Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Newman, Michael E.

Committee Member

Downey, Laura Hall

Committee Member

Peterson, Donna J.

Committee Member

Swortzel, Kirk A.

Date of Degree

12-9-2016

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Agricultural and Extension Education

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department

School of Human Sciences

Abstract

A study was conducted to see if the level of use, expertise, and problem solving abilities using information technology among Mississippi State University Extension agents was positively correlated with the performance quality of the agent as measured in the Mississippi State University Extension Service agent evaluation system. A second purpose was to examine how well agents self-assess their technology skills. Lastly, the study attempted to determine if there was a set of factors (including information technology skills) that explained a substantial portion of the variation in performance evaluation scores. The results showed that the Mississippi State University Extension agent evaluation system does not consider information technology skills and usage of agents. It was also found that agents are fairly adept at self-assessment of their technology skills. Lastly, no set of factors were found that would substantially explain performance evaluation ratings.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19465

Comments

extension system||information technology||technology skills||performance evaluation||extension educator||extension agent

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