Perceptions of Agricultural Extension Practitioners After Undergoing Andragogical Training in Malawi

The effectiveness of Extension work is highly dependent on the preparedness and professional competencies of Extension practitioners. One area of training that is of importance to Extension practitioners is adult learning. According to Malcolm Knowles, andragogy is the art and science of adult learning. This study looked at the principles of adult learning necessary for effective Extension programming. Twenty Extension practitioners were trained in andragogical principles, and their perceptions of using andragogy to redesign Extension programming were examined. The researchers found that, upon training, Extension practitioners felt that andragogical principles would help Extension work to be viewed more positively and Extension programming to be more effective. The findings call for the following: continued training with current Extension practitioners to fully integrate the principles into programming, a look at university-level curriculum to better prepare future Extension practitioners in these principles, and ongoing support to help Extension practitioners perfect their skills.