The administrative role of the Mississippi county extension coordinators: Importance, expectations, behaviors and training needs.

摘要

The purpose of the study was to describe the importance, expectation, behavior and training needs for the administrative role of the Mississippi County Extension Coordinator as perceived by state and district administrators, county extension coordinators, and other county staff members. The study also attempted to determine if any relationship existed between the variables of race, gender, age, educational level, population of county, tenure, staff size, district, position in Extension and major field of study for highest degree and perceptions of importance, expectation, behavior, and training needs.;Respondents were 213 Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service employees. Data were collected by a mailed questionnaire, and from personnel files. The survey instrument included Likert-type scales for four administrative roles: (1) personnel management; (2) program administration; (3) financial management; and (4) office management.;Administrators, county extension coordinators and other county staff members perceived each of the four administrative roles to be of high importance to the administrative role of county extension coordinators. The comparison of ratings of expectation and behavior indicated that administrators, county extension coordinators and county staff members perceived that county extension coordinators should be performing at a higher level than they currently were performing.;The findings indicated that county extension coordinators need training pertaining to the four administrative roles. Ranking of the training needs of the four administrative roles but varied for administrators, county coordinators, and county staff members.;There were no relationships of practical significance between the perceived importance, expectation, behavior and training needs for the administrative roles and the demographic variables.