Building Extension Professional’s Capacity to Engage Volunteers: Evaluation of the Developmental Stages of an Extension Professional Model

Authors

Kandi O'Neil, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of ExtensionFollow
Rachelle Vettern, North Dakota State University - Department of Youth Development, Family, and Agricultural EducationFollow
Rebecca Harrington, University of Minnesota Extension - Department of Youth DevelopmentFollow
Sarah Maass, Kansas State University Research and ExtensionFollow
Patricia McGlaughlin, University of Illinois ExtensionFollow
Josset S. Gauley, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of ExtensionFollow

Volume

62

Issue

4

DOI

10.34068/joe.62.04.17

Abstract

The Developmental Stages of an Extension Professional (DSEP) model depicts how professionals can move through the stages of service, education, management, and leadership to build volunteer and program capacity. It encourages Extension professionals to assess the situation and adjust their leadership style.

Researchers used a mixed methods approach to assess Dr. James Rutledge’s DSEP model. Findings confirmed training Extension professionals in the DSEP model throughout the Achieving the Extension Mission through Volunteers course led to positive behavior change when working with volunteers. Extension needs to train professionals and utilize the DSEP model to build program capacity through volunteer engagement.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

O'Neil, K., Vettern, R., Harrington, R., Maass, S., McGlaughlin, P., & Gauley, J. S. (2024). Building Extension Professional’s Capacity to Engage Volunteers: Evaluation of the Developmental Stages of an Extension Professional Model. The Journal of Extension, 62(4), Article 17. https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.62.04.17