resources be implemented and accessible for each faculty/administrator. the findings of this study hold valuable implications for practitioners, policymakers, and academic institutions seeking to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion within agricultural higher education. the following implications offer actionable insights to create a more inclusive environment for black faculty in colleges of agriculture and administrators within the united states land grant institutions: targeted retention will address crt's first tenet, which states that racism is ordinary, which is identified in each of the following themes: navigating leadership: microaggressions in the midst; inequities: is everyone really equal; and isolation: the lone ranger, based upon participants' experiences while sharing their sentiments of isolation in the workplace. mena and vacarro (2017) describe this isolation type as environmental invisibility, implying that you are one of a few on a college campus. academic institutions have primarily focused their efforts on the retention of diverse faculty. however, it is not enough to bring black faculty to campus; academic institutions must institute programs, practices, and interventions to retain faculty. such practices must address isolation issues by working towards creating a critical mass of black faculty. thus, an authentic sense of belonging may begin to exist in the work environment. leadership development and advancement programs will address crt's first tenet, which states that racism is ordinary, identified in the following themes: navigating leadership: microaggressions in the midst; inequities: is everyone really equal; and professional isolation: the lone ranger. crt’s fourth tenet contends that while racism is perpetuated at the structural/macro level, it is identified in the theme: inequities: is everyone really equal? crt’s fifth tenet, which focuses on intersectionality, addresses the theme navigating leadership: microaggressions in the midst. participants expressed experiences of exclusions and biased treatment from colleagues and academic leaders. academic institutions should prioritize two types of leadership development programs —one that caters to the unique needs of underrepresented individuals and another that focuses on white academic leaders' biases and the daily and often insidious impact of those biases. leadership development should include providing an inclusive environment that promotes open dialogue, awareness, and active engagement with diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. collaboration and outreach will address crt's first tenet, which states that racism is ordinary, identified in the theme: navigating leadership: microaggressions in the midst and inequities: is https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 elbert advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 75 everyone really equal? collaborative initiatives can stimulate interest and promote a holistic approach to agriculture. these initiatives will bridge the gap between academia and practical agricultural applications while addressing historical disparities and creating a sense of community among stakeholders. this study underscores the urgency of addressing the underrepresentation of black faculty and administrators within agricultural higher education. higher education institutions can cultivate a more inclusive and diverse academic environment, which, in turn, benefits students, faculty, and the broader agricultural sector. inclusiveness also enhances the quality of diverse perspectives. embracing these recommendations is pivotal for advancing academic excellence and realizing a more equitable and inclusive agricultural education landscape. lastly, including a diverse faculty will help address local, national, and international issues such as food security, climate change, and stem. the united states is remarkably diverse, and its land grant higher education institutions, including the agriculture sector, should represent that diversity. acknowledgments author contributions: c. d. elbert conceptualization, methodology, writing the original draft, data collection, analysis, and editing. references awokoya, j. t. 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(2008). faculty of color in academe: what 20 years of literature tells us. journal of diversity in higher education, 1(3), 139–168. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012837 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i3.383 https://www.jstor.org/stable/2696265 https://doi.org/10.1177/107780040200800103 https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312043004701 https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012837 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 1, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. laura hosman, associate professor, arizona state university, 800 cady mall, tempe, az 85287, laura.hosman@asu.edu, http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8432-4966 2. rachel nova, project manager, arizona state university, 800 cady mall, tempe, az 85287, rnova@asu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9456-6985 5 offline solutions for agricultural extension: integrating digital libraries into train-the-trainer programs l. hosman1, r. nova2 article history received: september 20, 2024 accepted: december 17, 2024 published: january 8, 2025 keywords conservation agriculture; rural farming; information access; digital literacy; sdg 4: quality education abstract training agricultural extension workers to educate rural farmers on conservation agriculture (ca) techniques is a significant challenge, especially in areas with limited access to the internet. this article evaluates the effectiveness of a train-the-trainer (ttt) approach that integrates an offline digital library and competency-based training to address both the information and skills needs of extension agents in rwanda. using harper et al.'s (2024) ttt framework, the study assesses a ttt workshop conducted with agriculture extension interns, focusing on their ability to train farmers in ca practices. the training combined access to solarspell, a portable offline library, with interactive learning experiences to enhance both technical and interpersonal skills. posttraining survey results indicate that participants found the digital library highly beneficial in overcoming information access challenges, while the competency training equipped them with essential skills for their roles. the findings suggest that integrating digital tools into ttt programs, particularly in rural offline settings, can enhance knowledge dissemination and improve the efficacy of agriculture training programs. the article explores the implications for broader adoption of this approach in other regions and agricultural sectors. mailto:laura.hosman@asu.edu http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8432-4966 mailto:rnova@asu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9456-6985 hosman and nova advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 6 introduction and problem statement many authors have observed that it is difficult to get information about new methods of farming out to farmers, particularly to those in rural communities (davis et al., 2024; mugwanya et al., 2024). training farmers, and turning that knowledge transfer into behavior change, is a gargantuan challenge. train-the-trainer (ttt) approaches are commonly used to equip agricultural extension agents with farming practices, with the expectation that they will then train farmers on these practices. even though ttt approaches are widely used, scholars have long noted the lack of framework to guide the development and evaluation of successful ttt programs (harper et al., 2024; orfaly et al., 2005; poitras et al., 2021). some of the main challenges associated with farmer training include scarce or nonexistent training resources and lack of development for agents’ competencies (mugwana et al., 2024). these challenges are not inherently addressed within ttt, they must be thoughtfully incorporated into the training content and design. this article utilized the harper et al. (2024) framework to interpret findings from a ttt workshop in rwanda with extension agents tasked with teaching conservation agriculture techniques to small shareholder farmers. this training provided agents with (a) a portable, offline digital library full of relevant digital resources to meet the information needs of farmers, and (b) competency training comprising using the library, training farmers, building digital literacy skills, and building communication skills. this article utilized a post-ttt survey to explore agriculture agents' perceptions of this (library + competencies) approach to meet their training and information needs. the authors explore the implications of this study for agriculture training in rwanda and the possibilities for replicability elsewhere. theoretical and conceptual framework train the trainer (ttt) approaches, also referred to as cascade models, have long been used across a breadth of sectors, including health, education, and agriculture, to disseminate knowledge and facilitate professional development at scale. despite the widespread adoption of ttt and the many studies espousing its success (e.g. orfaly et al., 2005; pearce et al., 2012; piñero et al., 2018), it is also widely acknowledged that there is little in the academic literature to provide theoretical or conceptual frameworks for their development, implementation, and assessment (harper et al., 2024; pearce et al., 2012; piñero et al., 2018; poitras et al., 2021). this has contributed to lack of consensus on how to define or measure success of a train-thetrainer program. further fracturing this landscape is the reality that each ttt program is unique, making the creation of a unified theoretical framework difficult at best. harper et al. (2024) seek to close this conceptual gap by creating a framework to support the development of successful ttt professional development programs. their framework includes three interconnected domains: substantive (content), structural (delivery), and relational (relationships), derived from their analysis of a ttt program for educators (see figure 1). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 hosman and nova advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 7 figure 1 a new conceptual framework for ttt (harper et al., 2024) this framework is designed to strengthen the fidelity and impact of ttt approaches by ensuring that the content is effectively transmitted without dilution, the delivery mechanisms are robust and supportive of collaboration, and the relationships within the professional development process foster trust and commitment. though the framework design was born from education research related to teacher training, the authors left it purposefully broad to encompass a variety of fields and practices. the present article seeks to apply this framework to a new context: evaluating a ttt for the agricultural sector in rwanda. while harper et al. (2024) use the framework to describe the planning and execution of the ttt evaluated in their research, we seek to take it a step further by applying it to a ttt and using participant data from a post-training survey to evaluate the training’s effectiveness across the domains. mapping this conceptual framework onto a ttt in a different sector, and using impact evaluation data to assess the strength of each domain, contributes to the academic literature by providing new perspectives that can guide ttt development, implementation, and evaluation. purpose the purpose of this research is to leverage harper et al.’s (2024) ttt framework to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel ttt approach in training agriculture extension agents. this approach addresses both the information needs (through the provision of an offline digital library) and skills needs (through a train-the-trainer workshop). specifically, the research aims to determine whether this approach successfully meets the needs of extension agents by: (a) equipping them with a portable offline digital library filled with resources relevant to the farmers they train; and (b) providing them with the skills through a train-the-trainer workshop https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 hosman and nova advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 8 to confidently use the library, train farmers on its use, build necessary digital skills, and effectively implement the conservation agriculture (ca) approach in farming. methods the ttt evaluated in the present study was designed, implemented, and evaluated by staff and faculty with the solarspell initiative based at arizona state university. solarspell is an offline digital libraries and information literacy initiative. the initiative works with local partners to cocurate purpose-built digital libraries for use in offline settings, and conducts ttts with partners, as part of its implementation model. the in-country partner on this project was b2r farms, a rwanda-based ngo that hosts an internship program for recent university graduates on becoming trainers of ca approaches, in alignment with the official strategy of the rwanda agriculture board (rab). leading up to the workshop, the solarspell team worked in close partnership with b2r farms for two years to conduct needs assessments, build trust, and cocurate the library resources to ensure local relevance. furthermore, b2r farms and rab collaborated to ensure solarspell libraries would be sent out to rural regions where smartphones were being distributed through the rwandan government’s connect rwanda initiative. the solarspell ttt workshop examined in this article was conducted in a two-day program that took place at the university of rwanda. the ttt workshop agenda was designed to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for the b2r interns to effectively use and navigate the solarspell digital library in their work training farmers and agriculture extension agents on ca techniques. training topics included hardware, software, library content, assessing trainees’ skills and needs, information and digital literacy training for farmers, communicating with farmers, and interactive activities for participants to practice training. the target population of the study were 31 rwandan nationals who had been accepted as interns into a competitive program led by b2r farms that would task them with training ca techniques to agricultural extension agents and farmers across rwanda. in total, 31 surveys were collected, with a 100% response rate. all but one of the participants were recent college graduates from an agriculture-related degree program. this population has a higher education level than the average rwandan extension agent, thus the study population is not a representative sample, presenting a potential limitation of this study. data were collected via a paper-based survey developed by the solarspell team and subsequently reviewed by b2r farms. the instrument was approved by the institutional review board of arizona state university. the survey consisted of four parts (demographics, solarspell implementation, agriculture-specific, and solarspell training feedback) and contained 33 total questions. the questions were a mix of symmetric (5-point) likert-scale (joshi et al., 2015), and open-ended qualitative questions (popping, 2015), designed as a mixed-method study enabling the comparison of qualitative and quantitative data (creswell, 2003). the qualitative, openended questions were analyzed via deductive coding to minimize the introduction of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 hosman and nova advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 9 preconceived notions into the analysis (dierckx de casterlé et al., 2012). the survey was administered as a post-training survey, immediately following the completion of the training. the survey begins with six demographic questions including age, gender, education level, area of study/expertise, title, and work location. then, they were asked select-all-that-apply questions about their plans for using the library, including with whom they planned to use it and how often they planned to use it. these questions were followed by nine likert-scale questions where they were asked to gauge their knowledge, skills, motivation, and perceived usefulness of the solarspell library. qualitative questions about the expected benefits and challenges of using the solarspell library followed. respondents were then asked a series of yes/no, multiple select, and open-ended questions designed to gauge their perceptions of the solarspell library’s application and usefulness to their agricultural work. finally, the respondents were asked to provide feedback on the training itself in a series of open-ended questions, including any challenges they could foresee in using the solarspell library as part of their future training of extension agents and farmers. findings the findings from the survey responses regarding the overall effectiveness of the training were overwhelmingly positive, with 100% of respondents selecting “strongly agree” or “agree” on five of the eight likert questions about their skills, motivation, and capacities (see table 1). all participants either agreed or strongly agreed that, following the training, they have the skills to use the library, can find resources on the library, are motivated to use the library, can use the library to assist them in their learning, and can train others to use the solarspell library. nearly all participants reported, with only one respondent reporting neutral, that they anticipate the solarspell library will be useful to them in their work and that they can help others improve their information literacy skills. finally, nearly all participants believed they can use the solarspell library to improve their own information literacy skills, with three neutral responses. no respondents selected disagree or strongly disagree to any of these questions. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 hosman and nova advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 10 table 1 likert question responses questions responses (n = 31) strongly disagree disagree neutral agree strongly agree i can find resources on the solarspell library. 16% 84% i am motivated to use the solarspell library. 16% 84% i can train other people to use the solarspell library. 26% 74% i have the skills to use the solarspell library. 29% 71% i can use the solarspell library to assist me in my learning. 32% 68% the solarspell library will be useful to me in my work. 3% 29% 68% i can improve my information literacy skills using the solarspell library. 10% 22% 68% i can help others improve their information literacy skills using the solarspell library. 4% 32% 64% the following sections will leverage harper et al.’s (2024) three-pronged framework to delve deeper into the features of the solarspell ttt approach that contributed to its success. these insights can be extrapolated to other entities seeking to leverage ttt approaches with agriculture extension agents to train rural farmers. additionally, this application of harper et al.’s (2024) framework serves to validate its application to a different sector. the findings are presented for each distinct but interconnected domain: substantive, structural, and relational, with supporting evidence from the post-training surveys. substantive domain the ultimate goal of ttt is to present the knowledge in a way that it retains its original meaning as it goes from person to person along the cascade: from expert trainer to new-expert trainee to their intended audience and so on. harper et al. (2024) describe the substantive domain of ttt as the content and skills being delivered to trainees, including “the mechanisms through which these are codified to become accessible in practice” (p. 5). thus, the substantive domain not only considers what knowledge is being transmitted (i.e. topics, presentations, printed materials), but how it is being transmitted. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 hosman and nova advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 11 the main objective of the solarspell ttt is that the trainees will have the skills and motivation to use the solarspell digital library to increase farmers’ adoption of ca techniques. to this end, it is important to consider the content delivery strategy during the ttt. while traditional approaches use didactic, lecture-style delivery, evidence indicates that this approach is less effective than interactive approaches (costa et al., 2007; meguid & collins, 2017). research by pearce et al. (2012) found that incorporating interactive activities into training was the largest single indicator of success. not only does this strengthen bonds among participants and between participants and trainers (also strengthening the “relational domain”), but can increase knowledge retention (costa et al., 2007; meguid & collins, 2017). the solarspell ttt approach has been designed to be participatory and interactive, providing trainees opportunities to plan, discuss, and reflect on ways that they can use the library to support their goals. in this case, where the trainees are tasked with training farmers and extension workers on ca techniques, the entire second day of training was dedicated to handson activities designed to equip trainees with the necessary skills to leverage the solarspell library to train others on ca. for example, trainees were broken into pairs for a role-play activity and given prompts of questions they may encounter in the field (i.e. “how can i find a video about compost?”). in another activity, trainees watched short plays demonstrating what not to do, then following a group discussion, participants volunteered to show the group how to do it differently. importantly, these plays incorporated humor, which has long been recognized as a successful pedagogical tool across multiple disciplines and cultures (haydon et al., 2023; kher et al., 1999; makewa et al., 2011; ziv, 1988). the qualitative data collected in this research supports the assertions that interactivity and humor contribute to training success, as participants responded positively to the participatory format of the solarspell training. in response to the open-ended question, “was there anything during the training that you found particularly helpful?” responses included: ● “the nature of the training: participation.” ● “...the way you used to train in games [and] comedies…” ● “the play to show how to approach trainees was helpful to me.” while many trainees expressed appreciation for the interactive nature of the training, in response to the question about how the training could be improved, other trainees expressed that they would have preferred even more opportunities to put these skills into practice. the value of participatory activities in the substantive design of ttt cannot be overstated. structural domain the structural domain consists of the features of ttt approaches that support shortand longterm training retention and fidelity, including consideration of how the actual transfer of knowledge will occur in the days, months, and years after the training (during the “cascade” of ttt). one unique structural component of the solarspell ttt is the provision of a solarspell offline digital library to each trainee upon completion of the training. this is an innovative solution to https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 hosman and nova advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 12 combat one of ttt’s most pressing challenges: dilution of information as it passes from one person to another. with thousands of resources at hand using the library, the trainee no longer needs to remember all the details of new farming techniques. they can simply search the digital library’s thousands of resources, then download the content to their device--or the farmer’s device--all without internet connection. this increased access to information post-training is a major enhancement to agriculture extension work. in evaluating the qualitative survey responses, access to information was by far the most prominent benefit identified by the training participants, followed by efficiency/ease of use and cost savings (see table 2). table 2 thematic analysis of responses to the question: “briefly describe the potential benefits of using the solarspell library in your work” theme respondents examples f percent access to information 20 65% “getting information i need easily.” “getting information about work…where there is poor connection.” “solarspell library is highly beneficial when someone needs to access some information contained in it” efficiency/ ease of use 11 35% “solarspell will help me to save time.” “it helps me to have good information about what i was looking for and gives me trustworthy information and updated all in one short time” “quick searching” “getting information needed easily (searching).” cost savings 9 29% “no spending money for buying [internet] data.” “getting useful information freely without any charges” “...reduction of expenses like money to buy [internet] bundles” improve farming practice 4 13% “improve the skills in agriculture practice.” “receiving conventional updates according to farming practices, pest and disease management and control information…” community impact 4 13% “...food security will increase.” “contributes to increased livelihood in families” information or digital literacy 4 13% “i will improve my awareness and information literacy.” “helpful in providing security from online” training support and/or skill development 4 13% “improves on skill development for agriculture worker” “it will help me to train others.” https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 hosman and nova advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 13 ensuring that information is not corrupted as it travels from person to person is an issue concerning all ttt developers and facilitators. the solarspell initiative must address this issue on two fronts: first, trainees need to recall details related to meaningfully using the solarspell library (i.e. how to use search and advanced search); second, trainees must be able to correctly convey the vast amount of knowledge comprising conservation agriculture and how it applies to a variety of crops (i.e. how to make compost). the solarspell library provides resources to aid on both of these fronts. the library includes interactive courses and videos explaining the library functions, which can be used as a refresher by the trainee or shared with new users, and contains thousands of videos, interactive modules, pdfs, and audio files to support ca. this includes local language videos and audio files which can be used by illiterate people, an important consideration in rwanda, where over a quarter of the general population is illiterate and where illiteracy is more prevalent in rural, agricultural communities (mtika & abbott, 2023). some scholars have recommended leveraging information and communication technologies (icts) to reach rural farmers, and even suggested that using icts could help address gender disparities (zossou et al, 2009; zossou et al., 2020). while the use of icts for farmer training presents many possibilities, there is one overarching challenge: internet connectivity, or lack thereof. even if an internet connection is available in farmers’ communities, it is often prohibitively expensive. this problem is particularly pronounced across africa, where less than 30% of countries have “affordable” internet available and a single gigabyte of data costs, on average, 5.7% of a person's monthly income (alliance for affordable internet, 2020). further, once farmers connect to the internet, they may not know where to look for information, how to search, who or what information to trust: in other words, training farmers in digital or information literacy is something that is rarely addressed in the literature, and seldom addressed in the field, either (davis et al., 2024). this is where the solarspell library, which functions entirely offline, is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of those interested in training farmers in rural and remote areas. solarspell (solar powered educational learning libraries) are offline digital libraries filled with tens of thousands of open-access resources that are localized for the people and locations using them. further, they contain training materials, in video, written/pdf, and interactive html (interactive courses), designed to facilitate and reinforce extension agents’ training to farmers. moreover, since all of the library’s content is open access, every resource can be downloaded to a user’s device, kept with them, and reviewed at any point in time, or shared (via bluetooth or the like) offline, so as not to ever require farmers to use data. in addition to being localized (by geography and language), the content on the libraries has been vetted by, and often provided by, the ministry of agriculture, so the farmers and extension agents can feel confident that the information is trustworthy. relational domain the relational domain, which harper et al. (2024) argue is the least often considered in ttt development, focuses on the relationships fostered that contribute to successful ttt https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 hosman and nova advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 14 workshops. there are many relationships to consider, including: (a) trainer-experts and traineenew experts; (b) trainees’ relationships amongst themselves; and (c) new-trainers’ relationships with the various people they will ultimately train. as mentioned previously, designing a participatory, interactive training can aid in the relational domain by promoting autonomy and allowing trust to be built both between trainer-trainees and among trainees themselves (harper et al., 2024). the findings of the importance of interactivity to support the development of successful relationships was emphasized in the structural domain section above. the authors would like to add that inter-organizational relationships, such as the relationship between the solarspell initiative and b2r farms, are another important relational component to consider in ttt where there are multiple organizations involved. the solarspell ttt was designed to nurture these relationships throughout the training process, thus fostering a community of practice of solarspell library users (mercieca, 2017). communities of practice are groups of individuals who share a common goal, and whose relationships within that community allow for sharing of ideas, troubleshooting, and sparking innovation (mercieca, 2017). while nurturing a community of practice during the ttt is an important training design consideration, maintaining that community of practice after the training is a more complex challenge. harper et al. (2024) lament that most ttt approaches do not make the trainers accessible to the trainees after the initial training. to mitigate this challenge, the solarspell team has explored a variety of solutions, including providing trainees with the team’s email addresses and creating a whatsapp group. however, given that b2r farms had already set up whatsapp communication groups among the trainees, solarspell and b2r farms made a joint decision not to create a new group specifically for this training, thus reinforcing the importance of inter-organizational relationships. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study demonstrates the effectiveness of a ttt approach that integrates a portable, offline digital library with competency-based training for agricultural extension agents in rwanda. participants overwhelmingly perceived both the solarspell library and the associated training as beneficial, particularly for accessing relevant agricultural information, enhancing their skills, and supporting rural farmers in adopting ca techniques. the findings validate harper et al.’s (2024) framework by underscoring the importance of substantive, structural, and relational elements in a successful ttt program and highlighting innovative ways to strengthen these domains. furthermore, this research highlights the value of interactive, resource-equipped, and relationship-driven ttt models in agricultural settings. the present research supports the assertion that utilizing a variety of interactive activities, including peer-to-peer interaction, leads to improved training outcomes (levinson et al., 2024; pearce et al., 2012). the interactive design of the solarspell ttt workshop— comprising roleplays, humor, and hands-on practice—was identified as a critical factor in its success. the participatory format not only supports knowledge retention but also fosters relationships among participants, promoting a community of practice. developing and maintaining strong https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 hosman and nova advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 15 relationships has been identified as both a beneficial outcome and a contributing success factor to ttt workshops (monnier et al., 2023; mormina & pinder, 2018; piñero et al., 2018). these relational aspects are often underemphasized but proved essential in building trust and collaboration, both between the trainees and between the trainees and trainers. furthermore, the productive working relationship of collaborating organizations, such as solarspell and b2r farms, is another vital relational component to ttt programs. the inclusion of an offline digital library is an innovative way to address one of the most pressing challenges in rural farming contexts: the lack of reliable or affordable internet access. participants indicated that they highly valued the offline digital library, particularly for its ease of use and capacity to provide information in rural settings. this finding supports the importance of the structural domain of harper et al.'s framework, demonstrating how access to a resource like solarspell can reduce knowledge dilution—a common challenge in cascade models. to further enhance the impact and replicability of this ttt model in agricultural extension work, several recommendations arise from this study. first, offline approaches should not be overlooked when designing training programs for rural areas. participants valued the solarspell offline digital library as a critical tool for overcoming connectivity barriers, and its use should be prioritized in similar settings where internet access is limited or unreliable. second, the ttt approach can be highly effective for training agricultural extension agents, provided they are given the right resources to take into the field. this includes not only the necessary technical tools, such as a digital library, but also the development of essential competencies to engage with, communicate with, and train the farmers they will be working with. third, many farmers in rural settings are often illiterate or have low digital skills. thus, in addition to providing content in their local languages, agricultural extension agents need to receive training in how to teach digital literacy. indeed, in low resource settings, offline approaches can be superior to online, for reasons of affordability, availability, reliability, trustworthiness of content, safety to users, all while building users’ skills (hosman et al., 2020). future research should explore the scalability of this ttt approach in other regions and agricultural contexts. while the framework and findings presented in this study offer a replicable model, adapting the content to meet the unique needs of various communities will be critical for broader application. by refining this approach and addressing these recommendations, the ttt model has the potential to transform agricultural training and information dissemination, especially in offline settings, on a global scale. acknowledgments author contributions: l. hosman – conceptualization, methodology, writing-original draft, writing-review and editing, investigation, supervision, and formal analysis. r. nova – conceptualization, methodology, writing-original draft, writing-review and editing, investigation, visualization, supervision, project administration, and formal analysis. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 hosman and nova advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 16 references alliance for affordable internet. 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(2009). comparing farmer-to-farmer video with workshops to train rural women in improved rice parboiling in central benin. the journal of agricultural education and extension, 15(4), 329–339. https://doi.org/10.1080/13892240903309561 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i1.547 https://doi.org/10.1093/jipm/pmy013 https://doi.org/10.1097/ceh.0000000000000375 https://doi.org/10.1177/0759106315597389 https://doi.org/10.1177/0759106315597389 https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.1988.10806492 https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224x.2019.1702066 https://doi.org/10.1080/13892240903309561 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 4, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. ataharul chowdhury, associate professor, school of environmental design and rural development, university of guelph, 50 stone road east, guelph, on. n1g 2w1, canada, ataharul.chowdhury@uoguelph.ca, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2432-0933 2. uduak ita edet, phd candidate, school of environmental design and rural development, university of guelph, 50 stone road east, guelph, on. n1g 2w1, canada, uedet@uoguelph.ca, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1675-0442 1 enabling responsible ai-driven agri-food innovation in ontario: a framework for analysis of adoption challenges and opportunities a.chowdhury1 u. i. edet2 article history received: may 15, 2025 accepted: october 17, 2025 published: november 4, 2025 keywords structured literature review; ai adoption framework; ai ethics; inclusive innovation; interconnected systems; technology adoption; adoption barriers; sdg 9: industry, innovation, and infrastructure abstract ai adoption in the agri-food sector offers significant gains in productivity and competitiveness, but responsible implementation is essential to avoid stakeholder resistance and ethical concerns. this study examines the adoption of artificial intelligence (ai) technologies in ontario’s horticultural and livestock sectors. applying a systems perspective and responsible innovation, it identifies and categorizes emerging ai applications, develops a conceptual framework to capture technological, social, environmental, individual, and institutional factors, and proposes practical strategies to promote adoption. a structured literature review of peer-reviewed articles, government reports, and industry publications was conducted to manually classify ai technologies into content layer classifications: descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive, and map them to a framework. diagnostic and prescriptive technologies dominate in horticulture, while ai applications in livestock are fewer and more evenly distributed across functional layers. out of the 24 technologies identified, only four technologies, three in horticulture and one in livestock, demonstrated all analytical functions, highlighting the need for more integrated ai solutions. key barriers include high cost, interoperability challenges, data privacy concerns, technical skill gaps, and limited digital infrastructure. recommendations include promotion of targeted institutional support, operational efficiency, and ethical data governance. the framework provides practical guidance for responsible ai adoption and a foundation for future empirical research. mailto:ataharul.chowdhury@uoguelph.ca https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2432-0933 mailto:uedet@uoguelph.ca https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1675-0442 chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 2 introduction and problem statement innovations such as ai, robotics, and the internet of things (iot) reshape farming practices and decision-making across the agri-food sector (klerkx et al., 2019; leader et al., 2020). among these, ai plays a central role. it is defined as a computational construct that stimulates intelligence through algorithmic outputs, unlike human intelligence, which evolves biologically. ai is widely applied in agriculture to monitor crop and soil health, manage pests, and enhance yields through data-driven insights (gignac & szodorai, 2024). in canada, the total farmland area has remained relatively stable at around 158 million acres in 2016 (statistics canada, n.d.). canada is also emerging as a leader in agricultural innovation, with the increasing use of precision tools such as crop monitoring software, drones, and machine learning (greene & murphy, 2021; lemay & boggs, 2024). yet, adoption remains shaped by context-specific factors that are not always easily defined (lemay et al., 2021). figure 1 level of technology adoption in canadian agriculture note. adapted from “barriers to adoption: digital agriculture in ontario’s food production landscape,” by k. o. twum, 2025 canadian agri-food policy institute (capi). https://capiicpa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025-05-23-kwaku-twum-digital-agriculture-en.pdf figure 1 shows the technology adoption levels across canadian provinces. typically, large farms (>5000 acres) achieve high technology adoption, medium farms (2000–5000 acres) maintain moderate-to-high levels, and small farms (<2000 acres) continue to lag due to resource constraints (lazurko et al., 2024; lemay & boggs, 2024; twum, 2025). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 https://capi-icpa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025-05-23-kwaku-twum-digital-agriculture-en.pdf https://capi-icpa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025-05-23-kwaku-twum-digital-agriculture-en.pdf chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 3 canadian provinces with higher technology adoption levels are better positioned to adopt advanced technologies, largely due to their large-scale operations, higher revenues, and institutional support, which favor investment in precision agriculture and digital tools (twum, 2025). sector-specific demands shape moderate level adoption, while structural challenges, such as farm sizes and limited infrastructure, drive low adoption (twum, 2025). ontario, which accounts for over 25% of canada’s farms and 60% of its greenhouse area, plays a central role in the canadian agri-food sector (hall et al., 2024; rana et al., 2024; hiebert et al., 2025). farmers in the province use data-connected devices, remote sensing, robotics, and ai systems to enhance monitoring, prevent waste, automation, and decision-making (hall et al., 2024; smart prosperity institute., 2021). dairy farming is a dominant sector, actively exploring ai and big data to address environmental challenges like methane emissions (neethirajan, 2024; rana et al., 2024). beef cattle producers use technology mainly for breeding and herd management, while greenhouse farming is expected to be a future focus for innovation (fonseka et al., 2024; lazurko et al., 2024). ai is gradually being integrated into canadian agriculture, particularly in robotics, machine learning, and data analytics (hall et al., 2024). in ontario, its application is limited by high costs, poor broadband connectivity, interoperability challenges, weak stakeholder coordination, data privacy concerns, and pressure to increase sustainability without compromising productivity (dara et al., 2022; leader et al., 2020; lemay et al., 2021; mccaig & rezania et al., 2023 neethirajan, 2024). although these barriers are well-documented, they remain underexplored in ontario’s agri-food context, particularly in relation to how they can interact with ai technology functions to shape adoption decisions (ahmed & shakoor, 2025). this study addresses this gap by identifying emerging ai technologies according to their content-layer analytical functions. it shows how existing barriers can interact with these functions to influence adoption and outlines context-specific measures to support inclusive and responsible adoption in ontario’s agri-food sector. ultimately, this understanding can encourage adoption, bridge knowledge gaps, and guide tailored institutional support that meets the specific needs of producers in ontario’s agri-food sector. conceptual framework the systems perspective highlights interconnected actors and interactions across technologies, processes, and institutions, and shows that effective systems depend on coordination, feedback loops, and adaptability (arnold & wade, 2015; klerkx et al., 2012; mansoor & williams, 2024). integrating ai into agriculture raises significant ethical and social concerns, including issues of privacy, animal welfare, and accountability (dara et al., 2022; papagiannidis et al., 2025). these concerns highlight the need for responsible innovation, emphasizing four key dimensions: including anticipation, inclusion, reflexivity, and responsiveness to ensure that technological advancements align with societal values and priorities (gremmen et al., 2019; massfeller, 2025). similarly, responsible ai seeks to maximize benefits and minimize risks by aligning with eight key thematic trends: privacy, accountability, safety and security, transparency and https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 4 explainability, fairness and non-discrimination, human control of technology, professional responsibility, and the promotion of human values (papagiannidis et al., 2025). the systems perspective informs the identification of individual, social, and institutional factors shaping adoption patterns across horticulture and livestock sectors. responsible innovation, in turn, guides the analysis of ethical, social, and governance issues, including privacy, accountability, and stakeholder inclusion. while the systems perspective highlights the need for robust infrastructure and institutional linkages, responsible innovation emphasizes stakeholder values, expectations, and governance concerns. effective adoption, therefore, depends on coordinated systemic interventions (klerkx et al., 2012). these perspectives structure the study’s design and analysis, providing the foundation for the conceptual framework used to examine ai adoption in ontario’s agri-food sector. purpose this review identifies and categorizes emerging ai technologies relevant to ontario’s horticultural and livestock sectors, develops a conceptual framework that captures the multidimensional factors influencing adoption, and proposes practical strategies for the responsible and inclusive integration of ai in agriculture. ontario’s horticultural and livestock sectors were selected due to their economic significance, diversity in production systems, and varying levels of digital readiness (lemay & boggs, 2024; twum, 2025). although over half of ontario farms already use digital tools, adoption patterns vary across sectors and farm sizes (hall et al., 2024). combined with an aging producer base and growing calls for stronger publicprivate investment (fonseka et al., 2024; lazurko et al., 2024). ontario emerges as an ideal setting to examine responsible ai adoption. more importantly, the province must leverage more than its natural advantages by strengthening innovation systems that integrate advanced technologies and promote global competitiveness (lemay et al., 2021). methods using a structured literature review (okoli, 2015), this study examined factors influencing technology adoption and ai applications in ontario’s horticulture and livestock sectors. the literature review was conducted between october and december 2024. searches were conducted in google scholar using keyword combinations to identify relevant literature, including peer-reviewed journal articles, and grey literature from government agencies. grey literature were further accessed directly through industry or academic institutional websites. some peer-reviewed sources identified through google scholar may also be indexed in scopus or web of science, but these databases were not directly prioritized due to limited institutional access and minimal added value. the limited volume of peer-reviewed studies on ai adoption in canadian agriculture, particularly in ontario, required consulting broader literature on digital agricultural technologies to identify adoption factors. nevertheless, peer-reviewed sources were prioritized, with industry reports and technology provider websites used only to fill gaps and document practical ai applications. for instance, to identify ai technologies in canadian https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 5 agriculture, particularly in ontario, we consulted technology developer websites such as soundtalks, delaval, and farmonaut. literature was identified using keywords such as “factors influencing ai adoption in ontario livestock and horticulture,” “technology adoption,” “drivers and barriers of ai/digital technology adoption,” “digital/precision agriculture technologies,” “ai technology providers in agriculture,” “technology adoption in controlled environment agriculture,” “agri-food innovation systems,” “digital transformation in agriculture,” “ontario agriculture,” and “canadian agriculture.” sources were primarily assessed for recency, with most published between 2022 and 2025 except earlier studies such as (gremmen et al., 2019; klerkx et al., 2012; leeuwis & aarts, 2011), which were included to provide a theoretical foundation. the included sources provided empirical or theoretical evidence on ai adoption and digital transformation, primarily focused on ontario’s horticulture and livestock sectors. to contextualize findings, relevant studies from other canadian regions or global settings were also considered when they offered relevant information. studies were excluded if they were unrelated to ai adoption in agriculture or focused on non-canadian contexts without broader applicability. ai technologies were documented and organized manually using microsoft excel, which served as the primary tool for organizing the literature. data was organized across three excel spreadsheets: the first recorded key study details (title, authors, publication date, aim, findings, source url, and citation); the second categorized ai technologies by application e.g automated harvesting, animal identification, sector (horticulture or livestock), and function (e.g., disease detection, yield prediction), associated benefits, challenges, and the skills required for effective use were also identified. to avoid duplication, the review selected a single representative technology when multiple ai technologies addressed the same function. this process facilitated the further mapping of each technology to its corresponding analytical functions (njuguna et al., 2025; püschel et al., 2016). for example, tools were categorized as descriptive (summarizing past patterns), diagnostic (identifying root causes), predictive (anticipating risks and outcomes), or prescriptive (recommending actions). no bibliometric or qualitative software was used; instead, manual synthesis was applied by sorting and comparing studies to identify recurring patterns. findings were triangulated with industry and academic reports to enhance validity and guide the development of the conceptual framework. for the technology content layer, analysis relied on basic descriptive techniques such as frequency counts of functions, sectors, and applications, to identify patterns, which were summarized in a table. this approach aligns with scoping review guidance in peters et al. (2020), where draft charting tables can be used to capture core study information and refined as the review progresses. to develop the framework, we synthesized three key literatures on digital technology adoption in agriculture. leeuwis and aarts (2021) contributed a sociological perspective emphasizing trust, power dynamics, and policy influence across individual, social, and institutional levels. the elsa framework (van hilten et al., 2025), informed the normative and governance components of the study, aligning with principles of responsible ai, including transparency, trust, regulation, data governance, and sustainability. njuguna et al. (2025) further informed https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 6 the individual level by highlighting cognitive factors, risk perception, alongside broader technological considerations such as technology performance and user capacity. their work also outlined the analytical capabilities of digital technologies: descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive, which were integrated into the technological layer of the framework to understand the functions and practical applications of ai technologies in agriculture. the final framework was then adapted to align with the factors influencing adoption, while the technological content layer highlights how the characteristics of ai technologies interact with the interconnected levels. while efforts were made to ensure objectivity, we acknowledge potential subjectivity in classifying ai technologies, especially when relying on commercial information that may overemphasize ai technology benefits over limitations. to mitigate bias, preference was given to peer-reviewed sources and government-backed reports, and information from industry websites, policy briefs, and reports was cross-checked against these sources. urls to technology provider websites were documented for reference and verification, and inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied to filter sources lacking relevance or regional significance. nevertheless, these considerations contextualize the study findings and encourage cautious interpretation. the following section presents the findings which are grounded in codependent systems perspectives, responsible ai, and content-layer classification of ai technologies (leeuwis & aarts, 2021; njuguna et al., 2025; van hilten et al., 2025). findings the findings presented below reflect the study’s objectives to identify and categorize emerging ai technologies relevant to ontario’s horticultural and livestock sectors; develop a conceptual framework that captures technological, social, environmental, individual, and institutional factors influencing adoption; and propose practical strategies for the responsible and inclusive integration of ai in agriculture. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 7 table 1 ai technologies in the horticultural and livestock sectors ai technology content layer classification sample organization descriptive diagnostic predictive prescriptive horticulture plant disease prediction ukko agro ai fertilizer application ukko agro ai weeder bh frontier solution climate control systems for greenhouses hoogendoorn drone-based real-time aerial surveillance and field monitoring windwarddrones weed prediction geco-vancouver soil health monitoring chrysalab-montreal ai-driven pollination robotics arugga ai/biobest group produce sorting using ai clrifruit ai automated/smart irrigation farmonaut automated seeding & harvesting haven greens ai-driven farm advisory tool farmonaut quality testing p & p optica livestock animal identification based on muzzle prints onecup ai-vancouver animal identification based on biometrics onecup ai-vancouver animal identification based on retina imaging onecup ai-vancouver ai sensors for respiratory disease detection in swine soundtalks monitoring livestock health and behavior herdwhistle-alberta drone-based livestock management and health assessment zenadrone milk yield prediction delaval automated feeding systems delaval breeding management delaval sex determination with integrated ai solutions hypereye-montreal automated calving monitoring onecup ai-vancouver https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 8 table 1 presents twenty-four ai technologies, with a higher concentration of prescriptive and diagnostic technologies in horticulture, reflecting a trend toward tools that not only identify challenges but also offer solutions to optimize production. in contrast, livestock technologies show a more balanced distribution across the four content layer characteristics and are generally fewer in number compared to horticulture. predictive tools are less common across both sectors, indicating opportunities for growth in ai technologies that can anticipate risks and future trends to inform decision-making. generally, the distribution of ai tools across content layers reflects specific preferences, which may also hint at unique challenges and opportunities within sectors. a key observation is the potential for each layer to support the function of the next. descriptive tools can gather raw data, diagnostic tools detect possible issues, predictive tools forecast risks, and prescriptive systems recommend actions. however, only four technologies were found to demonstrate all analytical functions, highlighting opportunities for further technology development in the sector. this study develops a conceptual framework to examine how systemic factors across technological, social, environmental, individual, and institutional levels influence ai adoption. figure 2 key factors that influence the adoption of ai technologies technological level interoperability remains one of the greatest challenges in integrating digital technologies (indira et al., 2023). it concerns the ability of diverse systems and devices to function together, with standardized data protocols, and is therefore significant in advancing digital adoption in canada (bioenterprise, 2024; green et al., 2021; lemay & boggs, 2024). while there is clear potential for technological integration to enhance the operational efficiency of emerging tools (lazurko et al., 2024), existing solutions are often specialized. for example, huneke et al. (2024) found that canadian agri-tech organizations tend to be commodity-specific, with livestock, major crops, and vegetables each representing about one-quarter of those examined. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 9 furthermore, phillips et al. (2019) observed that discussions on canadian digital agriculture focus more on data governance, particularly ownership and control, than on the capabilities of the technologies. these debates are especially relevant due to the central role of big data in advancing sustainability and optimizing agricultural operations (birch & bronson, 2022; bronson, 2022; dara et al., 2022; neethirajan, 2024). however, examining digital tools through the technology content layer offers a complementary perspective by clarifying how ai technologies can inform policy and create value through their analytical functions. classifying these tools within a structured taxonomy enables a clearer understanding of their role in supporting decision-making (püschel et al., 2016). social level factors such as power relations, network effects etc play a key role in technology adoption. for instance, information sources from peers, extension services, media, or training shape individual perception of the technology, and can determine how it is viewed as useful, trustworthy, or risky (leeuwis & aarts, 2021). similarly, canadian farmers are more likely to adopt technologies when they observe others in their networks doing so (bioenterprise, 2024; hall et al., 2024). although digital technologies can improve efficiency and yields, they also create new challenges such as skill divides, rising land costs, and questions over control of digital data. these carry social implications, including potential risks of exploitation for marginalized groups (leader et al., 2020; makinde et al., 2022). power dynamics further influence who benefits, with adoption often favoring larger, more educated, or multigenerational farms (wang et al., 2016). environmental level environmental factors influence technology adoption by encouraging solutions that reduce waste, support ecological balance, and meet environmental standards (van hilten et al., 2025). ai plays a dual role in agriculture, simultaneously helping to mitigate environmental pressures while contributing to them. ai tools optimize resource use and reduce methane emissions, supporting sustainability goals in high-value sectors like ontario’s dairy industry (hall et al., 2024; neethirajan, 2024). on the other hand, ai’s high energy demands raise environmental concerns, emphasizing the need for low-energy solutions tailored to agricultural contexts (raghav et al., 2024). individual level adoption is often understood at the individual level as a process where decisions rely on personal evaluation and judgment (leeuwis & aarts, 2021). farmers may adopt technologies to increase yields, reduce labor, or pursue sustainability (macpherson et al., 2022). nevertheless, the extent of adoption depends on whether these tools align with their knowledge, skills, and existing practices (chowdhury et al., 2025). evidence from canadian farmers shows varying perceptions as technology adoption in canadian agriculture depends less on availability but on farmers’ unique needs and contextual factors (lemay et al., 2021). while some view digital tools as supportive, others see it as unreliable (mccaig & dara et al., 2023). this suggests that adoption can be relational, shaped by confidence in providers and institutions (hall et al., 2024). trust in providers and institutions, therefore, becomes critical, as credibility encourages https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 10 experimentation and reduces uncertainty (hall et al., 2024). at the individual level, the aging demographic of ontario farmers raises succession concerns, shaping risk preferences and openness to innovation (hall et al., 2024). financial capacity further influences adoption, favoring those better positioned to absorb high upfront costs (green et al., 2021). institutional level ai adoption can leverage on existing foundations of local canadian innovation capacity supported by research initiatives, precision agriculture start-ups, and big data platforms. yet, weak connections to global networks limit broader diffusion and scalability (phillips et al., 2019). adoption remains highly context dependent. lemay and boggs (2024) observe that uptake is shaped by farm type, infrastructure availability, and the policy environment. even where technologies show clear benefits, their impacts depend on inclusive, region-specific policies that align innovation with ecological and social priorities (green et al., 2021). infrastructure gaps worsen these challenges. limited rural broadband access continues to constrain adoption in ontario, forcing some farms to rely on costly alternatives such as starlink (greig et al., 2023; hall et al., 2024). without reliable connectivity, digital tools remain out of reach for many producers, slowing diffusion and reinforcing existing divides. ethical and governance issues shape farmer’s decisions as poorly designed ai systems risk undermining trust, raising animal welfare concerns, and compromising privacy (greig et al., 2023; hall et al., 2024). at the same time, the concentration of power in multinational agribusiness firms exacerbates fears around data rights and reinforces structural inequities (dara et al., 2022) table 2 links technology content layer classifications to the framework in figure 2 above, reflecting how interrelated factors may further influence ai adoption. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 11 table 2 relating technology content layer classification with other factors influencing ai adoption content layer classification of ai tech. analytical function examples possible adoption barriers factors likely to influence adoption potential drivers descriptive what is happening? soil health monitoring data variability, lengthy data processing time, interoperability issues individual, institutional standardized data formats, reliable infrastructure , and technical assistance diagnostic what problems exist? ai sensors for respiratory disease detection may require technical expertise, data privacy concerns individual, social, institutional availability of skilled labor, advisory support, and knowledge sharing opportunities predictive what might happen? milk yield prediction high costs, risk of environmental damage due to unreliable data individual, social, environmenta l, institutional demonstrate d benefits, financial incentives, and training support prescriptive what can be done? automated irrigation systems high upfront costs, lack of trust in recommendatio ns individual, institutional appropriate regulatory framework, transparent data practices, policy incentives table 2 highlights how social, institutional, and environmental contexts interact with ai technology functions to influence adoption, while figure 3 illustrates the links between these systemic factors and corresponding analytical functions. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 12 figure 3 interaction of technological content layers with other systemic factors influencing ai adoption the conceptualization of technological functions across systemic factors shows adoption as a continuous, interactive process rather than a linear one, enabling engagement across multiple levels. the inherent complexity of ai systems present adoption challenges that require proactive strategies to prevent harmful societal impacts (buhmann & fieseler, 2021; raman et al., 2024). key concerns such as unemployment, privacy, bias, misinformation, and digital inequities, give rise to the need for equitable, inclusive data-sharing agreements aligned with societal interests (birch & bronson, 2022; polyportis & pahos, 2024; twum, 2025). technical solutions like standardized apis, open-source platforms, and integrated systems can support data optimization (lemay & boggs, 2024). preparing farmers, agricultural workers, and rural communities for digital transitions also demands proactive state involvement and a multistakeholder approach centered on early engagement, participatory co-design, and ongoing reflection on ethical, social, and cultural implications (buhmann & fieseler, 2021; leader et al., 2020; polyportis & pahos, 2024). conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this review examined emerging ai technologies in ontario's horticultural and livestock sectors and the key factors shaping their adoption. using the technology content layer classification, it analyzed how ai functions support agricultural decision-making, then developed a framework linking these layers with systemic factors to broaden understanding of adoption. horticulture favors diagnostic and prescriptive tools that not only identify issues but also optimize production, while livestock technologies are fewer and more evenly distributed across all four content layers. yet only a few technologies demonstrated all analytical functions, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 13 focusing on the content layer classification offers a structured view of technology functions, but could overlook the broader contextual factors influencing adoption as observed by (outcault et al., 2022). according to ndah (2015), adoption is shaped by both technological and non-technological factors, leeuwis and aarts (2021) also emphasize that adoption rarely occurs in isolation but within interrelated system dynamics. responsible innovation further reinforces this perspective, emphasizing that effective solutions must emerge through stakeholder engagement and practical action (kroesen et al., 2015). this justifies the value of a framework that links technological content layers with systemic factors to capture the complexity of ai adoption in ontario’s agriculture. the theoretical perspectives applied in this study informed both the design of the framework and the interpretation of findings. the ai technologies identified in this study are often specialized in one to three content layer functions, with few possessing all content layer analytical capabilities. tailored ai applications improve resource management by enabling timely interventions (miller et al., 2025). however, interoperability adds value by linking data within farms and across the value chain (lemay & boggs, 2024), yet it requires integrating diverse data formats, naming conventions, and operational requirements into a unified framework, which may pose significant technical challenges (ahmed & shakoor, 2025; lemay & boggs, 2024). furthermore, the interaction of the functional capabilities of ai with systemic factors, reveal the broader conditions under which adoption occurs. for example, descriptive analytics depends on standardized data and reliable infrastructure, yet barriers such as weak interoperability, limited broadband, and fragmented institutional support often constrain implementation. at the same time, adoption requires synchronised investment in farmer upskilling and policy support to build familiarity with ai tools. trust in providers reinforced by networks of positive influence further reduces uncertainty and encourages use. these dynamics reflect a systems perspective, where innovation emerges from managing interdependencies across technology, society, economy, and institutions (arnold & wade, 2015; klerkx et al., 2012; mansoor & williams, 2024). the framework proposed in this study can be applied in qualitative data collection through interviews with key informants as well as quantitative surveys to assess stakeholder perspectives. it can also be used as a case study tool to examine specific ai technologies, allowing for further refinement. the next step in this research will empirically test the framework to identify the most critical factors for targeted interventions in ontario. a swot analysis guides the identification of internal (strengths, weaknesses) and external (opportunities, threats) factors (puyt et al., 2023). these factors will then be evaluated using the analytic hierarchy process (ahp), which uses pairwise comparisons in decision making, allowing for a deeper understanding of these findings and a transparent prioritization of key ai adoption drivers to inform targeted strategies, and policies (ishizaka & labib, 2011; saaty, 1987). future research could examine stakeholder priorities to contextualize these findings across agri-food sectors and uncover sector specific adoption drivers. although the focus of this study was ontario, ai technologies from firms in other provinces were often used as proxies where ontario-specific data was unavailable. while this introduces a https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 chowdhury and edet advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 14 minor limitation, it does not detract from the overall objective of mapping key ai technologies in agriculture. overall, the findings highlight that the successful adoption of ai in agriculture depends not only on technological advancements but also on reducing systemic barriers while cultivating trust among stakeholders, addressing ethical concerns, and establishing robust regulatory frameworks. acknowledgments funding information: this research was funded by the ontario agri-food innovation alliance, canada. grant number -ug-t1-2024-102402. conflict of interest: the authors declare no conflicts of interest. previous dissemination: preliminary findings were presented at the 2025 rural symposium, held at the university of guelph in march 2025. https://doi.org/10.21083/ruralreview.v9i1.8330 artificial intelligence: artificial intelligence tools were not used in the preparation of this manuscript. author contribution statement: a. chowdhury – investigation, writing-review and editing, formal analysis. u. edet – investigation, writing-original draft, writing-review and editing, formal analysis. references ahmed, n., & shakoor, n. 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(2016). factors that influence the rate and intensity of adoption of improved irrigation technologies in alberta, canada. water economics and policy, 2(03), 1650026. https://doi.org/10.1142/s2382624x16500260 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.609 https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-6336-2.ch019 https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-6336-2.ch019 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40537-024-00920-x https://uwaterloo.ca/disruptive-technologies-economic-development/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/dairy-robotics_case-study-12aug2024.pdf https://uwaterloo.ca/disruptive-technologies-economic-development/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/dairy-robotics_case-study-12aug2024.pdf https://uwaterloo.ca/disruptive-technologies-economic-development/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/dairy-robotics_case-study-12aug2024.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/0270-0255(87)90473-8 https://doi.org/10.25318/3210015301-eng https://capi-icpa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025-05-23-kwaku-twum-digital-agriculture-en.pdf https://capi-icpa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025-05-23-kwaku-twum-digital-agriculture-en.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atech.2024.100710 https://doi.org/10.1142/s2382624x16500260 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 4, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. jose a. molina, doctoral student, university of florida, rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32603, j.molinagonzalez@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0946-7024 2. renzo ceme, doctoral student, university of florida, rolfs hall, gainesville, fl 32603, rcemevinces@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1232-9001 3. pablo lamino, assistant professor, university of florida, bryant space center, gainesville, fl 32603, pablo.lamino@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3941-4935 50 sustainable livestock projects in honduras: specialists' insights on current challenges, effective strategies, and successful experiences j. a. molina1, r. ceme2, p. lamino3 article history received: august 8, 2025 accepted: november 7, 2025 published: november 17, 2025 keywords sustainable livelihoods framework; farmer field schools; institutional capacity building; participatory development; sdg 12: responsible consumption and production abstract in honduras, sustainable livestock practices [slps] are gaining attention as strategies to address environmental degradation and improve rural livelihoods. however, their implementation and scaling remain uneven. this qualitative case study explores the perspectives of ten development specialists engaged in national livestock projects, examining how human and social capital influence program success. guided by the sustainable livelihoods framework [slf], data were collected using a combination of semi-structured interviews, document reviews, and field observations. data analysis highlighted the challenges, strategies, and contextual factors shaping the outcomes of sustainable livestock interventions. findings reveal persistent barriers to adoption, including limited producer engagement, resource constraints, and market-related challenges. despite these obstacles, participants described effective approaches such as farmer field schools (ffs), participatory training methods, and strong institutional partnerships. technical expertise and collaborative networks were key factors contributing to positive outcomes. producer organizations also played a vital role in facilitating market access and strengthening collective action. the study concludes that sustainable livestock development must go beyond technical training to institutional strengthening, value chain integration, and local adaptation. recommendations include expanding participatory learning methods, enhancing access to financial and technical support, and fostering inclusive decision-making for long-term sustainability. mailto:j.molinagonzalez@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0946-7024 mailto:rcemevinces@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1232-9001 mailto:pablo.lamino@ufl.edu mailto:pablo.lamino@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3941-4935 molina et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 51 introduction and problem statement agriculture, forestry, and fishing remain pillars of honduras, contributing 2.82 billion usd, or 12.4%, to the country’s gdp in 2019. within this sector, livestock production represents about 13% of the agricultural value (ministerio de agricultura, pesca y alimentación, 2021). despite its economic importance, productivity challenges persist. for instance, milk yields and income per cow decrease by 41% during the dry season compared to the rainy season, highlighting the vulnerability of livestock systems (lentes et al., 2010). small producers manage 56% of the national herd but face challenges, with 46% of farms under five hectares and 90% operating at low productivity. additionally, 80% lack access to formal credit, and poor land management practices contribute to 32% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions (canu et al., 2018; flores agreda et al., 2020; sandoval et al., 2025). sustainable livestock practices [slps], such as improved forages, rotational grazing, and silvopastoral systems, offer inclusive solutions that boost productivity and soil fertility while supporting net-zero goals (davies et al., 2013; moran & blair, 2021; rosen et al., 2025). in contrast, non-slps like overstocking, continuous grazing, and excessive chemical use degrade soil, reduce biodiversity, and threaten long-term productivity (robinson, 2024). adopting slps requires more than technical availability; knowledge transfer, producer engagement, and contextual adaptation are critical (pandey et al., 2021). specialists, including agronomists, veterinarians, and extension professionals, play a pivotal role, as their ability to design relevant interventions and promote adoption often determines project success (peters & hoffmann, 2010; yusuf et al., 2020) although slps exist in honduras, their scaling and long-term impact remain limited (hameleers et al., 2020; mitigation action facility, n.d.). this study addresses that gap by examining how specialists involved in livestock development projects understand and support adopting sustainable practices in the field. theoretical and conceptual framework this study is guided by the sustainable livelihoods framework [slf], a comprehensive approach for understanding and enhancing people's livelihoods to reduce poverty (ashley & carney, 1999). the slf is based on six core principles: it prioritizes people, is responsive and participatory, operates at multiple levels, involves partnerships, focuses on sustainability, and is dynamic. these principles align with the research aim of understanding the perspectives of honduran specialists from various organizations working on slps, particularly their insights on challenges, successes, and future directions (serrat, 2017). slf categorizes livelihood assets into five key types: human, social, natural, physical, and financial capital. these assets are shaped by transforming structures and processes, where https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 molina et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 52 structures include government agencies and the private sector, and processes refer to institutions, policies, and power relations that influence access to and use of resources (serrat, 2017). these components shape livelihood strategies and affect important outcomes, including enhanced well-being, reduced vulnerability, increased income, and more sustainable resource use. applications of slf in other sectors have demonstrated its value in identifying factors that influence the success of development interventions. in rural tourism and conservation, the framework has helped highlight barriers to participation, equity, and livelihood capabilities (munanura et al., 2016). smallholder farmers have diverse household needs, allowing for more targeted and inclusive interventions (cramb et al., 2004). aquaculture systems have served as a diagnostic tool to understand how access to various livelihood assets shapes farming strategies and outcomes, providing insights into pathways for strengthening rural livelihoods (ahmed et al., 2008). in honduras, the livestock sector supports thousands of rural families but faces structural and environmental barriers to transformation (mitigation action facility, n.d.). using the slf as a guiding lens, this study examines how development practitioners navigate these challenges and leverage their human and social capital to promote slps. this framework supports a deeper understanding of the contextual and structural dynamics that influence program implementation and contributes to identifying actions for improving livestock systems in resource-limited settings. purpose this qualitative study aims to understand specialists' perspectives on slps in honduras. it explores specialists’ insights regarding challenges, practical farmer engagement, training strategies, and successful experiences in implementing slps. three objectives guided the study aims: (a) to understand the challenges of implementing slps; (b) to examine effective strategies for engaging and training livestock farmers; and (c) to explore successful experiences in implementing slps. methods this qualitative case study explored specialists’ experiences with slps in honduras, focusing on contextual factors and individual perspectives (creswell & creswell, 2017). guided by a constructivist interpretative lens, the research emphasized knowledge as socially constructed through participants’ experiences (creswell & poth, 2016). before data collection, the university of florida's institutional review board [irb] approved the study (irb 202401362). data collection in this research, a specialist is defined as an individual with expert knowledge and practical experience in slps, recognized through formal training and professional roles in developing, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 molina et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 53 implementing, or evaluating related initiatives. additional qualifications, such as affiliation with government agencies, development organizations, or universities, further reinforced their recognition as experts (food and agriculture organization of the united nations [fao], 2025; kahan, 2013). ten male specialists were purposively selected and invited to participate via email based on their roles in a current national slps. inclusion criteria required at least two years of experience in slps in honduras, direct work with farmers or extension agents, and a technical degree in agriculture or related fields, ensuring representation of different institutional perspectives in slps (creswell & creswell, 2017). a 15-question interview guide based on the slf was created to explore the challenges, strategies, and successes in slps (creswell & poth, 2016). questions were reviewed by two specialists who did not participate in the interview. they supported the study by reviewing, clarifying, and ensuring the relevance of the topics. semi-structured interviews were conducted in person, via zoom, and via whatsapp. the lead researcher used follow-up probes to explore context-specific examples and clarify responses during the interviews. the interviews ranged from 20 to 40 minutes. all interviews were audio-recorded and analyzed in spanish to preserve participants’ original expressions and meanings (archibald et al., 2019; creswell & creswell, 2017; saldaña, 2021). the lead researcher reviewed internal documents and training materials to triangulate the data. participatory and non-participatory observations supplemented this during interviews and training sessions. the three researchers also provided analytical memos reflecting on potential themes, which were cross-checked during two debriefing sessions to validate interpretations and reduce bias (lincoln & guba, 1985; saldaña, 2021). data analysis open coding was first applied to capture key concepts without preset categories, followed by pattern coding to group related codes into broader themes aligned with research objectives (miles et al., 2014; saldaña, 2021). the first and second authors independently reviewed transcripts, developed initial codes manually, and iteratively refined them through collaborative meetings. this process resulted in themes reflecting specialists’ core insights on project development, training strategies, and implementation challenges in slps. trustworthiness trustworthiness was accomplished by addressing credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability (lincoln & guba, 1985). credibility was established by triangulating the transcripts with documents and observations (patton, 2014). dependability was supported by a detailed audit trail and code reviews during data analysis (nowell et al., 2017). confirmability was accomplished by involving multiple researchers in coding and cross-verifying findings (shenton, 2004). transferability was achieved through purposive sampling, enabling readers to evaluate applicability to other settings (lincoln & guba, 1985). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 molina et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 54 researcher's subjectivity statement the research team has a shared background in agricultural education and extension in latin america, especially honduras. all three researchers studied at a honduran agricultural university, providing strong regional expertise. the lead author participated in multiple local extension programs. although some contextual nuances may have been missed, the team’s deep knowledge of local practices, institutions, and culture likely minimized gaps, enabling a more informed interpretation of the data and livestock professionals’ needs. findings objective 1: implementation challenges engagement barriers one of the main challenges in implementing slps relates to producers' varying attitudes, levels of motivation, and past experiences with external support. six participants noted that a lack of trust in projects due to unmet expectations from previous initiatives has hindered producer engagement. p1 stated, "later, it's about awakening people's interest. many organizations have come into the communities and raised false expectations among people. so much so that some no longer believe in the projects." past project failures have fostered skepticism among producers, hindering trust and engagement in new initiatives. p2 emphasized the difficulty of helping producers understand the broader transformation needed in livestock systems, especially concerning environmental issues. he mentioned: "the other challenge has been getting livestock producers to understand the transformation the system needs to undergo, since on the environmental side, i think they have felt it more." this perspective aligns with p3, who reflected on the challenges of introducing sustainable practices to new communities: "initial challenges are related to adoption, because in the end we work with people, [...], arriving in an area and talking to them about an agroecological practice or about climate-friendly practices is not always well received at first..."this reflection highlights the need for gradual approaches when introducing new practices, especially in communities unfamiliar with sustainability concepts. another barrier to implementation is the lack of initiative and openness among some producers. p5 described this dynamic by stating, "first of all, the idiosyncrasy of the human being. not all producers have the vision to improve. you try to help some of them, and they won’t let you help; they don’t have the initiative to improve." in addition to individual attitudes, weak organizational structures among producers further limit progress. resource constraint participants identified limited financial access and weak technical support as key challenges to implementing slps. p1 explained, “securing financing that fits the sector has been difficult. in honduras, there is the firsa [trust fund for the honduran agri-food sector reactivation program], but access is available only to large-scale livestock producers. medium or small-scale https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 molina et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 55 producers don’t have the same access.” this quote highlights the financial access gap; small and medium producers are often excluded from programs meant for larger operations. moreover, a decline in technical assistance was emphasized as an important factor affecting producers. p2 stated, “lack of technical assistance has been an important factor. in honduras, technical assistance and research in recent years have declined, right? and the producers have been somewhat neglected, which has had an impact.” this quote shows that reduced institutional support leaves producers without guidance to improve their practices. p5 described how some producers receive temporary aid from projects or donations but fail to maintain changes once the support ends: “projects come in, donations, and sometimes the producer receives that help, and suddenly they just take advantage of the movement. once the help is gone, they go back to the same. they didn’t know how to take advantage of it.” finally, the cost of technical assistance was raised as a limiting factor by p10, who said, “the cost of technical assistance is quite limiting.” this quote shows how high technical assistance costs prevent producers from accessing support to implement slps. commercial challenges challenges related to market dynamics and commercialization emerged as significant obstacles for producers. seasonal fluctuations in production and prices create instability that affects producers’ incomes and investment capacity. p1 noted, “of the 100% of production in the winter, it drops to 60% in the summer, due to the lack of forage, so the milk price is much better in the summer.” this insight reveals how seasonal variability in forage availability impacts production levels and market prices, complicating financial planning for producers. specialists also described issues related to market structure and the role of intermediaries. p4 explained, “so the intermediaries are basically the ones who benefit from the producer’s hard work.” economic survival is another concern, with some producers operating without detailed knowledge of their costs. as p5 shared, “there are some who don’t even calculate their costs; they’re producers who survive, as they say. just living by god’s hand, as we say here in honduras.” this quote highlights the fragile nature of small-scale livestock production, where poor financial literacy and planning threaten sustainability. product quality was also identified as a critical challenge. p7 stated, “there are product quality challenges. most products, especially milk, do not meet the accepted quality or safety standards to be competitive. so, there’s a lot of work to do at the product quality level as well.” lastly, p10 highlighted the difficulty that price fluctuations pose for investment, saying, “that fluctuation in prices is a problem when we think in terms of investments that livestock producers can make.” this quote shows how market volatility hinders long-term investments, limiting producers’ ability to adopt new technologies. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 molina et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 56 objective 2: effective training strategies farmer field school [ffs] methodology participants emphasized the ffs as a significant approach for training and technology transfer in the honduran context, especially for sustainable livestock training. p2 stated: “well, in honduras, the ffss are well-known [...] i believe it's currently the most effective system for technology transfer and training in the country, when it is well understood, well managed, and clearly conceptualized.” this quote highlights the perceived effectiveness of ffs, positioning it as a leading method for agricultural extension. p3 also supported the ffs approach, particularly highlighting the inclusion of community leadership: “i think the best strategy is the ffs approach, especially with the added component that heifer includes: the training of a promoter in each ffs.” the practical application of ffs was also described based on outreach and producer engagement. p7 said: through the ffs, which is a methodology promoted by the fao and which we, as a university, have put into practice here in honduras, we can provide training and technology transfer to groups of producers from one or more communities, usually with common problems, and we conduct the training out in the field. p8 reflected on a participatory, hands-on model of extension work conducted within producers’ environments. he mentioned: well, i believe what the centro agronómico tropical de investigación y enseñanza (catie) is doing, starting the design of these ffs and reintroducing them at the producer level, is an important first step. because it must start that way, by spreading the word and teaching the producer. reaching out to them as well so they can become familiar with what sustainable livestock farming is all about. p10 offered a broader reflection on the evolution and adaptation of ffs methods across sectors and institutions: with the pasture team, it took us a year and a half to philosophize and honestly talk much crap about how to do extension in livestock. catie conducted experiences using a version of ffs for coffee growers, although they didn’t call it ffs. we were also looking at what fao was doing, ffs in agriculture specifically, and what zamorano was doing through programa de manejo integrado de plagas in central america, with horticulture field schools. this quote illustrates ffs development's iterative and cross-sectoral nature, showing how lessons from other agricultural domains inform livestock extension strategies. practical and contextualized learning participants expressed the importance of delivering training in a practical and context-specific manner that enables producers to apply knowledge to their own farms. p1 explained: another way to motivate them is to do the workshops and training sessions in a handson, practical way. if there’s a workshop on planting improved pasture, then the practice is done, and everyone gets the same materials to replicate it themselves. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 molina et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 57 p3 also stressed the importance of implementation and demonstration: "taking them to learn about these topics related to slps, so they can implement them on their own farms and demonstrate the changes, becomes a great way to make sure the methodology works.” such demonstrations ensure that producers learn new methods and gain confidence in applying them effectively. as part of the lead researcher's notes, he wrote that during the planning meeting, experts prioritized the development of training materials tailored to the specific needs and contexts of the regions they aimed to serve. this observation aligned with participants’ descriptions of how training was adapted to local realities. active participation of producers participants emphasized that producer engagement is most effective when the training is grounded in local realities and shaped by the producers’ needs and experiences. p1 noted: “the other thing is, for trainings to be engaging, the topics must be relevant and related to the problems the producers are facing. so usually, the training is based on issues they identified in their region.” p3 described how field days and demonstration sites are used to promote learning through observation and peer influence: during a field day, several topics are covered at a demonstration farm that hosts a field school. the field school members attend, the promoter is a facilitator, and a heifer livestock technician is present. they observe how the farmer has made changes, which inspires others to implement similar changes. these insights were further supported by an ffs guidebook provided to the researcher, which clearly recommended active participation by incorporating local knowledge. p7 supported this analysis, he stated: “we also take into account the local knowledge, the producers’ own knowledge.” participant 10 further explained how structured group engagement supports producer participation: “ffs is the middle ground. a full-time facilitator working exclusively with ffs can work with about 100 producers; they can manage five schools of 20 participants each [...], allowing them to provide a level of group support that facilitates change.” finally, p10 raised a concern about ensuring active participation in training; otherwise, it will not create change in the producers. he noted: when the approach becomes about designing a curriculum and rewarding changes on the farm based on that curriculum, it loses efficiency. because we end up gathering producers under a tree so we can say we're in the field, but we’re basically giving them a regular lecture, we're just informing them, not promoting change. objective 3: successful experiences producer organization and collective structures specialists shared successful experiences in project design that highlighted the long-term benefits of organizing producers into formal and collaborative structures. p1 cited the federation of livestock farmers and agricultural producers of southern honduras (fegasur) as https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 molina et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 58 an example of institutional development that has emerged directly from project work. during our analysis of online sources, we examined the official fegasur website, noting its significance for governance and ongoing livestock initiatives that support small farmers. p1’s explanation clearly illustrates this analysis: the first one is the organization i’m currently working with, fegasur. it’s a success story because it emerged from a project. it has grown to the point that it now has legal status, its own office, and it elects a new board of directors every two years. p6 described a long-term effort to build producer capacity through the ffs model, facilitated by the national university of agriculture (unag): “they were called ffs through unag. we worked for about eight years, around six of them continuously, training producers under the ffs methodology systematically and uninterruptedly, organizing them, training them with a multidisciplinary team, going to their communities, and bringing them to specialization levels through certificate programs, exchange visits to other farms, even in other countries, and promoting business incubation.” this highlights the value of sustained, systematic training in building producer skills, networks, and entrepreneurial capacity. technical innovations for sustainability six specialists emphasized the value of technical innovations that improve ecological outcomes and farm efficiency as core components of successful livestock projects. p2 described the biosfera case as a transformative example of integrating sustainable land management into livestock systems: the biosfera case is interesting. farmers with large farms and a well-diversified system that includes forest, water catchment areas, grazing land, pastures, and crops. the area previously used for intensive cropping is now being transitioned into intensive livestock systems; they need less pasture to maintain the same number of animals. so, these pastures are being converted into what the project calls ‘transition paddocks’, areas moving into regeneration, with more trees and greater ground cover. this is truly impactful; we’re talking about over 600 hectares that are at least starting to be transformed. and what’s most interesting is that producers aren’t talking about increasing herd size but transforming the land. to support this quote, a review of biosfera’s official communication documents confirmed the region's ongoing efforts to improve land use through regeneration practices and silvopastoral systems, reinforcing the specialist’s perspective. other technical innovation examples included milk quality improvements through cold chain management. p7 noted that farms delivering chilled milk achieve better prices: for example, after hurricane mitch, work was done with the u.s. cooperative, and at this point, we can say that the establishment of the milk collection and cooling centers, known as crels, of which there are more than a hundred in the country, is a success story. these are groups of producers who bring their milk to a single location, cool it, right?, and sell it, in this case, to the industry. they can negotiate based on volume by pooling the milk together, right? it’s not the same for one producer to offer a hundred https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 molina et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 59 liters as for the crel to offer three or four thousand liters, right? so, volume becomes a negotiating power. p9 reinforced the role of grazing management practices as a technical solution with major productivity benefits: “rational grazing, i've worked on it before with international center for tropical agriculture, increases pasture area efficiency threefold, if not fivefold.” such innovations show how technical strategies, when implemented effectively, can increase resource efficiency and contribute to the broader goals of sustainable livestock systems. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations this study concludes that while slps are gaining traction, their implementation is hindered by persistent barriers such as limited producer engagement, resource constraints, and marketrelated challenges. however, this study also explored strategies such as ffs methodology and specific training approaches that have effectively promoted adoption. successful experiences, including producer organizations and technical innovations, demonstrate the potential for sustainable livestock systems when supported by human and social capital. the results highlight the need to understand socio-cultural and institutional contexts for slps. the slf provided a valuable lens for analyzing how specialists leverage human and social capital to navigate complex development environments. human capital was reflected in technical expertise and training, while social capital is manifested through networks and partnerships (he & zhang, 2025). the study also confirms that participatory and experiential learning approaches are particularly effective in the honduran context. these methods facilitate knowledge transfer and empower producers by valuing local knowledge and fostering learning (gómez et al., 2025; paleologo et al., 2025). however, the success of such approaches depends on sustained institutional support, adequate funding, and the presence of trained facilitators. moreover, this research emphasizes producer organizations and collective action, as seen in the cases of fegasur and crels, which illustrate how structural support can enhance market access, improve product quality, and increase bargaining power. these examples suggest that sustainable livestock development must go beyond technical training to institutional strengthening and value chain integration. to improve the effectiveness of slps, it is crucial to rebuild trust and foster active engagement among producers by involving them in project planning and decision-making (kazanski et al., 2025). expanding the ffs methods is recommended because it is an effective, participatory approach for training and technology transfer, especially when adapted to local conditions. enhancing access to financial and technical resources is also essential, particularly for small and medium-scale producers who often face economic challenges. this might include developing https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 molina et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 60 credit programs and revitalizing public technical assistance through partnerships with universities and ngos. in addition, supporting producers’ associations or cooperatives can strengthen collective action, improve market access, and increase bargaining power. future research should assess the long-term impact of participatory training models, such as ffs, on sustaining behavioral change and improving productivity among small-scale producers. comparative studies of extension approaches could help identify context-specific strategies that enhance adoption. additionally, research should explore the governance, leadership, and financial sustainability of producer organizations, and emphasize inclusive practices that support the meaningful participation of women and youth across the slp chain, including specialists, helping to identify barriers and opportunities for equitable involvement. acknowledgments funding information: the research was self-funded. conflict of interest: there are no conflicts of interest. previous dissemination: information from this article was previously presented in the 2025 association for international agricultural and extension 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(2020). impacts of agriculture and forestry in the control of climate change: the role of extension services. international journal on integrated education, 3(10), 71-75. https://doi.org/10.31149/ijie.v3i10.681 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.653 https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.422 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geosus.2024.09.001 https://doi.org/10.29333/ejosdr/16864 https://cgspace.cgiar.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/b1238a87-8aff-47d9-a110-3c145cd19edf/content https://cgspace.cgiar.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/b1238a87-8aff-47d9-a110-3c145cd19edf/content https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0983-9_5 https://doi.org/10.3233/efi-2004-22201 https://doi.org/10.3233/efi-2004-22201 https://doi.org/10.31149/ijie.v3i10.681 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 3, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. karissa palmer, doctoral candidate, texas a&m, 600 john kimbrough blvd., college station, 77843, karissapalmer@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3595-5213 2. morgan orem, legislative assistant, u.s. senate, 317 russell senate office building, washington d.c. 20510, oremmmorgan@gmail.com 3. jean parrella, assistant professor, virginia polytechnic institute and state university, 175 west campus dr., blacksburg, va 24061, jparrella@vt.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9210-8717 4. peng lu, assistant professor, university of georgia, 405 college station rd., athens, ga 30602, penglu@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3392-3528 5. holli leggette, associate professor, texas a&m university, 600 john kimbrough blvd., college station, 77843, hollileggette@tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1339-1947 6. jamie foster, professor, texas a&m university, 370 olsen blvd. tamu 2474, college station, tx 77843, jlfoster@ag.tamu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5419-1736 90 you’ve got mail: exploring predictors of wheat farmers’ behaviors toward soil health conservation practices k. palmer1, m. orem2, j. parrella3, p. lu4, h. leggette5, j. foster6 article history received: may 27, 2025 accepted: august 12, 2025 published: october 7, 2025 keywords sdg 13: climate action; wheat producers; theory of normative behavior; identity abstract the agricultural sector is facing significant challenges due to the projected u.s. population in 2050, indicating farmers need to adopt conservation practices to sustain the land and feed the growing population. many farmers recognize this need and the importance of adopting sustainable practices, and they are likely already doing so. the purpose of our study, then, was to explore significant predictors of farmers’ behaviors toward soil health practices. data were collected from a sample of u.s. wheat farmers from the top wheat-producing states using a cross-sectional survey design. guided by the theory of normative social behavior, we conducted descriptive statistics, an anova, and a multiple linear regression to answer two research questions: (a) how do demographic characteristics of u.s. wheat farmers influence soil health behavior?; and (b) to what extent do descriptive norms, injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and identity predict wheat farmers’ behaviors regarding soil health practices? producers were predominantly older, white males with a college education, large farms, and conservative political views. demographic characteristics did not significantly influence farmers’ soil health behavior, and identity was the only significant predictor of their behavior toward soil health practices. therefore, we recommend tailored educational programming related to identity and further research to explore predictors of soil health behavior. https://agnettamu0-my.sharepoint.com/personal/karissa_palmer_agnet_tamu_edu/documents/desktop/karissapalmer@tamu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3595-5213 mailto:oremmmorgan@gmail.com mailto:jparrella@vt.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9210-8717 mailto:penglu@uga.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3392-3528 mailto:hollileggette@tamu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1339-1947 mailto:jlfoster@ag.tamu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5419-1736 palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 91 introduction and problem statement according to the u.s. census bureau, the population is expected to reach around nine billion by 2050 (n.d.). due to this, the agricultural industry is facing intense pressure to produce safe and affordable food while also preserving the land, often by adopting conservation practices (claassen et al., 2018). agricultural producers often recognize the need to adopt conservation practices to address challenges posed by climate change and to maintain agricultural productivity in a changing climate (karki et al., 2020), yet adoption is still not widespread. the sustainable development goals (sdgs), established by the united nations, provide an agenda aimed at addressing pressing issues such as decreasing poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring all people are healthy and enjoy justice and prosperity in both developed and developing countries (united nations, n.d.). sdg 13 focuses on climate action, which aligns with our study, because of its focus on soil health practices that support sustainability and reduce climate-related impacts (campbell et al., 2018). more specifically, wheat farmers have experienced the consequences of climate change, such as increased temperatures and unpredictable precipitation (karki et al., 2020; wilson et al., 2009), prompting the need to adopt sustainable production practices. miner et al. (2020) documented that implementing soil health practices can reduce nutrient loss, enhance weather resistance, increase crop yields, and improve yield stability. soil health practices may include implementing conservation tillage or using residue and cover crops (claassen et al., 2018). previous literature presents mixed results on crop yield and soil health benefits resulting from the implementation of no-till and cover crops (guo et al., 2021; pittelkow et al., 2015; yang et al., 2020). edwards et al. (2015) noted no-till farming can decrease field operations, fuel use, and machinery requirements, and wallander et al. (2021) noted cover crops are increasingly being adopted due to their environmental benefits and government incentives. theoretical and conceptual framework our research is grounded in the theory of normative social behavior (rimal & real, 2003) and seeks to explore how wheat farmers engage in soil health practices (i.e., no-till and cover crops). the theory of normative social behavior includes four components: descriptive norms, injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and identity. therefore, our study examines the influence of descriptive norms, injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and farmer identity on behaviors concerning soil health practices. the theory of planned behavior suggests individuals act logically based on their attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (ajzen, 1985), and it serves as a foundation for the development of the theory of normative social behavior (ajzen & fishbein, 2000). the theory of planned behavior is most effective for assessing individual factors; however, our focus was more on social or peer influence because adopting climate-smart practices is frequently connected to social norms within rural communities (gauld & reeves, 2023). the theory of normative social behavior served as our guiding framework because it explains how individuals’ https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 92 perceptions of others’ behaviors (descriptive norms) shape their own actions through three key elements: norms, expectations, and identity (rimal & real, 2003). descriptive norms are beliefs about how common or socially acceptable an action (or behavior) is within their group (rimal & lapinski, 2015) and how it positively influences behavior directly. for example, soil health practices widely used or considered socially acceptable among wheat farmers may lead to higher adoption rates. injunctive norms refer to social expectations and the beliefs perceived to be morally right or approved by a social group (rimal & lapinski, 2015). in the adoption of soil health practices, injunctive norms act as a moderating factor, such as the approval or disapproval of peers or industry experts. outcome expectations refer to an individual’s perception of the benefits or consequences that may result from behaving in a certain way, and they moderate the relationship between descriptive norms and behavior (rimal & real, 2003). wheat farmers who adopt soil health practices may see long-term benefits for the environment and the consequences of not conserving the land. last, group identity refers to the extent to which individuals see themselves as aligning with a group (rimal & real, 2003). for example, wheat farmers who see themselves as stewards of the land or environmentally responsible might adopt conservation practices matching the shared group identity. many studies have examined farmers’ adoption of conservation practices and the factors influencing their decision-making. however, our study offers new insights into how the theory of normative social behavior affects behavioral intention concerning the adoption of soil health practices. studies like the one conducted by rezaei-moghaddam et al. (2020) have found that social norms are crucial in farmer decision-making and that influence from other farmers has a significant impact on the adoption of environmentally friendly practices. previous literature indicates farmers are currently implementing conservation practices and often view themselves as environmental stewards (burke & running, 2019). however, many of their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors are focused on productive efficiency, which can impact relationships among farmer social groups (burke & running, 2019). vaske et al. (2020) found farmers are willing to do the right things for the environment even without government compensation, possibly influenced by the opinions of those around them. therefore, in our study, we applied the theory of normative social behavior to determine how descriptive norms, injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and identity contribute to the prediction of behavioral intention (see figure 1). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 93 figure 1 normative social behavior model adapted from gauld and reeves (2023) purpose the purpose of our study was to identify significant psychological and demographic predictors of u.s. wheat farmers' behaviors regarding soil health practices, including no-tillage and cover cropping. by understanding what influences the adoption of soil health practices, agricultural development practitioners can better tailor educational and communication materials to reach and serve farmers effectively, ultimately supporting broader sustainability goals. our research questions were: 1. how do demographic characteristics of u.s. wheat farmers influence soil health behavior? 2. to what extent do descriptive norms, injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and identity predict wheat farmers’ behaviors regarding soil health practices? methods our study is part of a larger project; therefore, similar methods may appear elsewhere. the study employed a cross-sectional survey design, which fraenkel et al. (2019) described as a survey that collects data at a single point in time from a predetermined population. in our study, this population was u.s. wheat farmers. cross-sectional surveys are adaptable and can facilitate the collection of larger volumes of data from a broad population (levin, 2006). the survey sought to collect data from u.s. wheat farmers about their adoption behaviors, perceived source credibility, scientific goodwill, and socio-demographic factors (orem et al., 2024). the sample was u.s. wheat farmers from the top five wheat-producing states at the time of the study (i.e., kansas, north dakota, montana, texas, and oklahoma; agricultural marketing resource center, 2022). the socio-demographic characteristics of the sample are detailed in table 1. the majority of participants identified as white (f = 104; 88.89%) males (f = 102; 87.18%) who were not firstgeneration farmers (f = 106; 90.60%). the majority of participants were between 55 and 74 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 94 years old (f = 74; 63.25%). slightly less than half of the participants had a bachelor’s degree or equivalent (f = 41, 35.04%), followed by farmers who had some college or no degree (f = 21, 17.95%). more than half of participants did not attend a land-grant university (f = 65; 57.02%). additionally, the largest proportion of participants identified their political views as somewhat or very conservative (f = 81; 71.05%). table 1 socio-demographic characteristics of the farmers who participated in the study (n = 119) characteristic n f % gender 117 male 102 87.18 female 15 12.82 age 117 65 to 74 years 43 36.75 55 to 64 years 31 26.50 75 years or older 23 19.66 35 to 44 years 7 5.98 45 to 54 years 7 5.98 25 to 34 years 6 5.13 ethnicity 117 white 104 88.89 other 13 11.11 education 117 bachelor’s or 4-year degree 41 35.04 some college, no degree 21 17.95 graduate or professional degree 19 16.24 trade, technical, or vocational training 13 11.11 associates or 2-year degree 11 9.40 high school diploma or ged 11 9.40 some high school or less 1 0.85 attend land grant 114 no 65 57.02 yes 49 42.98 political ideology 114 conservative 81 71.05 moderate/neither liberal or conservative 23 20.18 liberal 10 8.77 first-generation producer 117 no 106 90.60 yes 11 9.40 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 95 participants in our study also shared details about their agricultural production operations (see table 2). most participants grew hard red winter wheat (f = 64, 55.17%) followed by hard red spring wheat (f = 23; 19.83%). the largest number of participants indicated they farmed 2,000 to 4,999 acres of wheat (f = 27; 22.88%), 1,000 to 1,999 acres (f = 26; 22.03%), or 500 to 999 acres (f = 21; 17.80%). participants were evenly dispersed among five states: montana (f = 32; 27.35%), kansas (f = 29; 24.79%), oklahoma (f = 20; 17.09%), texas (f = 19; 16.24%), and north dakota (f = 17; 14.53%). table 2 characteristics of participants’ farms (n = 119) characteristic n f % wheat class 116 hard red winter 64 55.17 hard red spring 23 19.83 hard winter and spring 13 11.21 hard red winter, hard red spring, and durum 4 3.45 hard red spring and durum 3 2.59 hard red winter and soft red winter 2 1.72 soft red winter 2 1.72 durum 2 1.72 hard red winter and hard white winter 1 0.86 hard white winter 1 0.86 hard white spring 1 0.86 acres farmed 118 2,000 – 4,999 acres 27 22.88 1,000 – 1,999 acres 26 22.03 500 – 999 acres 21 17.80 260 – 499 acres 11 9.32 5,000 acres or more 9 7.63 140 – 179 acres 7 5.83 100 – 139 acres 6 5.08 220 – 259 acres 3 2.54 10 – 49 acres 3 2.54 180 – 219 acres 2 1.69 70 – 99 acres 2 1.69 50 – 69 acres 1 0.85 location 117 montana 32 27.35 kansas 29 24.79 oklahoma 20 17.09 texas 19 16.24 north dakota 17 14.53 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 96 participants completed a mail survey aimed at exploring soil health practices. we selected a mail survey because coon et al. (2019) and quinn (2010) suggested that, when targeting rural and agricultural audiences, mail surveys yield a higher response rates when compared to online surveys. we identified participants using the usda farm service agency payment list of wheat farmers and collected data using a modified version of dillman et al.’s (2014) method. data were collected in the summer of 2023, and the survey data were manually entered into qualtrics. we received a total of 124 mail responses and, ultimately, obtained 119 usable responses after accounting for missing data. coberley’s (2020) survey items were used to measure farmers’ soil health practice behaviors, specifically cover cropping and no-till practices. twelve items were assessed on a five-point likert scale (i.e., 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = neither agree nor disagree; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree). the 12 items allowed us to measure soil health practice behavior (2 items); descriptive norms (2 items); injunctive norms (2 items); outcome expectations (3 items); and identity (3 items). see table 3 for a summary of the items used to measure soil health practice behavior. we assessed instrument content validity through a panel of experts and scale reliability using cronbach’s alpha. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 97 table 3 summary of items to measure soil health practice behavior adapted from coberley (2020) variable item soil health behavior 1. the use of soil health practices on my farm is important to me. (dependent variable) 2. i have increased the use of soil health practices on my farm over the past five years. descriptive norms 3. most farmers use soil health practices on their farm. 4. most farmers have increased their use of soil health practices over the past few years. injunctive norms 5. most farmers would encourage me to adopt or increase my level of soil health practices on my farm. 6. most farmers would encourage other farmers to adopt or increase their level of soil health practices on their farms. outcome expectations 7. the benefits of using soil health practices on my farm outweigh the costs such as time or financial burdens. 8. most farmers agree the benefits of using soil health practices on their farm outweighs the costs such as time or financial burdens. 9. the use of soil health practices increases productivity and income on my farm. identity 10. the need to protect and improve the soil on my farm has a strong influence on my decision to use soil health practices. 11. the need to protect my source of income and improve my financial situation has a strong influence on my decision to use soil health practices. 12. the need to produce higher yields and improve productivity of my farm has a strong influence on my decision to use soil health practices. we used stata and spss to conduct the statistical analysis. to answer research question one, we conducted a univariate analysis of variance (anova) to examine the effects between the dependent variable (soil health behavior) and the independent variables (i.e., gender, age, ethnicity, and education). to address research question two, we conducted a correlation analysis followed by a simultaneous multiple linear regression, using soil health practice behavior as the outcome variable and descriptive norms, injunctive norms, outcome expectation, and identity as predictor variables. we conducted an assumption check to determine normality of residuals, homoscedasticity (constant variance of residuals), multicollinearity, and independence of observations. our study is not without limitations, including a small sample size and a geographic bias toward five states, which limits its generalizability to those who completed the survey and those who are representative of the top five wheat-producing states. therefore, our data are not representative of u.s. wheat farmers but are representative of only the sample of 119 farmers whom we surveyed. another limitation of conducting a cross-sectional survey is self-reported data, which may not reflect participants’ actual behaviors. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 98 findings research question 1: how do demographic characteristics of u.s. wheat farmers influence soil health behavior? to examine research question one, we conducted a univariate anova to determine the effects of gender, age, ethnicity, and education on soil health behavior. the overall model was not significant f(13,103) = 0.83, p = 0.63, r2 = 0.95. the results revealed that none of the individual factors were significant influencers on soil health behavior, indicating that soil health behavior did not significantly differ across gender f(1,103) = 0.84, p = .36; age f(5,103) = 1.12, p = .36; ethnicity f(1,103) = 1.01, p = .32; or education f(6,103) = 0.23, p = .97. table 4 univariate anova for soil health behavior of u.s. wheat producers source type iii sos df mean square f p intercept 1177.92 1 1177.82 649.05 <0.01 gender 1.52 1 1.52 0.84 0.36 age 10.12 5 2.02 1.12 0.36 ethnicity 1.83 1 1.83 1.01 0.32 education 2.48 6 0.41 0.23 0.97 error 186.93 103 1.82 total 8265.00 117 corrected total 206.53 116 note. f(13,103) = 0.83, p = 0.63, r2 = 0.95 research question 2: how do descriptive norms, injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and identity predict farmers’ soil health practice behaviors? the dependent variable soil health behavior was positively and moderately associated with the predictor descriptive norms (r = 0.24, p < 0.01) and outcome expectations (r = 0.26, p < 0.01), indicating soil health behavior increases as descriptive norms and outcome expectations increase. there was also a strong positive association between soil health behavior and identity (r = 0.56, p < 0.001) (see table 5). all predictors were moderately to strongly positively correlated, suggesting an increase in one was associated with an increase in the other. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 99 table 5 descriptive data and interrelationships among variables (n = 119) m sd 1 2 3 4 5 behavior (1) 4.15 0.66 1.00 descriptive norms (2) 3.45 0.82 0.24** 1.00 injunctive norms (3) 3.25 0.72 0.16 0.60*** 1.00 outcome expectations (4) 3.35 0.64 0.26** 0.25** 0.28** 1.00 identity (5) 4.03 0.58 0.56*** 0.28** 0.27** 0.56*** 1.00 note. *** indicates p < .001; ** indicates p < .01; * indicates p < .05. the model including descriptive norms, injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and identity explained 33.26% of the variance in soil health behavior. accounting for the number of predictors, the adjusted percentage of variance explained is 30.92%. the f-test shows the model explained a statistically significant amount of variation in the outcome, f(4, 114) = 14.20, p < 0.001. the predicted soil health behavior is 1.53 when descriptive norms, injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and identity are all zero, which is statistically significantly different from zero (t(119) = 3.94, p < 0.001). holding descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and outcome expectation constant, each additional unit increase in identity is associated with an increase of .67 in soil health behavior, which is statistically significantly different from zero (t(119) = 6.28, p < 0.001). one standard deviation increase in identity is associated with 0.59 standard deviation increase in soil health behavior on average, indicating a strong positive effect (see table 6). table 6 regression model results with behavior as the dependent variable (n = 119) predictors soil health practice behavior (α = .76) b (s.e.) t p β intercept 1.53(0.39) 3.94 <0.001 descriptive norms (α = .83) 0.11(0.08) 1.41 0.16 0.14 injunctive norms (α = .80) -0.05(0.09) -0.57 0.57 -0.06 outcome expectations (α = .64) -0.09(0.10) -0.91 0.36 -0.09 identity (α = .67) 0.67(0.11) 6.28 <0.001 0.59 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations for research question one, we sought to describe the personal characteristics that influence wheat farmers’ soil health behavior. our results indicated no demographic differences in education, age, ethnicity, and gender in soil health behavior. according to our demographic analysis, farmers who participated in this study were predominantly older, white males with college educations who owned large farms and held conservative political views. our descriptive analysis indicates trends associated with generational farming, land-grant influence, crop specialization, and age distribution. these factors may subsequently affect the norms, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 100 expectations, and identities of farmers as discussed by rimal and real (2003). the overwhelming majority of participants were not first-generation farmers, indicating a tradition of multi-generational farming and a legacy of livelihood. some participants may have an advantage due to their knowledge from land-grant universities, which provide exposure to research and extension programs, possibly influencing their attitudes toward soil health practices. hard red winter wheat was the primary crop of farmers from montana, kansas, north dakota, oklahoma, and texas who participated in this study, which could further shape farmers’ soil health practices due to the specific planting and soil management needs. among wheat farmers in our sample, demographic characteristics, including gender, age, ethnicity, and education, were not significantly associated with soil health behavior. however, previous studies have investigated demographic factors associated with the adoption of conservation practices and found that education, household size, income, age, gender, and experience have varying impacts on farmers’ behavior (burton, 2014; cheruiyot, 2020). farmers who are younger and/or female as well as farmers who have more experience and knowledge about conservation practices are more likely to adopt conservation practices than their counterparts (burton, 2014). therefore, tailored outreach along with more community-based activities where resistant farmers can gain experience and learn about successful conservation practices, like no-till and cover crops, are essential in reaching targeted populations. in response to research question two, we aimed to investigate how descriptive norms, outcome expectations, injunctive norms, and identity impact behavior toward soil health practices. we discovered identity is the sole significant predictor of soil health practice behavior, which is consistent with previous literature (chekima et al., 2016; comito et al., 2013; floress et al., 2017). oyserman et al. (2012) discussed that, when a choice becomes connected to a person’s identity, it becomes natural or automatic. for example, individuals who identify as a soil healthconscious wheat farmer will make decisions to maintain the soil, and it will not be a difficult decision because they believe in conservation efforts. typically, farmers have a primary identity focused on productivity, like maximizing yields and profitability (coberley, 2020). as the need for more conservation efforts increases, farmers’ identities need to shift from productivity to conservation-focused. although the correlation table shows norms and expectations are correlated with behavior, identity is crucial in motivating wheat farmers to adopt soil health practices. as a result, farmers’ intentions to adopt these practices are strongly influenced by their self-identification as soil health practitioners, which is consistent with rimal and real’s theory of normative social behavior (2003). given identity emerged as the sole significant predictor, initiatives aimed at promoting soil health practices should incorporate elements of personal and community identity to enhance adoption, as carlisle (2016) recommended. additionally, as rezaeimoghaddam et al. (2020) noted, social norms play a vital role in promoting the adoption of environmentally friendly practices. thus, outreach initiatives should go beyond individual messaging to foster a sense of collective identity among farmers and should be rooted in shared values centered around environmental stewardship, by encouraging community engagement and relationship-building (burke & running, 2019). furthermore, although farmers https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 palmer et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.619 101 are adopting soil health practices (burke & running, 2019), they face social pressures regarding implementation. this signifies the need for developing educational resources and programs to alleviate pressures and improve farmers’ awareness of the benefits associated with implementing soil health practices. practitioners should use farmers to disseminate information about soil health practices, given peer influence and impact (rezaei-moghaddam et al., 2020). we encourage professionals in agricultural leadership, education, and communications to investigate how norms, outcome expectations, and identity influence different groups of farmers and ranchers, such as those cultivating cotton, raising cattle, or producing corn, to identify any distinctions. additionally, future research should examine the potential of removing identity as a predictor and evaluating the variance explained by norms and expectations. acknowledgments funding information: the study is based upon work supported by the natural resources conservation service, u.s. department of agriculture, number nr183a750008g013. conflict of interest: there are none. previous dissemination: this article stems from data presented at the american association for agricultural education southern region conference in irving, tx, in 2025: orem, m., leggette, h., parrella, j., lu, p., palmer, k., foster, j., neely, h, & noland, r., (2025, february 2-4). digging into soil health: farmers’ perspectives on climate-smart practices [poster presentation]. american association for agricultural education southern region conference, irving, tx, united states. artificial intelligence: artificial intelligence was not used in this work. author contribution statement: k. palmer – writing – original draft, data curation, formal analysis, validation, methodology; m. orem – conceptualization, methodology, validation, investigation, writing – reviewing & editing; j. parrella data curation, formal analysis, validation, methodology, writing – reviewing & editing; p. lu data curation, formal analysis, validation, methodology, writing – reviewing & editing; h. leggette – supervision, funding acquisition, writing – review & editing, validation, methodology, conceptualization; j. foster supervision, funding acquisition, writing – review & editing references agricultural marketing resource center. 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(2022) found that compassion fatigue from emotionally supporting students with aces can lead to secondary traumatic stress (sts) and contribute to educator burnout among early career educators in oregon. one of the most significant challenges facing agricultural education is the difficulty of retaining quality agricultural educators (lemons et al., 2015), and burnout has proven to be one of the primary factors driving educators out of the profession (sorensen et al., 2016). schmidt et al.’s (2022) findings suggest that sts is a significant contributor to burnout and attrition. furthermore, norris and norris-parish (2024) determined that approximately 10.4% of agricultural educators have personally experienced aces and are navigating their harmful effects. this combination of sts, compassion fatigue, and burnout, along with navigating personal trauma, could put some educators at an increased risk of negative health repercussions (norris et al., 2025). swedo (2023) reported that new mexico has an aboveaverage incidence of aces, and assessing the effects of sts on new mexico educators’ burnout could provide critical insight into this issue. theoretical and conceptual framework the contemporary trauma theory (ctt; goodman, 2017) guided this study in its effort to quantify compassion fatigue and sts’ effects on educator burnout. this theory aims to provide insight into the effects of aces on psychosocial function and how coping and resilience affect the behavior of individuals struggling with aces and ultimately mitigate the negative repercussions associated with multiple traumas (goodman, 2017). goodman (2017) stated that childhood trauma can negatively affect a “person’s sense of control, which may lead to maladaptive internalization of the event. such maladaptive internalization may result in disturbance to bio-psychosocial functioning, healthy development, and brain performance in regions that are related to emotions, behavior, and executive functioning” (p. 187). this negative effect on brain development (petruccelli et al., 2019; see figure 1) is evident in the increased risky behavior of some individuals with aces. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 norris advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 75 figure 1 mechanisms causing long-term health effects from aces note. model developed by the cdc (2023) and felitti et al. (1998). this disturbance to brain development can affect classroom behavior, and scott et al. (2013) report that individuals with four or more aces are 32 times more likely to be labeled as a disciplinary issue and to have poor academic performance. the ctt relies on the curative nature of resilience and coping and operationalizes trauma-informed strategies to influence behavior. in the context of this study, if agricultural educators can be equipped to implement the ctt effectively, it could reduce sts and burnout, improve educator confidence, and ultimately mitigate the long-term effects of aces for some sbae students. purpose this study sought to replicate schmidt et al.’s (2022) study with new mexico agricultural educators and evaluate compassion fatigue and sts on educator burnout. the following research objectives guided this study: 1. assess the participating agricultural educators' compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout scores. 2. evaluate the effects of secondary traumatic stress on agricultural educator burnout. methods this study utilized a descriptive correlational research design to assess sts’s effect on agricultural educator burnout. the population for this study was agricultural educators in new https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 norris advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 76 mexico (n = 132). to maximize participation and increase the study's response rate, the author asked agricultural educators present at the 2024 summer teacher conference to complete the electronic survey. after the conference, the researcher distributed the survey to all agricultural educators in new mexico and asked them to participate if they had not completed the survey at the conference. this effort yielded 67 responses, which equates to a 50.8% response rate. within the 67 responses, there were n = 59 complete responses and n = 8 incomplete responses. the incomplete responses were excluded from parametric analysis due to insufficient data. the demographics of the participating agricultural educators determined that 55.9% of participants were female (f = 33), 62.7% were in the early stage of their career (f = 37), 69.5% taught in a rural school system (f = 41), and 91.5% hold either a bachelor’s or master’s degree. this study sought to replicate schmidt et al.’s (2022) inquiry. the instrument utilized in this study was developed from the professional quality of life (proqol) survey (stamm, 2010). the proqol survey measures three constructs, including compassion satisfaction (pleasure you derive from being able to support students), burnout (fatigue, frustration, animosity towards your career), and secondary traumatic stress (stress derived from supporting individuals with trauma) (stamm, 2010). the proqol survey asked participants to rate how often they felt a particular emotion towards their work in the last 30 days and utilized a five-point likert scale ranging from 1 = never, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = often, and 5 = very often to measure 31 items. the instrument was modified, and the word “helper” was replaced with “teacher” to better represent the population. the scores from these items are totaled to calculate each participant's final compassion satisfaction, sts, and burnout scores. when calculating the burnout scores, five positively worded items must be reverse-coded to determine an accurate burnout measurement (stamm, 2010). the instrument’s reliability was measured post hoc using cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients, which ranged from .75 to .92. according to ary et al. (2010), these reliability coefficients meet the minimum threshold for a reliable analysis. the instrument’s validity was assessed by a committee of two new mexico state university faculty members who evaluated its content, construct, and face validity for this population and deemed it acceptable. additionally, the reliability and validity of the proqol instrument have been measured in 200+ studies and deemed appropriate (stamm, 2010). the data for research objective one was analyzed using central tendencies, and research objective two was analyzed using linear regression and correlation coefficients. all the data in this study were analyzed using spss v. 28.0. to evaluate non-response bias, the data of those who responded at the conference (n = 54), and those who responded to the email after the conference (n = 6) were compared using independent samples t-tests. lindner et al. (2001) suggested contacting non-responders to collect their response and then comparing the two groups. the research accomplished this nonresponse strategy by distributing an email after the conference to collect data from nonresponders. the results suggested that there were no statistically significant non-response https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 norris advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 77 issues for burnout t(57) = -1.87, p = .85, or compassion satisfaction t(57) = .68, p = .50, and sts t(57) = -.02, p = .99. the results of this study are limited to the respondents because of the response rate. krejcie and morgan (1970) suggested that the sample size for a population of n = 132 should be n = 99 to generalize to the entire population. this study received n = 59 usable responses, so the results should not be generalized beyond the participants in this study. findings research objective one the first research objective aimed to assess new mexico agricultural educators’ compassion satisfaction, sts, and burnout. the proqol survey utilized a five-point likert scale with 31 items to measure these areas. the compassion satisfaction scale used 10 items to calculate the score, sts used 11, and burnout used 10 based on the proqol self-score guide (stamm, 2010). stamm (2010) suggests that a score of 22 or less indicates low impact, a moderate score is between 2341, and a high score is 42+. the results of this analysis suggested that the average participant gains moderate to high satisfaction (m = 40.08, sd = 5.76) from helping their students with traumatic situations such as aces. the compassion satisfaction scores in this study ranged from 28 to 49, suggesting that all participants received moderate to high compassion satisfaction scores. furthermore, 55.9% of participants had moderate compassion satisfaction scores, and 44.1% had high compassion satisfaction scores. this finding aligns with solomonson et al. (2021), who suggested that teachers' ability to engage students and their attitude toward students were among the top factors causing them to retain their career in sbae. agricultural educators’ deep admiration for their students causes many of them to retain their careers as educators (solomonson et al., 2021) and leads them to support students with aces regularly (norris et al., 2024). while this study's moderate to high compassion satisfaction scores are positive, the average participant also had moderate sts (m = 22.76, sd = 4.76) from supporting students with traumatic situations. the sts scores ranged from 14 to 33, with 47.5% (f = 28) reporting low sts and 52.5% (f = 31) reporting moderate levels of sts. schmidt et al. (2022) suggested that compassion fatigue and sts significantly contribute to burnout in early-career agricultural educators in oregon. furthermore, sorensen et al. (2016) determined that burnout is one of the leading causes of teacher attrition, which has plagued the profession for decades (lemons et al., 2015). the average participant in this study reported moderate levels of burnout (m = 24.15, sd = 5.53). the burnout scores ranged from 12 to 26, with 40.7% (f = 24) reporting low levels and 59.3% (f = 35) reporting moderate levels (see table 2). table 2 reports each item's means and standard deviations and construct scores for compassion satisfaction, sts, and burnout. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 norris advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 78 table 2 summative scores for compassion satisfaction, sts, and burnout. category m sd compassion satisfaction scale 40.08 5.76 i get satisfaction from being able to teach others. 4.29 .67 i feel invigorated after working with those i teach. 3.53 .65 i like my work as a teacher. 4.37 .69 i am pleased with how i am able to keep up with teaching techniques and protocols. 3.53 .82 my work makes me feel satisfied. 3.97 .77 i have happy thoughts and feelings about those i teach and how i could help them. 4.05 .75 i believe i can make a difference through my work. 4.25 .80 i am proud of what i can do teaching. 4.25 .80 i have thoughts that i am a "success" as a teacher. 3.63 .83 i am happy that i chose to do this work. 4.22 .77 secondary traumatic stress (sts) 22.76 4.76 i am preoccupied with more than one person i teach. 3.73 .98 i jump or am startled by unexpected sounds. 2.53 .82 i find it difficult to separate my personal life from my life as a teacher. 3.22 1.1 i think that i might have been affected by the traumatic stress of those i teach. 2.10 .80 because of my teaching, i have felt "on edge" about various things. 2.51 1.01 i feel depressed because of the traumatic experiences of the people i teach. 1.86 .68 i feel as though i am experiencing the trauma of someone i have taught. 1.76 .73 i avoid certain activities or situations because they remind me of frightening experiences of the people i teach. 1.61 .74 as a result of my teaching, i have intrusive, frightening thoughts. 1.61 .81 i can't recall important parts of my work with trauma victims. 1.83 .85 burnout 24.15 5.53 i am happy.* 2.07 .76 i feel connected to others.* 2.05 .75 i am not as productive at work because i am losing sleep over traumatic experiences of a person i teach. 2.10 .74 i feel trapped by my job as a teacher. 2.05 .99 i have beliefs that sustain me.* 1.71 .85 i am the person i always wanted to be.* 2.41 .85 i feel worn out because of my work as a teacher. 3.56 1.01 i feel overwhelmed because my workload seems endless. 3.37 .96 i feel "bogged down" by the system. 3.07 1.07 i am a very caring person.* 1.76 .80 note. the instrument was modified from the professional quality of life (proqol) survey developed by stamm (2010). the items designated with an asterisk (*) were reverse-coded following the proqol selfscore guide (stamm, 2010). the likert scale used in this study ranged from 1 = never, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = often, to 5 = very often. the proqol measured compassion fatigue, sts, and burnout using the following scale: low is a score of 22 or less, moderate is a score between 23-41, and high is a score of more than 42. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 norris advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 79 research objective two a simple linear regression was employed to execute objective two and measure the association between sts and burnout. the results of this analysis suggested that there is a statistically significant association between burnout and sts [f(1, 57) = 38.87, p < .001] with an adjusted r2 of .40 (see table 3). this suggests that sts explains 40% of the variance in burnout. additionally, the analysis suggested that as sts levels increase, burnout subsequently increases. these results complement the findings of schmidt et al.’s (2022) inquiry. table 3 regression analysis assessing sts effect on burnout note. n = 59 a bivariate correlation was also implemented to further assess the relationship between sts and burnout among new mexico agricultural educators. a positive correlation was observed in the analysis using pearson’s correlation coefficient (r = .64). this correlation coefficient suggests a moderate to strong relationship between sts and burnout is present (schober et al., 2018). additionally, this positive correlation is represented visually in figure 2. figure 2 scatterplot of the relationship between sts and burnout of new mexico agricultural educators variable b β p (constant) 7.22 .01 sts .74 .64 <.001 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 norris advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 80 the positive correlation between sts and burnout creates concern for the profession due to the legal and ethical ramifications of supporting students with aces. agricultural educators are bound by federal and state law to report suspected physical abuse (rogerson, 2025). additionally, many agricultural educators report emotionally supporting students with aces regularly (norris et al., 2024), and some educators with prior trauma utilize personal stories to build rapport with students (norris et al., 2025). this interaction could lead to inappropriate, unethical, or potentially illegal situations that could cause litigious concern for agricultural educators (norris et al., 2025). furthermore, norris and norris-parish (2024) determined that approximately 10.4% of agricultural educators have four or more aces and, therefore, struggle with the negative repercussions associated with childhood trauma. when these repercussions are combined with sts and burnout, it could exacerbate these symptoms, especially if the educators are emotionally supporting students with similar situations to their past trauma (norris et al., 2025). norris et al. (2025) described this phenomenon and developed figure 3 to visually represent this potentially destructive interaction. figure 3 interaction between the negative effects of aces and sts experienced by educators note. this model was developed by norris et al. (2025) and was originally modified from the framework of felitti et al. (1998) and cdc (2023). unfortunately, some populations have a higher incidence of aces, such as 32.4% of native americans, 31.5% of multi-race individuals, 23.2% of native hawaiian/pacific islanders, 18.6% of hispanics, and 18.1% of african americans having four or more aces (swedo, 2023). swedo (2023) found that new mexico has comparatively high rates of aces and ranks among the top ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! "#a#bcd!e)ghi-)#a.l0-n.hb-2cd!pbc4)c! rh2-cd!shai-.-hanlth2cd!sha.#8.! 9i:#bn#!s;-di;hhi!e8<#b-#a2#n! =-nb4<.#i!>#4bhi#:#dh<)#a.! rh2-cd?!e)h.-hacd?!@! shaa-.-:#!b)<c-b)#a.! 9ih<.-ha!hc!0#cd.;! a-nb!c#;c:-hb! ecbdd! =#c.;! =-n#cn#?!=-ncg-d-.d?! @!rh2-cd!ebhgd#)n! 9ab-24d.4bcd!ei42c.hbn! e)h.-hacddd!r4<<hb.! r.4i#a.n!f-.;!9sen! 9ab-24d.4bcd!ei42c.hbn!f-.;! 9sen!)cd!;c:#!>#ac.-:#!ecc#2.n! e8c2#bgc.#i!gd!r#2haicbd! pbc4)c.-2!r.b#nn!grprhi! https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 norris advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 81 10 states in some ace areas, including 28.7% of the population experiencing physical abuse (3rd highest in the u.s.), 16.7% experiencing sexual abuse (2nd highest in the u.s.), 20.0% growing up around intimate partner abuse in the home (4th highest in the u.s.), and 31.9% experiencing substance abuse in the home (6th highest in the u.s.). larson et al. (2023) found a relationship between the prevalence of aces and food insecurity in the early stages of adulthood. specifically, 45.3% of individuals with four or more aces were food insecure compared to 15.5% of individuals with no aces. this high prevalence of aces throughout new mexico increases the need for intervention from trained adults to mitigate the negative effects of aces, such as food insecurity and health risks. additionally, the high prevalence of aces in new mexico could expose those educators to more students experiencing these traumatic situations, increase compassion fatigue and sts, and ultimately expose them to more risk if they are navigating personal trauma in addition to emotionally supporting students with aces. conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the results of this study suggest a positive association between sts and burnout, similar to the findings of schmidt et al. (2022). while agricultural educators in this study and schmidt et al. (2022) report experiencing a moderate level of sts, norris et al. (2024) determined that sbae educators emotionally support students with aces regularly. additionally, norris et al. (2024) also found that students with aces are drawn toward agricultural educators due to their strong teacher-student relationships and the experiential instruction provided by sbae. furthermore, norris et al. (2024) found that agricultural educators implement numerous strategies to support students with aces, such as providing food to students who lack nutrition at home, donating clothing for official ffa dress or to wear casually, and providing hygiene items to students. the agricultural educator often funds these strategies, which could cause additional financial stresses when combined with low teacher salaries (hanushek, 2016). the sts experienced by educators supporting students with aces can lead to compassion fatigue and burnout (schmidt et al., 2022). the frequency at which agricultural educators interact with students with aces is significantly impacted by the socioeconomics of the school’s population (norris et al., 2024). this is particularly true in states with a high prevalence of aces, such as new mexico. agricultural educators in new mexico are uniquely positioned to support a large population of students with aces, especially since these unique students are drawn to agricultural education (norris et al., 2024). while the support of an adult, such as an agricultural educator, can positively impact the afflicted students by influencing behavior choices and ultimately mitigating the negative repercussions of aces, norris and norris-parish (2024) found that agricultural educators are not confident in their abilities to support students with aces. overall, educators were the least confident in supporting students with issues such as sexual abuse and abuse among intimate partners in the household (blinded citation 1). this lack of confidence could further exacerbate the sts experienced by agricultural educators and lead to additional burnout. the burnout of agricultural educators is one of the leading causes of attrition (lemons et al., 2015), which has plagued the profession for decades (sorensen et al., 2016). the attrition of agricultural educators caused the profession to lose 48 sbae programs https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 norris advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 82 and 86.5 positions in 26 states during the 2021-2022 academic year (smith et al., 2023). this significant loss to the profession raises concerns about the effects of burnout and how to reduce teacher attrition. as norris et al. (2024) noted, agricultural educators cannot replace professional mental health services for students suffering from aces. while educators have a legal and ethical obligation to assist students in certain instances, supporting students with aces cannot solely fall on educators due to the resulting sts. furthermore, harding et al. (2019) determined that teacher mental health and well-being are direct indicators of student well-being. therefore, if agricultural educators experience sts, compassion fatigue, and burnout, their effectiveness in supporting students emotionally could be stunted. the researcher recommends providing mental health services to educators facing sts to reduce the risk of burnout and subsequent attrition. additionally, providing comprehensive professional development on emotionally supporting students with aces in a constructive, legal, and ethical manner is recommended. this training could improve educators’ confidence in supporting students with aces and reduce sts and burnout. the researcher also recommends investigating this phenomenon through additional research inquiry. a qualitative study describing the effects of compassion fatigue and sts could be beneficial in understanding this issue. additionally, replicating this study in other states to determine if sts has a positive relationship with burnout among different populations of agricultural educators could be valuable. acknowledgments funding information: this research project was funded by new mexico state university. conflict of interest: there are no conflicts of interest. previous dissemination: this manuscript is based on data published in the paper proceedings of the 2025 association of international agricultural and extension education conference. norris, w. 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(2021). factors influencing the decision of illinois schoolbased agricultural education teachers to remain in the profession. journal of agricultural education, 62(3), 121–137. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2021.03121 sorensen, t. j., mckim, a. j., & velez, j. j. (2016). a national study of work-family balance and job satisfaction among agriculture teachers. journal of agricultural education, 57(4), 146–159. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2016.04146 stamm, b. h. (2010). the concise proqol manual (2nd ed.). https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/dfc1e1a0-a1db-4456-939118746725179b/downloads/proqol%20manual.pdf?ver=1622839353725 swedo, e. a. (2023). prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among us adults—behavioral risk factor surveillance system, 2011–2020. morbidity and mortality weekly report, 72(26), 707–715. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7226a2 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.595 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2021.03121 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2016.04146 http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7226a2 advancements in agricultural development volume 5, issue 4, 2024 agdevresearch.org 1. stephen c. mukembo, assistant professor, university of missouri, 212 mumford hall, columbia missouri, 65211, mukembos@missouri.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1909-9349 2. john d. tummons, associate professor, university of missouri, 127 gentry hall, columbia missouri, 65211, tummonsj@missouri.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4191-4564 3. nathan smith, instructor, oklahoma state university, 224 agricultural hall, stillwater, ok 74078, nathan.smith@okstate.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3126-9083 4. jon simonsen, professor, university of missouri, 126 gentry hall, columbia missouri, 65211, simonsenj@missouri.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0532-1635 99 entrepreneurial competencies in high school agricultural education: assessing educator perceptions, gender differences, and professional development needs s. c. mukembo1, j. d. tummons2, n. smith3, j. simonsen4 article history received: october 11, 2024 accepted: december 7, 2024 published: december 13, 2024 keywords entrepreneurship competencies; entrepreneurship knowledge; high school agriculture teachers; professional development; sdg #4: quality education. abstract school-based agricultural educators play a critical role in building students’ entrepreneurial and employability competencies by shaping learning experiences and supervising entrepreneurship projects. however, many educators do not receive formal preparation in entrepreneurship during their training. this ex post facto quantitative study investigates agriculture educators’ perceived entrepreneurial competencies, including differences between male and female teachers, regarding the perceived importance of entrepreneurial competencies in their role. a total of 301 agricultural educators in missouri responded to the survey. despite limited formal entrepreneurship education, most educators agreed they possessed 11 of the 12 assessed entrepreneurship competencies. the top four entrepreneurship competencies were independence, leadership skills, opportunity assessment, and resilience, while social networking received the lowest score. these data raise questions about the possible relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and competencies needed of agricultural educators, and to what extent teaching agriculture attracts or develops entrepreneurial competencies. researchers recommend investigating what autonomous or entrepreneurial components of agricultural education may contribute to developing educators’ entrepreneurial competencies. researchers propose incorporating entrepreneurship training in teacher preparation programs and professional development, emphasizing social networking skills to promote their social capital and professional networks for information sharing, increasing their visibility and career growth. mailto:mukembos@missouri.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1909-9349 mailto:tummonsj@missouri.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4191-4564 mailto:nathan.smith@okstate.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3126-9083 mailto:simonsenj@missouri.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0532-1635 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 100 introduction and problem statement agricultural educators play a pivotal role in building human capital for the agricultural sector by preparing students for higher education or entry into the workforce (barrick, 1992; phipps et al., 2008). educators leverage their interdisciplinary expertise and in-depth knowledge to guide and mentor students in applying abstract concepts to real-world situations, both inside and outside the classroom (mukembo et al., 2023). entrepreneurship is a critical aspect of the school-based agricultural education (sbae) curriculum, especially within students’ supervised agricultural experience (sae) program (brown & knobloch, 2022; phipps et al., 2008). one in three united states sbae students with an sae have an ownership component, where students can create real-world entrepreneurial ventures. the agricultural educator is often the primary (and only) business advisor for students (hanagriff, 2024; heinert & roberts, 2018). agricultural educators need unique entrepreneurship knowledge and competencies to effectively guide students in their entrepreneurial endeavors (mukembo, 2017). regrettably, many educators receive minimal or no training in entrepreneurship during their teacher preparation (tummons et al., 2023). a recent survey conducted by the authors in 2023 revealed that 79% of educators in missouri received no training in entrepreneurship during their teacher preparation programs. lack of training may hinder an educator’s ability to provide effective guidance to students pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors. despite the integration of entrepreneurship into the high school agricultural curriculum (heinert & roberts, 2017, 2018), limited research explores entrepreneurial competencies possessed by agricultural educators, or how they acquire these competencies to fulfill their role as entrepreneurship advisors. further, although numerous studies have documented gender differences in entrepreneurial competencies and aspirations, finding that males are more likely to pursue entrepreneurial ventures than females (abbasianchavari & block, 2022; cowling & taylor, 2001; koellinger et al., 2008, 2011; mukembo et al., 2020; revell-love & revell-love, 2016; shahriar, 2018), no research has explored this phenomenon in the context of agricultural educators. identifying gaps in entrepreneurial competency impacting teachers’ ability to foster student entrepreneurial projects could allow for professional development in deficient areas, contributing to sustainable development goal #4, ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education, including opportunities for lifelong learning. theoretical and conceptual framework researchers integrated the human capital theory (becker, 1993; schultz, 1961, 1972) to guide this inquiry. human capital theory is a grand theory which posits individuals can enhance their knowledge, skills, and abilities through education and professional development, ultimately boosting their self-efficacy, productivity, and incomes (hartog & van den brick, 2007). investments in human capital through education bring about positive returns to both the individual and society (becker, 1993; sweetland, 1996). human capital investments have transformative potential; differences in wealth and economic development among nations has been attributed to investments made in their human capital (schultz, 1961, 1972). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 101 furthermore, since this study involved evaluating teacher’s entrepreneurial competencies, we also integrated the substantive competency-based theory (cbt). cbt theorizes specific competencies can be identified and measured based on an individual’s behaviors and actions (klein-collins, 2013; makulova et al., 2015). entrepreneurship competencies and actions are reflected in the individual behavior of teachers as they work to guide students on their entrepreneurship projects. the cbt also suggests individuals can receive training to improve their personal competencies within a specific field, such as entrepreneurship, to achieve specific goals and tasks (morris et al., 2013; schenkel et al., 2022), thereby enhancing their human capital (venesaar et al., 2022). building an individual’s entrepreneurial competencies contributes to their human capital, so integrating these two theoretical approaches allowed researchers to conduct a holistic assessment of the survey data and develop appropriate recommendations for research and practice. purpose the purpose of this study was to investigate the entrepreneurial competencies of agricultural educators and their perceived importance of entrepreneurship in the context of sbae. this report is part of a larger study which aimed to explore teachers’ entrepreneurial competencies, and the role played by these competencies in building a competent and innovative workforce to address the wicked problems in agriculture as well as economic development challenges. four objectives undergirded this study: 1. describe agricultural educators’ self-perceived entrepreneurial competencies. 2. explore educators’ perspectives regarding the significance of entrepreneurship knowledge in their work. 3. determine differences between male and female agricultural educators regarding the importance of entrepreneurship knowledge in their work. 4. describe the perceived need for entrepreneurship professional development among agricultural educators. methods this ex post facto quantitative study was approved by the institution’s review board. data were collected through an online qualtrics survey. researchers utilized two existing instruments (morris et al., 2013; mukembo, 2017) to measure teachers’ self-perceived competence across 12 entrepreneurial constructs. because of the adaptations made to the original instruments, researchers conducted a pilot test with student teachers from the department of agricultural education, communication & leadership at oklahoma state university; feedback from the pilot was used to improve readability and construct reliability on the final instrument. the final survey instrument had 60 likert-type prompts to measure the 12 entrepreneurship competence constructs of creative problem-solving, independence/autonomy, innovativeness, leadership, opportunity assessment, opportunity recognition, opportunity exploitation, resilience, risk-taking, social networking, tenacity/perseverance, and being visionary. other single-item rating statements were used to measure the importance of entrepreneurship knowledge to the agriculture teachers’ work, including the need for professional development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 102 in this area. these items were anchored as strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), neither agree nor disagree (3), agree (4), and strongly agree (5) (boone & boone, 2012; joshi et al., 2015; lindner & lindner, 2024). to guide our interpretation of the scores, we set a priori and adopted the true scale limits as strongly disagree (1 – 1.5), disagree (1.51 – 2.5), neither agree nor disagree (2.51 – 3.5), agree (3.51 – 4.5), strongly agree (4.51 – 5) (linder & linder, 2024). researchers estimated instrument reliability using cronbach’s alpha instead of relying on previously published reliability data, which did not reflect the population for this study (tavakol & dennick, 2011). the final reliability estimate for each construct was: creative problem solving (a = 0.83), innovativeness (a = 0.79), leadership (a = 0.72), resilience (a = 0.82), networking and social (a = 0.80), visionary and futuristic orientation (a = 0.81), risk management techniques (a = 0.73), opportunity recognition competencies (a = 0.83), opportunity exploitation (a = 0.86), and opportunity assessment competencies (a = 0.73), independent or autonomous (a = 0.65), and tenacity and perseverance (a = 0.69). these cronbach’s alpha reliability estimates are deemed acceptable within the social sciences (berthoud, 2000; field, 2013; murphy & davidshofer, 2004; nunnally, 1967; tavakol & dennick, 2011). the instrument was also assessed for content and face validity by a panel of experts from entrepreneurship and agriculture education (clark et al., 2021; creswell, 2014). after researchers modified the instrument based on feedback from the panel and pilot, the survey was distributed to a population of 535 agriculture teachers in missouri via qualtrics, during the months of march and april 2023 with three weekly follow-up email remainders to nonrespondents. to encourage participation, we offered an incentive of entering participants names into a raffle for a chance to win one of the 10 amazon gift cards, each valued at $50. a total of 301 teachers (56.26%) responded to the survey, adequately representing the target population (krejcie & morgan, 1970). data were cleaned, and in the process, we removed 44 empty responses that were submitted. this left us with 257 valid responses for analysis which still met the threshold for acceptable sample size for a population of 535 (krejcie & morgan, 1970). data analysis was performed using spss, including a t-test to determine differences based on reported sex. findings participant demographics almost an equal number of participants self-identified as females (f = 50.6%) and males (f = 49.4%) respectively. an overwhelming majority (f = 89.5%) of participants identified as being white. respondents had an average of 12 years of teaching experience, and 53% indicated that they had or were pursuing a graduate degree. the modal age rage was between 35-44 years (27.6%), followed by 25-34 age range (25.7%). one hundred and eighty-four teachers (78.30%) had not received entrepreneurship training, whereas 51 teachers (21.70%) had received training. objective #1: describe agricultural educators’ perceived entrepreneurial competencies for objective one, teachers rated their perceived entrepreneurship competence based various likert item statements on a scale of strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). the 60 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 103 statements were aggregated into 12 entrepreneurship constructs and analyzed as interval data. based on the established true limits of the scale, teachers agreed (3.51 – 4.5) they possessed 11 of the 12 entrepreneurial competencies, including independence (m = 4.35, sd = 0.52), leadership skills (m = 4.07, sd = 0.42), opportunity assessment (m = 4.07, sd = 0.47), resilience (m = 4.00, sd = 0.46), visionary, opportunity exploitation (m = 3.85, sd = 0.57), creative problem solving (m = 3.81, sd = 0.65), risk management (m = 3.65, sd = 0.56), opportunity recognition (m = 3.62, sd = 0.64), and innovativeness (m = 3.55, sd = 0.6). the teachers neither agreed nor disagreed about possessing social and networking competencies (m = 3.27, sd = 0.77); see table 1. none of the educators strongly agreed, disagreed, or strongly disagreed about possessing any of the 12 entrepreneurship competencies. table 1 agricultural educators’ perception of the various entrepreneurial competencies (n = 235) entrepreneurship competency rankinga overall mean (sd) n = 235 no trainingb n = 184 trainingc n = 51 female n = 96 male n = 88 female n = 23 male n = 28 independent or autonomous 4.35 (0.52) 4.34 (0.53) 4.38 (0.50) 4.29 (0.55) 4.38 (0.49) 4.26 (0.51) 4.48 (0.48) leadership skills 4.07 (0.42) 4.07 (0.42) 4.06 (0.43) 4.08 (0.40) 4.05 (0.44) 4.06 (0.42) 4.06 (0.43) opportunity assessment 4.07 (0.47) 4.06 (0.46) 4.07 (0.48) 3.99 (0.44) 4.14 (0.48) 4.02 (0.54) 4.11 (0.42) resilience skills 4.00 (0.46) 4.00 (0.46) 4.02 (0.48) 3.98 (0.44) 4.02 (0.50) 3.98 (0.54) 4.06 (0.42) visionary 3.93 (0.53) 3.92 (0.53) 3.97 (0.49) 3.92 (0.49) 3.91 (0.58) 4.17 (0.50) 3.79 (0.45) opportunity exploitation 3.85 (0.57) 3.82 (0.61) 3.93 (0.41) 3.86 (0.58) 3.78 (0.65) 3.90 (0.40) 3.96 (0.41) creative problem solving 3.81 (0.65) 3.79 (0.65) 3.89 (0.62) 3.76 (0.66) 3.81 (0.64) 3.76 (0.61) 3.99 (0.63) tenacity/ perseverance 3.68 (0.54) 3.65 (0.57) 3.79 (0.40) 3.66 (0.54) 3.65 (0.61) 3.70 (0.45) 3.87 (0.35) risk management techniques 3.65 (0.56) 3.62 (0.58) 3.73 (0.49) 3.50 (0.57) 3.74 (0.57) 3.67 (0.63) 3.79 (0.35) opportunity recognition 3.62 (0.64) 3.60 (0.65) 3.69 (0.55) 3.61 (0.67) 3.57 (0.64) 3.54 (0.61) 3.82 (0.47) innovativeness 3.55 (0.60) 3.50 (0.62) 3.72 (0.51) 3.41 (0.60) 3.60 (0.63) 3.58 (0.55) 3.82 (0.46) social networking 3.27 (0.77) 3.19 (0.79) 3.55 (0.63) 3.16 (0.76) 3.22 (0.81) 3.49 (0.67) 3.60 (0.61) note: a a priori true scale limit was used and anchored as strongly disagree (1 – 1.5), disagree (1.51 – 2.5), neither agree nor disagree (2.51 – 3.5), agree (3.51 – 4.5), strongly agree (4.51 – 5). the ranking of the entrepreneurial competencies is based off the overall mean scores for the two groups, i.e., those that received training and those that did not. scale strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), neither disagree or agree (3), agree (4), strongly agree (5). bno training ranking includes educators who indicated not having received entrepreneurship training/course work during their teacher preparation course work. ctraining refers to educators that received training/coursework in entrepreneurship during their teacher preparation course. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 104 objective #2: explore educators’ perspectives regarding the significance of entrepreneurship knowledge in their work. a large majority of respondents (n = 247, 96.1%; see table 2) strongly agreed or agreed entrepreneurship knowledge was relevant to their teaching. only 1.2% (n = 3) strongly disagreed or disagreed entrepreneurship was relevant to their teaching, and 2.7% (n = 7) neither agreed nor disagreed with this statement (see table 2). table 2 educators’ perceptions regarding the importance of entrepreneurship knowledge to their work. (n = 257). entrepreneurship is relevant to my work as an agriculture teacher n % strongly agree 126 49.0% agree 121 47.1% neither agree nor disagree 7 2.7% disagree 1 0.4% strongly disagree 2 0.8% objective #3: determine differences between male and female agricultural educators regarding the importance of entrepreneurship knowledge in their work. for objective three, researchers utilized an independent samples t-test to determine whether differences existed between males and female educators’ perception regarding the importance of entrepreneurship knowledge to their work. the 116 male respondents (m = 4.46, sd = 0.59) were not significantly different from the 119 female respondents (m = 4.43, sd = 0.71) in the reported relevance of entrepreneurship to their job as agricultural educators t(233) = 0.364, p = 0.358. the test for differences between sex on perceived relevance yielded a medium effect size d = 0.66. objective #4: ascertain the perceived need for entrepreneurship professional development among agriculture educators. for objective four, over nine in 10 educators (n = 237, 92.2%) strongly agreed or agreed educators needed training in entrepreneurship to help them be effective working with students sae entrepreneurship projects. sixteen teachers (6.2%) neither agreed or disagreed with the need for educators’ entrepreneurship professional development, whereas 1.6% (n = 4) disagreed or strongly disagreed with the need to provide professional development for educators in entrepreneurship (see table 4). of teachers who responded to this question, 79% (f = 203) did not receive entrepreneurship training in their teacher preparation coursework. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 105 table 4 perceived need for entrepreneurship professional development among agricultural educators (n = 257). item n % strongly agree 81 31.5% agree 156 60.7% neither agree nor disagree 16 6.2% disagree 3 1.2% strongly disagree 1 0.4% conclusions, discussion, and recommendations based on these data, researchers conclude agricultural educators agree they feel competent in 11 of the 12 entrepreneurship competencies. the only entrepreneurship competency where teachers were uncertain and fell below the true limits of the scale was about their competence with social networking skills. none of the educators strongly agreed, disagreed, or strongly disagreed about possessing any of the 12 entrepreneurship competencies. these data left researchers searching for explanations on the source of teacher entrepreneurial competence, despite most lacking formal entrepreneurship education during their teacher preparation. one potential explanation could be the relatively autonomous structure of secondary agricultural education programs, where teachers manage various learning laboratories, such as greenhouses, mechanics, and meat processing laboratories that often operate as small entrepreneurial ventures. these small enterprises may require teachers to develop and utilize competencies parallel to the skills of entrepreneurs. also, questions arose about how on-the-job learning, years of experience, and educators’ own background as agriculture students contribute to acquiring entrepreneurship competencies. the researchers recommend investigating if years of experience and laboratory management are predictive of teacher entrepreneurial competency. a second explanation for high levels of entrepreneurial competence is many agriculture educators were former agriculture students themselves; did these educators gain entrepreneurial competencies through their own high school entrepreneurship projects? do the agriculture educators who farm outside of school or have a “side hustle” have different levels of entrepreneurial competence? the researchers recommend further investigation into how high school and sae supervision experiences contribute to the development of entrepreneurial competencies. perhaps individuals with high entrepreneurial competencies are drawn to careers teaching agriculture. we recommend further research on the genesis of agriculture educator entrepreneurship competencies. our research revealed that educators were uncertain about social networking competencies, despite the assumption agricultural teachers needing social networking skills for their professional success as agricultural educators. social networking encompasses the ability to https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 106 interact effectively, comprehend social contexts, and cultivate both personal and professional relationships with peers. despite uncertainty about their abilities, social networking skills are vital for educators to enhance their collaboration, foster professional development, enhance student engagement, and facilitate effective communication (baker-doyle, 2011; kaihoi et al., 2022; marcelo-martínez et al., 2024). social networking can also help educators manage stress, promote emotional well-being and reduce attrition (baker-doyle, 2011; kaihoi et al., 2022). further, social networking competencies enable educators build and maintain a sense of community within their classrooms and schools while also strengthening interactions between parents and the broader community. proficiency in social networking allows educators to build valuable social capital and professional networks, essential for information sharing, increasing professional visibility, and promoting career growth and well-being (baker-doyle, 2011; staudt willet, 2024). and, in an increasingly digital world, these competencies can help educators stay relevant and better prepare students for future challenges and opportunities. given the crucial nature of these competencies, we strongly recommend educators actively work on enhancing their social networking competencies. this can be achieved through various means, including joining professional networking organizations specific to education and building communities of practice where they can connect with peers and share relevant resources (baker-doyle, 2011; staudt willet, 2024). attending conferences and webinars provides excellent opportunities to engage with like-minded professionals, expand their knowledge base and networks. further, developing professional learning networks can be another effective strategy for ongoing professional growth and collaboration (baker-doyle, 2011; staudt willet, 2024). additionally, educators should explore ways to leverage social media platforms for classroom engagement, which can simultaneously improve their social networking skills and enhance student learning experiences (marcelo-martínez et al., 2024). by implementing these recommendations, teachers can bridge the gap between their current uncertainty and the growing demand for social networking proficiency in agricultural and entrepreneurship education. educators desire entrepreneurship-focused professional development. researchers recommend training to improve social networking skills for building professional and community connections. this can be achieved by providing educators with trainings in effective communication strategies especially in professional settings, developing workshops aimed at building and maintaining relationships with students, parents, and community leaders. educators should also be empowered to use social networking platforms to expand their professional networks, including equipping them with techniques for initiating and nurturing collaborations with other educators and institutions. we also suggest development in creative problem solving which can be achieved through introducing educators to design thinking methodologies, exercises in lateral thinking such as mind mapping and brainstorming techniques that they can use with their students to generate ideas and develop a growth mindset (neck et al., 2024). regarding the innovation competency, educators can receive training in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence to enhance their teaching and engagement with students during ideation stage in design thinking to develop creative solutions. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 107 the competencies of opportunity recognition and exploitation could be enhanced by equipping educators with skills to help students identify needs or market gaps through customer discovery techniques and market research, including transforming ideas into actionable business ventures through the lean start up approach (ries, 2011). further, educators need to be equipped with skills to evaluate and mitigate risks, crisis management, and developing contingency plans to deal with unexpected events. helping educators to develop strategies for overcoming setbacks and learning from failure, including developing techniques to maintain motivation and focus on long-term goals through peer support systems can help them become resilient, persevere, reduce burnout, and attrition rates. also, visionary thinking among educators can be enhanced through long term strategic planning and inspiring others towards a shared vision to help them stay focused and accountable as they guide their students. all these competencies can be developed through professional development programs which might include a structured curriculum with theoretical and practical entrepreneurial applications, including experiential leaning opportunities involving hands-on, minds-on projects and simulations to apply the skills learned. enhancing these competencies would boost teachers’ self-efficacy and effectiveness with students, while potentially leading to entrepreneurial opportunities that benefit the community. researchers found no differences between males and female educators regarding the importance of entrepreneurial competencies. previous research has found males tend to be more entrepreneurial and likely to pursue entrepreneurial ventures than females (abbasianchavari & block, 2022; cowling & taylor, 2001; kickul et al., 2008; koellinger et al., 2011; mukembo, 2017; mukembo et al., 2020), and females reported lower perceived entrepreneurial competencies (coleman & robb, 2017; somia et al., 2024). according to shahriar (2018), differences in entrepreneurial tendencies between males and females can be attributed to distinct socialization and nurturing patterns across genders. in this study, researchers conclude both male and female teachers see entrepreneurial competence as important in their work as agriculture teachers. educators, regardless of sex, reported entrepreneurship knowledge was relevant to effectively fulfill their teaching, mentoring, and supervision roles of student projects. despite high reported levels of competence, more than nine in 10 teachers reported entrepreneurship training would benefit teachers when supervising entrepreneurship projects with their students. researchers recommend teacher preparation programs incorporate entrepreneurship training as part of their coursework and professional development, with a special focus on social networking skills which are essential for community integration, reducing teacher burnout and attrition, and building professional learning networks with other educators and students (baker-doyle, 2011; staudt willet, 2024). further, a need exists to create peer mentorship networks, by connecting experienced entrepreneurship educators with those agricultural educators that are joining the field to help leverage their knowledge and build selfefficacy across all genders and experience levels. acquiring such knowledge and related competencies will contribute to the development of their human and social capital (becker, 1993; schultz, 1961). professional development for participants in entrepreneurship can https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 mukembo et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 108 enhance entrepreneurs’ self-efficacy and entrepreneurial competencies (morris et al., 2013; schenkel et al., 2022; venesaar et al., 2022), thereby contributing to their human capital (becker, 1993; schultz, 1972) and effectiveness in assisting students with their entrepreneurship projects as well as building meaningful community relationships. acknowledgments this research was supported in part by funds from the mcquinn center for entrepreneurial leadership in the division of applied social sciences at the university of missouri. some of the work in this manuscript were presented at the 40th annual conference of the association for international agricultural and extension education (aiaee), in orlando, florida. also, some of these findings were presented at the 2023 north central region american association for agricultural education conference in brookings, south dakota. author contributions: s. mukembo – conceptualization, formal analysis, and writing – original draft; 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(2022). entrepreneurship competence among students and employees: a comparative study in five european countries. in c. mathews and s. santos (eds.). annals of entrepreneurship education and pedagogy – 2023, (pp. 120–144). edward elgar publishing, inc. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803926193.00015 © 2024 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v5i4.557 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.04.005 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2024.101038 https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2023.2178481 https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543066003341 https://doi:10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803926193.00015 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 4, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. ginger orton, assistant professor, university of georgia, 180 e. green st., athens, ga, 30602, ginger.orton25@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4582-7700 2. chin-ling lee, assistant professor, university of georgia, 405 college station rd., athens, ga, 30602, cllee@uga.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7752-6113 20 regional dynamics of precision agriculture adoption and knowledge transfer: insights from georgia extension agents g. orton1, c.-l. lee2 article history received: june 26, 2025 accepted: october 28, 2025 published: november 8, 2025 keywords uses and gratifications; diffusion of innovations; tailored outreach; knowledge transfer; sdg 12: responsbile consumption and production abstract the cooperative extension system plays a vital role in disseminating innovative knowledge from the university to public decision makers. however, there is a lack of studies on the dynamics of knowledge transfer from extension agents to farmers, especially in the southeastern u.s. in relation to precision agriculture adoption. this study aims to examine the dynamics of farmers’ engagement with extension agents in the state of georgia, particularly concerning the adoption of precision agriculture. this study conducted a survey of agriculture and natural resource extension agents in georgia; 84 agents were surveyed. the findings indicated that more than half of the extension agents reported that they had been approached by farmers about precision agriculture-related extension services in the past two farming seasons. the statewide average precision agriculture adoption rate was 43.78%, but adoption rates varied by geographic region, with the southern part of georgia reporting a higher adoption rate than the northern part of the state. the findings offer insight into the information-seeking relationship between change agents and farmers in a precision agriculture context by focusing on the perspective of extension agents, laying the groundwork for future research to explore the complementary viewpoint from targeted current and potential precision agriculture adopters. mailto:ginger.orton25@uga.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4582-7700 mailto:cllee@uga.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7752-6113 orton and lee advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 21 introduction and problem statement the cooperative extension system (ces) plays a vital role in disseminating innovative research from land-grant universities to the public, particularly agricultural producers for whom the institution was founded. through outreach, extension seeks to make innovative knowledge relevant, beneficial, and actionable to the public (national institute of food and agriculture, 2025). across the last 20 years, precision agriculture (pa) technology has increased in salience across scientific and industry domains. while multiple definitions of pa exist, we draw from deboer and erickson’s (2019) definition which states, “precision agriculture is a management strategy that uses electronic information and other technologies to gather, process, and analyze spatial and temporal data for the purpose of guiding targeted actions that improve efficiency, productivity, and sustainability of agricultural operations” (p. 1553). pa technologies can generally be grouped into three categories: tools for collecting data (such as soil and yield monitors, sensors, or drones), tools for supporting decision-making (such as mapping software), and tools for adjusting inputs (such as variable-rate application systems) (thompson et al., 2018). together, they support the precise application of inputs such as water, fertilizer, and herbicides and provide economic and environmental benefits, thus benefiting both the farmer and society at large, as opposed to traditional whole-field applications (getahun et al., 2024; sanyaolu & sadowski, 2024; šarauskis et al., 2022). the economic savings of precise application are particularly important in a time of increasing input costs (athearn, 2025). knowledge transfer from extension agents to farmers is a two-way, symbiotic relationship essential for effective dissemination of beneficial innovations. without meaningful interactions between the two, extension’s mission cannot be fulfilled, and farmers may not receive insight that can improve their operations. extension agents have historically been trusted and sought by farmers across topics (camillone et al., 2020; heaney-mustafa et al., 2018; orem et al., 2024), however, only a small pool of research has investigated the dynamics between american farmers and extension agents in the context of pa (lee et al., 2023; looney et al., 2022). specifically, research has called for a more granular examination of engagement and adoption surrounding pa in an american context (júnior et al., 2024). as an example, the most recent 2022 united states department of agriculture (usda) census broadly measured adoption as whether farmers use pa, but it did not investigate which practices farmers use (usda, 2025). a deep dive into regional pa adoption patterns and the dynamics between farmers and extension agents can contribute to improving engagement and overall adoption of pa. theoretical framework to frame this investigation, constructs from two theories were used: rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovation (doi) and katz et al. (1973) uses and gratifications. together, these theories help describe the way individuals, in this case farmers, seek information about novel technologies. rogers’ (2003) doi theory explores how innovations like pa diffuse through society and highlights the role of change agents in this process. change agents, such as extension agents, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 orton and lee advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 22 influence the adoption of innovations within social system groups, like farmers. agents accelerate how the technology’s applications and benefits spread among potential adopters. however, change agents are only effective when those receiving knowledge seek and receive meaningful information from the agent. these interactions are represented in katz et al.’s (1973) uses and gratifications theory, which helps explain how and why individuals, such as farmers, engage with information sources, such as extension agents. information seekers play an active role in choosing their knowledge sources and seek information to fulfill their needs. as extension agents are a primary information source for farmers, it is essential that extension agents be prepared to meet farmers’ information needs, including understanding the benefits of pa and farmers’ adoption motivations to best leverage these concepts when engaging with farmers. purpose this study sought to understand the dynamics of farmers’ engagement with extension agents in the state of georgia, particularly concerning the pa knowledge transfer channels. the objectives of this study were to investigate the role of extension agents in facilitating pa adoption by describing (a) the current state of farmers’ engagement with extension agents about pa information delivery methods, and (b) georgia’s regional pa adoption. these findings provide an updated and alternative description of pa adoption and information seeking in georgia, which can improve targeted outreach determined to increase both meaningful engagement between farmers and extension agents and adoption of pa. methods to address the study's objectives, we conducted a census-style survey following dillman et al’s (2014) tailored design method. the instrument consisted of 13 questions that addressed the competencies required for pa knowledge transfer and the usage of existing communication channels. the data presented in this article were analyzed from a set of questions related to the usage of existing communication channels, aiming to address the research questions of this study. the target population included 127 agriculture and natural resources (anr) extension agents affiliated with the university of georgia cooperative extension. these individuals were selected because their work involved pa or direct interaction with farmers who either currently use or have the potential to adopt pa technologies. recruitment was supported by the administrative teams of uga extension’s four districts. the instrument asked agents a series of questions to describe their clientele’s information seeking frequency and production context related to pa. the item development was informed by information-seeking constructs in two theories: uses and gratification (katz et al., 1973) and diffusion of innovation (rogers, 2003) as well as the core components of the extension mission to provide information dissemination to farmers. additionally, the survey instrument underwent iterative rounds of expert review by a university of georgia anr specialist and an https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 orton and lee advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 23 extension faculty member to assess content clarity and face validity. information seeking was measured using a categorical question asking, “thinking back to the past two planting and harvest seasons, how frequently have producers come to you with precision agriculture questions, discussions, or challenges?” with the options of never, once 3-5 times, 5-10 times, more than 10 times. the question focused on just the past two planting and harvest seasons to provide a consistent timeframe for each respondent in a relatively easy to recall span. respondents were also asked to enter a numeric percentage of organic and conventional clientele as well as the percentage of clientele who currently use pa (0% to 100%). additionally, we asked them to rank the top five commodity groups they directly work with as well as the percentages of each type of extension clientele (e.g., crop farmers, homeowners, etc.). these last three questions were included to provide more context to the information-seeking landscape. the types of pa adopted in their regions were measured qualitatively by asking them to list examples. given the qualitative nature of the data and the diversity in terminology used by respondents, we used a thematic analysis approach to identify the types of pa organically from the data while referencing common pa technology in the literature. surveys were administered both in print and electronically. in two extension districts, questionnaires were distributed in person during anr extension agent update meetings. the remaining two districts utilized an online version due to the absence of scheduled meetings during the data collection window. data were gathered in february 2025. a total of 87 agents completed the survey, yielding a response rate of 69%. after excluding three incomplete submissions, the final dataset included 84 valid responses (n = 127; n = 84), with a satisfactory response rate of 66% (fincham, 2008). the majority of respondents were male (n = 55; 65%) with a mean age of 41.21 years (sd = 13.35), ranging from 22 to 70 years. the participants reported an average of 10.67 years of experience in extension roles (sd = 10.9), ranging from 0.5 to 48 years. data analysis was conducted using spss version 29 and excel. to analyze the qualitative responses, we used an inductive coding approach to create categories that could comprehensively capture the practices mentioned. the codebook underwent two rounds of revisions until it was established as reliable, meaning both authors categorized all mentioned practices similarly under each code. findings the first research objective sought to describe how frequently extension agents were contacted about pa. participants selected how many farmers contacted them regarding pa from the options shown in table 1. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 orton and lee advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 24 table 1 frequency of farmers seeking pa information during the last two planting and harvesting seasons (n = 79) frequency option f % none 23 29.1 1 or 2 producers 20 25.3 3-5 producers 19 24.1 6-10 producers 9 11.4 more than 10 producers 8 10.1 the second research objective was to describe the current state of pa technologies were implemented in each agent’s region, as well as the percentage of farmers using pa in each county. fifty participants (59.5%) were able to list examples of pa. table 2 reports the frequency of practices mentioned by participants. table 2 frequency of applied technologies in georgia (n = 50) technology f % gps 22 46 auto-navigate 16 32 sensors – moisture 14 28 data collection & monitoring 14 28 drone – general 13 26 vrt 12 24 equipment 11 22 irrigation 10 20 mapping 9 18 yield monitors 5 10 drone – spray 5 10 gis 2 4 sensors – general 2 4 note. participants could list multiple technologies; therefore, the total number of technologies exceeds the number of respondents. respondents were also asked to report the perceived percentage of farmers in their district who were currently using pa. an average adoption rate of 43.78% was reported (min = 0% adoption, max = 100% adoption). the most frequently reported percentage of adoption was 10%, which represented 9 participants (10.7%), followed by 7 (8.3%) participants who reported 90% of their constituents used precision agriculture. figure 1 maps the percentage density of pa adoption by county in georgia. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 orton and lee advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 25 figure 1 pa adoption percentage mapped by county in georgia with regional distinction note. nw = northwest region, ne = northeast region, sw = southwest region, se = southeast region; regions based on ces classification in georgia; all data were mapped by zip code, which may span county lines typically used by ces to define regions in georgia the agent’s clientele was examined in terms of frequencies of organic and conventional production, the most present commodities, and the type of clientele. most production was conventional (85%), with 15% classified as organic production. table 3 represents the mean rankings of the most present commodities in respondents’ districts. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 orton and lee advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 26 table 3 extension agent’s clientele commodity categorizations (n = 82) n m sd peanuts 39 1.90 1.14 nursery 23 2.17 1.34 cotton 40 2.30 1.24 vegetables 36 2.42 1.38 poultry 13 2.77 1.83 hay 58 2.78 1.46 fruit 39 2.87 1.44 beef 49 2.98 1.55 tobacco 3 3.00 2.00 corn 36 3.08 1.18 aquaculture 3 3.33 2.08 horses 11 3.45 1.51 soybeans 13 3.62 1.61 sheep 8 3.88 1.46 christmas trees 6 4.00 .89 grains 5 4.20 .45 hogs 2 4.50 .71 dairy 3 4.67 .58 note. categories are sorted from the lowest mean to the highest mean, because the mean score represents a rank, with 1 being the highest, most frequent rank, and 5 being the least frequent ranking, indicating a lower frequency. the extension agents identified all seven client categories as targets for their services, with crop growers being the most prevalent. seventy-two respondents reported that, on average, 40.37% of their clients were crop growers, followed by homeowners (i.e., those seeking services related to maintaining, improving, or managing their home and landscape) with a percentage of 23.7%. table 4 listed the most common constituent classifications of extension agents’ clientele. table 4 the most common constituent classifications of extension agents’ clientele (n = 82) classification n m sd crop growers 72 40.37 31.66 livestock producers 74 18.58 16.38 foresters 56 6.27 6.43 homeowners 76 23.70 20.51 hobby gardeners 70 10.94 12.15 small businesses 61 7.97 11.21 educators 62 6.11 7.83 note. mean represents the average percentage of each classification reported. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 orton and lee advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 27 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations the doi framework emphasizes the role of change agents in the adoption process through their information exchange relationship (rogers, 2003). extension agents are prime candidates to foster pa adoption, and more than half of the anr extension agents (n = 56, n = 79, 70.9%) responded that they had been approached by at least one farmer about pa-related extension services in the last two farming seasons. the uses and gratifications theory helps explain why individuals seek and engage with certain information sources (katz et al., 1973), and our findings suggest farmers are choosing to engage with extension agents about pa to meet their information needs. because of this existing relationship, extension agents must be provided with continued support to ensure they are prepared with the relevant knowledge and skills to meet farmers’ information needs (luck et al., 2015). farmers need support and assistance to adopt the pa technologies, and extension agents are uniquely positioned to provide this support (lee et al., 2021). additionally, extension agents must be prepared to meet farmers’ information needs when farmers seek pa-related information and be ready to support pa integration. areas of high adoption density in the southern part of the state could also be promising places to start and may serve as hubs to drive adoption expansion in neighboring counties with large-scale production and hence increased propensity to adopt. extension agents will need to collaborate with farmers and extension agents beyond their counties to increase both adoption and meaningful knowledge transfer from the ces to the farmer. the constituent classification results revealed that georgia extension agents work with diverse groups, primarily homeowners, livestock producers, crop growers, and hobby gardeners. this finding should be maintained when executing professional development and resource allocation. although pa is increasing in salience for some constituent groups (e.g., crop growers, foresters, livestock producers), research also shows these groups tend to seek information from private consultants and agribusiness dealers (erickson & lowenberg-deboer, 2024), which illuminates the need for both capacity-building among extension agents and an increased awareness among producers of the potential for agents to meet their pa needs. the findings highlight the importance of ensuring extension agents are equipped with foundational pa knowledge to respond to the demand from this group of clientele effectively. to further describe the potential observability of adoption (rogers, 2003), we also sought to understand the current pa adoption rates in georgia. of the 84 respondents, 50 (59.5%) listed one or more examples of pa being used in their district. when asked which practices were being used, almost half of our respondents (n = 24, 48%) listed gps or gis technology, followed in frequency by auto-navigate technology (n = 16, 32%) and moisture sensors and data collection and monitoring (each with n = 14, 28%). drones, vrt, equipment such as planters, and irrigation were each mentioned more than 10 times. it should be noted that the usda census only broadly measures pa use as yes/no, but has not yet measured the types of practices used, and no other studies have investigated georgia’s pa use on the county level. therefore, the documentation of which practices are being used in georgia provides novel insight into adoption. however, the variability and limited specificity in extension agents’ https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 orton and lee advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 28 responses regarding pa technologies suggest a potential gap in their familiarity with commonly defined categories in the literature and those used by industry providers (erickson & lowenberg-deboer, 2024). many responses from extension agents were broad or lacked detail, which underscores the need for targeted educational efforts to enhance extension agents’ knowledge of pa tools and terminology. across the state, an average adoption rate of 43.78% was reported. however, when looking at the county level, patterns emerge. the southern half of the state had higher levels of reported adoption than the northern half, which aligns with findings from the 2022 usda census (usda, 2025). this finding is further supported by the fact that most of the large-scale peanut and cotton production takes place in the southern half of the state (usda, 2025), aligning with studies finding high-density commodities adopt pa technologies more rapidly (schimmelpfennig & lowenberg-deboer, 2020), likely because their benefits are more visible to farmers (rogers, 2003), encouraging adoption. our findings do differ from the 7% pa use rate reported in the 2022 usda census, which may suggest extension agents perceive there is more adoption due to the nature of their clientele who may be early adopters or have high information seeking behavior. additionally, while pa can be used on both organic and conventional operations, most agents reported they worked with conventional clientele. the 2022 usda census reported the number of organic farms in georgia had steeply declined by 19% from 2017 to 2022, with only 105 certified organic farms reported (<1%) (usda, 2025). our data showed extension agents perceived a higher rate of organic production (15%), demonstrating organic farmers may be more engaged with extension and therefore perceived as higher in number. this study offers insight into the change agents and information-seeking relationship by focusing on the perspective of the extension agent, laying the groundwork for future research. notably, our instrument could have benefited from additional quantitative items to increase its reliability and better capture the role extension agents play in the knowledge transfer process. while our qualitative measurement of which pa technologies are being used is a place to start, future inquiry should extend these findings to understand which technologies agents are confident in and which would benefit from further training. we also recommend that future research should build upon this foundation to explore the complementary viewpoint by measuring information-seeking behavior and motivations using a farmer sample to provide a more comprehensive understanding of adoption challenges and information dissemination process. additional qualitative inquiry into the nature of the interactions from each viewpoint would also contribute meaningful insight. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 orton and lee advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 29 acknowledgments funding information: this study is based on work supported by the research capacity fund (hatch) project, national institute of food and agriculture, u.s. department of agriculture, number 7009935. conflict of interest: there are no conflicts of interest. previous dissemination: this scholarship has not been previously reported. artificial intelligence: ai tools were not used in this study. author 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(2025). census of agriculture. national agricultural statistics service. https://www.nass.usda.gov/agcensus/ © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.641 https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156668 https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12020305 https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3689311 https://doi.org/10.1017/aae.2018.27 https://www.nass.usda.gov/agcensus/ advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 4, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. suzanna windon, associate professor, department of agricultural economics, sociology, and education, pennsylvania state university, university park, pa, 16802, usa sxk75@psu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9103-5123 2. hosung you, ph.d. candidate, workforce education and development program, college of education, pennsylvania state university, university park, pa, 16802, usa, hfy5138@psu.edul, https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3920-8243 3. aastha adhikari, graduate student, department of agricultural economics, sociology, and education, pennsylvania state university, state college, 16801, usa, aasthamsc2022@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7614-6864 76 how education shapes volunteer motivation and experience: lessons from master gardeners and watershed stewards during covid-19 s. windon1, h. you2, a. adhikari3 article history received: june 14, 2025 accepted: october 28, 2025 published: december 17, 2025 keywords master gardeners; master watershed stewards; graduate degree; nongraduate degree; sdg 4: quality education abstract this study investigates how educational attainment shaped the motivations and experiences of extension master gardeners (mgs) and master watershed stewards (mwss) during the initial phase of the covid-19 pandemic. the pandemic’s disruptions provided a unique context for examining how volunteers with differing educational backgrounds engaged with extension programming and adapted their roles. this research is part of a larger project that examined the relationships between volunteer leadership competencies and stewardship behaviors within penn state extension's mg and mws programs. an online questionnaire was distributed to 3,000 volunteers, yielding 1,196 responses (39.9% response rate). of these, 331 participants (27.7%) provided open-ended responses describing their motivations and experiences, which were analyzed in this study. a mixedmethods design integrated thematic analysis, latent dirichlet allocation (lda) topic modeling, natural language processing, and principal component analysis (pca). results indicated that volunteers with graduate degrees frequently assumed strategic and leadership-oriented roles emphasizing virtual engagement and innovation, while those without graduate degrees focused on hands-on service, community outreach, and applied learning. despite these variations, both groups demonstrated resilience and a strong commitment to service. findings underscore the importance of aligning volunteer roles with educational backgrounds to enhance engagement, satisfaction, and program effectiveness. implications for extension programming and future research are discussed. mailto:sxk75@psu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9103-5123 mailto:hfy5138@psu.edul https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3920-8243 mailto:aasthamsc2022@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7614-6864 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 77 introduction and problem statement volunteerism involves individuals contributing their time and expertise to advance community or nonprofit goals (stukas et al., 2014). in the united states, extension organizations play a key role in empowering communities by providing volunteer education and training opportunities, even amid global uncertainty and rapid change (osafo, 2020). volunteers are critical to delivering educational outreach that enhances community resilience and facilitates knowledge sharing within the cooperative extension system. among these efforts, the master gardener (mg) and master watershed steward (mws) programs are particularly significant, as they foster public awareness of horticulture and environmental conservation (blair et al., 2021; eiseman et al., 2020). investing in volunteer learning and leadership within these programs produces social and economic returns. for example, the work of master gardener volunteers as community educators has been valued at approximately $9 million in economic impact (strong & harder, 2011). through hands-on training and leadership development, mg and mws programs prepare participants to share their gardening and watershed management expertise while serving as leaders within their local communities (dorn et al., 2019). in 2020, the global covid-19 pandemic disrupted these efforts in an unprecedented manner. health restrictions halted most in-person volunteer activities, compelling organizations such as cooperative extension to swiftly transition to virtual platforms and implement new safety measures to sustain engagement (israel et al., 2020). although past crises have demonstrated that volunteers often intensify their commitment during emergencies, seeking purpose and social connection through service (miao et al., 2021), the pandemic introduced distinctive challenges. social isolation, health-related anxieties, and the abrupt shift to digital modes of participation complicated the traditional dynamics of volunteer engagement (principi et al., 2022). given the disruption caused by the pandemic, examining what motivates and sustains these volunteers is crucial for maintaining program continuity and community impact (dorn et al., 2021). this study examines how mgs and mwss remained engaged during the early stages of the pandemic and investigates whether their educational backgrounds influenced their motivations for serving. theoretical and conceptual framework motivation for volunteering in the functional approach to volunteer motivation, clary and snyder (1999) and colleagues developed the volunteer functions inventory (vfi) to categorize six primary motivations: values, understanding, social, career, protective, and enhancement (clary et al., 1998). the values function refers to altruistic motives, such as volunteering to help others and contributing https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 78 to the greater good, which reflects deeply held personal values and civic responsibility (agostinho & paço, 2012; clary et al., 1998). this altruistic drive often brings personal fulfillment and is frequently cited as a core reason people engage in community service (bruyere & rappe, 2007). the understanding function involves a desire for new knowledge and skills; volunteers are motivated by opportunities to learn and to apply their expertise in real-world settings (clary et al., 1998). especially in educational or environmental programs, volunteers seek to deepen their understanding of community issues and gain horticultural or scientific knowledge through service. the career function pertains to utilitarian benefits, such as volunteering to gain experience, maintain skills, or explore new career paths (clary et al., 1998). this motive is common among younger or early-career individuals who view volunteer service as a means of professional development or building their résumé. the social function of volunteering emphasizes relationships and a sense of belonging. many volunteers are driven by the social aspects, such as being part of a group, making friends, or engaging in an activity that is viewed favorably by one’s social network (clary et al., 1998; mohd rashid et al., 2023). social motivations can reinforce a sense of community and encourage sustained involvement through camaraderie and peer support. finally, the protective and enhancement functions capture motivations tied to self-concept. the protective function involves volunteering to reduce guilt or address personal issues, essentially to protect the ego from negative feelings (e.g., offsetting one’s relative privilege by giving back) (clary et al., 1998). the enhancement function goes beyond protection, seeking to enhance one’s self-esteem and personal growth through service (clary et al., 1998). volunteers motivated by enhancement report that volunteering lifts their mood, increases their self-worth, and provides satisfaction from doing something meaningful. together, these functions demonstrate that volunteer motivation is multifaceted; many volunteers are drawn to service by a combination of altruistic and self-oriented incentives. cultural and personal norms can also influence volunteer motivation. social and moral obligations often play a role. for example, some individuals feel a sense of duty or moral obligation to engage in their communities. those driven by duty may volunteer because they feel it is the “right thing to do,” or because of normative pressure from family, religion, or community expectations (okun, 1994). research has shown that fulfilling a moral obligation (e.g., to “give back” or serve one’s community) is a significant predictor of frequent volunteering, especially among older adults. similarly, among college students, perceived moral obligation to help others can strongly predict intentions to volunteer for community service (hyde & knowles, 2013). in such cases, the value motive is intertwined with personal identity and ethical self-concept. volunteers may publicly emphasize altruistic reasons for volunteering, which are socially applauded, even as they also pursue personal benefits, such as learning or networking (grimm & needham, 2011; kiptot et al., 2016). this dynamic interplay, sometimes described as “altruistic individualism,” suggests that volunteers simultaneously seek to benefit others and themselves (kiptot et al., 2016; peachey et al., 2013). for extension volunteer programs, recognizing the spectrum of volunteer motivations is crucial. recruitment and https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 79 retention strategies should address this diversity, offering opportunities that fulfill volunteers’ desires to do good, learn, socialize, advance their careers, and find personal fulfillment. impact of volunteerism on local communities community volunteer programs foster social cohesion, civic engagement, and resilience (jenkinson et al., 2013). in community health, volunteer-led initiatives have improved access to essential resources, including nutritious food and healthcare information, which in turn correlates with better health outcomes for community members (baker et al., 2020). by improving local food security—through community gardens, food drives, nutrition workshops, and other initiatives—volunteers help address public health issues such as hunger and poor nutrition, promoting social interaction and mutual support (baker et al., 2020). these efforts can reduce isolation and foster supportive relationships, which are particularly valuable in times of uncertainty or crisis. environmental volunteers support conservation efforts, promoting sustainability and ecosystem health (demirović et al., 2018; hsiao et al., 2019). research indicates that volunteers in environmental programs contribute significantly to ecological outcomes, including increased recycling rates, improved urban green spaces, and the conservation of local watersheds (hsiao et al., 2019). beyond the direct ecological benefits, involving community members in environmental projects raises environmental awareness and advocacy. people who volunteer for environmental causes often adopt more sustainable behaviors in their personal lives and influence others to do the same (demirović et al., 2018). moreover, volunteer labor provides significant economic value by offsetting personnel costs and contributing millions of dollars’ worth of service to environmental and educational initiatives (kirk-ballard et al., 2024). for example, a coordinated community clean-up led by volunteers can save a municipality substantial funds while engendering community pride. importantly, volunteers often become ambassadors for environmental issues, educating their peers and advocating for policy changes at the local level (demirović et al., 2018). mg and mws challenges during covid-19 and educational background the u.s. cooperative extension system effectively engages volunteers through specialized initiatives such as the master gardener (mg) and master watershed steward (mws) programs. these initiatives demonstrate how volunteer networks can expand the reach of educational institutions and enhance their community impact. master gardeners are community volunteers who receive extensive horticultural training to help extension professionals share research-based gardening knowledge with the public. training typically involves 40–80 hours of instruction covering plant biology, soil management, pest control, and sustainable gardening practices. in exchange, volunteers contribute service hours, commonly 50 hours in their first year and additional hours in subsequent years, to retain their certification (blair et al., 2021). mgs engage in various outreach efforts, including conducting educational workshops, providing guidance through garden hotlines, creating https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 80 community gardens, and supporting public events such as fairs and farmers’ markets (bennett et al., 2013; kirk-ballard et al., 2024). these activities promote environmentally responsible gardening and enhance community food production, urban green infrastructure, and public understanding of horticultural science (strong & harder, 2011; windon et al., 2023). beyond education, mg-led projects contribute to food security and nutrition by increasing access to locally grown produce and encouraging biodiversity by cultivating native plant species. in cities and suburbs, initiatives such as pollinator gardens and tree plantings help sustain ecosystem connectivity and mitigate biodiversity loss (goddard et al., 2010). similarly, master watershed stewards complete in-depth training on water resource management and environmental stewardship. their coursework emphasizes watershed dynamics, water quality assessment, stream restoration, and community-based pollution prevention strategies (eiseman et al., 2020). mws volunteers collaborate with extension educators and conservation partners on stream cleanups, riparian buffer restoration, rain garden construction, and public education on stormwater management. through these efforts, they help extend the capacity of local and regional agencies to monitor and protect water resources. the pandemic disrupted mg and mws programs by limiting in-person activities, especially impacting older adults and those without digital access (giua et al., 2021; principi et al., 2022). coordinators responded with virtual tools, solo projects, and urgent community support, such as addressing food insecurity (corley et al., 2021; eiseman et al., 2020; lopez et al., 2021). this revealed volunteer resilience and increased altruism (mak & fancourt, 2021). educational attainment influences engagement: volunteers with graduate degrees often prefer leadership and civic roles (ferreira et al., 2012; posner, 2015), whereas those without advanced degrees tend to emphasize hands-on impact and community ties (van sickle et al., 2015). although motivations overlap, engagement differs (windon et al., 2023). this study examines how motivations vary by education, analyzing narratives to inform the development of inclusive volunteer strategies. purpose this study is an extension of a larger research project examining the relationship between volunteer leadership competencies and stewardship action-taking experiences among penn state extension master gardener (mg) and master watershed (mw) volunteers. building on that foundation, the present study investigates the factors that influenced mgs and mwss during the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic, with particular attention to how educational attainment, specifically, whether volunteers held a graduate degree, shaped their motivations and experiences. the pandemic provided a distinctive context for exploring volunteer engagement amid widespread disruption and uncertainty. guided by the research question, 'how did educational attainment shape volunteer motivation and experience among extension mgs and mwss during covid-19?' this study seeks to advance the understanding of volunteer https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 81 behavior and resilience in times of crisis. the insights gained will help extension program coordinators design engagement strategies that better align with volunteers’ intrinsic motivations, supporting crisis response and ongoing program effectiveness. methods research design and context this study analyzes open-ended responses from a broader cross-sectional online survey of penn state extension mgs and mwss, focused on volunteer motivations during early covid-19 restrictions. we followed dillman et al’s (2014) method and surveyed 3,000 mgs and mwss, receiving 1,196 responses (39.9% response rate). of these, 331 participants (27.7%) provided open-ended responses describing their motivations and experiences, which were analyzed in this study. a mixed-methods design integrated thematic analysis, latent dirichlet allocation (lda) topic modeling, natural language processing, and principal component analysis (pca). we consulted braun and clarke's (2006) thematic analysis and latent dirichlet allocation topic modeling (blei et al., 2003) to identify and interpret patterns in the narratives. three researchers independently coded responses, refining a codebook collaboratively through inductive and deductive processes guided by volunteer motivation theory (clary et al., 1998). peer debriefing ensured rigor and confirmed consistency between the manual and web analysis results. our mixed-methods approach integrated nlp preprocessing, lda topic modeling (blei et al., 2003) with hyperparameter tuning, and pca visualization, followed by collaborative qualitative interpretation within clary et al.'s (1998) motivation theory framework, as discussed above. data collection for this study, we examined a subset of survey responses that included narrative comments submitted in response to an open-ended question about volunteer experiences and motivations during the covid-19 pandemic. specifically, participants were prompted to "describe your experiences as a master gardener/watershed steward during the covid-19 pandemic, including what motivated you to continue (or not continue) your volunteer service." we collected demographic information through the initial online survey. key variables included participants’ highest level of education, years of volunteer experience, and current employment status. for this study, we created a dichotomous education variable: “graduate degree” (master’s or doctoral degree) versus “non-graduate degree” (associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, or no college degree). after excluding incomplete or off-topic entries, we analyzed qualitative responses from 331 study participants in the final analytic sample. of these, 150 (45.3%) held a graduate degree, while 181 (54.7%) did not. most participants had multiple years of experience, ranging from 1 to 2 years for newer volunteers to over 20 years for long-term participants. table 1 displays the distribution of volunteer experience and employment status across educational levels. we conducted chi-square tests to determine whether significant differences exist between volunteers with and without graduate degrees on these variables. the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 82 distribution of volunteer tenure did not significantly differ between those with graduate degrees and those without (p = .212). both educational groups were similarly represented across all experience categories, from early-stage volunteers (1–3 years) to those with over a decade of service. this suggests that educational attainment did not correspond with longer or shorter engagement in extension volunteer programs. table 1 volunteer characteristics by educational level: years of volunteer experience and employment status items graduate degree, % non-graduate degree, % n p-value total 150 181 331 years of volunteering experience 1-3 years 44 (46.6) 51 (53.4) 95 .212 3-5 years 21 (40.4) 31 (59.6) 62 5-10 years 40 (46.5) 46 (53.5) 52 11-19 years 27 (43.5) 35 (56.5) 86 unknown 18 (50) 18 (50) 36 employment status full-time 26 (44.8) 32 (55.2) 58 ≤.05 other 16 (25.8) 46 (74.2) 62 part-time 9 (42.9) 12 (57.1) 21 retired 82 (47.9) 88 (52.1) 170 self-employed 9 (42.9) 12 (57.1) 21 employment status, however, showed a marginally significant difference between groups (p = .05). volunteers without graduate degrees were more likely to report "other" forms of employment (74.2%) compared to their graduate-educated counterparts (25.8%). conversely, a greater proportion of graduate degree holders reported full-time employment (44.8% vs. 55.2%) and retirement (47.9% vs. 52.1%). these patterns may suggest subtle differences in time availability or employment flexibility, which could potentially shape how and why individuals engage with volunteer service. however, the overall comparability between the two groups supports the validity of subsequent thematic comparisons in volunteer motivations. participants we divided participants based on their highest degree attained: 45.3% held a graduate degree, while 54.7% did not. the two groups did not differ significantly in volunteer tenure (χ² = 5.83, p = .21) but showed a slight difference in employment status (χ² = 9.49, p = .05), warranting further consideration. data preparation we exported 331 open-ended survey responses for qualitative analysis and applied multiple strategies to ensure credibility and analytical rigor. three researchers independently coded the data and reviewed latent dirichlet allocation (lda) topics, resolving discrepancies collaboratively to minimize bias (creswell, 1998). we incorporated participant quotes to ground interpretations and triangulated findings from lda, principal component analysis (pca), and https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 83 manual coding to enhance contextual accuracy (griffiths & steyvers, 2004). lda provided a foundation for deeper qualitative interpretation. quantitative data underwent verification, with chi-square tests (p < .05) and fisher’s exact tests applied as appropriate. to maintain consistency, we performed standard text preprocessing, including lowercasing, cleaning, and tokenizing the text, correcting typographical errors, and standardizing terminology (e.g., combining “mg” and “master gardener” under a single label). we removed common stop words (e.g., “the,” “and,” “to”) and generated bigrams to retain meaningful fixed phrases such as “food pantry.” we eliminated personally identifying details, including names and geographic references, to protect respondent confidentiality. we also reviewed highly frequent context-specific terms like “covid” and “pandemic,” flagging them to prevent these dominant words from overshadowing subtler motivational themes. after preprocessing, the dataset was ready for computational and thematic analysis. the final corpus contained several thousand words reflecting diverse volunteer perspectives on motivation, challenges, emotions, and actions during the pandemic. three researchers each open-coded 20% of responses before developing and applying a shared codebook across the whole dataset, achieving intercoder agreement above 0.80. to further strengthen confirmability, we employed peer debriefing and negative-case analysis following lincoln and guba’s trustworthiness framework as summarized by creswell (1998). analytic workflow as shown in figure 1, our process unfolded in three phases. we administered a web survey that yielded 1,196 responses (39.9% return rate) and 331 (27.7%) for mgs and mwss volunteers, with (n=150) and without (n=181) graduate degrees. we used lda, a topic modeling technique, to identify latent themes in volunteer responses, treating each response as a mixture of topics (blei et al., 2003; inoue et al., 2022). to visualize topic relationships and reduce dimensionality, we applied principal component analysis (pca) (hotelling, 1933). using python’s gensim, we selected a five-topic model based on coherence scores (röder et al., 2015). separate lda models were run to explore motivation differences for volunteers with (n=150) and without (n=181) graduate degrees. topics were labeled collaboratively, combining inductive analysis with frameworks like the volunteer functions inventory (braun & clarke, 2006; clary et al., 1998). two researchers independently reviewed data and resolved discrepancies to ensure rigor (lincoln & guba, 1985). triangulating lda, pca, and manual coding grounded interpretations in participants’ words (griffiths & steyvers, 2004). quantitative results were verified using chi-square and fisher’s exact tests (p < .05). this mixed-methods approach strengthened the validity and depth of the findings. two analysts identified topics by drawing on the volunteer functions inventory and thematic heuristics (braun & clarke, 2006; clary & snyder, 1999), achieving a κ value of greater than .80. we translated the model outputs into meaningful insights during interpretation, identifying community non-graduates and leadership graduates. three overarching themes—pandemic https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 84 adaptation, community commitment, and personal development emerged from the ten lda topics listed in table 2. we confirmed these findings through peer debriefing and triangulation across lda, pca, and manual coding (griffiths & steyvers, 2004; lincoln & guba, 1985). figure 1 thematic analysis process (consolidated): from lda topic modeling to emergent themes in mgs and mwss analysis with latent dirichlet allocation (lda) we applied latent dirichlet allocation (lda), a probabilistic topic modeling technique developed by blei et al. (2003), to identify latent themes within the volunteer narratives. lda is particularly effective for uncovering underlying thematic structures in large bodies of text. it operates under the assumption that each document, in this case, each volunteer comment, represents a mixture of topics, and that each topic consists of a set of words that tend to cooccur across the corpus. we selected lda for its ability to inductively generate topic clusters without predefined coding schemes, aligning well with the exploratory nature of our research. we followed three steps to conduct the lda analysis. step 1. we implemented the model using the gensim library in python and experimented with various model parameters, including the number of topics. we evaluated model performance using coherence scores and qualitative interpretability. based on these assessments, we identified five topics as the optimal number for each subgroup (volunteers with graduate degrees and those without). preliminary models indicated that additional topics offered diminishing thematic distinction, whereas five-topic solutions struck a balance between parsimony and thematic richness. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 85 step 2. we conducted separate lda analyses on two subsets of the data: one comprising responses from volunteers with graduate degrees and the other from those without. this approach enabled us to identify topic structures that may be distinct for each educational group. the lda model generated a set of topics for each subgroup, each defined by a list of high-probability keywords. to interpret these topics, we reviewed the top 10–15 keywords associated with each and examined representative excerpts—individual responses that the model assigned a high probability of belonging to a given topic. this process allowed us to anchor abstract topic structures in the language and expressions used by the volunteers themselves. step 3. we collaboratively assigned descriptive labels to each topic (e.g., “adaptation and learning,” “community outreach challenges”) through an iterative process involving discussion and cross-validation among the research team. while lda facilitated the identification of thematic patterns in a large textual dataset, our interpretation was informed by inductive insights emerging from the data and deductive reasoning grounded in established frameworks of volunteer motivation. by integrating algorithmic modeling with human interpretive analysis, we aimed to maintain contextual sensitivity and enhance the trustworthiness and depth of our findings. principal component analysis and topic visualization following topic identification using the lda, we examined the relationships among topics within and across the two volunteer subgroups. to achieve this, we used principal component analysis (pca), a dimensionality reduction method introduced by hotelling (1933). pca transforms high-dimensional data, in this case, the word probability distributions that define each lda-derived topic, into a smaller set of orthogonal components that capture the greatest variance in the data. we used pca to project the five topics from each subgroup into a twodimensional space, allowing for visual comparison of topic similarity and divergence. this visualization facilitated the identification of thematic proximity and potential overlaps or distinctions between topics generated for graduate-degree and non-graduate-degree volunteers. we generated two separate scatterplots to visualize the topic structures identified through lda: one for the five topics derived from graduate-degree volunteers and one for those from non-graduate-degree volunteers. in each plot, individual points represent topics, positioned according to their coordinates on the first two principal components from the pca. this visualization allowed us to assess which topics clustered closely, indicating thematic similarity, and which appeared as outliers, suggesting distinct or unique themes. we aimed to identify the shared and distinct motivational patterns of the two groups. we expected some conceptual overlap, such as themes related to adapting to pandemic-related changes, while anticipating that other topics would reveal experiences or values unique to each group. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 86 we compared the two pca plots (figure 2 for the graduate group and figure 3 for the nongraduate group) to assess where themes converged or diverged qualitatively. when both plots displayed clusters related to education or learning, we interpreted this as evidence of an everyday motivational driver. in contrast, if the graduate-degree group exhibited a distinct and isolated cluster associated with “leadership,” we viewed this as an indication that leadership held greater relevance or was expressed differently among volunteers with higher educational attainment. trustworthiness and rigor we implemented several validation strategies to enhance the credibility and dependability of our findings. during data coding and interpretation, we employed investigator triangulation, where two researchers independently reviewed subsets of responses and lda topics, resolving differences through discussion and refining topic labels collaboratively. this process minimized individual bias and supported analytic rigor (lincoln & guba, 1985, as cited in creswell, 1998). we also incorporated long text descriptions by presenting illustrative quotes for each theme, grounding interpretations in participants’ words. methodologically, we triangulated computational techniques (lda and pca) with manual qualitative review to ensure that algorithmically derived patterns were contextually meaningful (griffiths & steyvers, 2004). we treated lda outputs as heuristic tools for deeper qualitative interpretation. for the quantitative analysis, we verified accuracy by double-checking the data and statistical procedures. chisquare tests were conducted at a 0.05 significance level, with fisher’s exact test used when assumptions were not met. together, these strategies enhanced trustworthiness and interpretive clarity of our results. findings lda-derived topics among mg and mws with a graduate degree latent dirichlet allocation (lda) generated five distinct topics from the open-ended responses provided by volunteers with graduate degrees. each topic was defined by a set of terms with high probability weights, as determined by the lda model’s word distributions, rather than by simple word frequency. topic 1: personal development and pandemic constraints. this topic captured volunteers’ reflections on the dual nature of their experience, highlighting both the opportunities and limitations associated with their involvement. respondents frequently mentioned a desire to “gain experience” or improve their gardening skills, reflecting a motivation for personal enrichment amid the challenges of pandemic-related safety protocols and scheduling adjustments. topic 2: training demands and emotional ambivalence. comments on this topic expressed mixed feelings about increased training or volunteering expectations. while some respondents appreciated the chance to learn and contribute, others described feeling overwhelmed or https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 87 burdened. this tension between perceived obligation and personal growth underscored a complex emotional response to expanded responsibilities during a disruptive period. topic 3: collaboration and adaptability. this theme emphasized group-based engagement, including online classes, virtual meetings, and collaborative community initiatives. despite disruptions caused by covid-19, many participants voiced a continued commitment to volunteering in whatever capacity was possible, signaling resilience and adaptability in the face of shifting circumstances. topic 4: leadership and outreach challenges. this topic reflected participants’ leadership orientation and focus on public engagement in horticultural and environmental domains. while there were many noted barriers to information sharing during in-person restrictions, they remained proactive in sustaining outreach efforts and engaging fellow volunteers. topic 5: optimism and goal orientation. the final topic highlighted a forward-looking perspective on horticultural expertise and institutional milestones. respondents frequently referenced “native plants,” specific “requirements”, and organizational guidelines, often framing their involvement as a source of optimism and purpose, even amid pandemic-related disruptions. visualization: mg and mws with a graduate degree figure 2 presents a two-dimensional pca plot of five topics derived from mg and mws volunteers with graduate degrees, explaining 83.7% of the variance (pc1: 59.4%, pc2: 24.3%). topics 1, 3, and 4 cluster together, reflecting overlapping themes of community involvement, leadership, and hands-on volunteering. their low cosine distances suggest that they share similar motivations. topic 5, focused on horticultural knowledge (e.g., “native plants”), stands apart on the horizontal axis, indicating a distinct motivational dimension. topic 2, located higher on the vertical axis, centers on emotional experiences, with terms like “feel” and “enjoy,” highlighting the personal and subjective aspects of volunteering. lda-derived topics among mg and mws without graduate degree latent dirichlet allocation (lda) identified five distinct topics from the open-ended responses of mg and mws volunteers without graduate degrees. topic 1: resilience in the face of disruption. this topic captured volunteers’ reflections on the disruptions caused by the pandemic, alongside their continued determination to “keep going.” many participants emphasized the importance of acquiring new knowledge and experiences, which suggested an adaptive mindset despite ongoing uncertainties and challenges. topic 2: community education and outreach motivation. respondents in this topic emphasized their enthusiasm for community education and their personal motivation to expand outreach efforts. while acknowledging the constraints of covid-19 on public events and face-to-face interactions, volunteers expressed a strong desire to bridge knowledge gaps and connect with others through alternative means. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 88 topic 3: volunteering and personal responsibilities. this topic highlighted the tension between volunteering and personal obligations, particularly family responsibilities such as caring for children. volunteers emphasized their commitment to self-development, leadership skillbuilding, and improving their local communities, despite the added challenges posed by balancing these competing demands. topic 4: hands-on stewardship and logistical challenges. participants in this topic emphasized the importance of hands-on, field-based stewardship, particularly in activities such as watershed conservation. while many volunteers noted logistical hurdles, such as limited funding or difficulties with coordination, they emphasized the importance of physical presence in these efforts, adapting to safety protocols as necessary. topic 5: teaching and active engagement. this topic focused on the shift to online platforms and the volunteers' continued success in meeting institutional requirements for certification. despite these shifts, many respondents continued to express their preference for direct, handson involvement in projects whenever feasible, reflecting a sustained desire for “active” engagement. figure 2 principal component analysis (pca) plots of emergent themes among mg and mws with nongraduate degrees. visualization: mg and mws without a graduate degree figure 3 illustrates five topics from mg and mws volunteers without graduate degrees, with pca components accounting for 77.9% of the variance (pc1: 52.6%, pc2: 25.3%). topic 4, https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 89 focused on fieldwork (“watershed,” “field”), stands apart, suggesting a distinct motivation for hands-on conservation. topics 1 and 3 cluster together, highlighting shared themes of pandemic impact, community, and family obligations. topic 2, located lower on the vertical axis, emphasizes education and aspiration (“love,” “education,” “opportunities”) as separate motivational drivers. topic 5 sits near the center and overlaps with topic 3, suggesting personal growth and teaching are core, cross-cutting motivations for this group. figure 3 principal component analysis (pca) plots of emergent themes among mg and mws with nongraduate degrees. comparative analysis educational attainment influenced the motivations and experiences of extension mgs and mwss during the early covid-19 pandemic. both groups demonstrated strong commitment and resilience; however, graduate-degree volunteers focused on strategic leadership and program development, while non-graduate volunteers emphasized hands-on fieldwork and community-level adaptations. pca visualizations confirmed these patterns, with graduate volunteers clustering around strategic themes and non-graduate volunteers around practical engagement. graduate volunteers sought specialized knowledge and leadership roles; nongraduate volunteers prioritized skill-building and community participation. these differences suggest the need for tailored volunteer management, offering leadership opportunities for graduates and hands-on projects for others, while both groups share a strong service commitment that supports effective extension programs. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 90 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations as detailed in figure 1, we conducted a three-phase analytic workflow, encompassing data collection, preprocessing with latent dirichlet allocation (lda), and thematic interpretation, to demonstrate how educational attainment influences the ways extension master gardeners (mgs) and master watershed stewards (mwss) translate motivation into action. we began by dividing the 331 open-ended survey narratives into two groups: graduate (n = 150) and nongraduate (n = 181). we then cleaned, tokenized, and weighted the text. guided by röder et al.’s (2015) coherence metric and an elbow-curve inspection, we trained separate five-topic lda models using gensim. we used principal component analysis to distill topic probabilities for visual comparison and applied chi-square and fisher exact tests (α = .05) to quantify differences between groups. two analysts independently identified the topics, integrating inductive term patterns with the volunteer functions inventory and reflexive thematic heuristics (braun & clarke, 2006; clary & snyder, 1999), achieving a κ value greater than .80. we secured analytic rigor by triangulating lda output, pca results, and manual codes, and by incorporating peer debriefing and negative-case analysis (lincoln & guba, 1985). comparative lda outcomes identified three primary themes by level of education. adaptation to pandemic restrictions accounted for 37.2% of graduate accounts and 42.3% of non-graduate accounts, which correlated at .68 (p < .01). resilience manifested within both groups, according to studies (mak & fancourt, 2021; windon et al., 2023); graduates emphasized online innovation "i assisted in the launch of an off-campus consulting program where residents could submit photos of plant problems and get expert advice" and non-graduates mentioned hyper-local solutions such as front-yard demonstration plots on view from the sidewalk. a commitment to community and collective action was evidenced in 45.2% of graduate texts and 38.4% of non-graduate texts (cosine similarity = 0.54, p < 0.01), illustrating the association between altruism and stewardship (hyde & knowles, 2013; kiptot et al., 2016). graduates highlighted leadership and program design, such as "i convened a strategic planning committee to redesign service delivery," whereas non-graduates emphasized direct outreach, including dispensing grow-athome kits through food pantries. personal development and acquisition of skills emerged in approximately one-third of narratives (29.1% graduates, 33.3% non-graduates), demonstrating that motivation to learn propels service (agostinho & paço, 2012; bruyere & rappe, 2007). graduates acquired leadership certificates, "i completed advanced training modules for a program-wide role," while non-graduates acquired hard skills such as diagnostic photography for online pest identification. consolidated findings the lda and pca analyses confirmed that extension mg and mws volunteers remained engaged during the covid-19 pandemic, demonstrating resilience, community commitment, and personal growth. educational background shaped how these motivations manifested. volunteers with a graduate degree adopted a strategic, leadership-oriented approach, focusing on virtual adaptation and program innovation. meanwhile, volunteers without graduate degrees emphasized hands-on service, local outreach, and acquiring practical skills. despite https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 91 these differences, both groups demonstrated strong resilience and dedication, with volunteering serving as a tool for community support and personal coping. implications for research and practice the findings of this study confirm that educational background plays a crucial role in shaping volunteer motivations, providing valuable insights for future research and program development, both during and beyond the global pandemic. these insights should be viewed as lessons learned that can inform ongoing and post-pandemic volunteer engagement strategies. because this study employed a convenience sampling approach, the results cannot be generalized to all volunteer populations. however, we encourage other volunteer-based programs to explore aligning volunteer roles with participants’ educational backgrounds, as this may enhance both volunteer satisfaction and program impact. for example, volunteers with graduate degrees may be well-suited for leadership, mentoring, or strategic planning roles, while those without advanced degrees may prefer more hands-on service and applied learning opportunities. designing flexible, inclusive volunteer programs that recognize and leverage these differences can strengthen retention, increase engagement, and build resilience among volunteers who can adapt to changing circumstances. further research should investigate how education influences volunteer engagement across diverse contexts and organizational settings, not only during crisis periods, such as the covid19 pandemic, but also in more typical operational environments. studies employing mixed methods that combine computational analysis with qualitative interpretation could yield deeper insights into the complex relationship between educational background, motivation, and engagement across various volunteer sectors. acknowledgments funding information: this research was funded by the science to-practice grant, college of agricultural sciences, the pennsylvania state university. conflict of interest: the authors declare no conflicts of interest. previous dissemination: • windon, s., you, h., & adhikari, a. (november 2025). "assessing educational influence on volunteer motivation and engagement: a study of master gardeners and watershed stewards during covid-19." this research poster was presented at the 2025 national association of extension program and staff development professionals (naepsdp) conference in pittsburgh, pa. https://naepsdp.org/page-18525 • windon, s., buchko, o., you, h., & adhikari, a. (may 2025). "extension master gardeners and watershed stewards’ motivation amidst covid-19." this research poster was presented at the 2025 american association for agricultural education conference in lubbock, tx. https://aaea.wildapricot.org/ https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 https://naepsdp.org/page-18525 https://aaea.wildapricot.org/ windon et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 92 artificial intelligence: grammarly and chatgpt were utilized as ai tools to assist in refining language and correcting grammar during manuscript preparation. author contribution statement: s. windon contributed to conceptualization, methodology, instrumentation, data collection, investigation, triangulation, writing-original draft, review, & editing, supervision, project administration; r. h. you – contributed to formal analysis, data coding, investigation, writing-original draft, review, & editing; a. adhikari contributed writing original draft, review and editing. references agostinho, d., & paço, a. 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(2023). volunteers’ stewardship action-taking experiences during the covid-19 pandemic were predicted by their motivation toward engagement and ability to teach others. journal of human sciences and extension, 11(3), 2. https://doi.org/10.55533/2325-5226.1416 © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i4.635 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/lodj-03-2014-0061 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192214755 https://doi.org/10.1145/2684822.2685324 https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2011.04065 https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195399813.013.012 https://doi.org/10.1108/ijefm-12-2014-0029 https://doi.org/10.55533/2325-5226.1416 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 3, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. everett m. martin, graduate student, university of arkansas, 1120 w. maple st., fayetteville, ar 72701, emm016@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9370-5781 2. christopher m. estepp, professor, university of arkansas, 1120 w. maple st., fayetteville, ar 72701, estepp@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7268-9044 3. will doss, assistant professor, texas tech university, box 42131, lubbock, tx 79409 will.doss@ttu.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3163-7528 4. donald m. johnson, university professor, university of arkansas, 1120 w. maple st., fayetteville, ar 72701, dmjohnso@uark.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2592-654x 73 unpacking research impact in agricultural education: implications for role perception and career advancement e. m. martin1, c. m. estepp2, w. doss3, d. m. johnson4 article history received: july 10, 2025 accepted: september 29, 2025 published: october 7, 2025 keywords faculty research impact; research metrics; professorial rank; sdg 4: quality education abstract this study investigates research impact and academic rank progression within agricultural education disciplines, employing metrics such as the h-index, i10 index, and total citations. grounded in vroom's expectancy theory, the research emphasizes the significance of role perception and instrumentality in motivating faculty toward research impact and career advancement. the study collected data from publicly available google scholar profiles of 126 aaae members, spanning the ranks of assistant, associate, and full professors. mean total citations were 120.81 (sd = 110.27) for assistant professors, 685.78 (sd = 682.10) for associate professors, and 1800.63 (sd = 1315.75) for professors. mean h-index values were 5.00 (sd = 3.03), 11.72 (sd = 4.51), and 19.86 (sd = 6.81), respectively. forward subset regression with leave-one-out crossvalidation and forward subset logistic regression minimizing aic were used to identify factors influencing research impact and academic rank transitions. years since first publication (ysfp), faculty size, r1 status, and disciplinary focus predicted research impact. logistic regression models showed ysfp was the only significant variable associated with both rank transitions. these results describe relationships between experience, institutional resources, and sub-disciplinary involvement in shaping research impact and career progression. mailto:emm016@uark.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9370-5781 mailto:estepp@uark.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7268-9044 mailto:will.doss@ttu.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3163-7528 mailto:dmjohnso@uark.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2592-654x martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 74 introduction and problem statement research productivity and impact have long been standard metrics in faculty members' hiring, promotion, and tenure processes (kotrlik et al., 2002; moher et al., 2018). schimanski and alperin (2018) noted the significance of research productivity in personnel decisions has increased over time. additionally, research productivity has been a key indicator of the academic prestige of researchers, institutions, and academic disciplines (birkenholz & simonsen, 2011; burris, 2004; lindner et al., 2020). traditionally, researchers evaluated research productivity based on the number of publications authored (kotrlik et al., 2002); however, many institutions have begun prioritizing impact factor metrics such as the h-index and i10 index to quantify the reach and influence of researchers’ work (moher et al., 2018; schimanski & alperin, 2018). the h-index measures the impact of a researcher's publications based on the number of citations received and is defined as the highest number of publications of a scientist that received h or more citations (schreiber, 2008). the i10 index, specific to google scholar, quantifies the number of articles a researcher has published that have been cited at least 10 times. while these metrics offer a means of assessing research impact, their interpretation can be challenging without an appropriate baseline for comparison. this challenge is particularly relevant as our disciplines refine research impact (the american association for agricultural education [aaae], 2023) amid shifting institutional expectations (stein, 2023). faculty often navigate complex roles, balancing research with substantial teaching, service, and, in some cases, extension, yet are assessed using metrics whose meaning is ambiguous without appropriate baselines (alvarez jr., 2020; lindner et al., 2020; love et al., 2022; sorcinelli, 2007). therefore, the problem addressed in this study is the absence of grounded, discipline-specific benchmarks for interpreting h-index, i10 index, and citation counts across academic ranks in the agricultural education disciplines. to address this gap, we examined research impact using these indicators across assistant, associate, and full professor ranks. theoretical and conceptual framework for faculty navigating the promotion and tenure process, unclear benchmarks for research impact, inconsistent institutional expectations, and the laden pressures of service highlight the need for a framework that explains faculty members’ motivation for career advancement (birkenholz & simonsen, 2011; jackson et al., 2017; moher et al., 2018). accordingly, to explain how perceived expectations and reward pathways shape effort and advancement, we drew on vroom’s (1964) expectancy theory. according to vroom, motivation has three influences, expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. expectancy is a person’s judgment that increased effort will result in increased performance. instrumentality is the belief that increased performance will result in a desired outcome while valence is the importance an individual place on that outcome. porter and lawler (1968) later added role perception as to the theory to help capture whether people know what truly counts as successful performance. role https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 75 perception therefore describes the actions one must take, and the standards one must meet, to achieve desired outcomes. role perception and instrumentality were particularly relevant for this study. instrumentality assesses whether enhancing individual research metrics, such as h-index, i10 index, or citation counts, is worth pursuing and will be acknowledged and rewarded by an individual’s institution and discipline. specifically, understanding research impact benchmarks at different academic ranks, such as assistant, associate, and full professor, can help faculty align efforts with the expectations for advancement. further, by examining the distribution of h-indexes, i10 indexes, and total citations within our agricultural education disciplines, this study provides a clearer picture of where faculty currently stand within their academic rank and what functional goals and standards can be expected moving forward, building role perception within our disciplines. with greater role perception, faculty members can make better informed decisions about allocating their time, engaging in research, and pursuing professional development opportunities. the application of expectancy theory to research impact data can contribute to our understanding of faculty motivation and career advancement. further, it can offer tangible guidance for faculty, administrators, and the discipline in navigating the evolving landscape of research impact in academic careers. purpose the purpose of this study was to examine research impact within agricultural education disciplines using the h-index, i10 index, and total citations across academic ranks. the findings from this study have the potential to provide faculty members with actionable benchmarks to evaluate their own research trajectories and situate their progress within broader disciplinary expectations. in alignment with expectancy theory, these models can serve as tools to clarify role perceptions and help faculty understand how their scholarly efforts may translate into career advancement. the following research objectives guided the study: 1. compare faculty publication metrics (h-index, i10 index, and total citations) across academic ranks. 2. determine what factors have the greatest predictive influence on research impact. 3. determine what factors have the greatest predictive influence in distinguishing between academic ranks. methods we identified all aaae members listed in the online directory who had public google scholar profiles (aaae, n.d.). for the purposes of this study, the target population was defined as tenure-track faculty holding the academic ranks of assistant, associate, or full professor. individuals not listed as one of these ranks was excluded from the search and subsequent analysis. our search yielded profiles for 37 assistant, 46 associate, and 42 professors (n = 126). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 76 we determined professorial ranks and faculty size by consulting university websites and recorded each member’s metrics from their google scholar profile, including the h-index, i10 index, and total citations. we note that google scholar’s accuracy depends on automated matching and author curation, which can introduce omissions or misattributions; therefore, these metrics should be interpreted as best-available estimates (lópez-cózar et al., 2014; sauvayre, 2022). for research objective 1, we described each metric by academic rank using the mean, standard deviation, and confidence intervals. we selected variables for objectives 2 and 3 based on open-access availability and prior evidence on antecedents of faculty productivity and evaluation. career stage (years since first publication) is a well-established driver of output and advancement (chen et al., 2006; tien & blackburn, 1996). further, departmental capacity and university research expectations (faculty size, r1) worked to capture how resources and collaboration structures are linked to higher impact (birkenholz & simonsen, 2011; bland et al., 2005; jamali et al., 2016; lee & bozeman, 2005; mcgill & settle, 2012). disciplinary home and aaae regional context (aged, region) were used to explore the impact of regional expectations and norms. gender was included to gauge impact of documented disparities in impact and promotion (john et al., 2016; love et al., 2022). collectively, these variables index institutional and experiential factors that shape role perception and the perceived instrumentality of research efforts, aligning with our expectancytheory lens (porter & lawler, 1968; vroom, 1964).to minimize variations in cited works, we collected data during two specific time periods: october 14–15, 2023, and december 27–28, 2024. table 1 variables and coding used in this study variable description h-index number of h papers cited h times i10 index number of papers cited 10 times total citations cumulative number of citations across all manuscripts total citations per year total cumulative citations divided by years since first publication years since first publication total years since first publication or phd dissertation gender coded as 1 = male, 0 = female region coded by aaae region; 1 = yes, 0 = no discipline (aged) coded as 1 = agricultural education, 0 = other r1 institution (r1) coded as 1 = yes, 0 = no academic rank each rank coded as 1 = yes, 0 = no δ h-index change in h-index from oct. 2023 to dec. 2024 δ i10 index change in i10 index from oct. 2023 to dec. 2024 δ total citations change in total citations from oct. 2023 to dec. 2024 faculty size total number of faculty within the department https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 77 for objective 2, we applied forward subset regression with leave one out cross validation (loocv) to predict each impact metric, selecting models that minimized loocv mean squared error (derksen & keselman, 1992; james et al., 2013; liu & motoda, 2007). for objective 3, we used forward logistic subset selection with the akaike information criterion (aic) to distinguish (a) assistant vs. associate and (b) associate vs. professor, evaluating performance via confusion matrices (james et al., 2013; singh et al., 2021). our convenience sample of public google scholar profiles (n = 126) limits generalizability and may introduce self selection bias. open access data excluded potentially relevant predictors (jackson et al., 2017; sinclair et al., 2014; wilsdon, 2015). finally, the subset selection methodology explicitly aims to maximize predictive capacity (draper & smith, 1966; james et al., 2013) rather than facilitate traditional hypothesis testing. thus, our analysis focuses on identifying predictors that provide the best model fit. findings our faculty sample was nearly gender balanced, with 51.6% male and 48.4% as female. a majority of faculty (64.3%, n = 81) had agricultural education as their primary discipline, and 84.1% (n = 106) were affiliated with a r1 institution. the average faculty size was 15 members (sd = 10.98). table 2 summarizes the universities included, number of faculty from each institution with google scholar profiles, and corresponding r1 carnegie classifications (american council on education, n.d.) within the sample. assessing our first objective, table 3 presents the means, standard deviations, and 95% confidence intervals for each scholarly metric by academic rank. the data revealed clear and substantial increases in research impact across ranks, with distinct and well-defined demarcations observed. notably, the 95% confidence intervals for the i10 index, h-index, total citations, and years since first publication did not overlap between ranks, indicating statistically significant differences (p < .05). additionally, significant differences (p < .05) were evident between assistant and associate ranks for i10 index change and total citations change. however, overlap in the 95% confidence intervals was observed for citations per year, i10 index change, and total citations change between associate and professor ranks. furthermore, hindex change showed an overlap across all ranks. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 78 table 2 universi6es, faculty with google scholar profiles, and carnegie r1 classifica6ons university faculty with google scholar profiles (n) r1 status (2021) auburn university 2 yes california state university, fresno 1 no clemson university 2 yes illinois state university 1 no iowa state university 6 yes kansas state university 1 yes louisiana state university 1 yes michigan state university 1 yes middle tennessee state university 1 no mississippi state university 1 yes montana state university 1 yes murray state university 1 no new mexico state university 3 no north carolina a&t state university 1 no north carolina state university 3 yes north dakota state university 2 no the ohio state university 7 yes oklahoma state university 6 yes oregon state university 1 yes the pennsylvania state university 3 yes purdue university 6 yes sam houston state university 1 no sul ross state university 1 no tarleton state university 2 no texas a&m university 12 yes texas a&m university–kingsville 1 no texas tech university 4 yes university of arizona 4 yes university of arkansas 4 yes university of arkansas at pine bluff 1 no university of florida 10 yes university of georgia 7 yes university of idaho 1 no university of kentucky 2 yes university of minnesota 2 yes university of missouri 3 yes university of nebraska 2 yes university of nevada, las vegas 1 yes university of tennessee 4 yes utah state university 4 no virginia polytechnic institute and state university 6 yes washington state university 1 yes west virginia university 2 yes note. carnegie classificapons were updated in 2025; the classificapons reported here are based on the 2021 carnegie basic classificapon system. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 79 https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 80 to address objective two, forward stepwise regression with leave-one-out cross-validation (loocv) was utilized to identify factors with the greatest combined predictive capacity on research impact (total citations, h-index, and i10 index (n = 126)). candidate variables for this model were: years since first publication, faculty size, r1 status, aaae regional affiliation, agricultural education as primary discipline, and gender. total citations table 4 presents the results for the total citations final subset model. the model included the predictors years since first publication (ysfp), faculty size, agricultural education discipline (aged), and r1 research institute (r1). table 4 regression results for predic6ve factors of total cita6ons variable estimate (β) se t p intercept -673.44 270.61 -2.489 0.014 ysfp 52.93 8.91 5.395 <0.001 faculty size 16.67 8.07 2.065 0.041 aged 371.24 178.13 2.003 0.047 r1 433.12 239.53 1.807 0.072 this model explained a significant portion of variation in total citations, f(4,121) = 15.96, p < .001, r2 = .324. the final model yielded a loocv mean squared error of 845,565, corresponding to an average predictive deviation of approximately 920 citations. compared to the null model (intercept only), which had a loocv error of 1,216,254, this represents a substantial improvement in predictive accuracy and generalizability. the final regression model produced the following predictive equation for total citations: total citations = -673.44+ ysfp (52.93) + faculty size (16.67) + aged (371.24) + r1 (433.12) i10 index table 5 summarizes the results for the i10 index model. the final model included the predictors ysfp, faculty size, r1, male, and southern region. this model accounted for a significant portion of the variance in the i10 index (f(3,122) = 15.38, p < 0.001, r2 = 0.391). the final model had a loocv mean squared error of 270, corresponding to an average predictive deviation of approximately 16.85. compared to the null model, which had a loocv error 405.14, representing significant improvement in predictive accuracy and generalizability. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 81 table 5 regression results for predic6ve factors of i10 index variable estimate (β) se t p intercept -9.819 4.431 -2.167 0.032 ysfp 1.017 0.164 6.198 <0.001 faculty size 0.405 0.145 2.790 0.006 r1 6.470 4.315 1.500 0.136 gender (male) 4.910 3.212 1.528 0.129 southern region 3.520 2.971 1.185 0.239 the final regression model produced the following predictive equation for i10 index: i10 index = -2.686 + ysfp (1.017) + faculty size (0.405) + r1 (6.470) + gender (male) (4.910) + southern region (3.520) h-index table 6 presents the results for the h-index model. the final model included ysfp, faculty size, aged, and r1. the model explained a significant portion of variation in h-index, f(4,121) = 28.77, p < .001, r2 = .488. under leave-one-out cross-validation, the final model achieved a mean squared prediction error (mse) of 32.84, with an average deviation of 5.73, once again showing an improved fit when compared with 60.54 for the null model. table 6 regression results for predic6ve factors of h-index variable estimate (β) se t p intercept -0.175 1.683 -0.104 0.917 ysfp 0.442 0.056 7.976 <0.001 faculty size 0.175 0.052 3.493 <0.001 aged 2.552 1.142 2.223 0.027 r1 2.936 1.492 1.973 0.051 our final model yielded the following equation to predict h-index: h-index = -0.175 + ysfp (0.442) + faculty size (0.175) + aged (2.552) + r1 (2.936) as the h-index represents the most dynamic measure of research impact, this model provides a robust measure of scholarly impact. further, the loocv error parameter is lower in the h-index model than the i10 index model while having the highest r2 value of all our models, indicating this model's enhanced ability to make accurate predictions within our discipline. taken together, the results from these three models not only highlight key predictors of research impact but also help reinforce the theoretical lens of expectancy theory. by clarifying factors that most strongly predict research impact, these findings help faculty see a direct connection between their efforts and value outcomes, strengthening the perceived instrumentality of their research activities. similarly, clarity of benchmarks for impact supports clearer role perception https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 82 by giving faculty a more concrete understanding of what is expected at different career stages and how their performance contributes to advancement. for research objective three, forward stepwise logistic regression was used, minimizing aic as the selection criterion to identify factors with the greatest predictive capacity for distinguishing between academic ranks. candidate variables included: h-index, years since first publication, faculty size, r1 status, aaae regional affiliation, agricultural education as primary discipline, and gender. the h-index was included as the candidate variable to represent research performance as it represents both productivity and citation impact, providing a more balanced indicator of scholarly influence when compared to total citations or the i10 index. assistant to associate assessing what variables have the greatest combined predictive capacity in distinguishing between assistant and associate professor ranks (n = 83), final logistic regression results are presented in table 7. the final model in the forward stepwise procedure included the predictors ysfp, r1, aged, and h-index. table 7 logis6c results for predic6ve factors to dis6nguish between assistant and associate variable estimate (β) se odds ratio 95% ci for odds ratio p ll ul intercept -11.275 2.988 < 0.001 ysfp 0.951 0.282 2.588 1.490 4.497 < 0.001 aged 2.644 1.248 14.065 1.218 162.465 0.034 r1 2.128 1.373 8.397 0.570 123.744 0.121 h-index 0.196 0.124 1.217 0.955 1.552 0.113 further, to assess predictive accuracy, our model’s confusion matrix is presented in table 8. table 8 confusion matrix for assistant and associate model actual/predicted assistant associate accuracy assistant 35 2 94.59% associate 2 45 95.74% this model had an overall 95.24% predictive accuracy in distinguishing between assistant and associate ranks, while performing slightly better in predicting the associate rank. further, this model revealed the importance of ysfp and being affiliated with the aged discipline, being statistically significant and positively impacting the likelihood of being an associate professor. hindex and r1 status were also retained in the final model. both were positive but nonsignificant effects, suggesting they may relate to advancement, but their unique contributions https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 83 are modest once year in the profession and disciplinary affiliation are accounted for. further, confidence intervals for aged and r1 were particularly wide, reflecting limited precision in these estimates and should be interpreted with caution. associate to professor when assessing the variables that have the greatest combined predictive capacity in distinguishing between the associate and professor ranks (n = 88), the final logistic regression results are presented in table 9. the final model in the forward stepwise procedure included the predictors ysfp, h-index, faculty size, and north central. table 9 logis6c results for predic6ve factors to dis6nguish between associate and professor variable estimate (β) se odds ratio 95% ci for odds ratio p ll ul intercept -8.015 1.802 < 0.001 ysfp 0.217 0.057 1.249 1.127 1.413 < 0.001 h-index 0.374 0.107 1.454 1.213 1.855 < 0.001 faculty size -0.068 0.098 0.934 0.860 1.001 0.072 north central -1.392 0.916 0.248 0.035 1.343 0.128 to assess this model’s predictive accuracy, its confusion matrix is presented in table 10. table 10 confusion matrix for associate and professor model actual/predicted associate professor accuracy associate 40 6 86.96% professor 7 36 83.72% this model had an overall 85.39% predictive accuracy in distinguishing between associate and professor ranks while performing slightly better in predicting the associate rank. these results illustrate the slightly more complicated nature of distinguishing between associate to professor ranks when compared to assistant to associate. in this model, ysfp and h-index are strong predictors of promotion to professor, illustrating the impact of experiences and sustained scholarly impact. conversely, the negative association between faculty size and north central, though not significant, reflects the nuance of the interpretation of these models. it is unclear whether these negative associations reflect that these factors have direct negative implications or if they provide balance to the other factors in the model due to collinearity, illustrating a limitation of our methodology. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 84 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations while google scholar provides a practical source for examining scholarly output and research impact, its indexing and data quality have recognized limitations (lópez-cózar et al., 2014; sauvayre, 2022). still, the present findings show how these metrics can guide the use of research impact indicators, provide a model for future studies regarding research impact, and offer insights into the development of role expectancy within our disciplines (porter & lawler, 1968; vroom, 1964). by quantifying progression in research impact (h-index, i10 index, total citations) across ranks, this study offers faculty and administrators clearer reference points for evaluating scholarly trajectories. our analysis revealed clear progression in research impact (hindex, i10 index, total citations) across ranks. however, annual impact metrics (yearly changes in i10 index, citations, h-index, and total citations per year) overlapped confidence intervals, indicating they offer a more nuanced comparison of scholarly performance between ranks. the consistent overlap in annual h-index changes further demonstrates the complexity in setting distinct research impact expectations. regression analyses identified several consistent predictors of research impact: years since first publication (ysfp), faculty size and r1 institutions significantly impacted total citations, i10 index, and h-index. being primarily in the agricultural education (aged) sub-discipline increased total citations and h-index scores. these results show how institutional resources, collaboration, and disciplinary focus contribute to scholarly output and help shape role perception and the perceived instrumentality of research investment (bland et al., 2005; jackson et al., 2017; jamali et al., 2016; porter & lawler, 1968; vroom, 1964 ). rank-progression analysis continues to sharpen this picture. for assistant to associate, years since first publication (ysfp) and aged were significant positive predictors, while h-index and r1 were positive but not significant; given the wide cis for aged and r1, these effects should be interpreted cautiously. for associate to professor, ysfp and h-index were significant and positive, indicating that time in the field and a sustained, cumulative citation record carry the greatest weight at senior promotion. conversely, faculty size and north central entered as negative, non-significant predictors, improving model fit but pointing to contextual complexity rather than simple linear relationships between setting and advancement. the differing predictor profiles across academic ranks highlights early advancement aligns more with time-infield and disciplinary context (ysfp, aged), whereas senior promotion emphasizes a sustained, cumulative citation record (ysfp, h-index). recognizing these rank-contingent expectations is essential for fair evaluation and targeted mentoring. while the study lacks generalizability, findings help expand our understanding of the complex nature of faculty research impact and career advancement. first, ysfp emerged consistently as a key factor, emphasizing sustained importance of commitment to research throughout faculty careers. second, variables such as faculty size and r1 affiliations reinforce the critical role institutional context plays in impact (bonn & bouter, 2023; jackson et al., 2017). third, the https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 85 unique impact patterns of aged faculty suggest distinct disciplinary strengths that could be drawn upon to enhance broader sub-disciplinary research development. despite statistically significant predictors, our models explained only a moderate portion of impact variance with relatively high prediction errors, signaling potential overfitting (hastie et al., 2009). this suggests the presence of influential but unmeasured factors such as teaching loads, service engagement, and intangible scholarly impacts (kotrlik et al., 2002; ramirezmontoya et al., 2023; wisdom et al., 20215). thus, additional exploration is needed to fully understand the determinants of research impact. overall, findings support expectancy theory by clarifying the importance of role perceptions and instrumentality in motivating research impact and career advancement (porter & lawler, 1968; vroom, 1964). by establishing baseline research metrics, this study provides faculty clearer expectations and role perceptions critical for professional growth. future studies should incorporate other dimensions of scholarly impact, such as teaching and service engagement, to help provide a more comprehensive understanding of research impact (hind et al., 1974; jackson et al., 2017; wilsdon, 2015). additionally, examining factors uniquely driving impact within diverse agricultural education sub-disciplines could provide targeted developmental insights. lastly, methodological approaches exploring interaction effects between predictors could further clarify impact dynamics. nevertheless, this study contributes foundational insights into research impact metrics, offering clarity about professional expectations and informing faculty research development strategies aimed at career advancement within the agricultural education disciplines. acknowledgments funding information: no external funding was received for this study. conflict of interest: no conflicts of interest. previous dissemination: portions of this data were presented at the 2025 aaae national research conference, citation: martin, e., estepp, c.m., doss, w., & johnson, d.m. (2025). unpacking research productivity in agricultural education: implications for role perception and career advancement. proceedings of the american association for agricultural education national research conference, 518-531. artificial intelligence: no artificial intelligence was used in this article. author contribution statement: e. martin – conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing, c. estepp – conceptualization, methodology, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing, w. doss – conceptualization, methodology, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing, d. johnson – conceptualization, methodology, writing – review & editing. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 martin et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 86 references american association for agricultural education. 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(2015). the metric tide. sage publications ltd. © 2025 by authors. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.645 https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.20856 https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2014.890574 https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-821229-5.00003-3 https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/faculty-development-challenge-going-forward/docview/216587063/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/faculty-development-challenge-going-forward/docview/216587063/se-2 https://www.aaup.org/article/end-faculty-tenure-and-transformation-higher-education https://www.aaup.org/article/end-faculty-tenure-and-transformation-higher-education https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.1996.11780246 https://doi.org/10.1002/job.178 advancements in agricultural development volume 6, issue 3, 2025 agdevresearch.org 1. zoe turner, undergraduate research assistant, university of tennessee, 2621 morgan cir. 314 c morgan hall, knoxville, tn 37996, zturner6@vols.utk.edu 2. margarita velandia, professor, university of tennessee, 2621 morgan cir. 314 c morgan hall, knoxville, tn 37996, mvelandi@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5993-7461 3. rachel e. rudolph, associate extension professor, university of kentucky, n-322c ag. science north, lexington, ky 405460091, rachel.rudolph@uky.edu, https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8452-7080 4. annette l. wszelaki, professor, university of tennessee, 320 agriculture and natural resources bldg., knoxville, tn 37996, awszelak@utk.edu 5. susan schexnayder, university of tennessee, 238 plant biotechnology bldg., knoxville, tn 37996, schexnayder@utk.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-7072 1 grower preferences for high tunnel information sources: evidence from a kentucky high tunnel vegetable grower survey z. turner1, m. velandia2, r. e. rudolph3, a. l. wszelaki4, s. schexnayder5 article history received: to may 16, 2025 accepted: august 18, 2025 published: august 20, 2025 keywords controlled environment agriculture; kentucky vegetable growers; sources of information; university extension; other growers; sdg 2: zero hunger abstract despite the increase in the number of high tunnels (hts) and education programs for ht growers in recent years, few studies have evaluated ht growers’ use of information sources. using data from a 2024 kentucky vegetable growers’ survey, we evaluated which information sources ht growers utilize. survey results suggest that university extension and other growers were the most used information sources. also, respondents employing organic production practices were less likely to use extension sources. furthermore, survey respondents who were more dependent on farm income were more likely to rely on other growers as a source of information. it is important for university extension to continue collaborating closely with ht growers in the creation and delivery of information to stay up-to-date and relevant. specifically, university extension collaboration with growers using organic production practices for ht information delivery through workshops, webinars, farm tours, and field days could increase the use of university extension as a trustworthy information source among this segment of ht growers. mailto:zturner6@vols.utk.edu mailto:mvelandi@utk.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5993-7461 mailto:rachel.rudolph@uky.edu https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8452-7080 mailto:awszelak@utk.edu mailto:schexnayder@utk.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-7072 turner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 2 introduction and problem statement high tunnels (hts) are structures covered by polyethylene films that are unheated or passively heated and cooled. these structures provide many benefits, such as season extension, increased crop quality and marketable yield, and reduced weather risk related to low temperatures, precipitation, and wind (belasco et al., 2013; carey et al., 2009; pierre et al., 2024). the number of hts has increased over time due to the relatively low cost of these structures compared to greenhouses, the multiple benefits provided by these structures, and governmentfunded cost-share programs that promote the adoption of hts (carey et al., 2009; ernst et al., 2020; kaiser & ernst, 2021; pierre et al., 2024). the u.s. department of agriculture (usda) natural resource conservation service (nrcs) has invested over $170 million in programs related to ht production. as of 2021, this investment resulted in over 26,000 hts funded using usda nrcs resources (pierre et al., 2024). due to the increased number of hts in the united states, the amount of ht-dedicated extension programming and resources produced by universities and other organizations also increased (carey et al., 2009). despite the increase in ht-specific resources, limited information is available on which sources of information are used by ht growers in the united states (ernst et al., 2020). understanding ht vegetable growers’ preferences for and use of information sources regarding ht management could help expand the reach of ht-dedicated extension programs (bruce et al., 2019). this understanding is particularly important in kentucky, where over 1,500 hts have been funded through nrcs programs (rudolph et al., 2023). this is the highest number of nrcs-funded hts among u.s. southern states (pierre et al., 2024; rudolph et al., 2023). conceptual framework the choice of information sources by ht growers is situated within the context of an agricultural information system. this is a system where processes of generation, transformation, transfer, consolidation, and reception of agricultural information work simultaneously to support the use of information by agricultural producers (mahindarathne & min, 2018). due to the multiple processes involved in an agricultural information system, numerous actors are involved in this system, such as farmers, researchers, and university extension personnel. therefore, when exploring ht grower information seeking behavior, it is important to evaluate growers’ use of multiple information sources when searching for production and management information, including university extension, crop consultants, and other growers (edge et al., 2017; stuart et al., 2018). we used mahindarathne and min (2018) conceptual framework to outline ht grower information-seeking behavior. the information needs of ht growers would likely be determined by what mahindarathne and min (2018) defined as activating mechanisms or motivators, which https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 turner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 3 will not only determine the information the ht growers are searching for but also how they search for it. in this study, we focused specifically on production and technological factors as mechanisms that activate the search for ht information. additionally, the characteristics of information sources/channels are also activating mechanisms that define the information search decisions. the characteristics of different information sources in terms of risk and rewards obtained when using each source will define ht growers’ information-seeking behavior. finally, intervening variables, which are factors that could positively or negatively affect the use of information sources, need to be considered when exploring ht growers’ use of information sources. we acknowledge that there could be personal and socio-cultural factors affecting the choice of information sources. in this study, however, we do not have the capacity to evaluate these factors because we do not have data that capture them. similar to previous studies, this study focused on the characteristics of growers and their farm businesses as variables that may influence the choice of information sources (beethem et al., 2023; edge et al., 2017; jenkins et al., 2011). purpose this study aims to better understand kentucky ht vegetable grower preferences for receiving ht information that could inform extension programming. the two main objectives of this study were to: 1. identify information sources kentucky ht growers use when gathering information about hts, and their satisfaction with these sources in providing information to manage hts. 2. identify differences in characteristics between kentucky ht growers based on their use of specific information sources. results from this study can be used by university extension personnel to improve educational programs that better suit the needs of ht vegetable growers, help expand the reach of htdedicated extension programs, or confirm that current ht educational programming efforts are maximizing educational impacts. methods between january and june 2024, we surveyed kentucky vegetable growers to assess production challenges they faced when growing vegetables in hts and the strategies they used to overcome those challenges. the survey instrument was approved by the university of tennessee institutional review board (utk irb-23-07688-xm). the survey instrument is available from the authors upon request. the data reported in this paper are a subset of results from the kentucky vegetable grower survey mentioned above. a summary of survey results is available at velandia et al. (2025). we included a question in the survey to assess ht growers’ use of information sources to better understand grower preferences and collect ratings in terms of satisfaction with these resources in terms of their ability to help with ht issues and improve management. a 5-point likert scale https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 turner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 4 was used to evaluate satisfaction with information sources, where 1 represents unsatisfied, and 5 represents satisfied. we also gathered information about the characteristics of growers and farm businesses, including age, education, size of the farm business in terms of gross sales and acres in vegetable production, management practices used, number of hts in the farm operation, and number of years using hts. a contact list of 1,794 farm operations was built using the kentucky proud program, the kentucky department of agriculture state-sponsored online producer directory to promote kentucky’s farms and farm products (kentucky proud, n.d.). the contact list contained about 83% of the 2,173 kentucky vegetable farms reported by the 2022 census of agriculture (u.s. department of agriculture, 2024). since a ht grower-specific contact list was not available, we identified vegetable growers in the contact list producing and marketing high-value crops commonly grown in hts, such as tomatoes, lettuce, and other greens (velandia et al., 2025). a total of 1,401 growers for whom we only had mailing addresses, and no e-mail addresses, received the paper version of the survey. a total of 393 vegetable growers for whom we only had e-mail addresses received the online version of the survey. this mixed-mode survey distribution strategy was used to maximize response rates and reduce errors associated with coverage and nonresponse (dillman et al., 2009). additionally, we advertised the survey at the 2024 kentucky fruit and vegetable conference, and through the kentucky vegetable grower association and the center for crop diversification newsletters. responses were received from 316 of the 1,794 growers who were contacted, which represents an 18% response rate. from those 316 respondents, 253 confirmed they were growing vegetables for sale in 2023. from those 253 respondents, 122 indicated that they produced vegetables for sale in hts in 2023. the total number of hts owned by these respondents was 197. these hts were spread over 60 of the 120 kentucky counties (velandia et al., 2025). we evaluated differences in selected grower and farm business characteristics by the information source used. specifically, we compared the characteristics of those respondents using university extension as a ht information source and those not using university extension as an information source. we also compared the characteristics of those respondents using other growers as a source and those not using other growers. differences in characteristics captured by continuous variables were evaluated using t-tests, while differences in characteristics captured by dichotomous variables were evaluated using equality proportion tests (statacorp, 2023). t-tests and equality proportion tests were also used to evaluate differences in the percentage use of the various information sources, as well as differences in information source ratings. in this study, we will discuss results with p-values below 0.10. we employ this approach due to the exploratory nature of our study (labovitz, 2017; skipper et al., 1967). to our knowledge, we are the second study exploring the use of information sources by u.s. ht growers. we are not testing well-established hypotheses about the differences in characteristics between users and non-users of specific information sources. rather, we are exploring hypotheses that could be further tested by other studies. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 turner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 5 findings survey respondents used a variety of sources for information about ht production and management. the most used information sources among survey respondents were university extension and other growers. university extension was used by 83% of the respondents, while 81% of the respondents indicated using other growers as an information source. the percentage of survey respondents who used consultants (21%) was significantly lower than the percentage of those respondents using university extension and other growers (see table 1). other sources of information include content created by sources other than university extension, other growers, and consultants, and found through search engines, or social media sites such as youtube, google, and facebook. if the respondents mentioned university extension websites specifically in the other source category, those responses were classified as university extension. other information sources used by a few survey respondents included usda nrcs (2 respondents), or information created by other sources and delivered through books (5 respondents), and magazines (4 respondents). survey respondents indicated using hts for an average of nearly seven years. this could explain why usda nrcs was mentioned as an information source by only two respondents. the high tunnel nrcs initiative focuses mainly on providing financial assistance for the construction of hts through nrcs programs, but does not provide continued education or educational resources for growers once they have their hts (u.s. department of agriculture – natural resource conservation service, n.d.). therefore, nrcs might not be the top source of information after growers have already acquired or built a ht and are looking for information about managing it. along with indicating the information source they used, respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with each information source in terms of its effectiveness in providing information to manage hts. survey respondents indicated being somewhat satisfied with the information provided by other growers, providing an average rating of 4.09 on a scale from 1 (unsatisfied) to 5 (satisfied). university extension followed closely with an average rating of 3.96. consultants had the lowest rating, with an average rating of 3.88 (see table 1). nonetheless, ratings across these information sources were not significantly different (see table 1). we did not provide average ratings for other sources because the variety of sources listed in this category would make it difficult to interpret an average rating. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 turner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 6 table 1 number and percentage of survey respondents using different high tunnel (ht) information sources and information source ratings information source number of ht growers percentages* ratings 1 if unsatisfied and 5 if satisfied with effectiveness in providing information that helped solve ht problems or improve ht management extension = 1 if used university extension to gather information about high tunnels, zero otherwise 90 82.57a 3.96a other growers= 1 if used other growers to gather information about high tunnels, zero otherwise 88 80.73a 4.09a consultants = 1 if used consultants to gather information about high tunnels, zero otherwise 23 21.10b 3.88a other information sources = 1 if used other information sources 52 47.71c note. *values in the same column followed by different letters are significantly different at the 1% level. we also evaluated the most common combinations of information sources, including university extension, survey respondents used when gathering information about hts. in table 2, we show the percentage of respondents using university extension alone or in combination with other sources. only 4% of the survey respondents reported using university extension as the only source of information. the most used information source combination was university extension and other growers, with approximately 34% of respondents using this combination. finally, not only were consultants the least used information source for ht management information, but one that survey respondents tended to combine with other information sources. only one of the survey respondents who indicated utilizing consultants as a resource used this information source alone. furthermore, those respondents using consultants as a source of information were more likely to complement this information with at least two more sources of information (e.g., other growers and university extension). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 turner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 7 table 2 number of high tunnel (ht) growers using extension as an information source information source combinations number of ht growers percentage (1) used only university extension sources 4 4.44 (2) used university extension and consultants 1 1.11 (3) used university extension and other growers 31 34.44 (4) used university extension and other sources 10 11.11 (5) used university extension, consultants, and other growers 8 8.89 (6) used university extension, consultants, and other sources 2 2.22 (7) used university extension, other growers, and other sources 24 26.67 (8) used university extension, consultants, other growers, and other sources 10 11.11 total extension users 90 100.00 we explored the differences in characteristics between those using university extension and those not using it. we also evaluated the differences in characteristics between those using other growers and those not using other growers as a source of ht information (see table 3). only one variable was shown to be significantly different between extension and non-extension users at the 5% level (p=.05). a larger percentage of non-users of extension followed organic and naturally grown production practices compared to the percentage of users of extension who used these practices. this result could be explained by the variation in extension agent knowledge and acceptance of organic practices and other environmentally sustainable production practices, which differ from conventional production practices (crawford et al., 2015). some growers could have had either a good or a bad experience when searching or reaching out to university extension sources or personnel about organic or naturally grown production practices. this variation could affect the views of growers using organic and naturally grown production practices regarding university extension as an effective source of information in general and specifically for ht production information (crawford et al., 2015). https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 turner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 8 table 3 selected survey respondent characteristics means for users of university extension and nonusers of extension, and significant differences between means characteristics users of university extension non-users of university extension p-values average age (years) 54.01 52.33 0.63 educationpercentage of respondents with a bs degree or higher (%) 61.80 68.42 0.59 average acres in vegetable production (acres) 1.48 2.39 0.25 percentage of respondents with gross on-farm revenue >$25,000 (%) 49.32 33.33 0.22 percentage of respondents with gross revenue from crops grown in ht >$10,000 (%) 33.77 27.78 0.63 percentage of respondents with a percentage of taxable household income from farming above 25% (%) 46.25 42.11 0.74 percentage of respondents that are certified organic, certified naturally grown, or are using these practices (%) 36.36 61.11 0.05 average number of ht 1.78 1.44 0.37 average years using ht 6.96 5.11 0.15 in table 4, we show the characteristics of respondents using and those not using other growers as a ht information source. a significantly higher percentage of growers (p=.08) who use other growers as an information source reported annual gross on-farm revenue greater than $25,000 (51%) compared to only 28% of those who do not use other growers as a source reporting this level of gross on-farm revenue. similarly, a significantly higher percentage of respondents (p=.03) using other growers as an information source reported annual gross revenue from crops grown in hts above $10,000 (38%) compared to non-users of other growers (11%). finally, a significantly higher percentage of growers (p=.06) who use other growers as an information source reported a percentage of taxable household income from farming above 25% (50%) compared to non-users of other growers (26%). this result could suggest that ht growers who are more dependent on farm revenue, might be more likely to trust their peers for ht information. they may perceive that other ht growers will have more understanding of ht management because of their practical experience. also, they might trust information from other growers, who just like them, have invested time and money growing in hts. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 turner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 9 table 4 survey respondent characteristics means for users of other growers and non-users of other growers as an information source, and significant differences between means characteristics users of other growers non-users of other growers p-values average age (years) 53.24 55.71 0.45 educationpercentage of respondents with a bs degree or higher (%) 62.07 66.67 0.70 average acres in vegetable production (acres) 1.80 0.95 0.30 percentage of respondents with annual gross on-farm revenue >$25,000 (%)* 50.68 27.78 0.08 percentage of respondents with gross revenue from crops grown in ht >$10,000 (%) 37.66 11.11 0.03 percentage of respondents with percentage of on-farm income above 25% (%) 50.00 26.32 0.06 percentage of respondents that are usda certified organic, certified naturally grown, usda certified organic exempt or following organic or naturally grown standards (%) 41.38 36.84 0.72 average number of ht 1.74 1.65 0.80 average years using ht 6.68 6.46 0.86 conclusions, discussion, and recommendations results from a 2024 survey of kentucky vegetable growers suggest that university extension is the most used source of information among survey respondents, while other growers is the second most used information source among survey respondents. also, results suggest that survey respondents combined university extension with other information sources when searching for ht management information, with the most used combination of sources being university extension and other growers. results from this study suggest that it is important for university extension to continue collaborating closely with ht growers in the delivery of information. for example, the university of kentucky, in collaboration with other local organizations, hosts the kentucky fruit and vegetable conference every year. they involve growers in the organization of the event, but also as speakers (martin-gatton college of agriculture, food, and environment, n.d.). according to this study's results, it would be important to replicate this strategy in the context of ht management information delivery. additionally, university extension could collaborate with other growers to develop videos, publications, and other online and social media content. in contrast with previous studies evaluating the use of information sources among u.s. row crop growers for conservation information, nutrient management, and adoption of https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 turner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 10 technologies (beethem et al., 2023; borrelli et al., 2018; edge et al., 2017), private sources of information such as consultants are not a commonly used source of information among ht vegetable growers included in the survey sample. although the concept of crop consultants is not new in the context of row crop production (borrelli et al., 2018), it may be relatively new in the context of ht production, which would explain the low use of crop consultants among ht growers. additionally, there is likely a cost associated with accessing information through crop consultants, which could be a barrier to accessing ht information through this source. in the context of row crop production, it seems that the use of extension as a source of information has decreased in specific production decision contexts (beethem et al., 2023; edge et al., 2017; stuart et al., 2018) compared to private sources (e.g., crop consultants). in contrast, according to this survey’s results, in the context of ht vegetable production, university extension plays an important role as a source of information for survey respondents. similar to previous studies (beethem et al., 2023; borrelli et al., 2018), other growers are commonly used sources of information, regardless of the crops grown and the production system used. the use of other growers as a trustworthy information source could also vary based on the specific information growers are seeking (borrelli et al., 2018). results from this study suggest that growers with a higher financial dependence on on-farm income are likely to put more trust in other growers as a source of information for ht management. finally, our survey results indicate that survey respondents using organic production practices may be less likely to use extension as a source of ht information. training extension agents to become more familiar with environmentally sustainable practices in the context of ht production could help increase the use of university extension as a source of ht information among growers using organic production practices. furthermore, university extension's collaboration with growers using organic production practices for ht information delivery could also increase the use of university extension as a trustworthy information source among ht growers using organic production practices (crawford et al., 2015). in the context of ht information, several land-grant universities have dedicated programs and resources for ht information. for example, a group of universities, including kansas state university, university of missouri, and university of nebraska-lincoln created a website intended for researchers, extension specialists, professors, growers, technicians, and students to share information and experiences about hts, including construction, management, and marketing and economics of crops grown in hts (hightunnels.org, n.d.). other examples include the tri-state high tunnel school, organized by michigan state university, purdue university, and ohio state university (ohio state university, n.d.). regardless of similarities in the university extension model across land-grant universities and the ht dedicated programs and resources developed by university extension, information needs and access to information can vary by state. therefore, it is essential for future studies to validate the findings of this study by examining the information-seeking behavior of ht vegetable growers in other u.s. states. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 turner et al. advancements in agricultural development https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.611 11 acknowledgments funding information: this research was funded by the southern sustainable agriculture research and education (sare) grant ls23-384. conflict of interest: there are no conflicts of interest. previous dissemination: a summary of survey results associated with this article was published in horttechnology and is available at https://doi.org/10.21273/horttech05593-24. this study focuses on only part of the survey results that have not previously been analyzed and published. artificial intelligence: artificial intelligence tools were not used in the study or the manuscript's preparation. author contribution statement: z. turner – data curation, formal analysis, and writing original draft; m. velandia conceptualization, investigation, and writing original draft; r.e. rudolph – funding acquisition and writing-review and editing; a. wszelaki – writing-review and editing; s. schexnayder – data collection and data curation. references beethem, k., marquart-pyatt, s. t., lai, j., & guo, t. 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