Purpose: Audience response system technology has been found to have modest learning and larger non-cognitive impacts on students in traditional secondary and post-secondary learning environments. The impacts of this technology are less understood for learners in informal settings, including for farmers in training provided by extension services.…

Corn clubs played an important role in improving agriculture at the turn of the 20th century. Corn clubs were local organizations consisting of boys who cultivated corn on one acre of land under the supervision of a local club leader. The purpose of this historical research study was to document the organization, operation, and outcomes of corn…

Two approaches to providing information about beef cattle preconditioning to randomly selected farmers were compared in a study involving 12 small and part-time farmers in Madison County, North Carolina. Half the farmers received the information from an extension agent via face-to-face consultations, telephone conversations, and an educational…

Conducted in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, this study investigated whether low income Negro homemakers would be more receptive to an information bulletin that reflects their way of life than to a bulletin that did not. Subjects (16 in the first phase and 29 in the second phase of the bulletin pretest) marked the booklet ("Moving to the…

A research project was conducted to determine the methods of information delivery preferred by targeted clientele of extension offices in North Carolina, and what methods clients might prefer in the future. Eleven North Carolina Cooperative Extension agents representing all areas of the state cooperated in the study. The agents developed…

A QUESTIONNAIRE MAILED TO 98 AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AGENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA WITH PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY IN AGRONOMY IN THEIR COUNTIES WAS USED TO COLLECT DATA ON THE AGENTS' PERCEPTION OF THE NATURE AND FREQUENCY OF PERFORMANCE BY DEALERS IN SOIL FERTILITY PROGRAMS, AGENTS' FEELINGS ABOUT DEALER PARTICIPATION, AND THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AGENTS'…

This study analyzed variance in county extension chairmen's (CEC) conformity to an administrative performance leadership (APL) concept of their role. Relationships between APL and agent morale and performance, CEC attributes, and CEC relationships with agents, were assessed. Results were reexamined after adjusting for effects of sex, level of…

A study was made to delineate the tasks which constitute the role expectations of the extension agent, the volunteer 4-H leader, and those of cooperative responsibility in relation to the 4-H program as perceived by the Georgia District agents and the State 4-H staff. A secondary purpose was to determine the degree of consensus among the Georgia…

In January 1973 the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service launched "Project OVERVIEW", a leader and problem identification pilot survey. The focus of the project was to gain additional information on county leadership structure and to identify current problems or issues facing counties. Leaders were systematically identified…

The expectations held by five selected job groups for the administrative role of the County Extension Chairman's job group in the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service was studied. The groups included extension supervisors, specialists, county chairmen, agricultural agents, and home economics agents. A role model consisting of six…

Two diverse extension audiences in Polk County, North Carolina were surveyed to determine their levels of use of extension information and their preferred means for receiving information. Information was gathered through mailed surveys returned by 48 beef producers and 40 county government workers (about a 67 percent return for each group). Nearly…

Nearly all burley tobacco farmers in the mountains of North Carolina are small or part-time farmers who have limited time for seeking information. Although they desire accurate, user-friendly, timely, and relevant information, their willingness or opportunity to spend time in face-to-face contacts or grower meetings is becoming severely limited.…

This survey of North Carolina farmers focuses on the impact of important social changes and their interplay with ongoing changes in agriculture. It provides information for policymakers and education researchers to prepare for possible changes in the rural education system. State farmers were interviewed in 1987 and again in 1988. Of 883 people…

Interviews with 725 North Carolina farm operators revealed: the extent of economic, social, and emotional stresses on farm families; perceptions of the future of agriculture; the degree of reliance on off-farm income; financial management practices; and programs needed from the Agricultural Extension Service. Almost 66% viewed their future in…

The purpose of this North Carolina study was to examine selected leadership correlates of variation in Cooperative Extension Chairmen's (CEC) conformity to an administrative professional leadership (APL) concept of their role. Two research instruments were developed--Survey I, used for collecting data from agents (419) and Survey II, for data from…