One of the Millennium Development Goals declared by the United Nations in 2000 was to reduce by half the population of people living in extreme poverty, by 2015. Adult education can and should contribute significantly to this development goal. Nevertheless it has hardly been explored so far in the national Poverty Reduction Strategies Papers. In…

The State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report is a tool to help policy makers and educators address broad public policy questions. SHEF seeks to inform policy deliberations with information and perspective on financial issues and national trends. The fiscal 2006 SHEF study builds on the work of Kent Halstead, who conceptualized and implemented…

University outreach is an educational and research-based information source enabling farmers to make decisions that improve the quality of their lives. This paper explores how collaborative efforts between the university and farmers have directly impacted in albeit Striga ("noxious witch weed") ravaged maize farms in rainforest farming…

Financing higher education requires political leaders, policymakers, and educators to address broad public policy questions, including ascertaining: the levels of state funding to colleges and universities that are necessary to maintain the economic and social well-being of the American people; the tuition levels that are appropriate given the…

The institutions and practices of agricultural extension in Australia are changing to meet the changing needs of rural people and communities. Issues and challenges facing rural people include the declining relative economic importance of agriculture; the declining agricultural workforce; and the shift in agriculture from a purely production…

A study examined the extent to which employees in one university extension organization oriented themselves to a vision of extension work that responded to nontraditional societal problems, nontraditional affected communities, and the expertise of nontraditional faculty. The state extension service organization (based at a large midwestern…

This paper examines trends and issues in international agricultural extension and offers seven reasons for the establishment of extension systems after World War II. It makes the case that, although the general situation is somewhat similar today, three current developments color and shape extension and may cause its demise: (1) institutional…

Home to 65 million people, rural America is no longer insulated from national and international events. Once dependent entirely upon agriculture and natural resource industries, today rural America relies upon manufacturing and service industries. Jobs and other income opportunities in rural America must respond to global business cycles and…

A research project in the San Luis Valley of Colorado sought to isolate a few unique farm types that could become target groups for the design and implementation of agricultural research and extension programs. Questionnaires were completed by 44 of 65 farmers in one watershed area of Conejos County. Analysis revealed a complex pattern of…

This overview is composed of four major sections. Part I is a map of agricultural extension's "territory," that is, the definitions and systems. It discusses extension functions in agricultural production institutions and varying institutional settings, describes types of extension systems, and considers farmers' degree of influence on extension…

The purposes of this report are: to describe the main elements of the U.S. agricultural extension model and its effects on the agricultural revolution; to analyze attempts to extend this model to non-agricultural technology and/or to less developed countries; and to draw general conclusions about the diffusion of technological innovations, with…

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the nature and amount of inservice training which the 168 agricultural agents in New York State received during 1963. Emphasis was on refresher and other training. The greatest number of days of training offered agents was in November followed closely by March and February, in all, a total of 36% of the…

Forty-four employees of the General Extension Division of the Nebraska Agricultural Extension Service and 119 Agricultural Extension employees of the University of Nebraska comprised the population of this study comparing personnel's knowledge of Agricultural Extension and General Extension programs and differences in knowledge of programs…

The authors examine the historical context and current implications of four questions: (1) What is the relationship of land grant universities to agrarian discontent? (2) What was the Wisconsin Idea? (3) What is "public service"? and (4) What views of knowledge predominated in the early days? The land grant university was central as a cause/effect…

A knowledge test covering subject matter of the Beginning Sewing TV series was sent to 344 registrants following the series, to measure the program effectiveness. Although the response was small (38%), characteristics of the viewers were identified: median age of 44.1 years; married for 21.3 years, family size of 3.8, completion of an average of…