Extensionists as Adult Educators: A Look at Teaching Style Preference

The Cooperative Extension Service is the world's largest publicly supported informal adult education and development organization. It is America's first (and only) national system in adult education (Boone, 1985). As the world's largest adult education organization, it can be assumed that Extension educators posses the knowledge and skills needed to anticipate and recognize adult needs and direct learning activities to adequately address those needs. Based on this assumption, the principles of adult education as the foundation for learning should be evident in the teaching style of Cooperative Extension faculty and program staff.

A historical review of the hiring practices, pre-professional training requirements and the nature of the Ohio Cooperative Extension Service (OCES) in-service offerings indicate this assumption may not be true (Ohio Cooperative Extension Service [OCES], 1989). A look at preprofessional educational requirements, as well as on-the-job staff development opportunities, indicates that most Extension professionals are not trained to assume the role as an adult educator. This article discusses the results of a survey of Ohio Cooperative Extension educators about knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to teaching adults.

A mail questionnaire was administered in the Spring of 1991 to all OCES employees involved in providing some form of adult education (n = 609). The Principles of Adult Learning Scale (PALS) (Conti, 1978) was used to measure employees teaching style preference as either teacher-centered or learner-centered. Two additional measurements of teaching behavior (sensitivity and inclusion) were used. Sensitivity and inclusion as measured by Van Tilburg/Heimlich (1990) measure the degree to which the instructor is sensitive to the needs of students and the degree to which students are included or involved in designing their own learning experiences. Also assessed were knowledge levels of general adult education principles and attitude toward being an adult educator.

Overall, OCES employees exhibited low levels of knowledge related to basic adult education principles and practices. On a 10 item true and false test, the mean score was 4.81, indicating they had responded incorrectly to at least half of the statements. Attitude was measured using a 5-point Likert-type scale. Attitude toward being an adult educator was slightly positive.

PALS is a summated 6-point Likert-type scale in which respondents indicated the frequency in which they practiced items described in 44 statements. Scores on PALS indicated that OCES faculty and program staff have a more teacher-centered behavior pattern than the norm.

In addition to measuring an overall pattern of behavior, the PALS instrument contains seven separate constructs: learner-centered activities, personalizing instruction, relating to experience, assessing student needs, climate building, participation in the learning process, and flexibility for personal development. Scores for six of the seven constructs fell below the norm for the instrument. Stepwise multiple regression was used to determine the best combination of variance to predict, "teaching style as measured by PALS." Sensitivity and inclusion, number of adult education classes taken, and attitude were found to predict 16% of the variance.

When looking at individual characteristics, most OCES employees reported their academic major in their highest educational degree area was in a technical subject-matter area, not in education. Additionally, more than half of all employees had never taken a formal class in adult education. The number of individuals reporting prior teaching experience outside of CES was only slightly lower than those with no experience; however, of those with previous experience, most had their experience with youth and not adult audiences.

Daily, Cooperative Extension Service faculty and program staff provide educational programs and learning opportunities for the clientele it serves. Understanding and recognizing differences in teaching style can help individuals and the organization make decisions about the personal and professional development of employees, as well as help develop policies and guidelines for the hiring and retention of Extension professionals. As a result of this assessment, in-service opportunities were designed for faculty and program staff of all levels and program areas.

Boone, E. J. (1985). Developing programs in adult education. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Ohio Cooperative Extension Service. (1989). [Detailed employee record]. Unpublished raw data.

Conti, G. J. (1978). Principles of adult learning scale: An instrument for measuring teacher behavior related to the collaborative teaching-learning mode. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb.

Van Tilburg, E., & Heimlich, J. (1990). Clarifying theory through operationalizing constructs: A look at sensitivity and inclusion in adult teaching style. Proceedings of the 31st Annual Adult Education Research Conference pp. 237-248. Athens: University of Georgia.