Extension Education: Principles and Methods

Extension Education

• An applied science that combines research, field experiences, and behavioral science principles to address out-of-school education for adults and youth.

Development Extension

• Aims to bring about desirable changes in behavior (opinions, knowledge, skills, and attitudes) among stakeholders to involve them in the development process.

Teaching and Learning

• Teaching: an intimate contact between a more mature personality and a less mature one, designed to further education.
• Extension teaching: provides opportunities for people or communities to produce relatively permanent change through learning experiences.
• Learning: the modification of behavior through experience.
• Learning situation: a condition or environment where all necessary elements for promoting learning are present.

Extension Teaching Methods

• Demonstration: helps individuals learn improved practices by seeing and doing; effective for technology transfer in communities.
• Objectives: show advantages and applicability of a newly recommended practice, motivate individuals to adopt new practices.
• Planning and preparation: discuss issues with people, uncover interests, analyze individual situations, and select cooperative individuals.
• Implementation: explain objectives, organize inputs, conduct demonstrations, and encourage individuals to share experiences.
• Follow-up: summarize, record, and establish proof of the practice, and pass results to mass media.

Creating Desire

• Desire is a want, which comes when a developmental idea is considered favorable by people.
• Methods to create desire: appeal to feelings and emotions, use exhibitions, demonstrations, pictures, and working models.

Ensuring Action

• Action follows desire, and a variety of extension teaching methods must be planned to assure action leading to development.
• Methods to ensure action: folders, pamphlets, bulletins, booklets, circular letters, posters, exhibits, group contacts, and individual contacts.

Selection of Extension Teaching Methods

• Considerations: education level of the audience, size of the audience, teaching objective, subject matter, and extension organization's credibility.
• Guidelines for selection: personal visits for illiterates, written materials for educated individuals, group discussions for smaller audiences, and mass methods for larger audiences.

Test your knowledge on Extension Education, an applied science that focuses on out of school education for adults and youth. Learn about the principles, content, and methods used to bring about desirable changes in behaviour and attitude. Evaluate your understanding of Development Extension and its impact on stakeholders.