Introduction To Extension Education PDF

INTRODUCTION TO EXTENSION EDUCATION MEANING OF EXTENSION EDUCATION “Extension education is an applied behavioural science dealing with the desirable changes in the behavioural complex of human beings, through various strategies and programmes, by applying the latest scientific and technolog...

INTRODUCTION TO EXTENSION EDUCATION MEANING OF EXTENSION EDUCATION “Extension education is an applied behavioural science dealing with the desirable changes in the behavioural complex of human beings, through various strategies and programmes, by applying the latest scientific and technological innovations.” “Extension education is an applied behavioural science dealing with the desirable changes in the behavioural complex of human beings, through various strategies and programmes, by applying the latest scientific and technological innovations.” FEATURES OF EXTENSION EDUCATION Participation is purely voluntary. 1. It is an informal education. 2. Teacher or extension worker starts with practical first and thereafter theoretical aspects are to be touched i.e. First Practical then theory. 3. There is no fixed curriculum or course of study. 4. It is Bi-directional learning means teacher also learns from the clienteles during the course of teaching 5. It is flexible. 6. Freedom to develop programmes locally. 7. It is based on the needs and expressed desires of the people. 8. It is continuous education i.e. throughout the life. THE CONCEPT OF EXTENSION EDUCATION 1.Knowledge and skills 2.Technical advice and information 3.Clientele’s Organization 4.Motivation and Self-Confidence IMPORTANCE OF EXTENSION EDUCATION 1.Extension uses democratic methods in educating the farmers. 2.Extension Helps in adoption of innovations. Extension helps in studying and solving the rural problems. 3. Extension increases farm yields and improve the standard of living of clienteles. 4. Extension makes good communities better and progressive. 5. Extension contributes to national development programmes.  PRINCIPLES OF EXTENSION EDUCATION 1. Principle of interest and need: Means it is based on the needs and interests of the people. 2. Principle of cultural difference: Based on the cultural background of the people. 3. Principle of participation. 4. Principle of adaptability: Extension programmes should be flexible. 5.The grass roots principle of organisation: Means programmes fit in with the local conditions so that more and more people would participate. 6. The leadership principle: Programme is based on full utilization of local leadership. 7.The whole-family principle: Means programme is useful for all the members i.e. male, female and youth of the family. PRINCIPLES OF EXTENSION EDUCATION 8. Principle of co-operation: Rural people cooperate with their village, block and state officials to pursue a common cause. 9. Principle of satisfaction: Satisfaction is the key to success in extension work. A satisfied customer is the best advertisement. 10. The evaluation principle: To know the merits and demerits of the programme, analytical study is necessary. Therefore it needs constant evaluation. BASIC PHILOSOPHY OF EXTENSION EDUCATION 1. Self help. 2. People are the greatest resource. 3. Programme of change. 4. Cooperative effort. 5. Democratic nature means development of people by the people and for the people. 6. Two channel of knowledge and experience: 7. Problems: are brought to laboratory. 8. Solutions: are taken to clienteles /villagers. 9. Programme is based on creating interest by seeing and doing. 10. There is voluntarily cooperative participation. 11. Programme is based on attitude and values of the people with whom it works EXTENSION AND EDUCATION The educator must also be a learner Education is not a process of filling empty minds with knowledge. Extension must build on the knowledge that already exists. An extension agent, therefore, needs to learn as well as to teach. He must learn what clienteles already know Learning requires motivation No one can compel another person to learn. There has to be a desire to learn. Adults find it more difficult than children to grasp new ideas and information. Also, unlike a schoolteacher, the extension agent does not have a captive audience. People do not learn unless they feel that the learning will result in their being able to satisfy a need or want. Food and drink are needs that are essential for life, together with the starting and raising of a family and the search for safe living conditions, which provide protection and shelter from danger and discomfort for the family. EXTENSION AND EDUCATION Dialogue and practice are important for learning An extension agent tells a group of farmers how to thin their crops in order to improve yields. He then goes away, thinking that the farmers have learned the new skill. A few weeks later, he returns to find that none of the farmers have thinned their crops and that they have only a very vague idea of what he told them. The extension agent should not be surprised. Farmers do not learn very much from a straightforward talk and most of what they do hear they soon forget. But if they are given the chance to ask questions, to put the new information into their own words and to discuss it with the extension agent, much more will be learned and remembered. Furthermore, when a new practical skill is being taught, the farmers must have a chance to practice it. The extension agent can then correct any initial mistakes, and the farmer will gain the confidence to use the new skill.  TYPES OF EXTENSION Agricultural extension There are probably more extension agents involved in agricultural activities than in any other aspect of rural life. Given the importance of agriculture and the need to produce food both for the farm family and for the nation as a whole, this emphasis upon agricultural extension is understandable. Some agricultural extension services are based upon a single crop, while others adopt more of a "whole farm" approach. The choice is very much dependent upon the local agricultural system and the national crop requirements. In regions where cash crops such as cotton, cocoa or sugar grow, the single crop extension approach is more common. An agricultural extension service offers technical advice on agriculture to farmers, and also supplies them with the necessary inputs and services to support their agricultural production. It provides information to farmers and passes to the farmers new ideas developed by agricultural research stations. Agricultural extension programmes cover a broad area including improved crop varieties, better livestock control, improved water management, and the control of weeds, pests or plant diseases. Where appropriate, agricultural extension may also help to build up local farmers' groups and organizations so that they can benefit from extension programmes. Agricultural extension, therefore, provides the indispensable elements that farmers need to improve their agricultural productivity.  TYPES OF EXTENSION Non-agriculural extension In the absence of a collective term to cover the other types of extension, it is convenient to refer to them all as non-agricultural extension. This term includes all activities and efforts not directly related to agriculture or livestock production, but which are important to the farm families. Home economics, family health and nutrition, population education and community development are all non-agricultural extension activities.