Preparing Change Agents for Change Agent Roles.

Autor/in	Sedlacek, James R.
Titel	Preparing Change Agents for Change Agent Roles.
Quelle	(1987), (12 Seiten)Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Change Agents; Developing Nations; Extension Agents; Foreign Countries; Job Training; Outcomes of Education; Professional Training; Role Perception; Rural Development; Technical Assistance; Technology Transfer; South America + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Developing country; Developing countries; Entwicklungsland; Ausland; Berufsqualifizierender Bildungsgang; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg; Berufliche Fachbildung; Berufliche Fortbildung; Role conception; Rollenverständnis; Rural environment; Development; Ländliches Milieu; Entwicklung; Technische Hilfe; Technologietransfer; Südamerika
Abstract	Seventy-seven Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking agricultural change agents from developing Central and South American countries responded to a questionnaire which sought perceptions of the roles in which the change agents felt they were involved and the roles for which they felt they were being trained. The agents were participating in training programs sponsored by the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) from August through December 1986. The roles delimited by the study were administrator, consultant, educator, facilitator, organizer, and researcher. The participants were recently trained (41.5% within the past 5 years), relatively new to their jobs (59.7% with 5 years or less experience), male (93%), and held a university degree (88.3%). The questionnaire presented many dilemmas for the respondents. It appeared to cause them to think about aspects of their job in ways they previously had not done, and it caused them to think about the training they had received, and its relationship to their work. It seemed that they could easily identify with roles such as educator, researcher, and consultant, but other questions pertaining to roles such as broker, enabler, etc. seemed to give them trouble. Some of these ideas were perceived as being too abstract. This has possible implications for determining whether these roles are an important part of their job, and whether there should be training to better develop these skills. Also, the overall effect of these findings supports the notion that change agents in the setting examined are not aware of some of the change agent, or "group process," aspects of their job and have not received training for them. Therefore, it is concluded that further investigation needs to be undertaken to examine persons trained for their change agent roles, and their job effectiveness, versus persons not receiving this specific training. (NEC)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC