Professional Development Needs of State Extension Specialists

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine professional development needs of state Extension specialists employed by Clemson University. Three constructs, program development and evaluation, research generation and synthesis, and communication and presentation, were examined. Specialists responded to a survey that contained 35 statements relative to the three constructs, measured on a Likert scale. Demographic information was also gathered. Matrix analysis was used to determine critical professional development needs of specialists. Overall, the matrix analysis yielded 3 critical needs and 11 low level needs. Critical needs identified were: 1) communicate program impact to key decision makers, 2) communicate client problems to researchers, and 3) view problems from different perspectives