INTRODUCTION

Fostering Collaboration between Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers and Cooperative Extension Service Faculty: Results of a Pilot Study

Sharon Jeffcoat Bartley, Ph.D., M. Fahzy Abdul-Rahman, Ph.D., Merrilyn N. Cummings, Ph.D.

METHODOLOGY

New Mexico State University

INSTRUMENTS

SIGNIFICANT ATTITUDINAL CHANGES LEVEL-ONE EVALUATION

FCS teachers’ regard for county agents as very important to FCS teachers increased as result of the workshop.

The results of the Level One evaluation follow. The mean scores given are for the two meetings combined.

FCS teachers and CES agents from two counties surrounding Las Cruces area and three counties surrounding the Albuquerque area were invited to Saturday morning meetings. Each meeting was designed to foster collaboration between the groups by allowing them to share resources, network, and discuss ways to work together.

A pre-collaboration survey was administered to the participants at the beginning of each meeting:• to measure current collaboration efforts and existing

attitudes about collaboration and• to determine the perceived need for and interest in

collaboration.

At the end of the meeting, the post-survey was administered to determine if the groups had altered their attitudes about the need for collaboration, had developed a greater interest in collaboration, identified potential areas for collaboration, and identified factors impacting collaboration.

The statistical analyses utilized were:• Wilcoxon Signed Ranks for Likert-scale items and• McNemar’s Test for check-off items.P-value was set at <0.05

The Level One evaluation was also administered at the end of the meeting to assess satisfaction with the workshop.

IRB approval was obtained for the project.

Funding for the project, Fostering collaboration between Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers and Cooperative Extension Faculty was provided by the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The FCS teachers and CES faculty appreciated the opportunity to meet, network, and learn about colleagues' programs. The collaboration meeting in this study appeared to foster attitudinal changes between the two groups.

More research should be conducted with FCS teachers and CES faculty to determine levels of collaboration needed, how collaboration can be fostered, and the kinds of networking opportunities that might most benefit the two groups.

Although commonalities (educational backgrounds, content expertise, societal issues)exist between Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) teachers and Cooperative Extension Service (CES) faculty (county agents and specialists), little is known about collaboration between the two groups.

Collaboration appears logical given commonalities, and it would certainly allow both groups to stretch scarce resources.

PURPOSE

The purposes of this study were to determine the:

• level of collaboration between New Mexico FCS teachers and New Mexico CES county agents,

• perceived need for and interest in collaboration between the two groups, and

• impact a workshop on collaboration between the two groups might have on their attitudes and desire for collaboration.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-four FCS teachers and four Extension FCS agents in Las Cruces and Albuquerque areas of New Mexico were the major participants in this study. Five counties were represented. New Mexico State University college administrators and Extension specialists, FCS advisory council members, and representatives from supporting groups also participated.

Statements – Scale was Strongly Agree (5) to Strongly Disagree (1), n=31

Mean Score

The meeting was well organized. 4.74Food/refreshments were appropriate. 4.74The meeting was helpful and I was able to develop contacts.

4.67

The meeting was held at an appropriate time . 4.65The facility was appropriate for the meeting. 4.53The meeting met my needs for information. 4.45The date for the meeting was convenient. 4.45Enough time for collaboration was provided. 3.83Enough time was provided for individual input. 3.77

Three instruments were developed for this study: • pre-collaboration survey,• post-collaboration survey, and • a Level One workshop evaluation form.

The collaboration assessment instrument consisted of a combination of Likert and check-off formats to assess opinions about collaboration, types of activities where collaboration exists, content areas in which collaboration exists, and factors impacting collaboration efforts. The level-one evaluation used a Likert format.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

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Pre Post

Frequency

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

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Pre Post

Frequency

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

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101214161820

Pre Post

Frequency

CHANGES IN FACTORS PERCEIVED TO IMPACT COLLABORATION (p<.05)

Participant Comments “Thank you. Great idea exchange.”“Very well spent time.”“This was so helpful being a first year FACS teacher.”“Great. Got a lot of resources.”“Great. Would like a list of names.”“I want a list of all here- address and e-mail.”“Little longer would have been nice.”“Thank you. There was a good showing of teachers. I made some good contacts.”“Thank you for such a wonderful day. It was so enlightening and so helpful.”“It was really a good start to improving the Family and Consumer Sciences curriculum.”

FCS teachers responded that they needed to increase county agents’ involvement in schools and school projects.

FCS teachers concluded after the workshop that county agents and FCS teachers should cooperate on a regular basis.

• We have similar areas of interest.

• I need the expertise offered.

• They need my expertise.

• Geographical location is conducive to our collaboration.

• We have a working relationship.

• Money is available to support collaboration.