Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching Commons^™

Catalyzing Transformation: Conditions In Extension Educational Environments That Promote Change, Nancy K. Fran, Barry A. Garst, Sarah Baughman, Chris Smith, Brian Peters

Nancy K. Franz

Extension faculty and administrators have suggested Cooperative Extension's goal and niche is transformative education—to bring about deep change in individuals, families, and communities. However even though transformative learning appears to be a desirable approach to Extension education, few scholars and practitioners have examined the conditions in Extension learning environments that promote transformation. In fact, Extension agents and faculty ask what they can do to increase the likelihood their work will result in transformation. The research reported here explored conditions that catalyze transformation in two Extension educational contexts: 1) Cornell Cooperative Extension agent/specialist work teams and 2) Virginia 4-H Camps.