Perceptions of secondary agriculture teachers and 4-H youth development extension personnel regarding cooperative behavior

Abstract

Numerous cooperative agreements and memoranda exist at the federal and state levels that suggest or require cooperation between the Extension agents and agriculture teachers. The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the degree and types of cooperation that occur between secondary agriculture teachers and 4-H youth development personnel in Missouri. Secondary agriculture teachers and 4-H youth development personnel acknowledge cooperation is important for secondary agricultural education and Extension youth development to succeed. However, discrepancies existed between the perceived level of participation in cooperative activities and the desired level of participation in cooperative activities. This study also investigated perceptions of cooperative activities, factors that are important to cooperation, and cooperative behaviors of secondary agriculture teachers and 4-H youth development personnel. The Borich needs assessment model was used to calculate 12 mean weighted discrepancy scores to determine and categorize discrepancies between the perceived level of participation in cooperative activities and desired level of participation in cooperative activities. Importance and affect of factors were ranked according to mean values. Furthermore, two context specific, case-type hypothetical scenarios were utilized to determine cooperative behaviors of agriculture teachers and Extension personnel.