FACTORS INFLUENCING AN EXTENSION AGENT’S CHOICE OF PURSUING EITHER THE FACULTY OR THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND PROFESSIONAL CAREER TRACK

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive-correlational study was to describe Ohio State University Extension (OSUE) agents who are more likely to chose the faculty or Administrative and Professional (A & P) career track. The population for this census study was all OSUE agents hired on or after January I, I994 through October 31, 1997. Focus group interviews were conducted in three of the Jive Extension districts before the quantitative instrument was developed Using a five point Likert-type scale, the instrument measured the agents' attitudes toward the scholarship of discovery, integration, application, and teaching along with the issue of balancing work and family. The instrument also measured agents’ attitudes towards the differences in research criteria and salaries between the faculty and A & P career tracks. In general, agents were more likely to choose the A & P track, but younger, male agents were more likely to choose the faculty track. Stepwise discriminant analysis identified the following variables as the best discriminators between the two groups: mean score on the scholarship of application scale, the influence of the differences in salaries, and the agent’s age. The discriminant function explained 25% of the variance and correctly classified 72% of the cases.