Extension administrators and educators wonder why low-income audiences refrain from participating or underparticipate in educational opportunities. This may be due to a gap between administrator or educator views of program participation barriers versus the lived experience of low-income audiences. Virginia Cooperative Extension worked to bridge this gap in perspectives by using Nutrition Program Assistants as a leverage point for recruiting and gathering authentic data on program participation from low-income individuals. Even though program assistants rarely serve in this role, their connection with low-income clientele and groups that serve them is invaluable for gathering authentic program data

Franz, Nancy

Lambur, Michael

McFerren, Mary

English

Clemson University: TigerPrints

Nutrition Education Program Assistants: A Leverage Point for Collecting Authentic Program Data

Extension administrators and educators wonder why low-income audiences refrain from participating or underparticipate in educational opportunities. This may be due to a gap between administrator or educator views of program participation barriers versus the lived experience of low-income audiences. Virginia Cooperative Extension worked to bridge this gap in perspectives by using Nutrition Program Assistants as a leverage point for recruiting and gathering authentic data on program participation from low-income individuals. Even though program assistants rarely serve in this role, their connection with low-income clientele and groups that serve them is invaluable for gathering authentic program data.This article is from Journal of Extension 48 (2010): 5IAW1. Posted with permission.</p

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)

October 2010Volume 48 Number 5Article Number 5IAW1Return to Current IssueNutrition Education Program Assistants: ALeverage Point for Collecting Authentic ProgramDataMary McFerrenFNP Project DirectorVirginia Cooperative ExtensionBlacksburg, Virginiammcferre@vt.eduNancy FranzAssociate Dean Extension and Outreach for Families and 4-H Youth â¨Director, ISU Extension to FamiliesIowa State UniversityAmes, Iowanfranz@iastate.eduMichael LamburResearch and Evaluation Leader, eXtensionVirginia TechBlacksburg, Virginialamburmt@vt.eduAbstract: Extension administrators and educators wonder why low-income audiences refrain fromparticipating or underparticipate in educational opportunities. This may be due to a gap betweenadministrator or educator views of program participation barriers versus the lived experience of low-incomeaudiences. Virginia Cooperative Extension worked to bridge this gap in perspectives by using NutritionProgram Assistants as a leverage point for recruiting and gathering authentic data on program participationfrom low-income individuals. Even though program assistants rarely serve in this role, their connection withlow-income clientele and groups that serve them is invaluable for gathering authentic program data.Authentic assessment of client needs has been a hallmark of successful Extension work (Caravella, 2006).However, Extension administrators and educators often wonder why low-income audiences refrain fromparticipating or underparticipate in educational opportunities. This may be due to a disconnect or gapbetween administrator or educator views of program participation barriers versus the lived experience oflow-income audiences. The Virginia Cooperative Extension Family Nutrition Program (VCEFNP) worked tobridge this gap in perspectives by using Nutrition Program Assistants (PAs) as a leverage point to gatherauthentic data on program participation barriers from their low-income target audience (McFerren, 2007). Inthe past, Extension agents have served in the role of providing program information on clientele (Franz,Piercy, Donaldson, Richard, & Westbrook, 2009); however, PAs have rarely served in this role.Nutrition Education Program Assistants: A Leverage Point for Collecting Authentic Program Data10/28/10 06:32:001/4Meeting the Needs of Low Income Women throughNutrition EducationThe VCEFNP wanted to explore the incentives and barriers perceived by low-income women ofchild-bearing age related to their participation in nutrition education programs. The specific programs ofconcern were the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and the Food Stamp NutritionEducation (FSNE) program. Personal interviews were conducted with 23 women to hear their voices so thatnutrition programs could more successfully reach this population (Patton, 1990). The interviews were held intheir homes or appropriate local sites to explore their past experience with education, their daily routine, theirinterest in learning about health and nutrition for themselves and their children, and barriers to participatingin nutrition education.How We Used Program Assistants to Collect DataExtension Nutrition PAs in Virginia are often indigenous to the audience they teach, know theircommunities, and have easy access to the targeted population. For this project, district nutrition coordinatorsprovided names of five PAs to the program director. The director called the 30 women, informed them aboutthe project, and asked if they could recruit five to 10 women to attend interviews. After speaking with all ofthe PAs, nine were chosen to assist with the project. The PAs were chosen due to their positive interest in theproject and their belief that they could recruit the necessary women to interview. These PAs also hadpreviously developed relationships with agency representatives who work with limited-income audiences.The PAs contacted agencies that work with our mutual population, including Head Start, Department ofSocial Services, and Healthy Families, and extended an invitation to each agency representative to recruitparticipants with the specific criteria of the research study. The agency representative was asked to invitethree participants to an interview conducted by the researcher and the PA. The PA followed up withcontacting the participants in their localities personally using face-to-face invitations or phone calls. The PAsmade a reminder phone call to each participant the day before meeting and assisted with selecting appropriatesites and times of day for each interview. The PAs arranged transportation for the women to attend theinterviews if necessary. The PAs also helped determine the amount and type of remuneration appropriate forthis group's participation in interviews.The program director conducted the interviews, and the PAs observed and took notes. Prior to the interviews,the program director worked with each PA to prepare her for taking notes during the interview. Thispreparation involved in-depth discussion about observing and making notations about non-verbal actions.The interview questions were partially developed with the PAs as they gave suggestions to the programdirector on how to ask the questions so they would be more understandable to the participants. The programdirector served as the interviewer; however, the PA from the respective county or city accompanied herbecause the PA is a member of the community. Upon completion of each interview, the PA and the programdirector discussed the occurrences observed and recorded them in the field notes.What We Learned About Using Program Assistants in DataCollectionBecause the use of Extension program assistants in collecting data on clientele for any Extension program isrelatively new, the following observations may be helpful for Extension workers who wish to use thisprocess.Nutrition Education Program Assistants: A Leverage Point for Collecting Authentic Program Data10/28/10 06:32:002/4Program assistants have built strong trust with their clientele over time to be effective educators. Thistrust results in a protective stance towards their clientele. Therefore, PAs want to know specificallyhow their clientele will be asked to share data and how that data will be used.• Program assistants have strong ties with local residents, government agencies, and nonprofit groups.These strong ties or social capital help facilitate data collection from clients of those agencies andgroups by Extension (Coleman, 1988).• Because the contact with the potential interview participants comes from a person they know (theagency representative), this may increase the willingness of the clients to participate in theinterviews.• The PAs' presence during the interviews may promote a higher level of trust and less anxiety for theparticipant, therefore resulting in more authentic data for program improvement.• This process could easily be used with Extension Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, 4-H Leaders,or other groups to help collect program data (Franz, 2009).• ConclusionExtension administrators and educators often struggle with determining how to improve program quality solow-income audiences fully attend educational opportunities. Extension nutrition PAs in Virginia helped thenutrition education program director gain insight on program participation of this audience by helping recruitparticipants for interviews, providing reminders and transportation for the interviewees, helping developinterview questions, and assisting with observing and analyzing the interviews. This approach of using PAswho are known by the target audience helped reveal important information to improve the participation oflow-income women in Extension nutrition education programs. This method could also be used by otherExtension programs to enhance program data collection.ReferencesCaravella, J. (2006). A needs assessment method for Extension educators. Journal of Extension [On-line],44(1) Article 1TOT2. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2006february/tt2.phpColeman, J. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94,95-120.Franz, N. (2009). Promoting organizational sustainability: Engaging volunteers to tell the program impactstory. The International Journal of Volunteer Administration 26(3), 3-11.Franz, N., Piercy, F., Donaldson, J., Richard, R., & Westbrook, J. (2009). How farmers learn: Improvingsustainable agriculture education. Retrieved July 13, 2009 from:http://intra.ext.vt.edu/anr/documents/2904-1292.pdfMcFerren, M. (2007). Initiatives and barriers to participation in community nutrition education programsNutrition Education Program Assistants: A Leverage Point for Collecting Authentic Program Data10/28/10 06:32:003/4for recipients of food stamps and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Unpublished doctoraldissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Sage: London.Copyright © by Extension Journal, Inc. ISSN 1077-5315. Articles appearing in the Journal become theproperty of the Journal. Single copies of articles may be reproduced in electronic or print form for use ineducational or training activities. Inclusion of articles in other publications, electronic sources, or systematiclarge-scale distribution may be done only with prior electronic or written permission of the Journal EditorialOffice, joe-ed@joe.org.If you have difficulties viewing or printing this page, please contact JOE Technical Support.Nutrition Education Program Assistants: A Leverage Point for Collecting Authentic Program Data10/28/10 06:32:004/4

Franz, Nancy K.

Iowa State University Computer Science Technical Reports

https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&amp;context=extension_research

Nutrition Education Program Assistants: A Leverage Point for Collecting Authentic Program Data

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Clemson University: TigerPrints

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)

Iowa State University Computer Science Technical Reports