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Beyond reporting: Do Extension Educators Use the Results of Evaluations?
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| Presenter(s):
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| Sarah Baughman, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, baughman@vt.edu
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| Heather Boyd, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, hboyd@vt.edu
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| Nancy Franz, Virginia Tech, nfranz@vt.edu
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| Abstract:
Increasing demands for accountability in educational programming have resulted in increasing calls for program evaluation in educational organizations. Many organizations include conducting program evaluations as part of the job responsibilities of program staff. Cooperative Extension is a national system offering non-formal educational programs through land grant universities. Many Extension services require non-formal educational program evaluations be conducted by locally-based educators.
Evaluation research has focused primarily on the efforts of professional, external evaluators. The work of program staff with many responsibilities including program evaluation has received little attention. This study examines how field based Extension educators in four Extension services use the results of their evaluations. Four types of evaluation use are measured and explored; instrumental use, conceptual use, persuasive use and process use. Pilot study (n=35) results indicate that Extension educators engage in persuasive use most often, followed by instrumental and conceptual use. There is some evidence of process use.
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Program Evaluation Competencies of Extension Educators: Implications for Professional Development
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| Presenter(s):
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| Megan McClure, Texas A&M University, mmcclure@aged.tamu.edu
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| Nick Fuhrman, University of Georgia, fuhrman@uga.edu
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| Chris Morgan, University of Georgia, acm@uga.edu
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| Abstract:
As more Extension systems rely upon Extension educators to evaluate their own programs for purposes of improvement and for demonstrating results, determining the professional development frameworks most useful to educators is key. Evaluation competencies have been an area of interest in Extension evaluation, as well as the broader evaluation discipline, for some time. What skills are most necessary for these Extension educators who evaluate their own programs? Which of these skills can be best taught and what are the best ways of instruction? This presentation focuses on findings from a census of 4-H educators in Oklahoma, and all Extension educators in Georgia, in order to address these issues in the contemporary Extension workforce in these states.
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Online Learning Circles: Building Evaluation Capacity Out of Thin Air
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| Presenter(s):
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| Benjamin Silliman, North Carolina State University, ben_silliman@ncsu.edu
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| Abstract:
This Paper describes the process of developing and sustaining an evaluation learning circle among community professionals and reports individual and organizational outcomes of that initiative. Over the past two years, 12 Extension professionals, working online and face-to-face, learned basic skills ranging from planning to reporting, as outlined in the 4-H National Evaluation for Impact framework. Each professional then evaluated a local program and prepared reports for key stakeholders. Learning circle members significantly increased skills in each of the seven steps, as indicated by a self-assessment survey. Appreciate inquiry journals documented their growth in understanding and applying the evaluation process as well as in their aspirations for using those skills to improve programs. Results affirm the value and clarify the process by which professionals grow through communities of practice and by which individuals and teams build evaluation capacity in organizations.
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