"Ji‘II'III HI :IIIIJ‘I III III? III‘I MII I “[1,, I I * I '1 . H; I‘IIII . _:II . 'I'I ”121%.!” w ‘I""‘ III'I',II II I I‘IIIIIIW II I :II. II I "III: I" c1! ,3} I I'MI :1.“ III "I IIIIII: I I II‘II..'a'a ‘ I. I ‘I'IIU' “I. IIIII II‘ III I} IIII II II.“ II ‘ IIII,‘ ' IIIII‘III .1', III',1. III III II. IIIIIIIIIIIII ‘IIIII . v- III II . III ..,, IIII I'IIIIII. Ir‘IIJIHIII I "III I I I II II I II I II)? II \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\l\\l§\\\ 3 ., ,..._ u _. .. \ “Hunk/111v W Michigan State . _ University ””st ‘\\329 129 310386 869 This is to certify that the thesis entitled THE PROCESS OF PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT FOR ADULT LEARNERS: INFORMATION USED BY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE HOME ECONOMISTS presented by Jeanne Esper Brown has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Administration Ph . D - degree in _a.nd_CnrJ:icu1u1n 191w Afiajor professor DateFebruarx 18, 1982 0-7 639 u. 533 Mesa)- 3 ’57?" i' 1111620 11 1 OVERDUE FINES: 25¢ per day per it. RETURNING LIBRARY MTERIALS: Place in book return torem charge from circulation records .UL-I 1 c 19901 0x 202 95» 0161 121102 3' ' 1: .z' \- THE PROCESS OF PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT FOR ADULT LEARNERS: INFORMATION USED BY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE HOME ECONOMISTS By Jeanne Esper Brown A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of .DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Administration and Curriculum 1982 ABSTRACT THE PROCESS OF PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT FOR ADULT LEARNERS: INFORMATION USED BY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE HOME ECONOMISTS By Jeanne Esper Brown Adult education literature stresses the importance of audience need assessment as the basis for the design of educational prOgrams. Because of the lack of research on processes actually used by persons who plan educational programs, the present study identified the implicit and explicit sources of audience need information received by Extension home economists, examined differences and similar- ities between the responses of the subjects, generated hypo- theses for further study and develOped general suggestions for the enhancement of needs assessment, priority setting and socialization of new workers into an educational organization. The sample of five subjects was selected from a pOpula- tion of twenty-three COOperative Extension home economists who met the criteria of the study. A focused interview was employed to obtain data on the sources of audience need infor- mation available to the subjects and what particular sources of information influenced the develOpment of 1980—1981 educational programs. Jeanne Brown The Glaser-Strauss constant comparative method was selected to analyze the qualitative data. This approach involves coding each incident in the data into an appro— priate category, comparing and integrating categories and generating deve10pmental theory. This study is limited by the extent to which the persons interviewed were able to recall past events and their willingness to share. The data suggests that needs assessment and priority setting is not a superficial activity but a complex process not always obvious or in control of the educator or the educational organization. Decision points on the best alternative actions in program development appear to be shaped by explicit and implicit input from the organization, the audience, environmental constraints and the personal background of the educators. The data also suggests the educator's stage in his or her work-life cycle with the organization influences which sources of information have the most impact. Structuring experiences and support systems to move a new educator from a high level of dependency upon perceived organizational directives to more autonomous modes of action is essential to fulfill the mission of the organization, meet education needs of the audience and satisfy the educator with his or her work-life. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express appreciation to the following persons for their support and encouragement during the completion of this study: To Dr. S. Joseph Levine, the chairman of my doctoral committee and research study, who so ably undertook the supervision of my work after the death of Professor Russell J. Kleis. Dr. Levine set high standards of scholarship and constantly challenged me to higher levels of achieve- ment. To Dr. Dolores Borland, who provided methodological assistance, understanding and a library of useful books. To Dr. Maxine Ferris, who provided information and insights into the program deve10pment processes of the Cooperative Extension Service. To Dr. Ted W. Ward, whose probing questions and practical suggestions greatly strengthened this study. To my husband, children, sons;in-law, grandchildren and parents, for their love, encouragement and under- standing during the stressful moments. I would also like to thank Mardean Armentrout for her assistance in preparing the manuscript. Without her willingness to work long hours on my behalf, the task would have been much more difficult. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIST OF FIGURES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIST OF APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter I. II. III. IV. INTRODUCTION. 0 O O O O O O O C O O 0 Statement of Problem and Rationale. Objectives. . . . . . . . . . . . Plan of Presentation. . . . . Definitions . . . . . . . . . COOperative Extension Service Summary . . . . . . . . . . . METHO D0 L0 GY O O O O O O O O O O O O O POpulation. . . . . Sample. . . . . . . Instrumentation . . Data Collection . . Data Analysis . . . . . Profiles of the Subjects. NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND THE EXTENSION HOME ECONOMIST. . . . . . . . . . Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . FindingSe O O O O O O O O O O O O l DiSCuSSiono O O I O O O O l O O O 0 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND THE EXTENSION HOIWE ECONOMIST I I O I O O I O O O O Literatur'e O O O O O O O O O O 0 O 0 Findings 0 O O O O O O O O O I O O O DlscuSSionO O O O O O O O O O O O 0 iii Page 20 20 28 40 44 44 54 72 Chapter V. THE EXTENSION HOME ECONOMIST AS ADULT WORKER. . . . . . . . . Literature. . . . . . . . . . Findings. . . . . . . . . . . Discussion. . . . . . . . . . VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusions . . . . . . . . . SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY. . . . . . . . . . APPENDICES O O O O O C O O O O C O 0 iv Page 78 79 86 89 94 94 98 106 Ill Table LIST OF TABLES Page Sources of Audience Need Information. . . . 29 Sources of Information in Plans of Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Sources of Information and Reason for Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Source of Information by Length of EmpIOyment. . . . . . . . . . . 88 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Curriculum or Program DeveIOpment Cycle. . . 46 2 A Proactive/Interactive Model for Planners . 47 3 Processes of Extension Program DeveIOpment . 52 4 Resolutions and Integration of Conflicts and Changes Evolved by the Extension Worker in each Stage of Work-Life. . . . . 87 vi LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page APPENDIX I - Interview Questions and Rating Scales. . . . . . . . . . . . 112 A. Interview Question I Recording Form. . . . . 113 B. Interview Question II Recording Form . . . . 114 APPENDIX II - Coding Scheme and Examples. . . . . . 115 A. Categories for Data Analysis . . . . . . . . 116 B. Examples of Coding - Question I. . . . . . . 117 C. Examples of Coding - Question II . . . . . . 118 APPENDIX III - Letter of Transmittal and Consent Form . . . . . . . . . . . 119 A. Letter of Transmittal. . . . . . . . . . . . 120 B. Consent Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 vii CHAPTER I Problem and Rationale Modern adult education literature emphasizes the importance of audience needs assessments as the basis for the design of programs which fulfill the educational require- ments of an identified pOpulation. Yet some critics suggest that many adult education prOgrams are deveIOped on the basis of what was apprOpriate in another setting, what is avail- able, snap judgements and intuition (Easley, 1976; McKenzie, 1973: Atwood, 1973; Parker, 1972). However, adult education research has paid scant attention to needs assess- ment or explored the reasons why certain adult education programs are developed. This is unfortunate, for the nature of information sources concerning the needs of audiences may have important implications for understanding how adult educators select priority needs. The challenge for adult education administrators and the problem investi- gated in this research, is to deve10p a better understanding of the implicit and explicit sources of information available to the educators and the impact these sources have on the deve10pment of educational programs. This increased under- standing may be of help in deve10ping more efficient program deve10pment processes and improving training programs for adult education personnel. Program development in adult education is a process which encompasses a number of activities on the part of an educational organization. Some activities are aimed directly at educational efforts, while others are directed toward the maintenance functions of the organization. Rapid environmental and economic changes in recent years make it more difficult for educational organizations serving adult audiences to keep their focus primarily on educational activities as funding sources increasingly insist that pro— grams must demonstrate concrete benefits for monies spent. Thus an adult educational organization must efficiently identify consumer needs; identify priority problem areas which can most readily be affected by improved educational services; determine what specific contents, formats, modes, delivery channels and awareness techniques are most appro- priate for the high priority areas; determine whether educational programming in these areas should be undertaken by organizational representatives or by the private sector; allocate resources; and aid policy makers to understand budget requests in support of educational programs. Effec- tive educational programming, therefore, depends upon systematic and deliberate efforts to deve10p a plan of action which includes consideration of the organization mission and links to other organizations, resources, audience needs, priorities, educational objectives, learning experi— ences and evaluation of the total effort. The classical model of program deve10pment in adult education depicts this process as a linear progression from needs assessment to evaluation while an emerging model sug- gests program planning involves a series of decision points which allow the educator to select the best alternative at the time (Mazmanian, 1977). Both of these models imply that the educational planner has the freedom to deve10p programs based on comprehensive needs assessment of the intended audiences. English and Kaufman (1975). however, believe that the needs of the audience, educators, organi- zation, community, society and the available resources must be taken into consideration when setting priorities for educational objectives. Thus educators in organizations, according to English and Kaufman, may use both formal and informal methods of determining needs and receive informa— tion on needed or expected programs from a wide variety of information sources. Pennington and Green (1976) have noted that the processes used by persons who plan learning activities for adults is largely an unexplored area in adult education research. Studies in the area of determining adult educational need have been limited largely to opinion surveys of intended audiences (e.g. Wheelock, 1978; Evans, 1978; Sparling, 1978; Evans, 1977; Center for Research and Education, Denver, Colorado, 1977; Owings, 1976). A few studies have employed a variety of techniques: interviews, observations, document analysis and questionnaires to diagnose the educational needs of particular audiences (Clifton, 1971; Green, 1977). Both types of studies permit the accumulation of data in the area of educational needs and interests, but they represent only one source of information. Only recently has research been directed toward the process of determining priority of educational need, an activity generally accepted as a step beyond needs assessment in program deve10pment (Sork, 1978). Sork's review of the literature found that although most authors acknowledge the need to establish priorities in a systematic, purposeful way, and all approaches implicity encourage the user to consider more than one factor when making educational priority decisions, few of the authors have provided conceptual or theoretical foundations for their suggested approaches. Sork is of the Opinion that not many educators have been concerned with how or why educational program priorities are established. Perhaps one reason for the lack of conceptual foundations is that a single form of research methodology tends to isolate the responses of the selected sample from integration with other factors (Donahue, 1976), and does not consider the relationship of priority setting to organizational needs, audience needs and the personal needs of the educators (English and Kaufman, 1975). Objectives The four objectives of this study are: 1. To determine the sources of information a county Extension home economist draws upon to determine the educa- tional needs of adults within her geographic and institutional area of responsibility. 2. To determine the extent the Extension home economist's 1980-1981 plan of work reflects the various sources of infor- mation. 3. To examine the similarities and differences between the sources of information listed by Extension home economists. 4. To build concepts and hypotheses which can be tested in further research. Plan of Presentation The purpose of this study was to develop a better under- standing of the implicit and explicit sources of information on the needs of adult audiences available to COOperative Extension home economists and the impact these sources have on the development of educational programs. The literature relevent to needs assessment, program deve10pment and the adult worker will be reviewed in separate chapters along with presentation of findings rather than in the more traditional manner of one literature chapter. Thus literature, findings and discussion will be incorporated within a single chapter in order to avoid confusing the reader. The responses to Interview Question I (all sources of audience need informa- tion available to the Extension home economist) and Interview Question II (sources of audience need information used in deve10ping the Extension home economist's 1980-1981 plan of work) will be combined, respectively, with the apprOpriate literature and discussion in Chapters III and IV. The Extension home economist as an adult worker will be examined through literature review, data from this study and discussion in Chapter V. A summary of the study and the concepts and patterns uncovered will be presented in Chapter VI. The study is limited by the extent to which the persons studied were able to recall past events and their willingness to share. Definitions Adult. A person who has achieved full physical deve10p- ment and who expects to have the right to participate as a responsible member of society (Houle, 1973). Adult Education. The process by which adults seek to increase their skills, knowledge or sensitiveness. Any pro- cess by which individuals, groups or institutions try to help adults improve in these areas (Houle, 1973). Cogperative Extension Service Content Specialist. A faculty member of a department within a land grant univer- sity who is employed by the state COOperative Extension Service to provide information, training and teaching materials to county COOperative Extension Service personnel. These peOple will be referred to as content specialists. Cooperative Extension Service Family Living Program. A state-wide C00perative Extension Service program area which includes the content of home economics and other areas as they relate to families. There is a state level office in the land grant university which houses the program director and his/her staff. Cooperative Extension Service Family Living_Program Staff. The people employed by the Family Living director to promote state-wide educational prOgrams and carry out management obligations. This will be referred to as the Family Living prOgram staff. COOperative Extension Service Impact Committee. A committee of Family Living program staff, content spe- cialists and home economists who meet to share state-wide concerns, deve10p state-wide programs and suggest appropriate teaching materials that need to be develOped. There are several impact committees which represent content areas in home economics and other areas which relate to families. This will be referred to as the Impact Committee. Cooperative Extension Service Home Economist. A person employed by a state COOperative Extension Service and housed in a county C00perative Extension Service office, to pro— vide information and educational programs to the citizens of a county or counties in the content area of home economics and other related areas. COOperative Extension Service Need Assessment. The identification of potential audiences and the definition of their educational needs and interests. COOperative Extension Service Plan of Work. A written outline of strategy for one year for each problem or con- cern included in a prOgram, that sets forth educational, Operational and/or organizational objectives. For simplicity this will be referred to as plan of work. C00perative Extension Service Program. Agreed upon priority needs, concerns, problems and interests that fall within the SCOpe of the Extension unit's responsibilities tOgether with the relevant objectives that are to be achieved. COOperative Extension Service State Program Review. A periodic in-depth evaluation of county programs by state level Cooperative Extension Service administrators and content specialists. Nged, A condition or situation in which something necessary or desirable is required or wanted. Often used to express the deficiencies of an individual or some category of people. A need may be perceived by the person possessing it or by some observer (Houle, 1973). Process. A course of action, procedure, or a series of steps leading toward an end. Educational Program Develgpment. The continuous series of processes which include organizing, preparing a plan of work and teaching plans, evaluating and reporting accom- plishments. Regional Field Supervisors. Those peOple employed by the state C00perative Extension Service to supervise and evaluate programs and personnel within geographic regions of the state. They are housed at the land grant university within the state. Sources of Information. All spoken, written and visual inputs received by Extension home economists that provide information about the educational needs of audiences and which may influence programming decisions. Explicit Sources Of Information. Those sources of information that are externally visible to the Extension home economist. Implicit Sources Of Information. Those sources Of information inferred by the Extension home economists from something else. Cooperative Extension Service The COOperative Extension Service is an agency of the federal government created by the passage Of the Smith-Lever Act in 1914 (Boone, 1970). The Act authorized educational programs in agriculture, home economics and related subjects to be funded, and administered, by federal. state and local governments. The COOperative Extension Service is the world's largest publicly supported, informal adult education and development organization (Boone, 1970). Its mission is to extend lifelong, continuing educational Opportunities to the peOple Of the United States in those areas in which Extension has the competence and the legal and moral obligation to serve. The Cooperative Extension Service helps people identify needs, problems and Opportunities; study their resources; and arrive at desirable courses Of action in line with their desires, resources and abilities (Extension Program DevelOp- ment, 1974). There are four educational program areas within the 10 Michigan COOperative Extension Service: Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family Living Education, 4-H Youth and the Expanded FOOd and Nutrition Education Program. Within Family Living Education, specific educational programs relate to subject matter content in health, food and nutri- tion, housing, resource management, human development and public affairs and policy (Family Living Education....its Operation and mission, 1980). County based Extension home economists are charged with carrying out the mission of the Michigan Cooperative Extension Service prOgram in Family Living education. A11 Extension home economists in Michigan are women. Summary Although adult education literature stresses the importance Of extensive audience needs assessment as a basic requirement for the design of educational prOgrams, many writers point out this step is apparently neglected in many cases. Very little research, however, has centered on the process Of needs assessment and priority setting nor on the nature Of explicit and implicit information sources concerning the needs of audience apprOpriate for program deve10pment. It may be that the nature of an information source has impact on the selection Of priority needs. The purpose Of this study, therefore, was to deve10p a better understanding of the explicit and implicit sources Of information available to the educators and the impact these sources have on the deve10pment Of educational programs. CHAPTER II Methodology To develop a better understanding Of the implicit and explicit sources Of information available to Extension home economists and the impact these sources have on the deve10p- ment Of educational programs, the investigator conducted a series Of case studies which provided qualitative data for the generation Of concepts and hypotheses concerning the nature of these information sources and their use in plans of work. Population The subjects for the study were five Michigan Extension home economists. The pOpulation from which the subjects were selected was that of county Extension home economists who had not undergone a state program review within the past two years, who had been employed by the COOperative Extension Service for at least two program deve10pment periods, and who were located with a 75 mile radius Of a metrOpolitan center. It was felt that if an Extension home economist had participated recently in a state program review Of her county it might influence her to respond in a manner perceived as "correct." On the other hand, an Extension home economist who had been employed for less than two program deve10pment ll 12 periods would have little needs assessment information to contribute or knowledge Of how various areas Of interest were selected for the 1980-1981 plan of work. The limit of a 75 mile radius was arbitrary and set simply because Of the expense involved in seeking a larger pOpulation. At the time Of the study, 23 Extension home economists met these criteria. Sample Subjects were selected from the pOpulation by systematic random sampling. A sample size Of five was determined by following the chi square rule Of thumb that the expected value in a cell should be five or more. The period Of selection and study was set for the 1980-1981 program year. Prior to selection of the sample, an appointment was made with the director Of the COOperative Extension Service Family Living Program to explain the purpose and intended procedure Of the study. Oral permission was received but the director requested the study be explained and approved by the field supervisors Of the Extension home economists. When approval was received from the supervisors, a personal telephone call to explain the purpose and procedure Of the study was made to each selected subject. Following this contact, the promise of confidentiality and a consent form was sent to each Extension home economist in the study. 13 Instrumentation The investigator utilized a focused but Open-ended interview to Obtain specific information without the con- straints Of preconceived lists. The structured interview schedule helped the interviewer and the respondents focus on the variables under study but gave considerable liberty to the respondents in defining the situations presented to them. This type of interview also contributed to the reduction Of any interviewer bias that may have existed. Thus the ad— vantages Of greater uniformity and reliability found in a fixed—alternative schedule Of items was combined with the advantages Of Open-ended items to allow greater flexibility, clarification and probing. Though it is impossible tO assume the validity Of purportedly factual data about past events Obtained by interview, the method has a powerful ability to probe into many areas so that the Observer should be able tO more clearly visualize reality (Weiss and Davis, 1960). Interview Question I (all sources Of audience need information available tO the Extension home economist) and Interview Question II (sources Of audience need information used by the Extension home economist in deve10ping 1980-1981 plans of work) were designed to elicit knowledge about the sources of audience need information perceived and utilized by Extension home economists, the importance Of each source, which Of the sources were actually used in the 1980-1981 plans Of work; and if any source(s) Of information exerts a greater influence over areas Of educational prOgram than 14 other sources do. In addition, items Of demographic infor- mation were requested: length of employment with the CO- Operative Extension Service; how many counties the home economist had responsibility for; and whether the county was primarily rural. urban or mixed rural/urban. The age Of each respondent was already known from COOperative Extension Service records. To enhance reliability, the interviewer pretested a draft interview schedule with four Extension home economists who were representative Of the pOpulation under study and con— ducted two trial interviews to deve10p skills in asking questions and recording responses and tO check the format and ease Of administration. Following the pretesting of the interview schedule, the wording Of the questions was corrected and a final format devised. A sample Of this schedule is included as Appendix I. Data Collection Each interview lasted approximately two and one—half hours. All interviews were conducted by the investigator to insure that the order or pattern Of questions, probes and the interpretation of responses remained as consistent as possible. Great care was taken by the investigator not to probe beyond the boundaries of the study questions so that the information exchanged between the interviewer and respondent remained apprOpriate and useful. The interviewer also 15 stressed to respondents the importance of quality and accuracy in their responses. At the time Of each interview, but prior to actually asking the questions, the purpose Of the study and the format Of the interview was again explained and the promise Of confidentiality repeated. The questions were asked Of each respondent exactly as written and in the same order. NO questions were Omitted. Care was taken not to suggest answers and to keep interview probes neutral in content. Responses were immediately recorded in the Exten- sion home economists' Own words so that a full picture Of their expressed knowledge and attitudes were Obtained. In each case the respondents seemed willing tO provide a great deal Of information, so much so that at times the interviewer had to redirect the conversation back to the question at hand. The recording Of responses to the first questions (sources Of education need information) was time consuming, as the Extension home economists attempted to recall all sources Of information they receive. Answering Interview Question I appeared to help them answer the next question more easily. Data Analysis The data collected was analyzed by using the Glaser; Strauss (1967) constant comparative method for analyzing qualitative data. In this approach the analyst codes each incident in his data into categories: compares codes, recodes, integrates categories, reduces categories and 16 generates a developmental theory. This type of analysis is particularly useful when concept and hypothesis development is desired. Glaser-Strauss suggests the researcher start by coding each incident in his data into as many categories as possible, as categories emerge or as data emerge that fit an existing category. While coding an incident for a category, it is compared with previous incidents in the same group to generate theoretical prOperties Of the category. As the coding continues, the comparative units change from comparison Of incident to incident tO comparison Of incident with the pro- perties Of the category. As the theory solidifies, modifications become fewer. The analyst may discover under- lying uniformities in the categories and their prOperties and can then formulate the theory with a smaller set of higher level concepts. After the interviews had been completed, the data from the two questions were coded and reduced to four categories. These categories follow: 1) Organization. The Cooperative Extension Service sources Of information on educational needs of audiences, e.g., Extension administrators and Extension colleagues. 2) Audience. The audience sources Of information on their educational needs, e.g., county program advisory groups and telephone calls. l7 3) Audience Related. The information received from those who interpret or describe the educational needs Of audiences, e.g., mass media and other agencies and organizations. 4) Personal. The information derived from each Exten- sion home economist's unique background, e.g., ed- ucation and personal judgements. A more detailed listing Of descriptors for each category can be found in Appendix II A. The coded responses Of each Extension home economist were then used to describe the individual's expressed res- ponses and perceptions. The categories were also used to examine the similarities and differences between the Extension home economists. Profiles Of the Subjects The demographic data collected permits a profile of each Extension home economist in the study. Information on the length Of employment with the COOperative Extension Service, prior employment, geOgraphic area Of program responsibility, and an age range for each Extension home economist is presented in the profiles. Each Extension home economist was given an alphabetical code name (Ann, Betty, Carol, Donna, Edith) to provide an order for presenting findings throughout the text. 18 Ann. Ann has been an Extension home economist for two years although she served as an assistant tO a home economist in another county. Her work experience and training is the most limited Of all the home economists interviewed. Ann is responsible for the Family Living Program in her county, but also works with Extension home economists in the surrounding counties to present educational programs. She is between 20 and 30 years Of age. Bgtty. Betty has worked for the COOperative Extension Service eight years and is between 40 and 50 years of age. She participates with two other Extension home economists in planning and presenting programs for three counties and is also responsible for Family Living programs in her Own county. Betty has considerable formal and non-formal training in home economics and related areas. gargl. Carol has worked in one county for all Of her eight years as a COOperative Extension home economist. She is between 40 and 50 years Of age. Carol completed her Master's degree in home economics and has had extensive in- service training in both COOperative Extension Service work and employment with other organizations. Donna. Donna is the Oldest Of the COOperative Exten- sion Service home economists interviewed, both in age and in years Of employment. Fourteen Of her employment years 19 have been with COOperative Extension Service. She is between 50 and 60 years of age and thinking ahead to retirement. Donna's formal training is in home economics. She has completed a Master's degree and has extensive non-formal training in a variety Of subjects. She has the responsibility for planning and presenting Family Living programs in one county and "contributes to the programs Of two other counties." Edith. Edith has been employed by the COOperative Extension Service for nearly two years and is responsible for planning Family Living programs in her county. She also cooperates with two other Extension home economists in adjacent counties to plan and present prOgrams for all three counties. She has had extensive formal training in home economics and non-formal training in a variety Of subject areas. Edith is the only Extension home economist who has had needs assessment training. She is between 40 and 50 years Of age. CHAPTER III Needs Assessment and the Extension Home Economist This chapter includes a review Of the literature on needs assessment in adult education; findings desired from the data collected in Interview Question I; the sources Of educational need information available to the Extension home economists; and discussion. Literature Adult Education The concept Of need is one of the most widely used concepts in the literature Of adult education. Though its popularity can be traced to Dewey, its current favor may be due to the powerful influence Of the Tyler rationale in curriculum theory (Monette, 1977). Whatever the case may be, much Of the pOpular thinking about needs is "fuzzy," according to Monette. Certainly modern literature stresses the importance of audience needs assessment as the basis for the design Of programs which fulfil the educational requirements of an identified pOpulation. Easley (1976) feels needs assessment is a sine qua non Of program planning and McKenzie (1973), in a summary statement for a collection Of essays, states it was the judgement Of all essayists that adult education 20 21 programs cannot be totally effective unless they rest on a solid foundation Of systematic diagnosis. Yet Atwood (1973) points out that, in reality, Often little attention is given tO an orderly procedure for diagnosis. He believes that many programs are developed on the basis of what was apprOpriate in another setting, what is available, snap judgements and intuition. Parker (1972) suggests the major criticism made against adult education programs is that they do not meet the needs Of the audience because educators rarely ask the potential students what they want or need to know. Knowles (1970) tempers this view by suggesting this may be true in numerous programs but many other adult education prOgrams have active advisory councils to help educators make repeated surveys Of the educational needs Of the adults they are trying to serve. Boyle and John (1970) believe that researchers and writers essentially reflect two interpretations Of educa- tional need. The first is based upon the assumption of a need-fulfilling tendency in humans. An example is Maslow's hierarchy Of human needs, with the prOpOsition that the emergence of one need usually rests on the prior satisfaction Of another more basic need. A second interpretation is based upon the assumption that equilibrium is a natural state toward which humans strive. Therefore a need is a condition that exists between what is and what should be and a "need" always implies a gap. Havighurst and Orr's description Of 22 deve10pmental tasks in adulthood is an example. They believe that an urgency to accomplish a deve10pmental task produces anxiety. This anxiety produces a need or gap. Malcolm Knowles (1970) also defines an educational need as a gap between desire and reality and Mazmanian (1977) reports that the most common definition Of need in the liter- ature pertaining to needs assessment is the gap between what is and what is desired. In addition, Knowles makes a distinction between basic human needs, educational needs and educational interests. He thinks both types Of needs and educational interests have meaning for educators in planning adult education programs. Needs assessment, according to English and Kaufman (1975), formally determines the gaps between current happenings (or outcome, products) and required or desired results; places these gaps in priority order; and selects those gaps (needs) Of the highest priority for action. For this assessment to be valid and useful, it should include learners, educators and community members. Walker (1971) further defines needs assessment as a systematic process for identifying and documenting human or organizational need which educational services can help fulfill. There is no one "correct way" to do a needs assessment, according to English and Kaufman. Each educational setting and situation is different. The process and the selection Of tools, techniques, instrument and procedures should be based upon the unique characteristics and requirements Of 23 the community, the learners, the educators and the mission Of the educational organization, not upon what is available from other settings. Mazmanian (1977) identifies four needs assessment models. Each uses a different process for identifying needs. In the first model, all adults in a community are viewed as potential participants in prOgrams and are surveyed to determine individual interests potent enough to insure par- ticipation. Need is identified when an economically suffi- cient number Of persons indicate they will participate. The second model focuses on the needs Of a known segment of the pOpulation. Programs are generally based not on local diagnosis but on research data, packaged materials and prO- gram formats already tested with the specialized pOpulation. In the third model, the learners determine their own learning needs. They may do it by themselves, with a coun— selor or as members of a group. The fourth model either assumes the existence of or attempts to identify the gap between "what is" and "what should be" in a social system. This system is usually an organization, a sub-unit Of an organization or a community. Monette (1977) challenges this particular model: It is immediately Obvious that systems in themselves do not have needs in the sense Of desires, wants, interest, or felt needs. The individuals within the system have such needs, some Of which may be closely re- lated to the performance Of the system. Nevertheless, the needs of a system are not the sum total Of the needs Of the individual within it. Systems have 24 problems as well as ends to which they are ordered; however, and this is what needs talk masks, systems as such can— not be educated. Education prOperly refers only to individuals and only by analogy to systems. What a system is said to need is basically what an Ob- server needs or wants for the given system. (p. 122) The following sources of data on the needs and interests Of individuals are identified by Knowles (1970): 1) from the individuals themselves; 2) from the people in the helping roles with individuals; 3) from the mass media; 4) from professional literature; and 5) from organizational and community surveys. Thirteen methods Of identifying educational needs and interests are listed by Kempfer (1955). They are: indi- vidual requests; check lists and other "interest finders"; a check with other known interests Of people such as library reading interests and newspaper or magazine readership sur- veys; sensitivity to civic, personal and social problems which can be alleviated by education; hunches; examination Of catalogues, schedules, publicity materials and programs Of comparable schools; examination Of published surveys of other communities; systematic survey of the industrial, busi- ness, civic and cultural life Of the community; examination Of data from the census and similar sources; study Of defi- ciencies Of adults (e.g., poor nutrition, lack of civic participation, poor methods Of child rearing); requests from business, industry, labor and community groups; systematic cultivation Of groups of "coordinators" in industry, business 25 and other community organizations and agencies who watch for Opportunity for education to perform a service; and mainte— nance Of extensive personal acquaintance with a wide range of community leaders and groups. Barbulecso (1976) identifies ten needs assessment techniques that are quite similar to Kempfer's list. Maurice Monette (1979) questions the widespread advocacy Of needs assessment in service-oriented adult education. He believes that needs assessment is an information-gathering task which asks "what should be done?" But he thinks that the very nature Of the needs assessment function necessitates philosophical considerations and that it is a fallacy to suppose that "what should be" can immediately be derived from the "what is" Of information gathering instruments. In- deed, needs must be sifted through a "philosophical screen" Of the sponsoring institution tO define Objectives. COOperative Extension Service All COOperative Extension Service program develOpment guides emphasize the importance of needs assessment. The 1963 Federal Extension Service Program DevelOpment Guideline (Knowles, 1970) advised that an analysis Of the county social and economic situation should be made to determine the economy, relevant social systems, interests and geographic areas in the county. Furthermore, based upon such an analysis, a program develOpment committee was to be enlisted which represented the relevant social systems, interests, 26 geographic areas and professional leadership. Boyle's (1965) program planning principles recommend including the needs Of the agency and the potential program participant and the interests Of the entire community. These principles are quite similar tO the assessment components of English and Kaufman's Curriculum DevelOpment Cycle (1975): learner needs, educator needs, society needs and requirements for survival needs. In 1966, Pesson contributed to a bOOk designed to stimulate and support training prOgrams for Extension edu- cators. He placed needs assessment under the heading "determining the situation." Needless to say, a precise identification Of clientele and their behavior patterns are absolute requirements in formulating sound Objectives. Among the things tO look for are the practices Of the indi- viduals in the clientele group and their knowledge, ideas, attitudes, interests, and expressed needs. (p. 97) Pesson recommends l) the use Of state level specialists to ascertain the "real" problems inherent in the situation; 2) the study Of pOpulation characteristics and changes, migration patterns, changes occurring within the community and natural and human resources for community problems; 3) the collection Of social data for audience characteristics and economic and technological data for relevant problem areas; and 4) the examination of census report, economic studies and governmental records for useful data in deter- mining the situation. 27 The suggested sources Of data are systematic Obser- vation, questionaires, interviews, surveys, records and reports. The 1974 Extension Program DevelOpment Committee's report suggested the need for balanced inputs from various sources into program develOpment strategies because programs sometimes vacillate from one felt need to another or are based On personal needs, on biases or on interests Of influential lay persons. The committee also recommended establishing educational needs by considering the following: 1) expressed needs of actual and potential clientele---view- points Of peOple served or to be served; 2) analysis Of the environment and other conditions Of society, including pre— vious program inputs and accomplishments and viewpoints of Extension staff members; 3) research results, viewpoints Of specialists, university departmental staffs and others with access to research information; and 4) recommendations and pressures Of support groups, agencies and organizations and viewpoints Of administrators. In summary, though there are several interpretations of educational need, the most common definition is a gap between what is and what is desired. Need assessment is seen as the process Of determining the gaps between current happenings; placing these gaps in priority order; and selecting partic- ular gaps for action. There is no "correct" way to carry out a needs assessment. The process should be based upon the unique characteristics of those people immediately 28 involved. Findings The sources Of information reported by the Extension home economists in this chapter seem to represent a potpourri Of sources utilized Over time. Table I summarizes the sources of information as reported by the five Extension home economists. The differences between Extension home economists in the emphasisis they placed on the importance Of particular categories Of sources, as well as the methods they used to process the information they received, is most interesting. Ann indicated the need to fulfill the perceived dictates from peOple in power positions and to collect need informa- tion from representatives Of audiences. Betty felt the dictates from peOple in local positions of power tO be important, but also depended on synthesizing information about audience needs from diffuse sources. Donna reported county co-workers, audiences, agencies and organizations as prO- viding all her information on audience educational need, while Edith indicated she relied heavily on contacts with clientele, professional literature and her own expertise. Carol reported using primarily inputs from audience or audience related sources Of information and she felt quite comfortable in using her own judgement as a source Of information. 29 Table 1. Sources Of Audience Need Informationa Extension Home Economist Ann Betty Carol Donna Edith Organization Category Supervisors X Program Staff X State Impact Committee State Teaching Materials County Commissioners County CO-Workers ><><><><>< >< Other Extension Home Economists Aides X X Audience Category County Program Committees X X Extension Study Groups X X X Community Group Requests X Informal Contacts X Telephone Information Requests X X X X Bulletin Requests X X Program Evaluations X Home Visits X 30 Table l. (Cont'd.) Extension Home Economist Ann Betty Carol Donna Edith Audience Related Category Survey Data X X X X X Professional Literature X Television, Radio, Newspapers X Other Agency Personnel X X X X Community Group Requests X School Requests X Personal Knowledge Category Own Judgement X X Professional Conferences X a . . . . All sources Of audience need information available to the Exten31on home economist. 31 Ann Organization Sources Of Information. Packages Of teaching materials prepared by Impact Committees, content specialists and Family Living program staff were identified as important sources by Ann. "These are ways to expedite programs without having to do further research and I feel it is creditable material." Regional field supervisors also provide very important information: "If they tell me I had better do certain prO- grams I will, because raises are tied to their annual ratings (Of me). They share successful programs that have been done in the region too." Because Ann did OOpy the successful programs that had been described to her, she listed programs develOped by other Extension home economists as important sources Of information. "They (the programs) were recommended by the supervisors. It is better use Of my own time and energy tO use others' materials and other people. The home econo- mists are a support group." Ann also mentioned her Office co-workers as her "sup- port group and our work represents a team effort. Their knowledge enlarges the number of potential audiences. There is good Opportunity to do some team prOgramming across the total county Extension program." The state level Family Living Impact Committees "try to do a needs assessment around the state. Lots Of field staff are involved. They are a sounding board and can make things happen statewide." 32 One source Of information Ann emphatically rated as very important was audience needs as viewed by the county commissioners. These needs were always carefully considered in planning educational programs: "It is politically astute to meet the needs they identify. We depend on them for basic (financial) support." Audience Sources Of Information. Extension study groups, because "they are a support group to Extension" and the classes Ann presents to organized community groups, based on the groups requests, were perceived as important sources Of information. "The community groups help you gain visi— bility. If they are organized you don't have to organize your own groups." A planning committee, which meets with Ann twice a year to decide apprOpriate program Offerings, is considered to be a very important source Of information: They repre- sent my 'feelers' from the community." This group is com- posed Of citizens from one community and includes people from the intended audiences and agencies. The responses tO a "mail back" interest survey Ann included in her monthly newsletter also provided program planning information: "I feel the response rate to the send-in sheet indicates inter- est and concern. This is the largest group Of peOple that I have direct contact with." She believes telephone calls are important sources Of information because "repeated requests on the same tOpic dO indicate a strong need to receive information or help." 33 Audience Related Sources Of Information. Ann reported that two organizations provided important audience related sources of information. A tri-county council provided "support to my prOgrams. I knew I was not duplicating pro- grams because the council shares information about what programs the other agencies and organizations in the three counties are doing. The council also has done its own needs assessment Of audiences." A county coordinating council gives Ann the Opportunity to do joint programming with other agencies and organizations in her county. Personal Sources Of Information. Ann listed one source of information that could be categorized as personal. Her "hunch" as to what programs will "sell" is a very important source to her. "I view Offerings as a product which must be merchandized. Sometimes I must do window dressing tO mer- chandise the product. In reality, we are competing with television and continuing education programs for peOple's time. We are also competing for Operating dollars." Betty Organization Sources Of Information. Betty felt county commissioners were very important sources Of information as Ann did and for essentially the same reason: "Commis- sioners are very influential." She also listed Extension home economists. "They are very creditable, they are directly related to my line Of work and I can see their program successes." For Betty, the regional field 34 supervisors provide important information as "regional field supervisors represent the major thrusts (Of state programming)." Audience Sources Of Information. The one formal and extensive needs assessment Of intended audience Betty con- ducted was rated as an important source Of information: "I feel when people commit something to paper, we should pay attention." As an afterthought Betty added: "I haven't seen the results Of this." The Extension study groups were viewed as sources of information but Of lower value than the other sources "be— cause my personal involvement is less. This is another Extension home economist's responsibility." Like Ann, Betty thought telephone requests were "im- portant because they are direct input from clients and we should pay attention." Requests for Extension publications that Betty mentioned in her newspaper column indicated to her the type Of information audiences wanted: "It is direct input from clients and we should pay attention." When Betty meets friends on the street, they sometimes comment on the information in her newspaper column tOO and this "may have some importance. With some, it may be politeness and may not tell a whole lot." Audience Related Sources Of Information. For Betty, newspapers, radio and television provide information about audience needs. It is "very important to be informed on what's going on internationally, nationally and locally. It's 'taking the temperature' Of the community." 35 Personal Sources Of Information. When the interviewer asked Betty if there was any other information she felt was important to understanding how she determined the educational needs Of audiences, Betty responded: "...sometimes people are afraid to admit what their needs are in the family life area because they think they'll be perceived as failure. The areas we deal in are touchy areas. Like if we had a survey and we said 'Do you need help in parenting?’ I don't think the answers would be valid, even if anonymous. Some would be true, like if you asked 'dO you need help in planning meals?’ I think some Of the ways we assess needs are more important and valid (than formal surveys). For example, (we can pre— sent) a program on making toys for children to bring peOple in and then talk about communication. Needs (as expressed in an audience survey) are just one piece of the pie. There are some tOpics people won't come out for, although they may need them." Betty felt her powers Of Observation provided her with very important information. Easel Organization Sources Of Information. Carol believes two sources of information provide dictates from the state level and thinks they are important to consider: "I feel a lot Of thought has gone into the Impact committee recom— mendations and programs at the state level and so at least some Of it applies to my county. Of course, I have other ways Of determining need, too." The Family Living program 36 staff requested Carol to carry out one program: "I have only received one dictate and had tO dO it. It was one of the best things I've done." Audience Sources of Information. Carol first mentioned two advisory boards. One board is primarily concerned with its own group Of peOple: "A lot of their input is good for their programs only and not overall programs." She considers her program advisory board, however, tO be quite important: "This is a group that represents the overall program and is chosen carefully to represent the county pOpulation. We have trained them to give unbiased advice." Evaluations of educational programs give information to Carol, tOO. "These are important, but many times they don't tell you the most helpful information—--the needs unmet and where to go from here." When Carol receives requests for repeats Of prOgrams, she feels "it indicates what peOple nggg. When people ask for it, they know what they're going to get." Although Carol does not keep a written account Of the telephone requests she receives, she remarked: "I feel they are quite important because we get lots and lots Of telephone calls, and when peOple call, they really have an important need." Requests for Extension publications are rated as highly as telephone calls: "SO many peOple respond and that takes an effort and indicates a need (for certain kinds of information)." 37 Audience Related Sources of Information. Requests for programs from another agency, and audience need surveys con- ducted by Extension staff members in other counties provide quite important information in Carol's estimation. The agency "is my main contact with the disadvantaged. Because the agency staff works with these people they have a valid way Of determining needs." Carol thinks surveys are helpful "al— though I haven't done any, but the ones done by others pointed out what the needs were and the methods of delivery wanted (by audiences)." Personal Sources Of Information. Carol listed her Own judgement, interests and expertise as quite important in assessing needs Of audiences. She perceived her own judge- ment to be a valid source Of.information: "I feel that because Of the experience I've had with people in the county, I can tell the needs and the best way to provide help." Her expertise is important as it helps her "be more alert to needs in this area and I lOOk for them." Carol then added "but because Of this there may be a big area Of need I'm missing." 9.92221 Organization Sources of Information. Donna felt her program aides were very important sources Of information on audience need. "They bring back information on what it's really like with a particular clientele." And, like Ann, she mentioned her Office co-workers as important sources Of 38 information. Audience Sources Of Information. Extension study group members were viewed as providing information about their interests only. Telephone requests for information were quite important sources Of information. Audience Related Sources Of Information. Donna listed two agencies, a coordinating council, the Intermediate school district, an Officer Of a local bank and radio and television surveys as sources Of information. The bank Officer re- quested Donna's help in deve10ping money management programs for the local community because of budgeting problems the bank's customers were experiencing. The two agencies "are housed close by and we confer on a regular basis (about audience need)." The Intermediate school district has "facilities we can use so we reciprocate with programs (they request)." The coordinating council is important to Donna because "we have a chance to find out what other agencies are doing and why." Personal Sources Of Information. Donna's responses to Interview Question I did not include any sources which could be classified as personal. any. Organization Sources Of Information. Edith indicated program aides were very important sources Of need informa- tion for her. "My aides have direct contact with homemakers over time. Because staff members are experienced, I feel 39 they can pinpoint needs." (These aides work with a specific pOpulation and not with county residents in general.) Edith also believes her interactions with other professional staff members in the Extension Office provides information. "I need to hear how they are assessing needs, but guess I ques— tion whether what any Of us is doing is on target. Frankly, we do not spend enough time on needs assessment." Audience Sources of Information. Home visits to clientele were rated as very important "because the direct contact helps me to Observe firsthand what the needs Of that particular person are. Also, the verbal feedback from the homemaker is frank." These visits are also to a specific pOpulation. Audience Related Sources of Information. Other agency personnel, scientific journals and the data from her own re— ports provide quite important audience need information to Edith. The other agencies "deal basically with some of the same clientele but in different areas." The scientific journals are used to "look in for scientific research to confirm and give credence to my own information and what can be translated to my own work." The report data gives Edith a "quick view Of how we're effective and what we need tO do in prOgramming to meet needs." Newsletters received from legislators were rated as somewhat important sources Of information: "They give me information on the statistics Of needs, personal anecdotes and description Of methods." 40 Personal Sources of Information. Edith mentioned pro- fessional conferences as being somewhat important in planning prOgrams: "I go for enlightenment, for how to work and reach additional low—income audiences." Discussion All five respondents reported receiving information from sources in the Organization, Audience and Audience Related categories with 28 Of the 45 responses falling in the Audience and Audience Related categories. In parti- cular, all five Extension home economists stated they used either regional or local audience surveys as a method Of identifying educational needs, four reported using other agency staff and telephone inquiries as sources Of infor- mation and three indicated Extension study groups were use- ful as sources Of information. NO Extension home economists indicated that content specialists, county Extension directors, community leaders, other adult education programs, census data, professional or pOpular literature, their own educational training or mate- rials in their personal files were used as sources Of infor- mation. Yet many Of these sources Of information were identified in the literature as important to educational program develOpment. 0n the basis Of the data analyzed, there is little evidence to support the criticisms by Parker (1972) that adult education programs are develOped on the basis of what 41 is available and snap judgements. The Extension home econo- mists did not report using sources Of information that fell under the rubric of what was apprOpriate in another setting or snap judgements. All respondents reported using a variety Of methods for collecting information directly from the in- tended audience. The personal judgements or "hunches" of the Extension home economists were apparently based on edu- cational training, personal Observations and the educator's needs to advance self and/or the organization. Many Of the sources Of information identified by Ann fit Mazmanian's (1971) fourth needs assessment model which assumes either the existence of, or attempts to identify the gap between, "what is" and "what should be" in a social system. In this study the social systems as included in the Mazmanian model were the COOperative Extension Service and the community. The reasons Ann gave for listing some sources of information also supported Monette's (1977) con- tention that what a system is said tO need is basically what an Observer needs or wants for the given system. Evidence on this point was emphasized when the interviewer had difficulty understanding how classes that are presented to organized community groups could be considered sources of audience need information and Ann replied "they give you visibility, you don't have to organize your own groups." This was not a snap judgement or an easy solution to finding an audience; it appeared to be a pragmatic way to advance the programs Of the organization and the educator. This 42 source Of information may not indicate direct audience need but it is a source Of information for program deve10pment. The same reasoning applied to her hunches as to what prO- grams would be acceptable tO the public, "(We have) a prO- duct which must be merchandized...we are competing with tele- vision and continuing education people for people's time (and) for Operating dollars." Ann indicated concern, perhaps almost fear, of the people in power positions. Edith, on the other hand, focused on the needs of a known segment Of the pOpulation and thus fit Mazmanian's second needs assessment model. She reported using research data and personal Observations to determine audience need and looked for tested methods to reach and bring about change in her audience. This also represents what the Observer wants for the system(s)—--the known pOpulatiOn and the COOperative Extension Service. Betty's sources Of information also displayed a simi- larity to the fourth needs assessment model although more Of the Observer's wants and needs for the community system are evident than for the Cooperative Extension Service system. Donna's sources of information, like Betty's, are Similar those described in the fourth model as she was concerned with the needs Of the community as a whole. Donna also fo- cused on the needs Of a particular audience, as Edith did, but did not mention research data, personal Observations or tested methods as a basis for local diagnosis. She evidently relies on the Observations of her program aides. 43 Carol's initial list of sources Of information and her reasons for using them indicated several processes for identifying needs. She responds to a known segment of the county pOpulation---those audiences she has worked with or those who request her to present certain programs receive high priority in needs assessment. Telephone requests for information and requests for COOperative Extension Service publications tap those learners who have determined their own learning needs and who might be willing to participate as members of a group. The needs Of the community as iden- tified by the prOgram advisory board, information from other agencies and Carol's own Observations are considered sources Of information by her. These need assessments promote the needs and wants Of Carol and her organization for the community. She also views the requests and recommendations from the organization as positive and useful and which, in the main, may be accepted or rejected. The Extension home economists' responses did include inputs from various sources Of information as suggested in the 1974 Extension Program DevelOpment Committee's report but did not reflect the viewpoints Of the university depart— mental staffs except by the use Of materials prepared by content specialists. CHAPTER IV Program DevelOpment and the Extension Home Economist In this chapter the literature Of program develOpment in educational organizations will be reviewed. The findings from Interview Question II which dealt with the sources of information used in planning the Extension home economists' 1980-1981 plans Of work, will be presented and discussed. Literature Adult Education In the view Of Boyle and Jayne (1970), program devel- Opment is an all-inclusive term covering a variety Of ac- tivities on the part Of an educational organization. Some activities are aimed at educational efforts, while others are directed toward the maintenance Of the organization. Essentially, educational program develOpment is a method Of planning, with the efforts Of the organization focused primarily on educational activities. Program planning models by contributors in the field Of adult education fall into two major categories, described by Mazmanian (1977) as either classical or naturalistic. The classical model includes consideration Of audience need, educational Objectives, develOpment of learning activities and evaluation Of the total effort (Knox, 1968). 44 45 Walker (1971) views this model as being prescriptive in nature. An example is the English and Kaufman (1975) our- riculum or program development cycle which uses a needs assessment base. They suggest needs assessment provides the anchors Of a) the current state of affairs and b) the required state Of affairs to which program develOpment is to be built. Figure 1 indicates the "flow" Of curriculum as seen by English and Kaufman. Needs assessment is viewed as the reality base which is sorted into two categories---needs which are agreed upon and those which are not agreed upon. At this point non-agreed upon needs can be cycled back into the reality base. Otherwise there is no recycling Of infor- mation and the model assumes an orderly completion of satisfying selected needs. The emerging naturalistic model is descriptive and con- sists Of a series Of decision points relating to both explicit and implicit design. These points allow the educator to select the best alternative at that time (Schwab, 1979). Zaltman, Florio and Sikorski (1977) have synthesized a prO— active/interactive change model for planners based on the assumption that educational systems are self-renewing and have a need for diversity and flexibility. Figure 2 illustrates this conceptualization. Although the model indicates a linear progression as does the classical model, it is possible tO skip a stage or start at different points in the process. It is seen as a linking system and a net- work with various formal and informal relationships between 46 fiEALITY Jr; _ T 1—* _ 1 j 11 _ , *1 [ Learner] I’Educator] I'SOciety‘l Requirements Needs Needs Needs Minimal * ‘ * * ' ‘ Survival 1 7r Agreed Upons Non-agreed ‘ Needs Upon Needs‘J 1gp . , it Needs Placed in Priority Order —a[ Selected Needs 4a4k11 Management Learning Objectives Objectives ' 4L, 24L Curriculum Planning Curriculum DevelOpment 4 Curriculum Implementation Formative Evaluation 5k Summative Goal-free Evaluation Evaluation ' i J Figure 1. Curriculum or Program DevelOpment Cycle. English and Kaufman (1975). 1) 47 L LINKING with ENVIRONMENT L I :14 F I N Mission Statement N K K I Diagnosis (Awareness) I N of Performance Gaps ‘1'"): (—-) N l I" G l G Problem Statement (- - -) ' l Problem-Solving _ _) I W Objectives 6' : W I I I T Determine Resource I T and Constraints ""I H ' H l Generate Alterna- l tive Solutions S' " '7 1 E l E N Test Most Plausible ' N 11 Solutions (- " '7 ' v E a l V I T ( ) : I AdOption Rejection R Decision ('- ‘7 l R O I 0 N I N Implementation and Controlkél M l M l E Evaluation (— .. _ _ ., I E N 4 . N T Linking with Environment T Figure 2. A Proactive/Interactive Change Model for Planners. Zaltman, Florio and Sikorski (1977). 48 the planning group and various elements and organizations in the environment. Most current theoretical frameworks Of educational pro- gram planning in adult education are borrowed by Tylerian curriculum develOpment models used in primary and secondary education. These models are in the classical category. The processes used by persons who plan educational pro- grams for adults is largely an unexplored area in educational research, according to Pennington and Green (1976). Sork (1978) also found this to be true. He discovered that education literature had not paid attention to the process Of determining educational priorities until the early 1970's. Even the references in current literature are quite elusive in nature. Pennington and Green, in a study to deve10p a sub- stantive theory Of program planning found that the program development processes Of six "successful" educational organ- izations blended the classical and naturalistic models. Planners used the language of the classical model to label their planning actions. However, as the respondents described their actions, it became clearer that personal values, environ- mental constraints, available resource alternatives and other factors impinged on the program development process. The study also found major discrepancies between prO- gram planning models within the literature and actual prac- tice in diverse fields Of adult education. Pennington and Green concluded that program deve10pment is a form Of 49 administrative decision making. Some stimulus from inside or outside Of the organization received the attention of the planning agent. The planning agent responded to the stimulus, usually a request or idea for a continuing edu- cation activity, in a preliminary fashion to check its strength. If the strength of the stimulus was sufficient, resources were gathered tO respond. The response tOOk the form Of a number of critical decisions and a considera- tion Of alternative activities which would lead to the execution Of those decisions that in the end shaped the educational activity. (p. 20) ngperative Extension Service Cooperative Extension Service program development has changed over time with the shift in emphasis from the general diffusion Of information to individual learning, and finally to cost-benefit considerations Of program develOpment. The organizational suggestions for estab- lishing the educational needs of audiences reflect these changes. Boone (1970) characterizes the COOperative Extension Service as having an ingenious system Of programming that utilizes the efforts Of professional and lay leaders in deve10ping educational activities designed to meet immediate and projected needs Of people. At each level Of the COOperative Extension Service there is an interrelation of the internal and external forces that affect program decisions; though specific Objectives should evolve primarily from the county COOperative Extension agent's interaction with lay people. 50 Steele's (1978) analysis Of eras in the COOperative Extension Service's noted changed in the interpretation Of its mission and also the methods used in program develOp- ment. The first era was concerned with diffusion Of infor- mation, demonstrations and practice adOption. The second era was highly influenced by Tyler's curriculum develOpment ideas and was concerned with education, group instruction and learning changes. Steels points out that the COOperative Extension Service is now entering a third era, which she labels "Extension scrutiny" (by all levels Of government and citizens) and competition for available funds. All elements in the pro- gram deve10pment process have become complex and confused, but it is clear that cost-benefit considerations must be an. integral part Of prOgram deve10pment. In the late 1950's and 1960's, when the COOperative Extension Service adOpted the Tylerian approach to program development, the Federal ExtenSion Service published a set Of guidelines for county prOgram deve10pment and evaluation (Knowles, 1973). The guidelines were organized around six elements: 1) organization for prOgram deve10pment; 2) prO— cess for program planning; 3) planning county COOperative Extension Service program; 4) annual county COOperative Extension Service plan Of work and teaching plans; 5) prO- gram action; and 6) program accomplishments, evaluation and reporting. Each element had precise guidelines, in- cluding a check list Of apprOpriate personnel and their 51 degree Of responsibility for each guideline. It had the characteristics Of the classical model Of program develOp— ment. Boyle (1965) prOpOsed four program planning concepts for the COOperative Extension Service. These were based on concepts from the literature Of adult education which were applicable tO the COOperative Extension Service. These did not include decision making or interconnection between principles but only the traditional considerations Of 1) the situation which is to be changed or improved; 2) educational needs Of the target pOpulation; 3) learning experiences and plans for the implementation; 4) the design for determining the accomplishments Of the program and assessing its strengths and weaknesses. The report Of a national ad hoc Cooperative Extension Service Committee (Extension Program DevelOpment, 1974) states that Cooperative Extension Service program develOp- ment should be a continuous series of complex, interrelated processes which include: 1) organizing to accomplish mission; 2) determining program content; 3) preparing Ob- jectives; 4) deve10ping plans to accomplish the Objectives; 5) implementing the plans; 6) evaluating and reporting results; and 7) utilizing results in planning subsequent programs. Figure 3 illustrates this model. The committee made the following program deve10pment strategy recommendations: 52 .smma .mEmpmhm CowpmshowsH encamwmsms Scamsmpxm OP mfiamsowpmHmm mpH cam Pamemoam>mm Emnmogm .pSmsmOHO>OQ Emanhm Cosmsmpxm mo mommmoonm hzmsmodia 25.8?— g... £2325...— 2:25:52. zo_humhm swam 10am .mpmosv .mfiowpw34m>o 1on msosm .mpmofiUon swam 1O4mp .mpodp cflpoaasn loam .mpmozw 1:00 Hmsnom .mpmosvon 1mg Ososamaop 12w .mQSOam ozosamamp mpompsoo Hos Song memosv .mpodpsoo .mQSOhm Inomsfl .mmsohm non mQSOnm assaomsw hUSPm 809w mvmmsv hUSPm .mmum .momppHEEOO .mmoepfiEEOo .mpflmfi> 1mg .mQSopm ewamoam ewamonm swamoam msom .mmw h659m .mmw zPCSOU .mow zPQSOU .mmw hpssOo .mmw oosmwcs¢ .wmpm Quads napama m :w msflxaos .mapflcopo MO moses .mpmoampcfl was mamfiampme npoaefi 6:4 sOeEOO mcflsomoe .o>flpssaOM2a P50 Umpcfloa chasm hone .mmohfiom pcm Hammams hose omsmO .Hmflpsmsfiw an Umaaonpsoo mm meOH> non ompmm 12a ham> ma Farm Osm mam moohdom nflano Paom pmsoammwseOo UmprHOSH .mamfiaopms mcflnowOp .mpmflsosooo .mooppws mac: scam 1800 PomasH unopxm amnpo .meawflo .mamflampms Imam PQOPQOO msfinomop .mampm swam .mmmppwssoo Iona .maomfl> pomasH .MMMPm .mwmpm .aOQOHmmHSEOO lawman Gamay smamoam .mmw sapwopm .mmw .oz menace .mow Hmsowmom .mmw :Oflpmuflsmmao Spfipm accoa Hoamo zepom ss< zaomopmo mm: pom msomMOm was soapmeaomsH Mo mooa:om .m manna 76 .moswsoaaoo asaow Immohoaa mo mpamflmafl was aOHpsanmafl womsa aoasomoa woom zaasao 1aom wowfl>oam .mofloaows asapo .maOMPsOHH 1959 asHSQOQ .m%o>asm .mow .maowps>aomao aso 80am aOMpsanmaH oaoe ws>fiooom .aHoa as: wowooa asap wopso 1Hwafi mooa30m wo>OH4om .moaoaom< .mow mmooodm .mmoa naswoma Esam uoaa mo mpaom non zfiasHsOflp nasa .Hamaaoa pmos mposp 1aoo HsanwaH .anp aosoa op Hoaasao s was mooaoflwss asHSOHpasa pawns aOHp 1ssaomaw o>sw .moaoasma .mmw .ooaoflwss 80am afipooaflw aOHpsaaomaw aoapsm op wow: mwoapoe assaOM uafi was assaom .ao swawows ms; psaz Boas aoa woaaoa mooaaom wo>sw4om .mesamoaa aOflP 1soswo pazws aoapo .usoE .maoisOfiH Imam asasmom mks>aam .mow .mpospaoo o>ops Scam wo>woooa maOflmmoHQEa Hasao>o 80am moaoo aOHpss naomaw wooz .woflaoo on wHSOO psap EsamOam Ham 1mmooo§m s was wasps .hoaoe waspsaoao wsHHQQSm aoaomw .mssaw 10am aOflp 1soswo pasws. asapo .moao 1amm< .mow wepsaom ooaoflws< .paospfisaooa soaOszs was paOQQSm .aOflp looaflw ssam 1oaa wo>flooom wosawpaoo ooaofiwsa aPflwm saaoQ Hoaso spasm aaa maowopso A.w.Paoov .m wands 77 .mesamoaa mafimoao>ow .waflaflsap as paomsoo HsaOflPsoawo was zpflaaosm .omwOHSOax 80am Boas was owfi>oaa mo omaoa wsoa .wasoa .moSmma maswaop usaopm s owfl> .ssm mam Psas paoaaao 1s: .xaos noaa ooasflaoaxo .maoamwoow ao womsn Mo pass 44a; ssam was aOflpsoswm azo owsz Paoaomwsw Immomms aom 10am mono: .paosowwzw .moHHm aw .ooaofi aso .mpmo maswaopsa uaomxo .aOHP .paosomwsm naopafl .aOfip .Passomwan . .4aosomwsw useswm .mow aso .mow 1soswm .mow aso .mow aso .mow Hsaomaom apflwm saaoa Hoaso hepom aa< haemopso A.w.paoov .m OHQsB CHAPTER V The Extension Home Economist As An Adult Worker This chapter further investigates the similarities and differences between the Extension home economists' reported sources Of information utilized in 1980-l9Bl plans Of work and includes literature, data from this study and discussion. As discussed in the previous chapter, each Extension home economist displayed unique characteristics in her utilization and perceptions of sources Of information. Yet similarities were found between the sources Of information utilized by a) Ann and Edith and b) Betty and Carol in deve10ping 1980-1981 plans Of work. Donna's responses did not match either Of these sets Of Extension home economists. Differences were found between Carol and Edith's responses and, to a lesser degree, between Ann and Betty's responses. The information describing the Extension home economists was reexamined for factors which might explain the similar- ities and differences between the subjects. Age as a factor was tentatively discarded because no relationships could be found either within or between pairs. Ann and Edith were dissimilar in age; Betty and Carol were similar. Carol and Edith were similar in age; Ann and Betty dissimilar. The factor Of county characteristics was also discarded as no Extension home economist indicated this was important in making program decisions. The length of time an Extension 78 79 home economist nad been employed by the COOperative Exten- sion Service, however, seemed a fruitful avenue to explore. Ann and Edith had been employed between one and two years while Betty and Carol had each been employed for eight years. Donna had been employed for fourteen years and was antici- pating retirement in a few years. The review Of the literature prior to undertaking the study had alerted the investigator to expect evidence Of organization need, audience need and educator need as a basis for program develOpment (English and Kaufman, 1975) but not how the educator need might be exhibited. Therefore, a brief discussion Of the literature on the adult worker will be pre- sented and form the basis for a further discussion Of the findings in light Of this additional literature review. Literature The Adult Worker Freiberg (1979) notes that most men and about one-half Of adult women pursue careers outside their homes and for these people their jobs are part of their identity. Jobs help determine mobility patterns, social status, lifestyles and the quality Of satisfaction with one's life. The satis— faction received from employment is influenced by expecta- tions from others as well as by personal needs. The twenties are considered years Of job preparation, job exploration and settling in according to Freiberg, while the thirties and forties are spent in pursuing career 80 advancement through classes, reading, working overtime and attending meetings. PeOple in this stage Of life may con- centrate on gamesmanship skills: socializing, learning when to compete and when tO OOOperate, discovering when to comply to directives and when to ignore them and determining how to deve10p the "right" friendships. The fifties and early sixties are Often peak years for status and power. People in other stages Of life look to middle-aged persons for advice, direction, problem solving and changes in society. Some persons in this stage Of life, however, become bored with work and may literally or figur- atively retire from the job. The view that occupational choice is made during young adulthood as a "one-time" decision is giving way to the perspective that views occupational development as a pro- cess that continues throughout much of adult life (Hultsch and Deutsch, 1981). The process Of entering an occupation is more than just choosing a job, it is a process by which a person becomes matched with an occupation according tO Kemmel (1974). The individual selects an occupation tO meet his or her needs and is socialized or resocialized into the occupational role by training and the role demands Of the job itself. Hultsch and Deutsch note that research on occupational success suggests there are age-related differences in different career fields. For fields that demand physical endurance, peak performance occurs in the early twenties and thirties. 81 In art and science fields, which utilize intellectual capac- ities, peak performance occurs in the thirties and early forties. Peak performances tend to be even later in fields that require social capacities. A model of develOpmental changes in the work-life Of a county Extension person was develOped by Griffin in 1970. While the model is limited because it does not take into consideration new information about adults and excludes women workers, it provides a suggestion Of how and why workers change their behaviors as they move through their work-life cycle within one organization. Griffin (1970) describes the stages Of work-life as follows: Stage 1. The stage 1 county COOperative Extension worker is a neOphyte in a situation which makes a wide variety Of complex demands on him. He deals with these demands through devoting much energy to imitative learning, an egocentric concentrating on himself and the present immediacies Of his work, and an intense and willing depend- ence on his co-workers, supervisor and clients. Thus the worker focuses his concern and activities largely upon and within himself. Although busy going to meetings and working with clients, he is focused on his Own learning, adjusting, conforming, Observing and testing himself. A rational for program purposes is acquired from the organization through a process Of assimilating it from spe— cific directives given to the worker and from experiencing 82 the ways that others in the organization interact with him and with clients. The worker feels controlled by others (primarily his supervisor and close co-workers, but also the clients) and reacts tO this control positively; he seeks and welcomes guidance and direction. Stage 2. After an intense dependence, the worker now engages in a search for freedom. He achieves much freedom from organizational constraints, but does not reach a state Of having firmly established internal controls, a rationale for his work, or a secure knowledge Of the ends for which he wants to use hiw new freedom. Rather than independence, he develOps a negative individualism. The worker does not recognize the difference between these two states. The worker now has concern for clients, organization, and self. He turns to the clients for definitions Of his proper work, success and rewards, and becomes very busy trying to respond positively tO all Of their requests. He feels increasing control Over his life and work, yet recognizes that many external controls remain. He reacts negatively tO those controls exerted by the organization and feels many frustrations because Of the complexity Of the tasks, the ambiguities within the organization, and its apparent lack Of ability to help him. When these frustra- tions become tOO great, the worker responds by rejecting the organization. 83 Stage 3. The stage three county COOperative Extension worker achieves a positive independence, an autonomy Of purpose, priorities and criteria. He tries tO enhance his status within the organization and gives attention tO strategies for advancing. A major strategy is selective dependence: being loyal to the organization when possible without internal conflict, exercising freedom in most areas, negotiating important differences until an accommodation is reached that will not hinder his advancement. Although the worker broadens his concern so that it in- cludes organization, clients and community, most Of his concern for the organization and some Of his concern for clients and community is aimed at using it and them to his advantage to achieve higher status and power. His concern for the future is one for gig future. The worker's need to establish priorities leads him tO a deeper consideration Of purposes, and he turns to some academic discipline (through graduate study) and organiza— tional literature for help. He integrates these ideas with his own tO form a rationale. His response to his independence--—selective dependence stance is positive. He feels that even when he has to yield to the organization it is to his advantage for purposes Of advancement. ' Stage 4. During this stage, the county COOperative Extension worker advances to his peak position (position in a "better" county), power and prestige. He is assertive, 84 habit-based, independent and yet loyal to the organization. The worker basis his purposes and priorities on habits Of thought develOped in stage three. As an active, present-oriented, assertive and con- fident person, the worker is no longer concerned with self; he directs his concern and activity outward--toward the organization. Supervisor and others are used for purposes Of affirming his status and improving the organization; they in turn use him tO test and legitimize their ideas to other agents. He exercises an insightful proficiency in working with clients and community. In spite Of his skills, power and independence, the organization is given his rather total commitment and an increasing acceptance Of its purposes and accomplishments. It has treated him well and he feels his loyalty is fair payment. The worker typically accepts a responsibility for the welfare of the organization in this situation and thus deepens his loyalty to it. His feelings toward the organi- zation and to his own independence are positive. He is, however, insensitive to the subtle controls the organization exercises over him. Stage 5. This stage is one Of stress, stock-taking and some reorientation. In addition, the worker finds he is deve10ping a negative reaction both to the organization (because Of a build-up Of its inconsistencies and inability to meet his needs) and tO the abstract forces impinging on him. 85 He believes strongly in the COOperative Extension Service, is dedicated to its purposes, and believes there is a higher gOOd than self and that this higher gOOd is the organization. Yet he has negative feelings about that organization and reacts either by l) fleeing the conflict, "retiring" in effect while still going through the motions Of his work or more probably by 2) creating an idealized, mythical COOp- erative Extension Service as he thinks it ought to be. The worker becomes intensely aware of the shortness Of his future; he discerns startling differences between the quality Of his past and the anticipated quality Of his future. These insights influence his work significantly. Two concerns are added now, largely because Of his changed time orientation: self and society. The worker's revised concern for self comes from the stresses common to this stage and his need to find ways to OOpe with them. A concern for society grows from his increased need and Opportunity tO take a larger view of life as well as from his long experience Of involvement in community issues. Stage 6. In his final work stage, the county COOperative Extension worker submerges his ideal organization device, forms reorientations toward work, redefines success, and becomes more truly autonomous. There is dependence On others tO affirm the success Of the contribution he has made in his career, but the criteria are ones the worker develOps; he depends On other people tO perpetuate his goals and plans, but selects those others from among favorite colleagues or 86 clients, and the ideals and goals he hOpes will be perpet- uated are ones he has develOped; he shares his unique wisdom with those who will remain after his retirement; and becomes more conscious Of personal goals as he makes plans for his post-retirement life. Figure 4 illustrates Griffin's model Of develOpmental changes in the work-life of a county Extension person. Hultsch and Deutsch (1981) assume this is a process that continues throughout much Of adult life and, perhaps, several occupational choices. Kemmel (1971) suggests that a worker is socialized, or resocialized,when entering a new occupa- tion, by training or the role demands Of the job itself. Thus the stages Of work-life may not be specifically age or time related, but occur in a sequential order with some stages being shorter or longer than others because Of prior experiences or age. Findings NO great differences were found between Extension home economists in their responses to Interview Question 1, Table 1 (Chapter III). Patterns Of similarities and differences did arise though, when the sources of informa- tion identified as inputs in the l980-l981 plans of work in Table 2 (Chapter IV) were counted and the data arranged by each person's length of employment time as an Extension home economist. This information is displayed in Table 4. 87 . A 033 crass .oaaflusao: ac essem aoso a“ usage: aOfimaopxm saw an wo>Ho>m mowasao was mpoaawaoo mo maoapsaMoPaH was macapnaomsm .2 oaswfim pass aOflpsuHasmao newsmaomwa wsuflasowH o>wpooaom Hsowawhs ooaowaomoo ”soaowaoa no on: o>wpoo4ow nowaopaSoo w aowwsoao .maw ooaowaomoo aOHpsaMouaH waflxoom soaowaoaowaH ooaowaoaowaH noasaaonhaom Emwassww>wwaH mafiaafiz IhPfiHMopaH o>fipsWoz Hshoq >H.mao .o>flmfioon o>w4smOz omaovaH mo owes Hsaoaoo .wafiafimowom .hEanv:< womsnuvflpsx ooaowaoaowaH wafimssaa .o>fipvaEH .mafipaomaoom smash o>mwaomw< o>wwmmOm npaomao .omawaooomm “Mammy + Anvo>fi4ssoz Hoavaoo Apaoflaov o gov asavsoz mo wsooq 1 1 + + H.maov 1 + n+po>wpfimom op acaposox sheave Hoapaoo apom mo mzooA :pom avom waom spam apom sheave maom wo>Hooaom 2: E2... E aowmmomoum mofivwaOflhm aoflpsufiasmao mafiaqflomflo aowussfiaswao .momoqasm how woNflHsowH aOflpsuwasmao aowpsuflasmao paoaao oHsaowpsm mHsm Hsowapzz wHom mHom paomao aoapsuaasmho Maom no mongow paomsam paomoam museum oasesm pmsm shapsm paomoam aowpsvaowho pmsm snapsm 4aomohm paomoam paomoam paomoam pmsm oEHB afisvflzmawpo< spam spa>apo< cases: seem :oao seem seem canvas soap scaeo< Ho msooa zpofloom 111 hpmfioom hPHCSEEoo upwadssoo hpwazesoo th::EEoo pamwao zpfiasesoo paoflao paoaao paoflao vaofiao aowpsnwaswao paoHHo aOHpsufiasmao aowpsuwasmao aowpsuwasmuo aaooaoo mHom mfiom aOHpsNHasmao maom MHom waom mHom mo msoob w W a m N H maoHvsHomom wwwwmwmmo omspm o>wpsaaopfl< mo anomovso 88 Table 4. Source Of Information by Length Of EmplOyment Ann Edith Betty Carol Donna Length of Employment 2 yrs. 2 yrs. 8 yrs. 8 yrs. 14 yrs. Age Range by Years 20-30 46-50 40-50 40-50 50-60 Npmber of Sources: Organization 9 10 l O 3 Audience 2 1 8 12 6 Audience Related 2 3 8 3 4 Personal 2 l 2 5 1 89 It can be seen that Ann and Edith were similar in the number Of sources reported in most categories. Betty and Carol were also similar in that they had few or no sources in the Organization category and more sources than other Extension home economists in the Audience category. If the Audience and Audience Related categories are combined, the similarities within and differences between both sets Of Extension home economists become more pronounced. Donna is not similar to any other Extension home economist, falling numerically between the two sets. Discussion On the basis Of the available data it is possible tO characterize each subject's choice Of sources Of information in her 1980-1981 plan Of work and to understand the reasons behind these choices. Ann and Edith, who are in the beginning years Of employ- ment, relied heavily on organization sources of information for guidelines to follow, reliable information and materials. Edith also was concerned about the importance of her training, experience and Observations. Ann also was concerned with conducting successful programs. Both persons exhibited characteristics Of stage one and two in a worker's life cycle (Figure 4) as described by Griffin (1970). Their focus of concern was self, organization and audience. 9O Betty and Carol displayed little reliance on organi- zation sources Of information. They utilized both formal and informal methods to determine audience need. Betty was concerned about audience need in a global sense while Carol expressed concerns about the needs Of particularl audiences. Betty and Carol relied heavily on the Audience and Audience Related categories. Both persons exhibited characteristics of stages three and four in a worker's life cycle. They felt competent, successful and fully capably Of making correct decisions. They were moving briskly ahead to deve10p pro- grams that served the needs Of audiences and themselves. Donna felt some Obligation to follow the organization guidelines and trusted her own decisions. She liked to repeat successful programs and also develOped programs in areas where she felt audiences had requested her help. The largest prOportion of Donna's sources of information fell in the Audience Related and Audience categories. Donna displayed characteristics Of stages five and six in the work- life cycle. She still considered the organization important but was highly concerned with serving the community in ways she thought were the most meaningful. These findings illustrated Griffin's description Of workers in the beginning stages Of employment (Ann and Eduith): the middle stages (Betty and Carol); and the ending stages (Donna). Carol and Edith's dissimilar number Of responses in three Of the four categories are equally interesting to examine. 91 All but five sources Of information reported by Carol as being used in deve10ping her 1980-1981 plan Of work came from the intended audiences or those who represented them. The majority Of these came from the intended audiences. The five sources of information listed in the Personal category re- presented Carol's interpretation Of educational need from direct observations, her educational training and prior employment experiences. She felt confident these were valid sources of information. While Carol was aware Of Organiza- tion sources Of information (Table 1, Chapter III), none of these sources had impact on her 1980-1981 plan Of work. Edith, however, reported using almost the exact Oppo- site sources Of information in deve10ping her plan Of work. While Carol used no sources Of information in the Organiza- tion category, Edith's responses indicated that 10 of the 15 sources fell in this category. Edith also mentioned only one Audience sources Of information; Carol listed 12. Although Edith had a high level Of educational training and employment experience prior to becoming an Extension home economist, she only listed this background once as a source Of information. Although Carol and Edith are similar in age, educa- tional training and have had prior emplOyment experience, their dissimilar behavior in selecting sources Of information for the develOpment Of plans Of work may be due tO Edith's need to be socialized or resocialized into her relatively new occupational role (Kemmel, 1974) and Carol's maturation 92 in her role to the point Of being active, assertive, con- fident and independent Of, yet loyal to, the organization. Edith can be viewed as a person who is being resocial- ized. She has focused her own learning, adjusting and Observing with an egocentric concentration on self enhance- ment within the COOperative Extension Service. She can be viewed as displaying dependence on Organization sources Of information for guides tO the correct educational activities and audiences. Because Carol no longer needs to be concerned with learning about the organization and her role within it, she was free to use her skills in working with audiences tO meet their educational needs. Carol used the organization to enhance the educational programs she determined should have priority. This same dissimilarity is found between Ann and Betty's responses although in this case their ages, educational training and length of prior emplOyment are also dissimilar. Ann can be viewed as in the process Of being socialized in the organization while Betty can be viewed as having reached a point Of maturation in her role. This small sample illustrated unique differences between Extension home economists who were in the beginning, middle and ending stages of the work-life cycle. Similarities were found between those in the same stages. The Extension home economist who is nearing retirement used a moderate number of Audience, Audience Related and Organization sources 93 Of information. If the work-life model (Griffin, 1970) is correct, this person will continue to concentrate on the audiences and colleagues she hOpes will perpetuate the educational goals she has develOped. CHAPTER VI Summary and Conclusions The purpose of this study was to develOp a better under- standing Of the implicit and explicit sources Of audience need information available to COOperative Extension Service home economists and the impact these sources have on the develOpment Of educational prOgrams. In this chapter the writer will review 1) the problem, 2) the methodology followed, 3) the findings and 4) the general conclusions drawn from the study. Summary Although adult education literature stresses the importance of audience needs assessment as the basis for the design Of educational programs, and recent studies have examined how needs are prioritized, the processes actually used by persons who plan learning activities for adults is largely an unexplored area. It has been Observed that Extension home economists receive and utilize a wide variety Of information in deve10ping their annual plans Of work. The research methodology in this study utilized Glaser and Strauss's (1967) suggestions for purposefully discovering theory through social research rather than arriving at theory generated by lOgical deduction from a prior assumption. Five case studies were conducted to provide qualitative data 94 95 to deve10p a better understanding Of the implicit and explicit sources Of information about the educational needs Of audiences which are available to Extension home economists and the impact these sources have on the deve10pment Of educational programs. The investigator employed a focused interview to Obtain data on the sources Of information available to Extension home economists and the influence particular sources had on the develOpment Of 1980-1981 educational programs. After the interviews had been completed, the data were coded and delimited to four categories Of sources: Organi- zation, Audience, Audience Related and Personal. The coded data were used tO describe each Extension home economists responses. The categories were also used to examine the similarities and differences between the respondents. Analysis Of the Extension home economists' responses identified a wide variety Of sources which provided informa- tion on the needs and interests Of potential adult audiences. These sources were quite similar to the methods of identifying educational need found in the literature. All five subjects reported receiving information from sources Of information in the organization, audience and audience related categories with the majority of the sources falling in the audience and audience related categories. What personal judgements or "hunches" were mentioned seemed to be based on educational training, personal Observations and the educator's needs to advance self and/or the 96 organization. All respondents reported using a variety Of methods to collect needs information from intended audiences. Three Of the five Extension home economists' responses tO Interview Question I (general sources Of information) illustrated a needs assessment model which assumes either the existence Of, or attempts to identify the gap between, "what is" and "what should be" in a social system. The particular social systems in this study were the COOperative Extension Service and the community. One Extension home economist focused on the needs Of a known segment Of the pOpulation although this particular audience represented only a portion Of her program respon- sibility while another Extension home economist's list Of sources displayed elements Of the second, third and fourth needs assessment models described by Mazmanian (1977). She gave high priority to the needs of known segments Of the pOpulation; tOOk into consideration the needs Of peOple who plan their Own learning episodes; gave attention to the needs of organizational systems; and acknowledged her wants as an experienced educator. The program develOpment processes used by the Extension home economists in developing their 1980-1981 plans Of work were unique to each individual, but all five subjects be- lieved they alone made the final decisions on what educa- tional activities tO include in their 1980-1981 plans Of work. Analysis Of the sources of information which were 97 instrumental in the deve10pment Of the Extension home economists' plans Of work indicated that Organization sources of information were highly influential for two respondents; Audience and Audience Related sources Of information were the most influential for two other respondents; and one Exten- sion home economist indicated using nearly equal numbers of sources of information in Organization, Audience and Audience Related categories but only one Personal source Of informa- tion. The frequency with which sources of information were mentioned by each respondent over all the Objectives in their 1980-1981 plans Of work illustrates similarities and differ- ences between the Extension home economists. The majority of sources Of information listed by Ann and Edith fell in the Organization category; the majority of Betty's sources Of information fell equally in the Audience and Audience Re- lated categories; and Carol and Donna's sources are primarily in the Audience category. From the data available, it was postulated that the length of time an Extension home economist had been employed would make a difference in the sources of information utilized in program develOpment. Ann and Edith, who have only been employed by the COOperative Extension Service for a few years, listed sources of information characteristic of stages one and two in the work-life cycle of Griffin (1970). Their focus Of concern appeared to be for self, organization and then audience. Betty and Carol, on the other hand, 98 listed sources of information characteristic of stages 3 and 4 in the work-life cycle. Their focus of concern was for the needs of audiences and self. Donna's sources Of infor- mation were characteristic Of a person in the ending stages of work life and indicated a concern for community needs as she viewed them and for the needs Of the organization. Conglusiong Needs assessment and priority setting by the Extension home economists at first appeared to be as superficial as Pennington and Green (1976) described finding in their study Of adult education planners. Certainly there were major discrepancies between the models described in the liter- ature and what was practiced by the Extension home economists. And yet when the reasons for attending to certain sources Of information or needs were examined, it appeared that needs assessment and priority setting may be a complex process not always in the control of the educators. In addition, the more informal methods of determining educational need seem to provide quite useful information. Needs assessment and the concomitant priority setting by the Extension home economists was influenced by explicit and implicit sources of information. The implicit sources, which included such diverse elements as prior experiences Of the Extension home economists and the Extension home economistS' interpretation of verbal comments by superiors, seemed to have impact on the identification of audience needs. 99 The explicit sources Of information were both formal and in- formal in nature. On the basis Of the data collected, Extension home economists perceived they were influenced in audience needs assessment largely by organization members, audiences in their counties and sources that represented the audience. Analysis of the Extension home economists' remarks though, indicated all respondents also used their own judgements in assessing needs, but only one respondent identified herself as an important source Of information. Sources Of information on audience need tended to be informal in nature and rarely committed to a precise written form. Informal contacts with potential audience members, telephone calls for information (Often not recorded but general content remembered), number Of particular informa- tion bulletins requested, prOgram evaluations,various media and verbal comments by supervisors are all examples of sources of information received by the Extension home economists and retained in their memories. Program committees and members of the organization, primarily at the administrative level, provided information that was formal in nature and in written form. Although the Family Living Education Guidelines for Audience Selection and Programming (1980) exhorts Extension home economists to base prOgram direction on clientele needs as determined by local audiences, advisory groups and secondary data in a formal written process, only one lOO respondent actually did so in deve10ping her 1980-1981 plan of work. It should be noted that in their responses to Interview Question I, all five respondents indicated they used the needs assessment techniques listed in the Guide- lines, but in reality when asked to describe actual sources of information they did not follow the Guidelines. Needs assessment and priority setting in adult education program develOpment may be interlocked, even though the literature depicts them as separate entities. One example of this phenomenon occured when the Extension home economists indicated they quickly made decisions as to the reality of an Observed need and its apprOpriateness for program in- clusion, and either accepted or rejected it based on the implicit guidelines perceived by them. Thus needs assess- ment and priority setting Often appeared to occur simul- taneously. Certain needs may never even be "seen" because 1 the implicit guidelines may screen them out. One Of the themes found in both adult education and COOperative Extension Service literature is that needs assessment should be a formal harvesting of information from a variety of sources. The resultant data should then be subjected to a logical, orderly process of prioritizing for prOgram deve10pment purposes. Critics of adult educa- tion programs feel that many educators fail to carry out this process and therefore fail to meet the needs Of audiences. In this study, however, it appears that informal needs assessment and priority setting, which sometimes occurs 101 simultaneously, may be a valid way to deve10p successful adult educational programs---successful in a pragmatic way for audience, organization and educator—--if the educators and administrators recognize and legitimize the process. Likewise the educators and administrators need tO recognize and acknowledge the impact of the implicit sources of infor- mation on needs assessment and priority setting. The data suggests that, for these Extension home econo- mists, decision points on the best alternative actions in pro- gram develOpment were shaped by explicit and implicit input from the organization, the intended audience, environmental constraints and personal values. The best alternative action might favor the organization, the educator or the audience. The possible influence Of the Extension home economist's stage in her work-life cycle with the organization cannot be ignored. When a new employee enters the work place, the environment and expectations Of the organization are relatively unknown. The employee, in seeking to establish herself within the organization, will follow the guidelines of those people who are preceived to have the power to con- tinue or terminate employment. During this time the employee is deve10ping her job competency in what has been described as a combination Of behaviors which will demonstrate effective interaction with the environment. Those persons in the middle years of employment with the organization have generally achieved work competence, feel secure in the organization and utilize sources Of 102 information that will serve audience needs, promote the organization and enhance their stature in the organization. The ending stages in the work-life cycle bring the worker back to considering the needs Of self, both in preparing for retirement and leaving a legacy to particular audiences and the community. Carrying out the mission of the organization, however, is still important. Further studies should focus on clarifying these preliminary findings. Specific hypotheses should be pre- cisely investigated to examine educational need and the impact these sources have on the deve10pment of educational programs. TO understand fully the interaction Of needs assessment and priority setting, the studies should take place at the time when educational plans Of work are being develOped. By enlarging the SOOpe Of the study, it would be possible to more thoroughly examine the behaviors Of adult educators in the beginning, middle and ending stages Of the work-life cycle. The following prOpOsitions, drawn from the findings, are suggested as hypotheses for further study: 1. Needs assessment and priority setting are influenced by explicit and implicit sources of information. Often the implicit sources are not recognized by the educator or the organization administrators. 2. Needs assessment for program develOpment is carried out by using formal and informal assessment techniques. Both formal and informal techniques provide valid information. 103 3. Needs assessment and priority setting have an inter- locked nature although they are often viewed as separate entities. 4. Needs assessment and priority setting may occur simultaneously. 5. Priority setting may be an informal process which produces valid results. 6. The needs Of audience, organization and educator are important in program develOpment and should be acknow- ledged as legitimate inputs. 7. The sources Of information the educator responds to in deve10ping educational programs is related to his/her work- life stage within a particular organization. 8. A competent approach to needs assessment and priority setting, as it is related tOprogram develOpment, requires the educator to feel competent and secure in the position. 9. The movement of an educator from the characteristics of a beginning stage worker to the characteristics Of a middle stage worker can be speeded by training that increases his/her sense of competency and self-esteem. On the strength of this research, some general suggestions can be Offered to foster the socialization Of adult educa- tors tO new organizational systems and enhance needs assess- ment and priority setting in the deve10pment Of adult education programs. It is essential to structure experiences and support 104 systems that move the new worker from a high level Of depen- dency upon perceived organizational directives to more autonomous modes of action. The well socialized worker ful- fills the mission Of the organization, meets educational needs Of the audience and is generally satisfied with his or her work life. Since the beginning worker is highly influenced by con- cern for how his or her performance is viewed by supervisors and audiences, the organization's role should be to give adequate time for the worker to assimilate and understand the wide variety Of complex demands in the new role, provide nurturing support through positive comments, suggestions and training, and gradually withdraw as the worker gains competency. The competent mid and late work-life stage person can be a valuable resource to beginning workers after they have had adequate time to develOp an understanding Of the new role. TO provide this resource too early might have a negative impact on the new worker's deve10ping ego structure. The organization administrators and the educators should be sensitized tO the impact of implicit sources of information which may or may not have been intended. The overall mission and yearly goals of the organization should be clearly and fully communicated to and by all parts Of the educational system. These goals provide the criteria for the educators to evaluate the apprOpriateness of the implicit sources of information on those audience educational needs which should receive priority in program develOpment. 105 Since formal needs assessment techniques are not always possible to carry out, the informal techniques should be identified and legitimized. These sources Of information can be combined with formal sources to provide a base Of knowledge On which to plan educational programs. Any program deve10pment plan should take into account the needs of the organization, the audience and especially the educator. The needs Of the educator, a component Often overlooked, are influenced by the person's stage in their work-life with an organization. SELECTED BIBLIO GRAPHY 106 BIBLIOGRAPHY Atwood, Mason H., "Diagnostic Problems in Adult Education," Viewpoint: Bulletin of the School Of Education, Indiana University, Indiana, Volume 49, NO. 5, September 1973. Barbulesco, Carolyn Watanabe, Educational Needs Assessment Related to Community Problem Solving PrOgrams in Institutions Of Higher Education: Theory and Practice. M.A. Thesis, University of IlIinois, Urbana, Illinois, 1976. Boone, Edgar J., et al., "The COOperative Extension Service," Chapter 16 in Handbook of Adult Education, Robert M. Smith, editor, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970. Boyle, Patrick G., "Planning With Principles," Chapter Administration of Adult Education, Edgar J. Boone, editor, Washington, D.C.: Adult Education Association of the U.S.A., 1965. Boyle, Patrick G. and Jahns, Irwin R., "Program DevelOpment and Evaluation," Chapter 4 in Handbook Of Adult Educa- tion, Robert M. Smith, editor, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970. Campbell, Donald T. and Fiske, Donald W., "Convergent and Discriminating Validation by the Multritrait-Multimethod Matrix." Psychological Bulletin, Volume 56, pp. 81-105. Clarkson, Sandra, Survey of Michigan Family Living Program Advisory Structures. Unpublished study for the Family LiVing Education Program, the COOperative Extension Service, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 1978. Denzin, Norman K., The Research Act. Chicago: Adline Publishing Company, 1970. Donahue, Patricia Ann, The DevelOpment of a Sense of Hetero- sexual Competence In Male Adoleggents. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michingan, 1976. Easley, Edgar M., "Program DevelOpment," in Materials and Methods in Continuing Education, Chester KleVins, editor, New York: Klevins Publications, 1976. 107 108 English, Fenwick W. and Kaufman, Roger A. Needs Assessment: A Focus for Curriculum DevelOpment. Washington, D.C.: Association Of Supervision and Curriculum DevelOpment, 1975- Extension Program Development and Its Relationship to Ex- tension Management Information Systems. A Report of the PrOgram DevelOpment Ad Hoc Committee, published by the COOperative Extension Service, Iowa State Univer- sity, Ames, Iowa, 1974. Family Living Education Guidelines: Advisory Group Involve- ment. Unpublished paper, the COOperative Extension Service, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 1980. Family Living Education Guidelines: Audience Selection and Programming. Unpublished paper, The COOperative Exten- sion Service, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 1980. Family Livinngducation.....Its Operation and Mission. Un- published paper, The COOperative Extension Service, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 1980. Forest, Laverne, and Mulcahy, Sheila, First Things First: A Handbook Of Prioripy Setting in Extension. University Of Wisconsin - Extension, 1976. Freiberg, Karen L., Human Develppment. North Scituate, Massachusetts: Duxbury Press, 1979. Griffin, Virginia, A Model of DevelOpmental Changps in the Work-Life Of the CountypAgent. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, the University of Chicago, 1970. Holsti, Ole R., Content Analysis for the Social Sciences and Humanities. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1969. Houle, Cyrill 0., The De§lgn of Education. San Francisco: Hultsch, David F., and Deutsch, Francine, Adult DevelOpment and Aging. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1981. Kempfer, Homer, "Identifying Educational Needs and Interests of Adults." Chapter 6 in Administration of Adult Edu- cation, Edgar J. Boone, editor, Washington, D.C.: Adult Education Association Of the U.S.A., 1965. 109 Kimmel, Douglas, Adulthood and Aging. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1974. Knowles, Malcolm S., The Modern Practice Of Adult Education. New York: AssociatiOn Press, 1970. Knox, Alan B., Emerging Directions in Continuing Professional Education. Consultation on Continuing Education, Chicago, October 20, 1968. Mazmanian, Paul E., The Role Of Educational Needs Assessment lg Adult Education and Continuing_Medica1 Education Pro- gram Planning. Office of Continuing Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1977. (Monograph). McKenzie, Leon, "Adult Education: The Diagnostic Procedure." Viewpoint: Bulletin Of the School Of Education, Indiana University, Indiana, Volume’49, NO. 5, September 1973- Monette, Maurice, "The Concept Of Educational Need: An Analysis of Selected Literature." Adult Education, Volume XXVII, NO. 2, 1977, pp. 116-127. Parker, Glen M., "Assessing Needs." Priorities in Adult Education, David B. Rauch, editor, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1972. Pennington, Floyd and Green, Joseph, "Comparative Analysis Of Program DevelOpment Processes in Six Professions." Adult Education, Volume XXXVII, No. l, 1976. Pesson, Lynn L., "Extension Program Planning with Partici- pation of Clientele." The Cooperative Extension Service, H. C. Sanders, editor, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Schwab, Joseph J., The Practical: A Langpage for Curriculum. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association Publications, 1970. Seltiz, Claire; Wrightsman, Lawrence, and Cook, Stuart W., Research Methods in Social Science. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976f Sork, Thomas JOda, Normative Process Model for Determing Priority Of Need in Community Adult Education. Unpub- liShed doctoral dissertation, The Florida State Univer- sity, 1978. 110 Steele, Sara M., The Extension Specialist's Role in Evaluation and Accountability -- Past and Future. Unpublished paper presented to the COOperative Extension Service, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 1978. Walker, Decker F., "A Naturalistic Model Of Curriculum Devel- Opment," The School Review, Volume 80, NO. 1, November 1971. Warwick, Donald P., and Lininger, Charles H., The Sample Survey: Theory and Practice. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1975. Zaltman, Gerald; Florio, David and Sikorski, Linda, Dynamic Educational Change. New York: The Free Press, 1977. APPENDI CBS 111 APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND RATING SCALES 112 paspaoasfl zao> soaspaoaefl sansaowflmaoo paspaoasfi ooaspaoaefl osom v-IN Md“ ooaspaoasfi mappflfi «oasom waspsm mafipsm pom maomsom . awpsm wooz ooaofiw5< ao aOfipseaomaH mo mooa30m A.mwooa HsaOHpsoswo m.ooaoflw:s Psons aOHpssaomafl mo mooasom asowv cmaflassamoaa mafi>fia zafissm opsaaaoaaas sawsaopow 50% mass ps2; was 0:3 zpasoo azoh aH Mozmbdmm BmmHm saom maflwaooom H aOflpmosa 3ofi>aopaH « soaspaoaefl sansaowamaoo paspaomefi ooaspaoasw osom HNMdm ooaspaomefi savvwa «oasom maapsm .wmwpsm aom maomsom (mafipsm mooaoflws< Mo swooz aOHpsoswm ao aOflpseaomaH mo mooaaom e>aaosaao «pom maflaasam afl wows wooa,4saOHp useswo ooaoflwss ao aOflPsanaafl mo mooazom map was; psas .xaos mo asam Hwnomma adoh aH mUZMDGMm QZoomm saom maflwaooom HH aOflpmosd aofi>aOPaH «mH Kawaoaa< APPENDIX II: CODING SCHEME AND EXAMPLES 115 APPENDIX IIA CATEGORIES FOR DATA ANALYSIS Delimited Catpgories Organization (information received from organization representatives or funding sources.) Audience (Information re— ceived directly from audience.) Audience Related (Informa- tion received from those who interpret or describe the educational needs Of adult audiences.) Personal (Information de- rived from each Extension home economist's unique background.) 116 Descrlptors COOperative Extension Ser- vice administrators, county administrators, colleagues within COOperative Extension Service, state level content specialists with COOperative Extension Service, teaching materials prepared by COOp- erative Extension Service content specialists or administrators, COOperative Extension aides/assistants, Impact committees. Contacts with county citizens, community groups, county program boards or advisory groups, COOperative Exten- sion Service study groups/ clubs, county audience sur- veys, telephone requests for information, bulletin requests. Other organizations or agencies, newspapers, maga- zines, radio, television, compiled regional, state, or national survey data, schools, judical systems, business. Education, training, employ- ment, experiences, Observa- tions, interests, interpre- tations, "hunches." 117 APPENDIX IIB EXAMPLES OF CODING - QUESTION I Question I -- General Sources Of Information on Audience Educational Need In your county who and what help you determine appro- priate family living programming? (Your sources Of infor- mation about audience educational needs.) (Selected Excerpts from Responses) Sources of Information State level prepackaged materials My work with groups Of peOple The state Impact committee The prOgrams other Extension home economists have done Other (COOperative) Extension co-workers What will sell Newsletter response sheet sent in by readers and used by my planning committee Advisory boards My own judgement (State) program leaders My own interests and expertese Requests for information or bulle- tins received because Of (my) radio broadcasts and newspaper columns Category Code Organization Audience Organization Organization Organization Personal Audience Audience Personal Organization Personal Audience 118 APPENDIX IIC EXAMPLES OF CODING - QUESTION II Question 11 -- Sources Of Information Used in DevelOping the Extension Home Economists' 1980-1981 Plans Of Work In your 1980-1981 plan Of work, what were the sources Of information on audience educational need used in planning for: Objective 1, Objective 2, etc. (Selected Excerpts from Responses) Sources Of Information Category Code A member of the advisory council Audience stated a definite need Requests for bulletins Audience There is a preretirement program Audience Related Operated by the University for employees (and) therefore an audience. My understanding Of the state Of Personal the economy Talk shows on television Audience Related Publication Of books for special Audience Related audiences County commissioners Organization Increase in slick, beautiful Audience Related government publications that can be used in programs My judgement. I saw a lot of fat Personal people on the streets. Agency requests Audience Related Requests for repeat programs Audience Personal contacts with peOple in Audience the street APPENDIX III: LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND CONSENT FORM 119 APPENDIX IIIA September 19, 1980 Dear In a current research investigation, I am interested in talking with Michigan Extension home economists. I am hOpe- ful that my study will add to the knowledge Of how adult educators identify the educational needs of potential audiences and use this information in deve10ping programs. The home economists interviewed will not be identified by name in the study and the results will be shared with all participants upon conclusion. Thank you for your help in this project. If you have any questions, please contact me at 517-353-3998. Sincerely, Jeanne Brown, M.A. Principal Investigator 120 121 APPENDIX IIIB CONSENT FORM for a study of the sources Of informa- tion used by Michigan home economists to assess needs in adult education pro— grams. I understand that the information I give will be used for a research study as a part Of a doctoral prOgram at Michigan State University. I know that my name will not be connected to this information. I also understand that I can withdraw from the study at any time should I desire to do so. Signed Date