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Developing Surveys for Low-Literate Adults Receiving Extension Education Classes
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| Presenter(s):
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| Karen Franck, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, kfranck@utk.edu
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| Abstract:
Developing effective surveys for low-literate adults is a challenge for program evaluators. This paper examines patterns of missing values in surveys completed by low-income adults. The survey included 3 question types: language only behavior questions, language only attitude questions, and combined photographic and language behavior questions. Over 300 adults completed surveys at the beginning of an Extension nutrition education intervention. This was a diverse, high risk group (30% minorities, 79% food insecure, 35% high school dropouts, 80% unemployed). Participants with lower levels of education and those who spoke English as a second language were more likely to skip questions about attitudes (“It costs more to eat healthy foods) and write-in responses about behaviors even when combined with photographs (“How many servings of fruit do you eat each day?” with a photograph of fruit.) This paper will discuss implications of these findings for developing evaluation tools for low-literate adults.
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Optimizing Conditions for Success: An Extension Case Study in Cross-program Surveys
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| Presenter(s):
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| Gwen Willems, University of Minnesota, wille002@umn.edu
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| Abstract:
Surveying is a highly popular method that has been used for decades to gather evaluative data. The advantages are numerous: it’s a relatively low-cost and straight-forward way to obtain data from many people in a short period of time, as described by Gary Henry. One of the difficulties is standardizing surveys across a variety of programs.
Much of the literature and discussion of surveys gives attention to survey design, error reduction, the audience, and sampling of respondents. This presentation will step back, instead doing a meta-analysis that focuses on a process and environment that led eventually to successful design and adoption of cross-program end-of-educational-session and follow-up surveys for a section of the University of Minnesota Extension. The presenter will describe this case study, the multi-activity process she used with Extension educators, challenges in that environment, and factors that contributed to success of the cross-program survey initiative.
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Creating a Cost-Benefits Analysis Calculator for Extension Nutrition Education Programs
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| Presenter(s):
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| Karen Franck, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, kfranck@utk.edu
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| Joseph Donaldson, University of Tennessee, jldonaldson@tennessee.edu
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| Abstract:
The 1998 Virginia Tech cost-benefits analysis study remains the standard for measuring the economic impact of Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)—a federally funded national nutrition education program for low-income parents. Since 1998, several other states have used these methods to estimate the economic impacts of EFNEP in their communities. This paper will discuss a project that built on the Virginia Tech study in 3 important ways: first, the 1998 direct and indirect costs were updated to reflect current dollars; the target audience was expanded to include all adults who receive nutrition education programming through a university Extension program; third, an on-line calculator was created to capture the economic impacts of nutrition programs at county, regional, and state levels. This calculator provides program evaluators with an effective method to measure economic impact, to compare the impact of programs between different areas, and to identify areas for program improvement.
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Utilizing the Delphi Method to Identify Competencies and Training to Help Reduce Turnover Among County Extension Faculty
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| Presenter(s):
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| Diane Craig, University of Florida, ddcraig@ufl.edu
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| Abstract:
Turnover of county Extension faculty costs Extension millions of dollars per year (Ramlall, 2004). Employee turnover occurs for a multitude of reasons including the lack of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job embeddedness (Phillips & Connell, 2003). These factors can be addressed through proper training and strategic techniques that improve employee critical competencies, socialization and job satisfaction. The University of Florida conducted a Delphi study to explore the perceptions of county extension faculty regarding job satisfaction, training competencies, and social connectedness during the first three years of hire. A Delphi study is designed to gain consensus among experts on a given topic, with our experts being our county Extension faculty and their supervisors. The goal of this study was to determine the optimal training content and training schedule for newly hired Extension faculty in order to increase job satisfaction and job embeddedness and decrease turnover.
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