In response to research demonstrating that Tennessee Extension agents desired a performance appraisal system that better reflected their jobs and provided for appraisers' professional development, a committee of University of Tennessee and Tennessee State University personnel undertook a 2-year initiative to revise the performance appraisal…

Burnout is identified as an individual work-related outcome that plagues educators within Cooperative Extension. Extension educators are particularly susceptible to burnout due to the unique set of demands and stressors they face, including geographic isolation, long work hours, prolonged driving times, and emotionally demanding interactions with…

In urban areas, the communities are as diverse as the issues, and different educational and engagement strategies must be deployed to support urban Extension clientele. Urban communities must connect with and feel a sense of "belonging" with Extension--this connection can strengthen Extension's presence and value proposition to urban…

Sharing the importance of agriculture, agricultural education, and programmatic efforts through Extension is vital to ensuring policy makers and the general public understand the need for supporting the overall agricultural industry. However, communicating such importance can be challenging without accurate, evidence-based language to describe…

Purpose: Enhancing the relevance of rural extension services requires aligning extension education to the roles, tasks, activities and competencies of smallholder farmers. The objective of this study is to follow up on previous competence studies and to construct a validated competence framework. Design/Methodology/Approach: Competence frameworks…

Sustainable eating may benefit both the environment and human health. Currently, no Extension programs addressing healthy and sustainable eating are available that target adults in communities. Since sustainable eating is a sensitive topic, this project engaged Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension agents in Kentucky, to garner their…

Policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change interventions are a key part of comprehensive nutrition and health education. Although Extension educators find value in PSE approaches and report being involved in PSE work, many still indicate a lack of understanding regarding PSE approaches. We describe a unique multistate training designed to…

Purpose: This paper explores the information sharing between farmers clustered around a formal plant health information source, using six case studies of plant clinics in China and Zambia. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was carried out with 327 farmers; six plant doctors were interviewed and plant clinic records reviewed. Data were analysed…

Increased focus on data-driven decision making requires Extension professionals to excel at data analysis and interpretation. Data parties have become increasingly popular for involving stakeholders in making sense of data. As these parties become more frequently used by Extension professionals, best practices are emerging from lessons learned to…

Making eXtreme Counselors (MXC) is a statewide 4-H camp counselor training workshop. This training brings teens throughout Ohio together to help prepare them to serve as camp counselors in their own counties. Specific competencies are targeted each year on a rotational basis. The training allows youths to learn not only from a variety of 4-H…

Extension professionals are increasingly participating in virtual work. Leading these new virtual teams presents challenges to building relationships within the teams, establishing trust, and communicating effectively. As the national project leader of the Military Families Learning Network, I share promising practices developed over 8 years of…

The Cooperative Extension service was established in 1914 with the passage of the Smith-Lever Act. The role of Cooperative Extension to give non-formal, research-based education to the people. Cooperative Extension has been a partnership between the federal, state, and county government and the state land- grant universities. 4-H has been the…

Strong health literacy skills empower people to make informed health decisions, especially those with chronic health conditions striving for positive health outcomes. Half of all people living in Maryland report having at least one chronic disease. Research examining the health literacy of Marylanders is limited. This paper reports how…

Effectively engaging individuals with developmental disabilities is essential to Extension's diversity and inclusion mandate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that over 6 million individuals have developmental disabilities. We in Extension have the potential to include a proportionate number of individuals with…

When completing a needs assessment, Extension professionals should include both objective county data and stakeholder input data. Specifically, Extension professionals should identify potential areas of need, source available objective data, source data from relevant county stakeholders, and analyze similarities and differences in objective and…