Organizational Climate of the American Association for Agricultural Education

Abstract

Monitoring and evaluating programs and outcomes is common practice in educational arenas; less frequent in professional societies and organizations. A clear understanding of the climate of an organization is important, potentially providing leadership with an understanding of how to improve the functionality of an organization. The purpose of this study was to describe how individual members of the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) perceived working together and to describe the level of support within the profession for the 2007–2010 version of the National Research Agenda (NRA). Overall, AAAE members’ perceptions varied greatly. Most members agreed to some extent that the AAAE organization allowed members to be involved in the sharing of ideas and information in a nonthreatening, supportive environment. Additionally, most members indicated that within the organization there was an expectation and support of new ideas and practices. However, results indicated AAAE members held mixed beliefs regarding the collective accountability for excellence in performance of shared outcomes within the organization. The NRA priorities were well-understood, useful, and worthwhile to a majority of the membership. Data suggested that the average member believed others in the profession were less supportive than they were of the NRA priorities.