Formfollows function: Research and assessment design for leadership learning

This article discusses how the design of research should follow the questions the study seeks to address. The article provides practical and diverse examples of broad research questions applicable to researchers or program architects and summarizes how different methods should be employed to respond. I have been teaching “Research Methods in Leadership Education” for the past five years. The goal of the course is to help orient graduate students to leadership research and assessment, and for many students, I’m introducing them to social science research and assessment broadly. The beauty and challenge of engaging in leadership research and assessment is that it is transdisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary. What this means in practice is that leadership research and assessment have fewer conventional boundaries when compared to other more established fields (e.g., psychology). Leadership is not unique in this respect, as education research and assessment – another applied field of study – exists in what, at times, feels like boundless space. This freedom is both a blessing and a curse

Agricultural Employees’ Use of and Preferences forEducational and Training Opportunities

Educational and training opportunities provide individuals with many options when it comes to building their knowledge base. Both formal and informal educational opportunities are available in many different formats, including face-to-face and online delivery methods. The purpose of this study was to examine the type of education and training opportunities in which Nebraska agricultural employees participate and their satisfaction with different delivery formats. The specific objectives of this study were to determine 1) the type of education or training programs rural agricultural employees have participated in over the last two years, and 2) the differences between attitudes toward face-to-face versus online education and training approaches. In general, results indicated that agricultural professionals participated in face-to-face training and training related to their job more often than other types of training. They also tended to be more satisfied with face-to-face training than online training. As educators develop programming for agricultural professionals, these findings may be helpful in designing high impact educational opportunities

Exploring the Nebraska Rural Poll, 2020

The Nebraska Rural Poll was initiated in 1996. Over the past 24 years, input has been gathered from over 64,000 nonmetropolitan Nebraskans. 102 separate reports have been produced covering 31 unique topics Trend Analysis Subgroup Comparisons Some questions have been repeated at various intervals of tim

Resilience in Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Capacity to Overcome Disasters and Hardships. 2020 Nebraska Rural Poll Results

The definition of resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Synonyms include toughness, perseverance and grit. Last spring’s severe weather events and this year’s ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are likely testing the resilience of rural Nebraskans. Given that, how do rural Nebraskans rate their communities on dimensions that measure their resiliency? How confident are they that the federal government or local emergency management authorities can contain infectious disease outbreaks? How do they rate their ability to help their community handle adversities? How prepared are rural Nebraskans to deal with financial emergencies? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these questions. This report details 1,979 responses to the 2020 Nebraska Rural Poll, the 25th annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about resilience. Comparisons are made among different respondent subgroups, that is, comparisons by age, occupation, region, etc. Based on these analyses, some key findings emerged: • Most rural Nebraskans agree that their community contains most elements of resilience: trust among residents, ability to overcome an emergency situation, residents working together to improve the community, people that help each other, community information sharing and community priority and goal setting. • Rural Nebraskans are less likely to say their community treats everyone fairly, actively plans for future disasters, trusts public officials, and look at its successes and failures to learn from the past. • Most rural Nebraskans agree that infectious diseases will have a major impact in the country in the next few years. • Most rural Nebraskans assume that there will be limits on what federal and local governments can do to contain a widespread infectious disease outbreak. • Most rural Nebraskans believe they can help improve their communities when something bad happens and can take setbacks in their community’s progress in stride. • Savings, credit card(s) and a bank loan are the most accessible sources of emergency funds for rural Nebraskans

Perceptions of Agriculture and the Economy in Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2017 Nebraska Rural Poll Results

Conclusion Most rural Nebraskans view their economic well-being as being dependent on agriculture. Over three-fourths feel their economic well-being is at least somewhat tied to agriculture. Economic dependence on agriculture has changed very little over the past seven years. The proportions reported in 2017 are almost identical to those from 2010. Similarly, most rural Nebraskans believe the economic well-being of their community is very much dependent on agriculture. Overall, over nine in ten rural Nebraskans feel their community’s economic well-being is at least somewhat tied to agriculture. Most rural Nebraskans say their job/income security is about the same as it was a year ago. The concern about job/income security was greater during the 2009 national economic recession compared to this downturn in the agricultural economy. However, most rural Nebraskans are uncertain they would find the kind of job they are looking for in their community. The level of uncertainty of finding the kind of job they would be looking for in their community was higher in 2009 than this year. This uncertainty was higher for persons living in or near smaller communities compared to those living in or near larger communities. Finally, many rural Nebraskans believe the current downturn in agriculture is about the same as other agriculture downturns of the past. Residents of the Panhandle are more likely than residents of other regions of the state to say the current downturn in agriculture is worse or much worse than previous downturns

Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans’ Perceptions of Local Schools: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results

Conclusion Most rural Nebraskans have elementary, middle and high schools in their community or nearest community. Most of the schools available are public but many rural Nebraskans report having both public and private schools of each grade level. Persons living in or near larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to have each level of school in their community. And, persons living in or near the larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to have both public and private schools available. When asked about priorities for their local school, rural Nebraskans give highest priority to providing a safe environment for students. Other top priorities for local schools include: high graduation rate, high quality teachers, teaching problem solving or critical thinking skills to students and preparing students for college. The items that respondents were least likely to rate as high priority include teaching foreign languages, providing community social events/local entertainment, and teaching English as a second language. At least four in ten rural Nebraskans are very satisfied with the following characteristics at their local school: safe environment for students, graduation rate, quality school buildings, and opportunities for physical activities/sports. Less than two in ten respondents are very satisfied with standardized test scores and teaching English as a second language. However, many rural Nebraskans are unsure how to assess the details of their local schools since at least two in ten answered don’t know when asked to rate the characteristics. In fact, four in ten answered don’t know in regards to providing courses for advanced placement and standardized test scores. And, over one-half answered don’t know when asked to rate their satisfaction with teaching English as a second language. Satisfaction levels with many characteristics differ by community size. Persons living in or near smaller communities are more likely than persons living in or near larger communities to be very satisfied with many of the characteristics at their local school. However, satisfaction levels with four items increase as community size increases: providing courses for college credit, providing advanced placement courses, teaching foreign languages, and teaching English as a second language. Regional differences also exist. For many of the items listed, residents of the Panhandle were the regional group least likely to report being very satisfied. However, even though the Panhandle residents are less likely to report being very satisfied with many of the items listed, it does not mean they are necessarily more dissatisfied with those items than the other groups. For many of the items, the Panhandle residents were more likely to answer “don’t know.” The differences between the characteristics that people expect from their local school and those with which they are very satisfied are rather large. For almost all of the characteristics listed, the proportions that feel each is a high priority are larger than the proportions very satisfied with each. For many of the characteristics, the differences between the proportions viewing the characteristics as high priorities and the proportions very satisfied with each are larger for persons living in or near larger communities as compared to persons living in or near smaller communities. For a few items, the gaps are somewhat larger for persons living in or near smaller communities: providing courses for college credit, preparing students for technical/trade school, and providing advanced placement courses

Perceptions of Agriculture and the Economy in Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2017 Nebraska Rural Poll Results

Conclusion Most rural Nebraskans view their economic well-being as being dependent on agriculture. Over three-fourths feel their economic well-being is at least somewhat tied to agriculture. Economic dependence on agriculture has changed very little over the past seven years. The proportions reported in 2017 are almost identical to those from 2010. Similarly, most rural Nebraskans believe the economic well-being of their community is very much dependent on agriculture. Overall, over nine in ten rural Nebraskans feel their community’s economic well-being is at least somewhat tied to agriculture. Most rural Nebraskans say their job/income security is about the same as it was a year ago. The concern about job/income security was greater during the 2009 national economic recession compared to this downturn in the agricultural economy. However, most rural Nebraskans are uncertain they would find the kind of job they are looking for in their community. The level of uncertainty of finding the kind of job they would be looking for in their community was higher in 2009 than this year. This uncertainty was higher for persons living in or near smaller communities compared to those living in or near larger communities. Finally, many rural Nebraskans believe the current downturn in agriculture is about the same as other agriculture downturns of the past. Residents of the Panhandle are more likely than residents of other regions of the state to say the current downturn in agriculture is worse or much worse than previous downturns

Shopping for Food in Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2017 Nebraska Rural Poll Results

Conclusion Rural Nebraskans purchase their food from a variety of stores. Almost four in ten buy most of their food from a supercenter (like Wal-Mart or Costco). Just over three in ten typically shop at a supermarket and just under three in ten buy most of their food at a small grocery store. Differences in the type of store most utilized occur by community size. Persons living in or near larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to purchase the majority of their food from either a supermarket or supercenter. Persons living in or near mid-sized communities (populations ranging from 1,000 to 4,999) are the group most likely to purchase most of their food from a small grocery store. This size of community is most likely to be able to sustain a grocery store but not be a target for a supermarket or supercenter. Thus, local grocery stores do maintain market share in communities which are large enough for them to be viable, but too small to be major markets. Rural Nebraskans are most concerned with the quality, cost and selection of food as well as store characteristics such as cleanliness and customer service when selecting where they shop for food. These characteristics rate higher than location. Most rural Nebraskans shop for food at least once a week. Rural Nebraskans report being satisfied with most items at the store from which they purchase most of their food, although satisfaction with cost consistently ranks lower than quality or selection across major food categories. Most rural Nebraskans are within 30 minutes of the store where they do most of their food shopping. However, persons living in or near larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to be within 10 minutes of the store from where they purchase most of their food. Most rural Nebraskans have options for their food shopping. Most rural Nebraskans have a corner/convenience store closer than the store where they normally shop for food as well as a general merchandise store (like Dollar General or Family Dollar). Almost one-half have a small grocery store closer to them than the store where they normally do most of their food shopping. Almost two-thirds of persons who normally buy most of their food from a supercenter say they have a small grocery store closer to them. Only six percent of persons who purchase most of their food from a small grocery store say there is a supercenter closer to them and only five percent have a supermarket closer. Beyond retail shopping, rural Nebraskans do utilize other sources for foods. Most rural Nebraskans get at least some of their food from a garden and many get some of their food from a farmer’s market or CSA (community supported agriculture)

A Research Report: Higher Education: Opinions and Participation among Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results

Table of Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................... i Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 Education or Training Taken ................................................................. 2 Figure 1. Participation in Education or Training Activities during Past Two Years....................... 2 Figure 2. Types of Education or Training Taken in Past Two Years........................................... 3 Satisfaction with Types of Education or Training ........................................... 5 Figure 3. Satisfaction with Types of Education or Training ................................. 6 Opinions about Education.............................................................................

Exploring the Nebraska Rural Poll, 2020

The Nebraska Rural Poll was initiated in 1996. Over the past 24 years, input has been gathered from over 64,000 nonmetropolitan Nebraskans. 102 separate reports have been produced covering 31 unique topics Trend Analysis Subgroup Comparisons Some questions have been repeated at various intervals of tim