Training needs analysis of Iowa County Extension Councils

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine council members' perceptions regarding their involvement, and training with respect to their roles as council members. A secondary purpose was to identify the implications of these perceptions to Iowa State University Extension;The methodology of this study was a descriptive survey. One hundred and forty-four individuals comprised the population. The target audience was county Extension council members of the South East Extension Administrative Area of the state;The principal investigator developed a research instrument for this research. This instrument was verified and validated by Iowa State University Extension Administration. Survey data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-test, and analysis of variance;Council members' perceptions revealed that they have a medium level of involvement in performing their duties. Data also revealed that Council members perceived that training would have somewhat helped them in performing their duties;Differences were found when respondent means were grouped by years of experience as council members. When comments were analyzed by demographic variables, two groups were identified. One group was found to have a greater proportion of farmers and employees with greater experience as council members. This group perceived the need to be actively involved in their roles as council members. The second group was found to have greater proportion of homemakers and teachers, with lesser experience as council members. This group perceived that their duty was to assist the county Extension educator director;This study suggested that Extension should encourage equality in the process of recruiting and electing council members, greater participation in non-traditional areas, and training in issues such as Open Public Meeting Law and Public Policy Education. The findings also suggested that Extension should use the more experienced council members in mentoring roles.