Abstract
Extension agents serve a critical role in the land-grant mission as they disseminate research to local clientele in the form of educational programs. However, Extension agents face a myriad of challenges, such as the changing scope of clientele and programming, nature of the job, and burnout. Much research focuses specifically on new agent challenges within the first year, however, few studies have focused on early career Extension agents after the initial onboarding process is complete. We used a phenomenological approach to explore the challenges of early career Extension agents, which yielded eleven major themes, such as a lack of understanding Extension, the nature of the job and understanding their role, and personal pressure. Another major theme was the lack of Extension knowledge of early career Extension agents which could stem from the lack of formalized Extension education programs and professional development programs targeted to early career agents. Social capital theory could be used to better understand the social networks of early career Extension agents, how these networks form over time, and what type of impact social networks have on new Extension agents.
Highlights
Introduction and Problem StatementCooperative Extension is an agency of change, providing non-formal education programs targeted toward community citizens
Florida Extension has 367 Extension agents who take the research conducted at a landgrant university and create educational programs in focus areas such as 4-H youth development, agriculture, horticulture, natural resources, families, and communities (UF/IFAS Extension, n.d.)
Extension agents serve a critical role within their local communities, but are faced with many challenges such as burnout, stress, and many weeknight and weekend activities (Kutilek, 2000), which often lead to employee turnover (Martin, 2011)
Summary
Cooperative Extension is an agency of change, providing non-formal education programs targeted toward community citizens. Extension agents serve a critical role within their local communities, but are faced with many challenges such as burnout, stress, and many weeknight and weekend activities (Kutilek, 2000), which often lead to employee turnover (Martin, 2011). Extension agent turnover leads to gaps in educational programming, community relationships, volunteers, knowledge, and experience (Arnold, 2008; Bradley et al, 2012; Ensle, 2005; Strong & Harder, 2009), which presents greater challenges at the state level due these programmatic and monetary losses (Borr & Young, 2010; Ensle, 2005; Kutilek, 2000). Though there is much literature focused on Extension agents within their first year, and Extension agents overall, the literature does not focus on challenges of early career Extension agents (ECAs) beyond the first year and is essential to providing quality support to help curb employee retention
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