International: Institutional Development and Popular Participation Section, Social Development Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, Rome, Italy.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: Byrnes5 Document Number: C12459
Byrnes, Francis C. (author / Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, cali, Columbia, S.A.) and Centro International de Agricultura Tropical, cali, Columbia, S.A.
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1972
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 46 Document Number: B05604
Notes:
Francis C. Byrnes Collection, Paper presented on Third World Congress for Rural Society, University of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, august 22-27, 1972. 9 p.
15 pages, via online journal, Purpose: This article assesses a non-traditional training methodology for extension agents, focused on the exchange of experiences among peers and the reflection on practice, with the aim of exploring its potential as a training strategy.
Design/Methodology/approach: A quali-quantitative investigation was conducted, which included interviews with extension agents, the use of different questionnaires, and recordings of the evaluation sessions carried out during each workshop.
Findings: This research allowed us to understand the importance of effective group coordination, a participatory climate, working in small groups, and the feedback loop between theory and practice for processes of experience sharing and reflection on practice. Some of the positive effects of the training observed were that extension agents acquired new knowledge and methodologies, reflected critically upon their practice, and put into question their own extension approach.
Practical Implications: Given its potentialities, implementing training processes focused on experience sharing and reflection on practice for rural extension workers, seems advisable.
Theoretical Implications: This article contributes to the understanding of how experience sharing and reflection on practice can generate transformations in rural extension agents’ approaches and positioning.
Originality/Value: This study systematically assesses the impacts that training has on extension workers, as well as the underlying processes that made it possible to generate them.
